100% Mobile Broadband

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euanandrews

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#39826 19-Aug-2009 21:02

I have finally gone 100% mobile broadband...

My Slingshot ADSL broadband connection disconnected today, so all I am left with is my Vodafone connection on my N97 mobile, which I can tether to my HTPC...

Last month, I used 260MB of data on Vodafone, according to my Vodafone bill...will be interesting to see how much I use now with my HTPC tethered...

The plan is to use less, as little as possible in fact, less than 6GB would be good, less than 3GB would be better...

I have signed up for Vodaones Broadband Pro plan, 3GB quota for $79.95, with another 3GB available for $10 more...so said quota limits will be an interesting test.

My overall goal is to actually to get out of the house more often, and by being 'uber connected', I am able to go online and do anything anytime, anywhere, giving me no excuse to be at home all the time.

I feel this is the way of the future, everyone will be online and available at all times everywhere...the only factors holding his back right now is the cost and possibly that the technology is still young and not 100% user freindly.

Just wondering what peoples thoughts are?

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#248821 19-Aug-2009 21:48

Do you have a 'land line' at all? (local number) We have fixed wireless at $50 per month plus the sip service on top of that but if 3g prices drop we could ditch the fixed wireless... Having the sip on the nokia e series is working out great! Cheers Matt.

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euanandrews

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#248828 19-Aug-2009 22:03

Was that a sales pitch?

I think you missed the point of my topic...I dont want my internet to be tied to home...
If I wanted the cheapest internet...ADSL is the way to go...
But I don't want to be tied to the home...I want mobile internet, anytime, anywhwere.

Its not just about being mobile...its about breaking my unhealthy usage at home...trying to get me out of the house.

heavenlywild

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#248830 19-Aug-2009 22:10

I say what you are doing in the way of the future. Soon (not in the near, near future though), there will be hardly any reason to have a landline or anything that needs one to be connected to the wall.

In Aussie (I am moving over in a few weeks), you can get 6GB worth of mobile broadband for $39/month and a free USB broadband stick. This is why I don't need a landline when I get there:) Anyway, shame that NZ customers are getting ripped off... but anyway, that is another topic.

Wireless is the future!

hairy1

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#248839 19-Aug-2009 22:31

No. It wasn't a sales pitch.... Most people stick to their landlines due to free local calling and we all know where that came from. I was just wondering whether you had a local number for those with local lines to call you with.

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johnr

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#248842 19-Aug-2009 22:33

hairy1: No. It wasn't a sales pitch.... Most people stick to their landlines due to free local calling and we all know where that came from. I was just wondering whether you had a local number for those with local lines to call you with.

This is where localzone comes in handy

John

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#248856 19-Aug-2009 23:39

hairy1: No. It wasn't a sales pitch.... Most people stick to their landlines due to free local calling and we all know where that came from. I was just wondering whether you had a local number for those with local lines to call you with.

Get a VoIP account and register it on your phone. I have a 950xxxx number registered to my E71.

My one wish with mobile broadband was fast speed no matter where you are. I'm also on Vodafone and speed is fine if you are anyway well populated (eg Queen St) but my mileage varies greatly once I get out into the whop whops.

Regs

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#248859 19-Aug-2009 23:55

so i'm assuming that you're not needing to YouTube or TV On Demand on your htpc then.....

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NonprayingMantis

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#249009 20-Aug-2009 12:35

mobile data will be considerably more expensive than fixed data for a long time yet, and quite a bit faster too.

In the nearish future with things like HD-IPTV the cost if mobile BB data will still mean having a fixed BB line is necessary. However I suspect the reality will mean one plan, with the data shared between mobile and fixed. Your IPTV box will use the fixed line exclusively and for your mobile data when you are in your homezone your mobile will connect via either a femtocell or using your wifi and so route traffic through the fixed line at a much lower cost.

hairy1

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#249011 20-Aug-2009 12:43

The thing I can't figure out is why fixed broadband is more expensive than wireless. The infrastructure for fixed broadband is huge, if you consider getting twisted pair to every house and then maintaining that infrastructure... The things I can think of that bump up the price of wireless (or decrease the price of fixed networks) are:

1. Fixed networks not requiring a return on their investment (ie. it is already there and was paid for a long time ago)
2. Wireless players paying huge dollars for frequencies and hence requiring a return on the large capital investment.

Are there others? Is putting up a tower and backhaul a million dollar exercise?

Cheers, Matt.

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euanandrews

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#249013 20-Aug-2009 13:09

Regs: so i'm assuming that you're not needing to YouTube or TV On Demand on your htpc then.....

No not really...

I've never got into YouTube...although I will watch the odd tech video from time to time such as those posted by Mark on The Nokia Blog.

TV on demand, another nope...happy with standard Freeview programming for now.

I'm not a big TV watcher...I am a movie buff, and in the past I used to consume alot of quota downloading movies, but I no longer need to do this, as I now have a massive collecion, which is still growing via other means.

In a nutshell, all I use the internet for these days is reading news, blogs, forums, etc...nothing data intensive.

This may change though....as I may get more into Qik and sharing videos and photos, and my N97 makes all tha rather easy and convieniant to do.

euanandrews

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#249032 20-Aug-2009 13:59

hairy1: No. It wasn't a sales pitch.... Most people stick to their landlines due to free local calling and we all know where that came from. I was just wondering whether you had a local number for those with local lines to call you with.

Currently I am residing with my old man, so I do not pay for the landline...nor would I bother to change his setup as he gets highly discounted calls due to working for Telecom - ConnectTel - Downer for the last 45 or so years.

Anyway, my thinking is why pay twice for the same service?
People who pay for a landline, and then also pay for a mobile?
Same with inernet, why pay for ADSL, and then pay for mobile data?

I would rather pay just once, using just one convieniant device, my N97 mobile.

It makes for an interesting arguement though...lets through out some figures:
(these figures are just guesses, please contribute if you know the actual figures)

The average Joe's setup:
- Landline rental = $40
- ADSL internet 5GB = $40
- Mobile = $30 (average monthly spend)
- Mobile data = $30 (based on $1 a day x 30 days)
- Total: $140

The 100% mobile setup:
- Mobile $30 (average monthly spend)
- Mobile data = $80 (Vodafone Pro plan 3GB + 3GB on term)
- Total: $110

Obviously each setup has advantages and disadvantages, such as free local calling for fixed lines, so if we we factor that into the 100% mobile setup by adding Vodafone's 'Local Zone'

The 100% mobile setup:
- Mobile $30 (average monthly spend)
- Mobile data = $80 (Vodafone Pro plan 3GB + 3GB on term)
- Local Zone = $20 (free local calling, use mobile as landline)
- Total: $130

Not a bad comparison....anyone wish to add to/debate these figures?

johnr

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#249062 20-Aug-2009 15:02

All I can add is localzone is a fantastic service

NonprayingMantis

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#249071 20-Aug-2009 15:23

TheBartender:
hairy1: No. It wasn't a sales pitch.... Most people stick to their landlines due to free local calling and we all know where that came from. I was just wondering whether you had a local number for those with local lines to call you with.

Currently I am residing with my old man, so I do not pay for the landline...nor would I bother to change his setup as he gets highly discounted calls due to working for Telecom - ConnectTel - Downer for the last 45 or so years.

Anyway, my thinking is why pay twice for the same service?
People who pay for a landline, and then also pay for a mobile?
Same with inernet, why pay for ADSL, and then pay for mobile data?

I would rather pay just once, using just one convieniant device, my N97 mobile.

It makes for an interesting arguement though...lets through out some figures:
(these figures are just guesses, please contribute if you know the actual figures)

The average Joe's setup:
- Landline rental = $40
- ADSL internet 5GB = $40
- Mobile = $30 (average monthly spend)
- Mobile data = $30 (based on $1 a day x 30 days)
- Total: $140

The 100% mobile setup:
- Mobile $30 (average monthly spend)
- Mobile data = $80 (Vodafone Pro plan 3GB + 3GB on term)
- Total: $110

Obviously each setup has advantages and disadvantages, such as free local calling for fixed lines, so if we we factor that into the 100% mobile setup by adding Vodafone's 'Local Zone'

The 100% mobile setup:
- Mobile $30 (average monthly spend)
- Mobile data = $80 (Vodafone Pro plan 3GB + 3GB on term)
- Local Zone = $20 (free local calling, use mobile as landline)
- Total: $130

Not a bad comparison....anyone wish to add to/debate these figures?

One point is that the fixed BB will generally give you much faster speeds*, and a more consistant service.

If you are cabinitised, actual speed of >8Mb/s is not uncommon, whereas you will be very lucky to get >1Mb/s on a mobile device right now.

Sure, that will improve when HSPA+ is run out, but then fixed speeds will also improve with technologies like VDSL.

Basically, for the foreseeable future, a fixed line connection will nearly always be cheaper per GB of usage, and considerably faster than the equivalent mobile connection.

*I am actually an exception to this rule insofar as I will get >1Mb/s speeds on my mobile at home, but often my speed on fixed is <1Mb/s. No cabinitisation until 2012 either. Boo!

Ragnor

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#249097 20-Aug-2009 16:26

I'd use 3GB up in less than a week of just regular after work web usage

nakedmolerat

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#249113 20-Aug-2009 17:06

Just wondering what peoples thoughts are?

1. if you have 'family', adsl/cable is a MUST. sharing the same internet with wife and 3 kids will make the speed crawl, it is virtually impossible to rely on the wcdma

2. not for gamers as latency is super duper high.

3. in the future, i would say there will be more wifi hotspots which will cost less. i came from a country that cellphone providers, if you are their customers, there are about 100+ wifi hotspots in each town for you to use for FREE. the same country that also offers unlimited 3G connection.

4. in the future, you will use more internet. not lesser. so the idea to restrict the use is not viable. in 1996, each page is about 400KB in size now more like 4MB with the flash and high res photo active x etc2 lol.

5. i use telstra cable for gaming + family usage, telecom evdo card whenever i travel and vodafone 3G on my phone for emails/occasional surfing. i need all of these to function normally :D

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