Wireless Broadband - Question for those who own one.

Richard I have answered this one before, lots of people have a personal view that depends on which side of technology fence people sit. I have a Telstra pre-paid wireless modem for $149, that works across the widest area in OZ and that has been in some pretty unusual places.

I find that if I load up with $30 (lasts for 28 days), if you top up within that period the day count restarts. I use it for email, banking and maintaining two or three websites, but, I do not Google the net for something to do as that obviously involves the incidental downloading of images. I have spent 8-9 hours on ExplorOZ and don't open too many messages that might contain images.

So it's a thumbs up for me, but you can't use it for Skyoe calls and to that end I will probably buy another pre-paid modem. The original Telstra account requires topping up with $5 a couple of times per year, BUT, don't use less than $20 to top up as downloads then coat $1 per MB. I experimented for some months with this and I reckon used wisely it's OK.

Regards Paul & Fiona

I second Paul and Fiona. Telstra have the widest and best coverage with their next G network, you just need to decide if you want prepaid or a package type of account.

We went for prepaid.

For what it is worth.... I just purchased a Samsung A411 prepaid phone for $140 from WOW complete with 5db aerial. For $30 you get 60mins free talk. I then took out of the $30 a $10 broadband for 100 MB. For just email and banking and a couple of quick site checks the 100 MB have lasted 12 connections. 30 day expiry is a bummer but read their info and there is a 60 day option. The whole set up works really well on my laptop and the range of the phone plus antena is much better than the $149 modem.

We live in the bush and I am surprised at the reception - but I still don't like Telstra. David

Richard.

I use a Telstra Turbo7 Data Card. There is also a Bigpond equivalent, but I have only used the Telstra Data Card....(they are diffent companies....believe me)

Have a look at http://www.telstrabusiness.com/business/portal/online/site/productsservices/pricing.60007

for prices and plans. I use the $89.00 plan every day (for work) and have never gone over the 5 Gig usage. This card also has a external aerial which improves performance. There devise has a usage screen so you can always see what your monthly data usage is so you know if you are going to over your allowance, and adjust usehae/plans accordingly.

For our company...I manage 48 mobile phones and 20 data cards on our account. Unfortunaly...over the past 20 years....Telstra has won hands down. We have tried the Vodafone cards, Optus Cards, and the "Three" cards and the coverage is not there. It is improving, but not up to Telstra in rural areas. I would suggest trying to find a company (not a T Shop) who specialises in small business coms, and they will give you must more accurate information. If you want any more info, let me know and I will give you my hotmail address and a contact that I use.

What ever you end up doing, ensure you have a "Data Plan" and know how to check your usage against your allowance, or the extra charges will be horrible.

Every body will have there own thoughts, but this is just my experience.

Simon

Hi Richard, We have now arrived into Australia from NZ, Picked up our 4x4 in Perth and have just arrived in Wollongong where we had a caravan stored we bought in September,]used Warrawong Self Storage,they were fantastic]one of the first things we did when we arrived is get a cell phone and purchased the Telstra prepaid modem,I put in $50 0n the 28th January,have been using it consistantly for banking,web searches etc etc, have still only used 330mb ,I am very impressed with it,used it going across the Nullarbor and could not get reception at Ciaguna only.People go on about Telstra on this site,sure its a little expensive but in this day and age you cannot be wthout it,I use it for all our banking both here and NZ and of course emails, I opened a Gmail account on google ,its much easier to use than Yahoo and much faster.Can someone answer me ,what happens to unused time if topped up early,before expiry date,Telstra say you loose it,can anybody clarify please,as I am about to loose 200mb !!
Ross

I'll certainly go with Telstra, though I think you pay extra for the privilege. In any case I've got a G3 mobile, internet & home phone with them.

My experience is that you can get fairly good coverage, well along the main roads, in rural areas, with Telstra, whereas, or so I'm told, some of the other providers don't do so well away from metro areas.

Some years ago when I was working, the thrust seemed to be towards Optus, and as they were cheap, that's who we went with.Well you get what you pay for! They were hopeless.

Anyway folks, thanks for the good advice, I expect I'll get more, one of the advantages of belonging to this site, eh?

Dick

I had ADSL at home and wanted mobile to allow for travel but did not want to pay for two ISP's.

I have gone for the Bigpond 7.2 gateway modem (nextG is the only way to get coverage)

This allows me to have internet while travelling and then use the same device when I get home and run a wireless network at home.

Our BT has an exteral aerial put it during construction and this gives an antenna for the modem aswell as the phone when we are out in the van.

The gateway deal gave me half price for 12 months so I went for the 5GB for $90 ($45 for now) and then I will assess plans before the 12 months run out.

It all seems to work very well to date.

Alan

If you have a 3G phone you might be able to hook that into your laptop with the data cable. We do that with the wife's phone when we go away just make sure you have a data plan.

Dick

I've got a Bigpond Blue Maxtor Modem (bought outright from HN for $145). I bought an external Maxtor antenna which sits on the roof rack.
The 1 GB data plan is $59 a month - a faster connection costs a bit more.
The range is pretty good. In some places when stationary I stick the antenna on the end of a long pole and a useable signal can be found where the roof mount failed.
The Modem is supplied with a 240V adaptor, but runs direct from the car's 12V supply.

Bob

Dick
I have had the wireless broadband for some years now (moved to next G from CDMA). What I found was to save a lot of frustrations in marginal areas I got a "broom stick" aerial and put on an old magnetic base (doesn't stick too well to a van roof but does stay upright) and a patch lead. it is much better option than the standard extension aerial. Any car aerial would do but not quite the same in the marginal areas. As soon as you get down to 1 or 2 bars reception the speed drops off. Then I am impatient B, so my wife says.

Neil

Dick

When I go away I shut down my life from the internet. I still have to pay my $34.95 per month for 1Gb ADSL(now being upgraded to 5Gb and $39 as I keep on going over my limit).

I have my laptop with me for mapping and storing photos but don't venture near Internet Cafe's(there aren't any in the deserts anyway) or even think about whats happening here on ExplrOz.
I still bank the old way and carry cash with me for incidentals like fuel and food

Thats real freedom!


Cheers

Hi Richard

We have Next G broadband with a little blue USB Maxon modem from Telstra on a plan around $89 per month (it is our daughter's plan). It needs no external power. She purchased from Telstra 'on line'. Our experience with Telstra shops is very negative.

It is expensive, but as we 'share' it with our daughter - we can use it when we go away - she is willing to pay in between. She got it when she was travelling, and likes to have it just so she can get internet if away from home, or during power failures. A 'data pack' may be better for you if like us you travel only spasmodically.

The first plan came with a similar orange Maxon modem, and it was faulty - there is a whole saga of "why i hate Telstra" here. Took around 15 months of screaming at Telstra, before daughter managed to change plans and get the blue modem which worked. We also have a Maxon antenna with magnetic base which plugs into the modem, and can be put onto the caravan roof if reception is poor. Even at home we need the antenna.

We got Next G reception in major towns. At Kununurra when we were staying with friends a few kms from the town centre, we got reception with the antenna on the roof in the evenings only, not during the day. We were parked higher than the house, where they got no Next G reception on their phones at all. Strangely enough, my GSM phone would ring, but when i answered it cut out showing 'no reception', and i could not ring out.

At Alice Springs, we were a few kms from the town, and always got reception with the antenna. No reception anywhere else around Central NT until we got to Uluru, where we got the best reception without even needing the antenna (first time without antenna).

It also depends on where you travel and what your expectations are.

Check the Telstra map for Next G and GSM/3G coverage. From feedback from others on the forum, it seems the eastern seaboard has quite good Next G cover, but is it pretty poor here in the west.

http://www.telstra.com.au/mobile/networks/coverage/state.html


Motherhen

Hi Dick. I have bigpond broardband 7.s modem. I have tried of the others but settled for this. I travel around Australia in 2007/08 and could not fault it. I had trouble with my two mobiles (optus & telstra) I overcame this by logging onto " JAJAH - VOIP " This give you the ablity to use your Mobile instead of the Laptop. You call with your laptop and your phone rings, you answer your phone and then you get connected.
JAJAG to JAJAH is free. Well worth going into. Bigpond worked everywhere I stayed. Good Luck

Hi, If you have a Next G phone , not a 3G as posted above , you can get a data pack from bigpond . I have $10.00 for 150meg per month, which seems ample for doing the mail etc and a odd net look up, also you can do Skype calls on it and it does not use too much time, video calls use a fair bit,
If I find that I am running low( they email you when you have used 80%) , I just ring them and they will add another pack or upgrade you to a bigger one and they just add the $10 to my home phone bill. you can check you usage on the telstra site ( if you have a single bill setup) and it also tells me on the phone how much I have used each time ,
I just connect my cable which came with the phone ( Nokia 6120) , I also have blue tooth but I find the cable quicker, also the download speed is 4 times faster than my ADSL at home.
Very happy with that, Cheers Des.

Richard
I have seen those Telstra Pre-paids in action , my opinion...CRAP, they are slow and you can't use Outlook Express/Windows Mail,
I use the Bigpond systen , fast and reliable ,

Plans and Offers

Do not go on the 3 year contract though, buy the modem outright , then you can go on a 12 month plan, after that and when other providers come on line like Optus will later this year Australia wide with a cheaper rate then you opt out of Bigpond if you wish .

Hi Richard,
We are travelling around Australia, we have been on the road now for almost 6 months and we have a laptop computer and wireless broadband with Bigpond. We have had no service in only one place so far and thats without using any extra aerial system. We use the computer all the time to watch TV or movies, to email, to store all our music and photos and we also have a blog and constantly on Facebook. We have the 5GB plan and we dont pay any extra if we go over that (it just gets very slow).
When we were planning for this trip we went to the Optus shop and the lady there said that their coverage wasn't good enough for what we wanted, she said even in some capital cities, (Adelaide, Perth, Darwin and Hobart) their wireless broadband was hopeless, so we went with Telstra. Yes, its dearer, but at least we can use it.
We have the 7.2 USB stick which is great as it needs no power source.

Also, if I was you, rather than buying a 12V laptop power supply for $150, I would buy a 300W inverter for half the price.

Good luck,
Andy and Mandy

Off travelling around Oz for about 4 months soon and want to get some form of wireless access on my laptop. I have a Telstra Samsung A411 phone. Looks like Bigpond wireless is the only option for wide coverage despite their rediculous pricing. (so expensive) My other problem is that my ISP for home won't suspend my ADSL account whilst I am away and I will have to continue to pay $80 per month for a service I won't be using. Ports are limited where I am in Dawesville WA so cancellng is a dangerous option with the risk I won't get reconnected when I return.

I just wish wireless was more affordable and then I could use it all the time. My current plan is 10gb+10gb on ADSL 1 1500/256 for $49.95 per month plus line rental and I use most of my download limit each month.

I reckon I might have to travel "in camera" for the 4 months as far as internet is concerned and rely on my "free hour" with Telstra on my $20 plan to call home on the phone.

Communication costs in Australia are prohibitive and so frustrating.

bleep off.

I have the 3G for work and works well in NSW country. DONT NOT get the vodaphone one. It only has 3G coverage in Sydney and Melbourne city. Outside these areas its slower than dialup but Vodaphone wont tell you that. Our company purchased 10 to try and I got them sent back. Check the web sites for coverage of any provider first

I have the 3G for work and works well in NSW country. DONT NOT get the vodaphone one. It only has 3G coverage in Sydney and Melbourne city. Outside these areas its slower than dialup but Vodaphone wont tell you that. Our company purchased 10 to try and I got them sent back. Check the web sites for coverage of any provider first

I have the 3G for work and works well in NSW country. DONT NOT get the vodaphone one. It only has 3G coverage in Sydney and Melbourne city. Outside these areas its slower than dialup but Vodaphone wont tell you that. Our company purchased 10 to try and I got them sent back. Check the web sites for coverage of any provider first

Optus claim to be building lots of mobile broadband/phone towers in the country, and their coverage maps are worth a look.

I only say that cos until there's some competition Telstra will remain expensive, and some time this year I'll have to bite the bullet so I'm tracking who is doing what.

Optus offer a contract and a pre-paid option with a dongle; one of them is much the same $$ as T., the other cheaper; can't recall which.