The Real Doctor wrote:

> On 22 Mar, 09:29, Stephen Furley <fur...@mail.croydon.ac.uk> wrote:
> > On 22 Mar, 08:15, The Real Doctor <ian.gro...@btinternet.com> wrote:
> >
> > > �15 per month (for 24) if you order before the end of March. And
> > > according to their website there is now no limit on downloads. VoIP
> > > still blocked unless you pay more.
> >
> > I've just checked the website; you're correct about the �15 offer
> > during March, but if you read the small print carefully the
> > 'unlimited' data is still limited to either 3GB or 10GB by the fair
> > use policy
>
> You are quite right. It's a bit sneaky, that, because if you go to
>
> www.t-mobile.co.uk -> Our Services -> Internet and Mobile Broadband ->
> Internet on Laptops
>
> you get
>
> "Never having to pay more than �15 a month - as with all our mobile
> broadband price plans, no matter how much you surf there are no extra
> costs and hidden charges ***."
>
> and you have to look under the asterisks to get
>
> "... To ensure a high quality of service for all our customers, a fair
> use policy of 3GB (of data sent and received in the UK) per month
> applies. If you exceed 3GB per month, we may tell you to reduce your
> future use. If you again exceed 3GB per month, we may tell you that we
> are going to apply network protection controls, resulting in a reduced
> network speed for 14 days. If you exceed 3GB per month for a third
> time, we may tell you that we are going to apply further network
> protection controls, resulting in a reduced network speed until you
> upgrade your price plan to include a larger data allowance."
>
> > If you drink coffee, Most Starbucks
> > shops have T-Mobile Hotspots, and T-Mobile have a roaming arrangement
> > with BT Openzone
>
> For which you have to pay - I can't find the costs quickly, but I
> think it's the normal �1 per 10 minutes.

I've used it a few times in Cafe Nero, just sellect 'T-Mobile UK' as
my service provider from the pull-down list, and paste in my T-Mobile
user name and password; I've not had to pay BT Openzone anything, and
not had any additional sum charged to my T-Mobile account. The only
additional charge I've had is 10p each for a few text messages each
month.

>
> > You have to enable the
> > Hotspot service by sending a text message whereupon they send you back
> > a user name and password to log in to it.
>
> Or you can sign up by phone (they tell me, haven't done it yet) and
> get the WiFi set up there and then. Since I don't have a T-Mobile
> phone, or a Windows PC, I expect I'll go that way.
>
> > It's a good device, but the software needs to be improved, especially
> > for the Mac. I believe that software for Linux also exists, but is
> > not supplied with the device.
>
> It's a Huawei E220, same as the 3 one. Vodafone, bless them, have
> produced a Linux driver, althought it's possible to use it as a
> standard USB modem with wvdial. See
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vodafon...iver_for_Linux
>
> I'll be using mine with my Eee, which I am assured supports the Huawei
> out of the box. I'm holding off ordering it because I want to take
> advantage of the 14-day trial you get if you check coverage on line,
> and I won't be travelling to a couple of important places for it until
> a couple of weeks from now ...
>
> Ian
>
> PS uk.telecom.mobile added