T-Mobile web 'n' walk for residential broadband?

T-Mobile offer internet connection via a plug-in data card at up to 1.8M for
GBP29/month (3G limit) or GBP44/month (10G limit):

http://www.t-mobile.co.uk/Dispatcher...ebnwalk_laptop

Would this be useful for residential broadband where there is no cable and
adsl is limited by line quality?

T-Mobile are marketing it for laptops on the move. Could you use the card
in a desktop pc with a card adapter?

According to wiki, the T-Mobile HSDPA network went live across the UK on 1
August 2006. Initial download speeds were announced to be 1.8Mbps, rising to
3.6Mbps in 2007, 7.2Mbps in 2008, 10Mbps in 2009 and 20Mbps by 2011.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HSDPA

So potential to surpass adsl in areas with no fibre. What is the backhaul
bandwidth of a mobile phone hub? Would it really have the capability to
provide residential broadband?

The data card is manufactured by Option, possibly this one:

http://www.option.com/products/globe...ionhsdpa.shtml

I am interested because T-Mobile have an applied to put a phone mast outside
our village and I want to know if there are benefits to outweigh the
landscape impact of a 74ft phone mast in the middle of a field.

--
Mark W. Lewis, North Somerset

On Sun, 26 Nov 2006 09:37:11 -0000, "Mark Lewis"
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>T-Mobile offer internet connection via a plug-in data card at up to 1.8M for
>GBP29/month (3G limit) or GBP44/month (10G limit):
>
>http://www.t-mobile.co.uk/Dispatcher...ebnwalk_laptop
>
>Would this be useful for residential broadband where there is no cable and
>adsl is limited by line quality?
>
>T-Mobile are marketing it for laptops on the move. Could you use the card
>in a desktop pc with a card adapter?
>
>According to wiki, the T-Mobile HSDPA network went live across the UK on 1
>August 2006. Initial download speeds were announced to be 1.8Mbps, rising to
>3.6Mbps in 2007, 7.2Mbps in 2008, 10Mbps in 2009 and 20Mbps by 2011.
>
>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HSDPA
>
>So potential to surpass adsl in areas with no fibre. What is the backhaul
>bandwidth of a mobile phone hub? Would it really have the capability to
>provide residential broadband?
>
>The data card is manufactured by Option, possibly this one:
>
>http://www.option.com/products/globe...ionhsdpa.shtml
>
>I am interested because T-Mobile have an applied to put a phone mast outside
>our village and I want to know if there are benefits to outweigh the
>landscape impact of a 74ft phone mast in the middle of a field.

My daugher is in uni in London but for various reasons she was unable
to et broadband access in her room in the (private) house she lives
in.
I managed to get her a T-Mobile 3G card for her laptop for 20 quid per
month (just as that tarriff was being withdrawn), there is a 3 gig per
month limit.
It has ben very succesful - good connection speed, reliable connection
and it worksd when she's on the bus travelling home down the M4.

You will need to check coverage at your home address to confirm it's
likely to work at 3G. It wil obviously provide residential broadband -
how does it know otherwise? :-)
--
Cheers

Peter

Please remove the invalid to reply

In article <(E-Mail Removed)>,
(E-Mail Removed) says...
> T-Mobile offer internet connection via a plug-in data card at up to 1.8M for
> GBP29/month (3G limit) or GBP44/month (10G limit):
>
> http://www.t-mobile.co.uk/Dispatcher...ebnwalk_laptop
>
> Would this be useful for residential broadband where there is no cable and
> adsl is limited by line quality?
>
> T-Mobile are marketing it for laptops on the move. Could you use the card
> in a desktop pc with a card adapter?
>
> According to wiki, the T-Mobile HSDPA network went live across the UK on 1
> August 2006. Initial download speeds were announced to be 1.8Mbps, rising to
> 3.6Mbps in 2007, 7.2Mbps in 2008, 10Mbps in 2009 and 20Mbps by 2011.
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HSDPA
>
> So potential to surpass adsl in areas with no fibre. What is the backhaul
> bandwidth of a mobile phone hub? Would it really have the capability to
> provide residential broadband?
>
> The data card is manufactured by Option, possibly this one:
>
> http://www.option.com/products/globe...ionhsdpa.shtml
>
> I am interested because T-Mobile have an applied to put a phone mast outside
> our village and I want to know if there are benefits to outweigh the
> landscape impact of a 74ft phone mast in the middle of a field.
>
Check the 3G coverage at http://www.t-mobile.co.uk/Dispatcher?
menuid=phones_cua_uc_gis&ref=homepage&customerCate gory=personal

(url may/will wrap)

The fact that they are putting up a phone mast does not guarantee that
it will also carry 3G.

"Mugwump" <mug....@gmail.com> wrote:

> Check the 3G coverage

The planning application includes a projected 3G coverage map that indicates
availability for the whole village. Obviously as the mast does not yet
exist, there is no point in using the coverage checker:

http://www.t-mobile.co.uk/Dispatcher...nes_cua_uc_gis

--
Mark W. Lewis, North Somerset

On Sun, 26 Nov 2006 09:37:11 -0000, "Mark Lewis"
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>T-Mobile are marketing it for laptops on the move. Could you use the card
>in a desktop pc with a card adapter?

yes, one guy who can't get ADSL has done this.

Phil
--
http://www.notspot.info/ - if you can't get the Broadband you want.

"Peter" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

> It wil obviously provide residential broadband

Sure, you can use a laptop at home. The questions are how well it works
with a desktop pc, and whether the mobile network has the bandwidth capacity
to compete against adsl at home if line quality limits speed and there is no
cable.

> good connection speed, reliable connection

Evidence of throughput speed would be useful as the connection speed shown
by software may be a poor indicator of this.

--
Mark W. Lewis, North Somerset

Phil Thompson" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>> Could you use the card in a desktop pc with a card adapter?
> yes, one guy who can't get ADSL has done this.

Issues would be:

Does T-Mobile consider this acceptable use? Their policy does not say.

Does the card, with a projecting part, fit in and work in a desktop card
adapter.

There is a review with pictures of the card here:

http://www.trustedreviews.com/mobile...n-Walk-Card/p1

Would it work inside a pc case? Perhaps you would need an external aerial.
The card has what Option call a "Miniature External Antenna Connection" (no
spec given):

http://www.option.com/products/globe...ionhsdpa.shtml

What exactly do you connect to that?

--
Mark W. Lewis, North Somerset

On Sun, 26 Nov 2006 12:11:12 -0000, "Mark Lewis"
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>Does T-Mobile consider this acceptable use?

seems so, have a look at
<http://bbs.adslguide.org.uk/showthreaded.php?Cat=&Board=general&Number=2710881 &page=&view=&sb=&o=>

Phil
--
http://www.notspot.info/ - if you can't get the Broadband you want.

Thanks, the whole thread was very useful:

http://bbs.adslguide.org.uk/printthr...81&type=thread

"I work for T-mobile in Network ops and sad to say UMTS HSDPA is not very
stable and the chances of you running at 1.8 all the time are slime, get
more than 10 people on the same 3g node and your speeds will drop right
down".

Sounds like it is a shaky option at present, only worth considering if you
cannot get adsl at all.

"Your chances are slime". I like that.

--
Mark W. Lewis, North Somerset

On Sun, 26 Nov 2006 09:37:11 -0000, "Mark Lewis"
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>T-Mobile offer internet connection via a plug-in data card at up to 1.8M for
>GBP29/month (3G limit) or GBP44/month (10G limit):

I've looked in to this for my daughter who has connection problems
with her adsl fixed line.

Trouble is with the popularity of podcasts and internet radio and with
IPTV on the horizon 3G per month limit is going to be useless.

29ukp per month is not cheap either.

Geoff Lane