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Going to London for some months - what's the best way to get 3g data? |
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#1 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 3
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Going to London for some months - what's the best way to get 3g data?
Hello,
I am from Denmark and coming to London for a couple of months this fall. I will be bringing a new smartphone bought in Denmark (not decided which one I am going to buy yet but probably a Samsung Galaxy S2). I'd like to use 3G data while I'm in London so I have been looking into what I should do to get fast data in a cheap way. So far I have come up with two options: 1. Buy a pay-as-you-go sim-card for my phone and insert that. Would that work if I bring a phone from Denmark? I'm going to buy an unlocked phone with no sim-card in Denmark. 2. I have also seen those so-called MiFi dongles which creates a WiFi network that I can use everywhere. The benefit of this is that I can use other devices too (I don't know how fast the internet is at the place I'm staying, so maybe 3g would be faster). I guess this option also means no risk that a sim-card for the phone doesn't work for some reason. I'm not sure what to do, so I'm hoping some in here can help me decide what is best for me. Thanks in advance
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#2 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 654
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Hi
Depending on how long your here for have you thought about a rolling contract for a sim? I hear 3 is doing on for £15 a month with 1 gig data plan and text and minutes thrown in. Being a rolling contract you can cancell the month you go back. Also depending on the smart phone you could tether other wifi devices to it allowing you to use the dataplan from your phone contract though some companies don't like you doing that. |
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#3 |
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Inactive Member
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 139
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Quote:
Hi
Depending on how long your here for have you thought about a rolling contract for a sim? I hear 3 is doing on for £15 a month with 1 gig data plan and text and minutes thrown in. Being a rolling contract you can cancell the month you go back. Also depending on the smart phone you could tether other wifi devices to it allowing you to use the dataplan from your phone contract though some companies don't like you doing that. The 3 MiFi is also an excellent device, although you'll shell out £70 for it on pay-as-you-go (but if you're buying a SIM free Galaxy S, I'm guessing £70 for a little MiFi isn't as much of an issue!). Although there are some on here who will argue about the topic until the cows come home, 3 generally offer the best 3G data coverage and speeds in most areas. Their network is now HSPA+ (up to 21Mbps) capable in the majority of places. I get about 3Mbps on a US Motorola Cliq that should probably have been put in a museum some time ago, so an SGS should fly on the network. |
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#4 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 6,737
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A good idea first would be to check with our various networks to see which has the best 3G signal where you are staying first, then go from there
Three sounds like a good option if you just want it for data. I know T-Mobile do a 'tourist sim' now that comes preloaded with £20 credit for you to buy boosters from for various things, including data for 6 months for £20. |
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#5 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 3
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Thank you very much for all the replies so far.
I have only planned to be in London for 3 months this time, but I wouldn't be surprised if I returned in the near future ![]() I'm mostly going to be around in west of London like Fulham/Hammersmith/Shepherd's Bush - which is where I'm going to live and study. However, I will of course not skip the chance of seeing other parts of London while I'm having some time off from the studies ![]() I just checked the coverage maps on Three, Vodafone and T-Mobile and it appears that they all got great coverage everywhere in these areas and central London in general (the Three coverage map wasn't as informative as the other ones though)? I'm primarily going to use data and almost no texting - regular phone calls are probably also limited, and I was thinking of buying some credit on Skype and using that for local calls and calls back to Denmark. Do you think a MiFi will last a whole day on the battery? I've seen estimates of around 4-5 hours for that device which sounds a little low, but I'm not sure if the battery is drained even if you are not using the network? Does it have some sort of auto sleep mode? |
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#6 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Apr 2005
Posts: 2,609
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How about giff gaff. PAYG, Uses o2 network, You can get a £10.00 goody bag for £10.00 a month. Unlimited internet plus 250 texts and 250 mins.
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#7 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Charlton, SE7
Posts: 359
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If you get a T-Mobile pay as you go SIM, you can get a month internet booster for £5.00 by texting "Monthweb" to 441. You get unlimited website browsing for 30 days, with 500mb of streamed/downloaded data.The SIM will be free as long as you put £10 of credit on it. Also, if you need to be able to call home to Denmark, you can choose the international option and get cheap calls home.
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#8 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Wapping, London
Posts: 16,222
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Quote:
I will be bringing a new smartphone bought in Denmark (not decided which one I am going to buy yet but probably a Samsung Galaxy S2).
2. I have also seen those so-called MiFi dongles which creates a WiFi network that I can use everywhere. |
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#9 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Dec 2002
Posts: 3,854
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d41d8cd98f00b20452796632]Hello,
I am from Denmark and coming to London for a couple of months this fall. Uuj I will be bringing a new smartphone bought in Denmark (not decided which one I am going to buy yet but probably a Samsung Galaxy S2). U I'd like to use 3G data while I'm in London so I have been looking into what I should do to get fast data in a cheap way. So far I have come up with two options: 1. Buy a pay-as-you-go sim-card for my phone and insert that. Would that work if I bring a phone from Denmark? I'm going to buy an unlocked phone with no sim-card in Denmark. 2. I have also seen those so-called MiFi dongles which creates a WiFi network that I can use everywhere. The benefit of this isfor that I can use other devices too (I don't know how fast the internet is at the place I'm staying, so maybe 3g would be faster). I guess this option also means no risk that a sim-card for the phone doesn't work for some reason I'm not sure what to do, so I'm hoping some in here can help me decide what is best for me. Thanks in advance [/quote]I live in Denmark but now work in Uk. My mobile is an Htc Desire from TDC and it workd fine with UK sims. The best type of deal isthe 3 one sim 1 month rolling contracts but you need a uk address normally and proof. I would advise you get Skype and set up a european subscription for about 6 pounds a month which gives unlimited calls to Danish landlines. Alternatively there are many companies which you call a uk number eg 02084978811 where youset up some credit and pay 1p per minute on top of your normal uk call cost. This is good if you have a lot of uk free minutes. Do not call Danish mobiles if you can avoid it as it will be expensive min 16p per min normally. From a uk landline you can call a company called Cherry on 0844 555 0444 and then enter the Danish mobile number for about 6p per minute. Regarding best data coverage the maps can be wildly out even in london. Ask your new colleagues who might live near you is probably best way. The shops will smile and say no problem but dont be fooled. Mvh. |
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#10 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: moon
Posts: 12,983
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Either giffgaff or Three. The GiffGaff for £10 a month is a good deal. With Three the £15 payg is better than their 30 day rolling contract option. (The payg has unlimited data, the 30 day has 1GB).
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#11 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: The Sunny Side Of The Street
Posts: 40,106
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I use 3 PAYG. The 10 pound a month add on is enough for me. I did have the 15 pound a month add on but it was too generous and I couldn't use it all and it became a waste of money.
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#12 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 3
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Thanks once again
I think the payg sims are very cheap so I think its easier than a rolling contract - they can be bought directly without having to provide name/adress etc. right? However, for example on Three, it appears that you can get unlimited data, 300 minutes talk and 3000 texts for just £15 on a payg sim? That appears almost too cheap, so I was thinking if I forgot something? ![]() Calling with Skype should be no problem, so that's definately how I'm going to call back to Denmark when I need to do that. Even though I can use the Galaxy as a MiFi, there is one reason that I still consider a MiFi which is that I would be able to receive texts from Denmark on my Galaxy - if I go with a payg sim I'd have to bring my old phone too to receive those (and to send texts to Denmark I am going to use Skype too, it's a decent price and works perfectly). |
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