[ubuntu-uk] Mobile Broadband

[Rob Beard]

On 20/01/2009 00:05, Sean Miller wrote:
> Anybody got any experience of mobile broadband?
>
> I may be moving to rented accommodation shortly and don't know how
> long I'll be there, so the mobile broadband concept is tempting as
> it'll allow me to not worry about "minimum contracts" and so on with
> phone lines etc.
>
> How supported is it with Ubuntu?  Is there a particular network that
> works well, are they all as easy as it comes or should I just forget
> it entirely and route through a Windows PC?
>
> Any advice very much appreciated :-)
>
> Best,
>
> Sean
>
>    
I've used a Three Mobile broadband modem on both Ubuntu 7.10 and Kubuntu 
7.10 and also on Ubuntu 8.04 without any problems.  I did have to create 
a WVDial script to connect using earlier versions of Ubuntu but looking 
at 8.10 there is support built into the network manager for mobile 
broadband providers.

One thing you should be aware of though is that even if you get good 
reception you may not get high speeds at certain times of the day.  It 
appears that in some areas providers get so many customers connecting 
that the connection slows down.  From what I have read it affects all 
providers.

I'd say before you buy check the coverage on the various providers sites 
(Three, O2, T-Mobile, Vodafone all do PAYG Mobile Broadband).

As far as deals go, O2 are offering a modem for £30 at the moment.  
AFAIK you have to top up using a credit/debit card but you can choose 
from paying per day, per week or per month.  It's handy if you want to 
just use it on odd days.  T-Mobile also offer the same with a 3GB per 
month limit although I have heard that if you go over your limits more 
than twice the speeds go down to dialup speeds.

Three and Vodafone offer something like 1GB a month (well Three offer 
more if you pay extra).  If you use your allowance up before the end of 
the month simply top up again.

Hope this helps.  Considering the cost of modems, if it doesn't work you 
could probably sell it off on eBay.  O2 offer a 50 day money back 
guarantee too.

Rob