Wifi Dongle

[mrsmo]

I am going to be buying a laptop and I want to use a wifi dongle on pay monthly. What ones work best up here.
Thanks.

[Bobinovich]

As far as I'm aware, and in a simple answer...none! There are a few spots in Wick which I believe will get 3G on one network and therefore half decent connection speeds, but everywhere else in the county you're more than likely to be pulling your hair out. You might get a more specific answer to your query if you give your location within the county as others may have fared better...

[mrsmo]

Well I am in Thurso.

[blueboy]

we used a vodafone dongle with no problems,,it was alittle slow at times but it worked...and we were in scrabster...hope this helps

[mrsmo]

Thanks I might give them a go.

[dx100uk]

why cant you go broadband via a phone line?

is this for a house or roaming?

dx

[Alrock]

why cant you go broadband via a phone line?

is this for a house or roaming?

dx

Maybe out of principle....

Why should you have to pay for a phone service you may never actually need to use if you only want the internet. we are being double charged for a single service by both our ISP & BT.
Unlike those in the cities we have no option of an internet only service with just the one bill through a cable.
The BT infrastructure should have never been privatised & every house should be entitled to a free connection, or at most a one off connection fee to cover the installation of infrastructure to new houses.

[dx100uk]

the 'cable' network' has never been expanded it was sold/amalgamated from many local companies 'as is' without the option to expand to NTL after the sell off of council cable systems.

the BT system has been one bill for more than a year now.

however, that was not what i was asking.


dx

[Alrock]

the 'cable' network' has never been expanded it was sold/amalgamated from many local companies 'as is' without the option to expand to NTL after the sell off of council cable systems.

the BT system has been one bill for more than a year now.

however, that was not what i was asking.


dx

I wasn't answering what you where asking, the only one who can do that is mrsmo. All I am doing is speculating as to a possible answer to your question.

If you are BT broadband customer then you are still double charged, once for the line rental & once for the broadband service, it just so happens that your phone & broadband provider are one & the same, hence one bill.

[sweetestheart]

Alrock that will always be the case with most providers in small areas. You need a telephone service for broadband to be installed upon.

However I would ask the OP what is the actual requirement for because even contract dongles can go over the fair usage policy, meaning more charges.

[RecQuery]

You don't actually need telephone service for ADSL just a telephone line. You can get a line that won't make or accept calls and just carry data and you wouldn't have to pay line rental on that etc. In Exchanges which haven't been LLU'd like the ones up here they force you to get one because there's basically no competition and they can make more money.

They've been saying they're going to LLU the Wick and Thurso exchanges since December 2011 but they keep pushing it back another month every month. I think the whole thing is a tactic by BT. A PR exercise, possibly blackmail so that HIE will accept they're crappy to response-to-tender for the Next Generation Broadband thing. Either that or they'll accept the money, upgraded the exchanges - which according to them they were going to do anyway so that shouldn't be considered part of their commitment - and say that they're done.

Seriously if the Gas or Electrical companies acted as badly as some Telephone and Broadband companies there would be a mass outcry. People don't know they're getting screwed though and Ofcom is the most toothless back slapping regulator I've even seen.

[gillsbay]

Rec, I have not heardany mention of LLU happening up here, do you know which ISPs are considering this.
BT have had Thurso on the list of exchanges for upgrade to AFSL2+ since some time but just with the usual quarterly placeholders, someday they just might surprise us by coming up with a definite date! I hope soon. I have never seen any reference to Wick on the list but would expect it to be done around the same time.
Even with a line which is not allowed to make/receive calls surely line rental would have to be paid to cover any repair/maintenance to said line.

[mrsmo]

I do not want to put in a telephone line that i will never use, i use my mobile for telephone.