Broadband to Go (3 Prepay Mobile Broadband Modem)

Member Name: kitschkitty

Product:	3 Prepay Mobile Broadband Modem
Date:	06/09/08 (141 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy to set up, reliable, mobile, does what it says on the tin!

Disadvantages: Slightly slower and dearer than other broadband providers

When I first bought my laptop, I was desperate to get back online having left my old PC and most of my other belongings when I moved away from my ex. In case you haven't already guessed from my other reviews, I'm a bit of a geek when it comes to earning and saving on the internet so it was essential for me to get back online.

I did a bit of research and, since I wasn't sure how long I'd be staying in my current accommodation, I decided I wanted to opt for pay as you go broadband access. And this is where the ZTE USB Modem came to the rescue.

The ZTE USB Modem is Three's or 3's flagship USB dongle modem. It's available on contract or through pay as you go. I opted for the latter. I bought mine about 6 months ago and, at that time, find it for £49 on Ebay when it was retailing for approximately £99 elsewhere. The price has since come down so you can pick these up for the same price as I paid from a range of reputable sellers including 3 and other mobile phone outlets and I've even seen them stocked in Woolworths.

The modem looks just like in the picture above. It's a sleek black design with lime green accents and the 3 logo in lime green. I don't have a ruler to hand and the drawer where my nick nacks are stuffed is a dangerous Pandora's box so the approximate measurements of it are 9 x 4cm and it's less than 2cm thick. Think the size of a diddy, skinny mobile phone. It's compatible with Windows Vista, XP and Mac OS X.

When the box arrived, I opened it up and rushed to fit the SIM card that was supplied. There's also a USB wire included to plug it straight into your computer. I still don't have a CD drive for my laptop (that's another thing on the 'to buy' list) but the ZTE USB Modem is clever enough to work using plug and play. So once you've plugged it into your USB port, your computer will recognize the new hardware and go about setting it up.

The SIM came with a minimal amount of free credit which gave me enough time to check it was all in working order and to activate some credit. If you're using this on pay as you go, you can top-up your account online using a debit or credit card on the 3 website. I prefer to top up at Boots where I can earn some advantage card points as well and the occasional £5 skincare voucher. To do this, I simply ask at the till for £x credit for 3. This has caused some confusion when the assistant was adamant that I could not have £15 credit for free!

You can then use your voucher code to top up your account online. Pay as you go broadband customers have three options through 3. Broadband Lite is £10 and gives you 1GB, Broadband Plus is £15 for 3GB and Broadband Max is £25 for 7GB. They perhaps aren't the most competitive rates if you are using your broadband solely from home but you do have the added benefit of using your dongle to access the internet from anywhere. Hadn't I mentioned that yet? Well, the slight proportions of the dongle mean it's easy to take with your laptop so that you can access the internet anywhere you heart desires (provided you have broadband coverage there!)

So far, I have to confess that my laptop hasn't been on any exotic trips with me. It has survived the move from the smaller flat next door to my new bigger flat, and the ZTE USB Modem has continued to provide me with broadband access from my new home. I use the 3GB package which usually lasts just under 1 month. I spend about 5 hours a day doing general surfing and I do download quite a lot of music each month. I did try the 7GB package one month but there was a lot left over at the end of the 30 days and unfortunately you can't carry over any unused allowance so it made sense to me to get the lower package and top up every 25 days or so.

As for speeds, I've never had any problems with my day to day surfing. Coverage is provided by 3's HSDPA high speed network but when this is not available, the modem reverts to 3G access. Of course, this means nothing to me but you techies out there might understand it better than I do. I have done some downloading and yes, the speeds are slower than I was used to with my previous Virgin Max package, but it's a small price to pay for the convenience of pay as you go and mobile internet access. It certainly isn't snail pace slow when downloading and still gets the job done.

I've not had any problems with my ZTE USB Modem since purchasing it. I'm always able to log on when I need to and 3 send me an email to the program when my available data usage is running low so I know to top up. It is also available through a contract which enables you to get the ZTE USB Modem for free and offers cheaper monthly fees than pay as you go and I'll certainly consider switching to that option when my credit rating has improved a little more because I'd struggle to find a fault with this nifty little modem.

Finally, one last treat for the techies amoungst you:

Dimensions
14.5 x 89.4 x 42.6 mm (looks like my estimates weren't too far out!)

Weight
50 g

Download Speeds
HSDPA: max 1.8Mbps
3G: max 384Kbps
GPRS: max 48Kbps

Upload Speeds
HSDPA: max 384Kbps
3G: max 64Kbps
GPRS: max 24Kbps

What's in the box?
Software CD-ROM
USB cable
User's guide

Requirements
USB 2.0
Windows 2000/XP/Vista or Mac OS X

Summary: A fab little gadget for surfing the net wherever you may be

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