3G Modems and Mobile Broadband - best for Mac?

[twynne]

I've been using 3 (UK) mobile broadband for about the last year now, paired with a Huawei E220 USB dongle. At times this has worked well, but it quite often has unexplainable issues which I'm growing tired of.

I'm wondering what experience others have had with 3G modems for the Mac. Are there any particular modems that worked especially well for you?

Likewise with UK providers - is there anyone in particular you've found to work well? For reference I'm looking at general use in and around London where the 3G coverage is pretty good.

I'm leaning toward the Vodafone USB Modem Stick 'Pro' on a 24 month package for £15 per month. Their network appears to be one of the fastest (7.2mb), Voda's coverage is generally good, and the modem has the bonus of doubling as a USB drive with the addition of a microSD card.

Any thoughts, suggestions, etc. much appreciated.

Cheers,

Tom

 

[macgrl]

I have only used 3 and have not had any problems with it, I use the pay as you go so only buy for the months that I need. You have the advantage that you live in London so the 3G coverage should be good.

I googled "best mobile broadband" and it came it with a load of sites that compare prices and coverage etc.

I know that when I was looking for a new mobile phone that there were deals with mobile internet dongles and also that some of the mobile providers now offer home bb where you can good deals on mobile dongles too. It depends if you want to go for a package as well

I don't know whether some are better with macs than others, most seem to be mac compatible though. Having done a little research on this last year before I got my 3 modem it seems that the main factor is the coverage in your area and what speeds a provider can give you for the money.

I know that this hasn't directly answered you question but I hope that is helps.

 

[twynne]

Thanks for the reply.

I must admit the problems I've had I believe were more the fault of the modem than 3 as a provider. There are two other factors that encouraged me to look elsewhere:

1. (And this is a big one) Their customer service is appalling. The initial setup was very painful as they don't cater to Mac at all (or at least didn't at the time). I've had to call on a few other occasions and you just get trapped in the foreign call centre h*ll.

2. Though I'm not certain on this point, a number of the 'comparison' sites quote 3 as a maximum speed of 3.6mb where Voda are 7.2mb. The higher speed would definitely be an advantage for me as I use it to access the office and any kind of file transfer can take ages at low speed.

 

[macgrl]

I have never dealt with 3's customer service however a friend of mine has them as his mobile provider he has had so many problems with them too and not just bad customer service they have been naughty with him in the past in regard to contracts and wrong charges etc. Bad customer service is enough for me to not want to use anybody again so I can understand where you are coming from

I too would be interested to see if there are any specific mac friendly providers

I hope that people with some good experiences reply to this thread