Mobile Broadband

[unclesirbobby]

I am thinking of signing up with vodafone mobile broadband. Can any one answer the foolowing types of questions. I have no landline at home so its perhaps the best option

Can you download using mobile broadband. Say if I wanted to download a 600mb download would there be seious problems with lost bytes and crashes?

There is a 3gb limit with hefty fines for going over. I could set firefox to not download images and flash files(essentially turn it into a text browser).

SECURITY : If I did set up firefox as a text browser then could I virtually use this without any security. Since java,javascript,images,flash and any other files would simply not be downloaded. Would I need NO VIRUS protection whilst connecting to the internet via that.

COMPUTERS: can I use the dongle on more than one computer. Use it on a l;aptop and on my pc at home

[Tomahawk]

1. Downloading is not a problem; I mean the only problem with such large files is as you mentioned the 3GB allowance which will soon be eaten up. Mobile broadband shouldn't just randomly or regularly drop connection so can't see a problem with large downloads.

2. As you say it is quite expensive going over; you'll be looking at £15 per gigabyte.. even if you only went over by a 100MB. But there is a 5GB option for more heavy usage which comes in at £25 + VAT.

3. Antivirus is always advisable (and should be used) I mean theres plenty of free ones around (Avast, AVG, etc..) and browsing the web isn't the only way of picking up a virus.. what about your emails for example?

[unclesirbobby]

Thanks

I would not want to do huge downloads. I just want to downlaod the occasional huge files.

Vodafine apparently tells you how much you have used so if you know what you are doing then its not really a problem. It tells you exactly how much you much transfer you have had that month.

[unclesirbobby]

Oh another question,

If you get mobile broadband are you restricted to using that on simply one computer. or can I simply place the usb dongle on any computer

[Tomahawk]

Originally Posted by unclesirbobby

Oh another question,

If you get mobile broadband are you restricted to using that on simply one computer. or can I simply place the usb dongle on any computer

Its plug and play and not restricted to any individual machine. So you can indeed plug into any computer/laptop and as the drivers plus the Vodafone 'VMC lite' dashboard are all stored on the device they get loaded/installed automatically.

As mentioned the dashboard does give you a usage indicator in comparison to the allowance you have left to use.

[Sinizter]

I am with T-Mobile.

Dowloading large files wont be a problem.
Using it on different computers or devices (with just the one SIM card) is not a problem either.
T-Mobile only throttle you if you go over 3gb 3 months in a row, or severely over in one month. A few mb, or even 0.5gb in one month, provided you dont go over the next month will not be a major problem.

[alsenior]

I have a Vodafone mobile broadband account. i do love it. don't worry about going over for 2 weeks i used it exclusively. the only difference was that i did not download large file and i was just scraping the 1 GB barrier. that was with things like flash videos and lots of picture and flash heavy sites. i don't notice many dropped packets if any but I only use it in built up areas. highly recommended