mobile broadband

[pigro]

Originally Posted by rewob65

Is there anyway to tell if the bars international an roaming have been removed while in the UK. Many times I speak to under skilled people in call centres who say they have done somethi yet it turns not to be the case.

If you are referring specifically to 3's data modems, then yes you can. Once you've bought the modem you use it's phone number and the code on the SIM to log into "my Three" (basically your account admin pages). This shows you the roaming status (which as I said a bove is pre-configured to support international roaming). I'd be pretty surprised if the other networks didn't have a similar offering.

Originally Posted by rewob65

Also am I right to think 3 only use 3G and therefore any gprs overage is roaming so is £££s per mb?

That's correct. However you can choose what types of connection your modem can establish. By default it will use 3G but fall back to roaming GPRS on partner networks when out of coverage - and as you say, that will end up costing you £3/MB 9on PAYG - less expensive on contract, but still v. costly). To prevent this, simply reconfigure the modem (the provided software allows this) so that it will ONLY use 3G. That way, when you are outwith Three's own network, the modem hardware will not physically allow you to roam onto GPRS, it will just drop the connection or refuse to connect in the first place.

As I said a couple of times, best to study the Three network coverage map of italy I linked to above to see if the location(s) you plan to be in general have coverage. If so, changing the default connection as described would be a viable solution.

If you plan to roam all aroujnt the country and NEED to stay connected regardless of location/coverage then the Three UK package would not be a good option, and you should select from the many good Italian offers available.

[moni]

hi

where can i find more info about the wind deal, i have just moved here and would like to set up an internet connection that is portable as i am staying with friends while looking for a house i think that wind deal sounds good to me, any info you have would be great,

thanks

moni x

[pigro]

Until Val updates this thread I don't think anyone else can help you ... the offer she refers to doesn't appear anywhere on the Wind website (as far as I can see, anyway) so you may be better sending her a Private message if you want to follow up - I reckon she'd have updated the thread by now if she was going to.

[moni]

am confused, have read all posts and need idiot proof internet access for my mac lap top that i can use here and in uk, while i am planning to live here, would the 3 deal be a good solution while i am waiting to get slowly organised with apartment and utilitie etc, or will it be better to install a phone line like in england and do it that way. i guess i could use the 3 one and skype and that way not need a phone line. any advise apreciated but please dont use techy terms as it turns me into a dumb blonde....
ta ever so moni x

[pigro]

Originally Posted by moni

am confused, have read all posts and need idiot proof internet access for my mac lap top that i can use here and in uk, while i am planning to live here, would the 3 deal be a good solution while i am waiting to get slowly organised with apartment and utilitie etc, or will it be better to install a phone line like in england and do it that way. i guess i could use the 3 one and skype and that way not need a phone line. any advise apreciated but please dont use techy terms as it turns me into a dumb blonde....
ta ever so moni x

If both your locations have Three coverage then I'd say it was ideal. You can check that on the Three UK website by looking at their coverge maps. Three sell several different bits of hardware for mobile broadband. They have one which is mac compatile, so if you plump for Three just specify "MAC compatible" when you buy it.
If after 6 months you envisage using it only in Italy, AND as your main broadband solution, then I'd say that it would no longer be the best solution (go for a domestic italian product, whether mobile or otherwise) - but for the next 6 months it would possibly still be £110 well spent for convenience at both ends.

Installing a phone line in itally is usually a long and frustrating process (and not too cheap either).

I know you said not to get too technical, but ... using Skype directly with the Three USB Data Modem may not be possible - Three certainly support Skype (unlike many other mobile companies) but as far as I am aware, it actually carries calls over a GSM (normal cell phone) connection rather than as data over the internet connection, and you would have to have their "skypephone" - a modified mobile phone with a special skype button. Also, the "skypeout" feature (calling from your Skype client to a non-skype destination) definitely doesn't work ... Three say that their mobile network already gives you great value for that! So, just using the "mobile broadband" solution in italyand trying to run "normal" Skype over it may not work (as Three would probably block that type of data traffic, as the other mobile companies do). I can't say that 100% as I don't use skype and I haven't tried it on the Three broadband - but I'd make a substantial bet that as they use a special phone for Skype they will filter out any IP traffic running the skype protocol over the internet form a PC (whoops, got a bit techie there, sorry). If that solution appeals, you'd be better looking at a provider other than a mobile phone company as they all have a vested interest in you making voice calls over their phone (rather than data) network.

However, I have the Three broadband on PAYG for use in both countries and a cheapo Wind SIM in an old mobile phone for voice calls when in Italy - that works fine for me and would, I'd imagine, be OK for you once in Italy full time. The charges for cellphone use in Italy are pretty reasonable, I doubt you'll miss a landline purely on cost grounds.

[NickZ]

Moni if your area is covered by DSL go to the telecom site and order the new phone line and Alice deal. The cost of DSL is lower then anything similar over the cell phone market.

If you're not in a DSL area then it depends. I wouldn't get dialup today. The slowest cellphone service in a good service area is faster [3x?] but can be terrible in a bad reception area. OTOH if your cell phone signal is a newer network the whole setup is quite good.

For Skype the Edge network isn't really fast enough for anything serious. IIRC Skype even claims it doesn't work. With a 3G or HSPDA it would be good. So Skype depends on cell network.

If you're making lots of calls then Telecom has some plans that aren't too bad. The problem is for the people making a few but not lots of calls. But you can get a calling card which with a fixed line isn't too bad.

Telecom is charging 100 Euros to install the line and you can even pay that over 2 years if you want. The scheduled appointment is six days from my order so not bad IMHO.

[Cassini]

Have a look at nova media | Use a cell phone with your Macintosh Computer: Manage files, Sync, SMS and mobile Internet you could get their modem and launch2net software then you can take advantage of any pay as you go internet offer by buying the appropriate sim and subscribing - being able to switch to any other later. This would not mean being tied to one provider's modem and internet package.

[pigro]

NickZ/Cassini - good general advice, and maybe of great relevance for the future, but look at what moni actually asked for: "idiot proof internet access for my mac lap top that i can use here and in uk, while i am planning to live here, would the 3 deal be a good solution while i am waiting to get slowly organised with apartment and utilitie etc,".

Assuming as before that there is Three 3G coverage in both locations:

"idiot proof" - YES (Go to 3 Shop. Ask for mac usb modem + 1GB data. Hand over £60. Take box home. Plug gizmo into USB port; wait 30 seconds for it to self install; click "connect" on the window that pops up. Surf away)
"Mac Laptop" YES - new hardware, specifically Mac compatible
"here and in Uk" - YES, £10 gets you 1GB to use within 30 days in both locations. (No need to swap SIM's etc. - it works "as is" in both places)
"while I'm waiting" - YES. Low cost to buy. Would pay for itself over even 1 months usage & you get to keep the hardware, (easily unlocked). If, after you're settled in Italy, you don't like the Three UK deal, and you don't find a Tre Italia one you fancy, unlock the modem to use with the SIM of your choice, flog it on ebay, give it to a friend or just throw it away.

NickZ - once Moni is out there (or once she's had time to research permanent solutions in Italy more thoroughly) she may indeed want to go down the fixed line route, but I can't see any logic in doing that until she's there full time. Meantime, my suggestion would be not only easier and cheaper but would also meet the stated criteria of use in both countries (which a fixed line would not) and would be a real boon in the unlikely (?) event that the Telecom Italia install experience wasn't as smooth for her as it was for you!

Cassini - that's a nice solution for those with deep pockets. Start with hardware cost: €249 for a mac USB modem from Nova (ouch!). Then add €75 for the cheapest software download. Now, research and buy an Italian prepay SIM plus sufficient data credit for say 6 months (say €50 in total, I'm feeling charitable) - though you can't do that til next time you're in italy (when is that?). You're already at €374 minimum before you even try to use it in the UK (that's another prepay sim plus another data bundle unless you want to pay international roaming charges. I'll thow that in for say £50 (call it €60 'coz I like you!). We're now at €434 with three separate purchases, from three separate suppliers in two separate countries, requiring a sim swap and purchase/activation of a new top up each time you change location. Is that really better than spending £110 for a full six months zero hassle mobile broadband in both countries?

I think we (me included) are sometimes guilty on here of trying to answer questions that weren't actually asked!

[NickZ]

The idiot proof is why I suggested DSL. She clicks a few things on the Alice site. Somebody shows up installs a WI-FI router. She turns on the Mac and hopefully all is well.

If she gets a cell phone based service then she'll be her own tech support. Maybe it'll work fine but if it doesn't? Worse she'll be buying a UK service and trying to get support in Italy.

She wants to use Skype. So either she needs to communicate with people on the Skype service or does lots of LD calls. To me it looks like she'll save money using the fixed line if she can't get a fast enough connection for Skype.

[pigro]

Originally Posted by NickZ

The idiot proof is why I suggested DSL. She clicks a few things on the Alice site. Somebody shows up installs a WI-FI router. She turns on the Mac and hopefully all is well.

What "few things" exactly does she click, as a non-technical foreigner on a foreign site aimed at ordering a semi-technical service with several different options? Do those few things require her to have stuff like a Codice Fiscale and a bank account set up? can she arrange the instal lfor a time of her choice when she's next in Italy?

Originally Posted by NickZ

If she gets a cell phone based service then she'll be her own tech support. Maybe it'll work fine but if it doesn't?

Have you not read any of the posts on here re. people trying to get tech support from TI? And being offline for weeks on end with no help? I'll repeat. You buy the Mac compatible modem from the Three UK shop. You plug it into the Mac. It works. If in any doubt, take your mac laptop down to the Three UK shop and plug it in there when you buy it. In the unlikely event that it doesn't work on the spot, get them to sort it before you walak out the door. If they can't (and you have nobody competent in UK to spend 5 minutes fixing it for you) ... fair enough you have a 3 day no quibble money back guarantee. Just leave it on the desk, get your refund and walk out no worse off than when you walked in.

Originally Posted by NickZ

Worse she'll be buying a UK service and trying to get support in Italy.

You don't understand. She buys it in the UK. She plugs it in. It works. Once she's got that far, there is nothing else to do. It is preset by Three with international roaming enabled. if she's physically able to carry her laptop plus modem onto a plane then when she hits Tre italia coverage, it authenticates straight onto the same network as it was in the UK. The only thing that could fail to work would be reception at her Itlaina location. And I pointed that out several posts ago and linked to a coverage checker, with coverage being a prerequisite to my answer.

Originally Posted by NickZ

She wants to use Skype. So either she needs to communicate with people on the Skype service or does lots of LD calls. To me it looks like she'll save money using the fixed line if she can't get a fast enough connection for Skype.

My answer was intended to cover her question as to whether the Three modem may be a good solution for her transition from UK to Italy. Skype over ANY mobile internet product is only for real geeks as you have to circumvent the network operator who wants to prevent you from doing this, and has all the tools to run packet inspection on the skype traffic and route it down a black hole. You may well be right that once in Italy full time a fixed line would be more economic; for someone who relies on skype certainly the argument is stronger (as long as she's not 10 Km's from her exchange). But I never said otherwise. In fact, I actually said:

If after 6 months you envisage using it only in Italy, AND as your main broadband solution, then I'd say that it would no longer be the best solution (go for a domestic italian product, whether mobile or otherwise)

Meantime, mobile broadband plus a cheapo Itaiian PAYG sim+phone while she's not yet there full time still sounds ideal to me. If you want to debate it further PM me - I think we're at the end of what's useful as advice to a non-technical person here.