mobile broadband
SolomonW
prepay my mobile internet. In every trip, I tend to use quite a bit.
Now I am with Telstra mobile. I have no complaints about the service and/or
the coverage, but I do find it expensive. It costs me between $60-$100 for
each trip. At the end of the year after three or four trips I am up for
$300.
If I went with Optus, a year would cost me about $260. The problem is I am
not sure if they have the coverage. If I go with Virgin mobile broadband,
who claims to use the Optus network it would be about $150 a year.
Anyone tried these in the bush and what do you think?
me here
Try posting this question in Whirlpool discussions.
They deal with broadband issues and generally give good advice.
Rob
Fred
FYI Virgin Mobile Australia has been a wholly owned Optus subsidiary for a
few years now.
They license the Virgin name for marketing reasons.
"The bush" is a big place but you will find Optus are well behind Telstra
with coverage in remote areas.
For instance I recently travelled the Stuart Highway. For much of it there
is no mobile coverage at all.
A few small towns have a Telstra tower which give about a 10km radius of
reception. Only larger towns like Alice Springs have an Optus tower.
son of a bitch
Funny thing is all Telcos say they cover 9X% of Australia.
Three is about 95% and Pigbond about 98%, but it's not 98% of
Austrlia, it's 98% of 1/3 of Australia, talk about spin.
Telstra is about double the cost with half the usage of other Telcos.
Telstra will work in more places, just don't think it's everywhere and
for others it's even less.
Don McKenzie
> "The bush" is a big place but you will find Optus are well behind Telstra
> with coverage in remote areas.
> For instance I recently travelled the Stuart Highway. For much of it there
> is no mobile coverage at all.
> A few small towns have a Telstra tower which give about a 10km radius of
> reception. Only larger towns like Alice Springs have an Optus tower.
Yes, depends very much on which part of the bush you frequent.
http://www.exetel.com.au/residential-hspa-pricing.php
Exetel uses Optus, and appears to be currently the cheapest. You also
get an updated 1762 modem, that has a connector for an external antenna,
which I have used from time to time.
I just did a trip from Adelaide to Darwin on the Ghan railway. (29-Dec-2009)
Took a 10" netbook, a GPS, and the Exetel modem.
Where I got good coverage, I was able to grab the co-ordinates from the
GPS, and punch them into Google maps, for a precise fix on my location.
The GPS worked all the way, the modem coverage was flimsy to say the least.
We left Adelaide and lost it, picked it up at Port Augusta, and did a
good video link with skype. It was fine at Alice and Katherine, and
picked it up again coming into Palmerston on the outskirts of Darwin.
There are a lot of spots that we passed through during the nights, that
of course weren't tested.
At Adelaide river, we got nothing. I knew we wouldn't, as I had driven
there recently with an optus phone.
So it was just the three towns we got coverage during the day, in nearly
3000 km of travel.
We have broadband cable where we stay in Darwin, but the monsoon storm
blasted the network 2 days ago, and we are running on the Exetel modem
waiting for the network to be repaired. :-)
But this is Darwin, so that's normal. No network, heaps of rain and
lightning, and plenty of Crocs!
Cheers Don...
--
Don McKenzie
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Frank Slootweg
Forget it with anything non-Telstra. While I did *use* Telstra, I
often *checked* if there was any other coverage. There wasn't (except,
as another poster mentioned, in *some* of the bigger towns).
Just look at Telstra's coverage maps and those of others and you'll
see for yourself. If you know, roughly, where you're going, you can
pre-check on the on-line (with zoom) coverage maps whether or not there
is coverage. There often is, also in small towns/communities, especially
in/near Aboriginal communities. We did 14,000 km in 3 months, mostly
'dirt' roads, and non-Telstra just didn't exist, period.
BTW, which bundle(s) did you use and how much did you use?
me here
> SolomonW <Solo...@nospammail.com> wrote:
> > I do some travel in the bush. Because it is not continuous, I
> > prefer to prepay my mobile internet. In every trip, I tend to use
> > quite a bit.
> >
> > Now I am with Telstra mobile. I have no complaints about the
> > service and/or the coverage, but I do find it expensive. It costs
> > me between $60-$100 for each trip. At the end of the year after
> > three or four trips I am up for $300.
> >
> > If I went with Optus, a year would cost me about $260. The problem
> > is I am not sure if they have the coverage. If I go with Virgin
> > mobile broadband, who claims to use the Optus network it would be
> > about $150 a year.
> >
> > Anyone tried these in the bush and what do you think?
>
> Forget it with anything non-Telstra. While I did use Telstra, I
> often checked if there was any other coverage. There wasn't (except,
> as another poster mentioned, in some of the bigger towns).
>
> Just look at Telstra's coverage maps and those of others and you'll
> see for yourself. If you know, roughly, where you're going, you can
> pre-check on the on-line (with zoom) coverage maps whether or not
> there is coverage. There often is, also in small towns/communities,
> especially in/near Aboriginal communities. We did 14,000 km in 3
> months, mostly 'dirt' roads, and non-Telstra just didn't exist,
> period.
>
> BTW, which bundle(s) did you use and how much did you use?
I once worked for a State Govt Dept in SA and at that time Optus was
the (mandated) supplier of choice (we were forced to use it).
Previously the Dept had soley used Telstra (until cost cutting and
outsourcing process fired up in earnest).
The Dept covered remote and rural areas.
They soon found out that rural coverage by Optus was shit, and anyone
that regularly frequented those areas was supplied with a Telstra
mobile - which was 50% of the crew.
Interestingly even Telstra coverage is variable, and coverage in off
peak (night) times was regularly weak as Telstra used to (and may
still) wind back the repeaters during this time as a cost cutting
measure.
One area of note where this regularly occured was on the run from
Adelaide to Mt Gambier via Salt Creek.
Rob
David
"me here" <gloamin...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> SolomonW wrote:
>
> > I do some travel in the bush. Because it is not continuous, I prefer
> > to prepay my mobile internet. In every trip, I tend to use quite a
> > bit.
> >
> > Now I am with Telstra mobile. I have no complaints about the service
> > and/or the coverage, but I do find it expensive. It costs me between
> > $60-$100 for each trip. At the end of the year after three or four
> > trips I am up for $300.
> >
> > If I went with Optus, a year would cost me about $260. The problem is
> > I am not sure if they have the coverage. If I go with Virgin mobile
> > broadband, who claims to use the Optus network it would be about $150
> > a year.
> >
> > Anyone tried these in the bush and what do you think?
I live in the 'bush', only 50km from the largest inland city - there is
no Optus coverage at all - just NextG
So if you were thinking of going 'outback' as far as the Riverina give
Optus a miss.
David - accurate statement, but rather tongue in cheek
SolomonW
Nothing wrong with what I am getting here.
SolomonW
> SolomonW <Solo...@nospammail.com> wrote:
>> I do some travel in the bush. Because it is not continuous, I prefer to
>> prepay my mobile internet. In every trip, I tend to use quite a bit.
>>
>> Now I am with Telstra mobile. I have no complaints about the service and/or
>> the coverage, but I do find it expensive. It costs me between $60-$100 for
>> each trip. At the end of the year after three or four trips I am up for
>> $300.
>>
>> If I went with Optus, a year would cost me about $260. The problem is I am
>> not sure if they have the coverage. If I go with Virgin mobile broadband,
>> who claims to use the Optus network it would be about $150 a year.
>>
>> Anyone tried these in the bush and what do you think?
>
> Forget it with anything non-Telstra. While I did *use* Telstra, I
> often *checked* if there was any other coverage. There wasn't (except,
> as another poster mentioned, in *some* of the bigger towns).
I should have checked too.
>
> Just look at Telstra's coverage maps and those of others and you'll
> see for yourself. If you know, roughly, where you're going, you can
> pre-check on the on-line (with zoom) coverage maps whether or not there
> is coverage. There often is, also in small towns/communities, especially
> in/near Aboriginal communities. We did 14,000 km in 3 months, mostly
> 'dirt' roads, and non-Telstra just didn't exist, period.
>
> BTW, which bundle(s) did you use and how much did you use?
I used the prepaid $100 and $60 plans. The amounts are really much more
then I need but the pricing scale Telstra have for much less then $60 is
not worth it.
SolomonW
Did you try USB Wireless Adapter and a Yagi Antenna, it was recommended to
me.
Frank Slootweg
> > BTW, which bundle(s) did you use and how much did you use?
>
> I used the prepaid $100 and $60 plans. The amounts are really much more
> then I need but the pricing scale Telstra have for much less then $60 is
> not worth it.
AFAICT, you're talking about (Pre-Paid) "Wireless Broadband" [1]. If
so, $60 is 750 MB at 8 cents/MB and $100 is 6 GB at 1.65 cents/MB.
I used my (Telstra T6) mobile *phone* as a modem. That way you can use
the Browse Plus Packs, which are a little more expensive per MB, but
start at much smaller amounts:
$10 for 100 MB, i.e. 10 cents/MB
$59 for 750 MB, i.e. ~8 cents/MB (i.e. same as for "Wireless Broadband")
[There's also $29 for 200 MB, i.e. 14.5 cents/MB. Strange!]
I preferred the mobile-phone-as-modem over a (USB) modem-stick,
because I only needed to buy the (pre-paid) phone and had phone, modem,
Internet on phone, 'TV' on phone, etc.. I only used the $10 for 100 MB
pack.
These days, this mobile-phone-as-modem use seems nearly absent on the
Telstra site, but the BROWSEPLUS59 pack still says "(ideal for using
your mobile as a modem)", so the use is still available/permitted.
I hope this helps.
[1] "Wireless Broadband" is a rather stupid term, because for most
people that means *WiFi*, i.e. *non*-mobile. 'Your' term "mobile
broadband" is much more sensible.
SolomonW
> I used my (Telstra T6) mobile *phone* as a modem. That way you can use
> the Browse Plus Packs, which are a little more expensive per MB, but
> start at much smaller amounts:
I use three the problem is that in the bush I get charged much more.
Frank Slootweg
Sorry, I don't follow. "three" what? The network provider? If so, then
why did you say in your OP that you are with Telstra? And we've been
talking about Telstra ever since, because that's the only practical
provider in the bush.
Rod Speed
> SolomonW <Solo...@nospammail.com> wrote:
>> On 4 Jan 2010 22:00:25 GMT, Frank Slootweg wrote:
>>
>>> I used my (Telstra T6) mobile *phone* as a modem. That way you
>>> can use the Browse Plus Packs, which are a little more expensive
>>> per MB, but start at much smaller amounts:
>>
>> I use three the problem is that in the bush I get charged much more.
> Sorry, I don't follow. "three" what? The network provider?
Yes.
> If so, then why did you say in your OP that you are with Telstra?
> And we've been talking about Telstra ever since, because that's
> the only practical provider in the bush.
It is what 3 uses when its customers are outside the capital citys.
SolomonW
Once you are in the bush and it switches to Telstra, for data there is
additional charges.
Frank Slootweg
So why don't you use use a *Telstra* pre-paid SIM? If the problem is
that you want to have your normal (three) phonenumber for your *phone*,
then you can use a *Telstra* pre-paid SIM in your USB modem-stick
(assuming you have a USB modem-stick).
That way you can use the smaller/cheaper *Telstra* packs for *data*
and use *three* for *voice*.