Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Scoop!!! Vodafone launching USB 3G Broadband card

Good news,

I queried the 90 days notice clause and they where apologetic and confirmed 30 days notice not to expire within the 12 month initial term. So I amended the terms and conditions and signed up.

The modem arrived today, installed the latest Mac drivers on the old G5 (MBP C2D still not delivered).

Connected it up ran the Vodafone connect app that configures Internet Connect, then hit connect a few seconds later connected to Vodafone's 3G Broadband (indicated by Turquoise light on modem).

Just done a speed test and got
Downstream 1,106.8 Kbps ( = 1.1 Mbps )
Upstream 350.9 Kbps ( = 0.3 Mbps )

http://www.adslguide.org.uk/tools/speedchart.asp?id=116488968285013815820

So far so good, next will see what reception is like on the train.
 
hd1080ts said:
Good news,

I queried the 90 days notice clause and they where apologetic and confirmed 30 days notice not to expire within the 12 month initial term. So I amended the terms and conditions and signed up.

The modem arrived today, installed the latest Mac drivers on the old G5 (MBP C2D still not delivered).

Connected it up ran the Vodafone connect app that configures Internet Connect, then hit connect a few seconds later connected to Vodafone's 3G Broadband (indicated by Turquoise light on modem).

Just done a speed test and got
Downstream 1,106.8 Kbps ( = 1.1 Mbps )
Upstream 350.9 Kbps ( = 0.3 Mbps )

http://www.adslguide.org.uk/tools/speedchart.asp?id=116488968285013815820

So far so good, next will see what reception is like on the train.
Click to expand...

what was your reception like on the train?
 
Got mine early Feb, and i'd say it's ok..

As described already, installation is dead easy, and it does seem to work ok regarding speeds. One thing to note though, is that the modem seems to automatically bump you off the higher speed band when you're not using it actively e.g. if you're just chatting etc, it'll drop from 3G broadband to just 3G, or even from 3G to GPRS as indicated by the LED. As soon as you do something like open a browser window, it'll bump itself back up again to the highest available at that time - anyone else noticed this?

*Bonus functionality for those with XP on bootcamp - it works simply by plugging in, as its got the core drivers stored on it so no install CD to worry about, and it 'just works' on the windows side - rare for me to say that :D :D
 
hd1080ts said:
Not that bad really, gets 3G in built-up areas then drops to 2G in the countryside, with a few dead spots as you would expect.
Click to expand...

hmmm one would consider the option. My boss says he has problems with his datacard on the eurostar between ashford and london, but using his phone is absolutely fine and gets 3g all the way... :confused:

anything to make my future commute easier!
 
iancapable said:
hmmm one would consider the option. My boss says he has problems with his datacard on the eurostar between ashford and london, but using his phone is absolutely fine and gets 3g all the way... :confused:

anything to make my future commute easier!
Click to expand...

The really annoying thing (from my point of view) is that whilst this seems tailor made to work with a Mac. It won't talk to the Cisco VPN client. Cisco's client doesn't see a network connection.. which means that it's futzing with the IP stack in the mac... Not that Cisco's client isn't but it's sitting on top of the network connection.

Unfortunately that means this is an unusable solution for me. Much better to have a Bluetooth phone with 3g.


Faye
 
Faye said:
The really annoying thing (from my point of view) is that whilst this seems tailor made to work with a Mac. It won't talk to the Cisco VPN client. Cisco's client doesn't see a network connection.. which means that it's futzing with the IP stack in the mac... Not that Cisco's client isn't but it's sitting on top of the network connection.

Unfortunately that means this is an unusable solution for me. Much better to have a Bluetooth phone with 3g.


Faye
Click to expand...

That would also seem like a good solution, however one would need to check that we can unlimited data usage on phones (like we can on datacards).
 
Faye said:
The really annoying thing (from my point of view) is that whilst this seems tailor made to work with a Mac. It won't talk to the Cisco VPN client. Cisco's client doesn't see a network connection.. which means that it's futzing with the IP stack in the mac... Not that Cisco's client isn't but it's sitting on top of the network connection.

Unfortunately that means this is an unusable solution for me. Much better to have a Bluetooth phone with 3g.


Faye
Click to expand...

Have you tried using the 'Restart Cisco VPN Client' script? I had this problem and the script solved this...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back