Best 3G dongle?

[TheRefactornator]

Can you run a home network through this?

Theoretically yes with M$ ICS http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Win...b14771033.mspx but I must admit I've never had the displeasure to have to come anywhere near this pain. And so far as a PS3 working with ICS..well I'd have to try it and prove it for myself to be completely happy that it does work problem free..if it works at all that is.

[Fred Bloggs]

Theoretically yes with M$ ICS http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Win...b14771033.mspx but I must admit I've never had the displeasure to have to come anywhere near this pain. And so far as a PS3 working with ICS..well I'd have to try it and prove it for myself to be completely happy that it does work problem free..if it works at all that is.

Thanks. So that's like a peer to peer network in my home with the 3G internet connected PC acting like a gateway to the internet? I did that once with a laptop connected to the internet via a USB modem connected desktop PC using ICS.

[TheRefactornator]

Yes that's the topology; for the internet connection to be shared and usable by other devices, the PC with the USB modem attached needs to be switched on and have ICS configured. It's probably worth a try if it's possible to get hold of one of those 3G thingies on try out and return basis.

I'm guessing there will be some overhead in a system like this where some of the downstream bandwidth is lost so it might negatively affect the theoretical max network speed and from what I've read you need a HSDPA mast on the roof of your house to get close to it anyway.

[NickFitz]

I have one of 3's dongle thingies and the quality of service is variable to a ludicrous degree. I sometimes have to disconnect and reconnect several times before I can finally get a consistent service.

One tip I found is to ignore their instructions to use "3internet" as the APN and to use "three.co.uk" instead. It has been suggested that they apply throttling to the first, which is intended for their dongles, but not to the second, which is intended for actual phones on their network. I don't know if this is in fact the case, but I do know that since I reconfigured mine it's been considerably better, though far from consistently reliable.

When it works, it works well. The important word is "when"

(Oh, and it will randomly disconnect from time to time for no obvious reason.)

[Fred Bloggs]

Hmmm, thanks all. I will stick with my wet string 512kb ADSL connection for now then. I can't take the risk of 3G not working reliably. I had a world of pain getting a 512kb ADSL set up reliable. Cheers for the insight.

[voodooflux]

I am with Three. They do 15GB for £15. My friends contrct had expired and after saying he was going to cancel he now gets the 15GB for just £5 p/m

Might have to give that a go myself - my original 18 month contract is coming up for renewal. Does your friend also have a mobile phone with Three?

[voodooflux]

£15 for 15Gb a month looks good with 3. Can you run a home network through this?

Techincally yes, you can pick up routers (including some of the Draytek Vigor range) that provide shared Internet connectivity via a 3G modem. A mate of mine signed up to Three at the weekend and was offered a 3G compatible wireless hub for £30.

[Fred Bloggs]

Techincally yes, you can pick up routers (including some of the Draytek Vigor range) that provide shared Internet connectivity via a 3G modem. A mate of mine signed up to Three at the weekend and was offered a 3G compatible wireless hub for £30.

Thanks for that. I'm parking the idea for now.