Mobile broadband to share!

Wow.

I’m going to be honest, it’s not that often I get really excited about broadband, but today is an exception. I have just discovered the existence of mobile broadband wireless routers!

Having just signed myself up for mobile broadband from 3, I find the prospect of being able to share my new broadband connection with my flatmates pretty special.

Following the success of mobile broadband, it was really only a matter of time before the market started producing accessories to improve the mobile broadband user’s experience. And indeed, they have done just that…

3’s new (stylish looking) Huawei D100 router turns a standard 3 USB modem into a wireless router, which allows up to four broadband users to share the same 3G connection to access the internet.

The router costs £69.99 and is available from selected 3 stores as well as www.three.co.uk. As all the equipment is plug-and-play, setting it up should be a piece of cake!

T-mobile are releasing a similar device, called the “share dock”, and once these babies are unleashed on the market, I believe we will see massive changes in the way that Britain chooses broadband. Effectively, you can now get wireless broadband without a landline, which is great news for those who can’t get a landline and for those who don’t want to pay for one.

Indeed, who would want to pay £130 to have a landline installed, plus £10.50 a month in line rental, when for around £70 you can get a router that shares one mobile broadband connection with a whole house?

The only thing holding mobile broadband back now is the question of speed. If four people are using the same mobile connection, the speeds are not likely to be brilliant. However, with mobile broadband providers relentlessly pushing boundaries on the speed front, soon this problem could evaporate.

Yes, I believe that mobile broadband wireless routers are the future!

One quick word of caution - The more people using your connection, the more likely you are to exceed your download allowance, so it’s vital you keep an eye on your communal usage.

If you are planning to share your mobile broadband, it’s probably worth splashing out on a plan with higher download limits, rather than getting stung for exceeding your allowance.

Install the BroadbandChoices.co.uk Download Monitor onto each computer that will be using your connection, and regularly add up the totals to ensure you don’t reach your limit!

  ‘We’re here to liberate your wireless router’

The common vigilante has, historically, been associated with an assortment of activities, ranging from reducing street crime and helping the elderly cross the road, to overthrowing governments, liberating suppressed communities and forming independent states.

However, a new, sophisticated breed of online vigilante is emerging, and if I told you that they reside on such sites as orangeproblems.co.uk and talktalkhell.wordpress.com, you might get an immediate feel for what I’m trying to describe.

The dawn of the ISP vigilante is among us, and these guys make the Cuban neighbourhood militias look like your local cub pack.

Having visited these sites myself, I was taken aback not only by the extreme, terrifying and contemptuous wrath some consumers reserve for their ISPs, but also the depth of information included therein.

As a one-stop remedy shop for all your ISP glitches, you need not look any further. Therefore, if you’re having no luck whatsoever with your ISP’s standard customer helpline, why not venture into a dedicated forum and see if you can find the solution to your problem there? The TalkTalkHell site gives ample information regarding difficulties with e-mail services, USB issues and DNS problems. They’ll also furnish you with direct phone numbers that allow you to bypass the usual human barriers in call centres.

Another added incentive, of course, is the opportunity these sites afford you to bitch, gripe and moan about your ISP while, at the same time, learning how to fix that problem router. Let’s not underestimate the ‘eureka’ factor either, when you realise there are another 75 people (in the south Loughbrough region alone) experiencing exactly the same problems as you.

I love a good moan, who doesn’t? Make mention to Andriy Shevchenko at the wrong time of day and I’ll go on for hours (and possibly end up punching myself in the face). The Virgin Media vigilante blog (cablehell.com, naturally), dishes out some of the best slatings I’ve read for many a year, some of these people can really write.

There are right and wrong ways to enter into formal complaints procedures though, and we’ve discussed this issue on Broadband Choices many times. Perhaps vigilante sites work best as an area to vent your spleen and relieve some of the frustration before calling your ISP and lodging a complaint. As we all know, screaming down the phone will get you nowhere.

Across all these sites, disgruntled users seem to have beef with three major issues, which arise time and time again:

(1)   Advertised speeds not matching their own received speeds

(2)   Customer Services offering inaccurate and unhelpful information

(3)   The current hot topic, fair usage policies and the cost of downloading beyond your allotted amount.

For those wishing to sock it to the man, take a step into this world. You never know, you just might make a difference.

If a more sanguine, mild-mannered rant is your bag, then get yourself over to the Broadband Choices reviews area.