When retired what is needed for communication home and away (1 Viewer)

atlantisbird

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Hello everyone,
Contract,PAYGO,MIFI is there anything better than BT.
We retire in May and want to be free of £40.00 every month from BT land line and Broadband so we can enjoy going away when we feel like it.
We would like to know what you all feel is essential and what toys you have so that we can gauge what is good to travel with especially so we can just take it with us both Uk and abroad on our travels.
We are undecided as to what to compliment what we have already and we are thinking of IPhone and iPad to go along with our Macbook and Mifi.
We have a mobile phone but hardly use it and rarely use the home phone but do search internet and email but do not download much at all.
What is available out there please. It should be helpful to all.
Kind regards,
Atlantisbird
Ann & Harry
 

Snowbird

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For the UK an all you can eat data package from 3 tethered to my laptop. For outside the UK an open dongle with a local PAYG sim. Both works for me.
 

Parcverger

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When in France come and use our free wifi. With your computer you can see and chat to the family on Skype, and if your mobile phone has a wifi option you can use that to call folks or for them to phone you.:thumb:
Bob
www.parcverger.com

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Minxy

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For the UK an all you can eat data package from 3 tethered to my laptop. For outside the UK an open dongle with a local PAYG sim. Both works for me.

Note that you have to have 3's "One Plan" to be allowed to tether:

Get All-You-Can-Eat Data on the One Plan, the Ultimate Internet Plan and selected SIM-only tariffs, to enjoy a truly uncapped data experience. With All-You-Can-Eat data on the One Plan, including the SIM-only One Plan, you can even tether your laptop to your 3 phone (provided it has this capability) to get laptop internet on the go!*

*Tethering is only permitted on the One Plan. Tethering is not permitted on other tariffs with All-You-Can-Eat data.

No more "limited usage" or even "fair usage" policy! No Data Limits.

Some networks have been massively reducing the amount of data their customers are allowed to use on their tariffs recently, to as little as 500MB or even 250MB. Three have taken a step in the opposite direction: All-You-Can-Eat means All-You-Can-Eat. You won't be charged for your data, no matter how much internet you use on your phone. No unexpected charges, no hassle, and No Data Limits! However, you cannot use your phone SIM in another device. If you do, you will be charged for the data used as per out of bundle charges.

The One Plan is the hassle-free plan that gives you more than enough of everything so you never need to worry about ever racking up a huge bill! All phone contracts on The One Plan comes with 2000 anytime, any network minutes, 5000 texts, 5000 Three-to-Three minutes and All-You-Can-Eat data. Unique to the One Plan, the All-You-Can-Eat data not only allows you to use as much internet as you like on your phone at no extra cost, but it also permits you to tether. That means that you can use your phone as a modem (if it has this capability) to connect your laptop to the internet at no extra cost and with no limit!

The One Plan truly is the plan that gives you everything in One.

More info can be found here: 3 - the One plan
 

Snowbird

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Note that you have to have 3's "One Plan" to be allowed to tether:







More info can be found here: 3 - the One plan

I dont have any plan, just a £10 per month rolling contract. I have a ZTE phone which are now getting like hens teeth as people have realised you can use them as a dongle. They used to be around £15 off the bay but have noticed they have now trebled in price. There is some gizmo in them that wont allow 3 to switch them off :Cool:
 

Minxy

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We have been using mobile phones and mobile broadband ONLY for a good few years now, we only decided to do this initially though because we were looking to move from our non-BT to a BT area (we are in the "no man's land" area where we cannot get BT as Kingston Communications, aka KC, have the 'monopoly' for the telephone system round here) therefore we didn't want to take out another 18 month contract with KC as we then wouldn't be able to use it if we did move to a BT area so would be paying for up to 18 months for nothing!).

Anyway, we've had just 'mobiles' since 2007, originally we were with '3' for broadband and a couple of mobile phones and stayed with them for just under 4 years. We then changed mobile phones to T-Mobile as the deals with '3' weren't very good, but we've stuck with '3' for mobile broadband as we now get a 'loyalty' discount of 50% so only pay around £8 a month for 15gb!:thumb: the other reason is that '3' have the best coverage for the UK and especially for where we live as some of the mobile broadband companies didn't cover our area when we checked them! :Eeek:

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callumwa

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Note that you have to have 3's "One Plan" to be allowed to tether:

My Filipino crew on the ship use "3" PAYG sims when we are in UK or in range of UK signal.. They top up £15 onto their PAYG Sims and use the "All in One 15" option for 30 days.

http://www.three.co.uk/Store/Pay_As_You_Go_Price_Plans

It has "all you can eat data", but it is not the "One Plan".

They tether up to 5 devices at a time to any phone with an enabled "hotspot".

I have not read the T&C's but the reality is I know they are online sharing this connection 24/7, by the nature of their working hours. They have never been restricted, cut off or charged any extra...:thumb:

Me I'm paying more for my contract "One Plan"........:Doh:
 

Minxy

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I dont have any plan, just a £10 per month rolling contract. I have a ZTE phone which are now getting like hens teeth as people have realised you can use them as a dongle. They used to be around £15 off the bay but have noticed they have now trebled in price. There is some gizmo in them that wont allow 3 to switch them off :Cool:

Is this the equivalent of what you have?

http://store.three.co.uk/view/searchSimOnly?tariff=112
 
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I have the "All in One" package from "3". Using an iphone or similar, you can use it as a hotspot, so you can run up to 5 devices from the phone simultaneously. I used it up in the yorkshire dales, very effective. I would also suggest as a back up or secondary option for BT Fon. Which gives you acces to their network of wireless transmitters, I also used that in the Dales. I think you have to sign up for it and make a payment when you use it....or similar

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callumwa

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I dont have any plan, just a £10 per month rolling contract. I have a ZTE phone which are now getting like hens teeth as people have realised you can use them as a dongle. They used to be around £15 off the bay but have noticed they have now trebled in price. There is some gizmo in them that wont allow 3 to switch them off :Cool:



My guys are using all sorts of phone as their WiFi hotspots for tethering multiple devices, not just one device as in the case of a dongle..

Blackberry, Samsung, Sony, to name but three......

All work with no problems as I described in my earlier post.....:Smile:
 

Snowbird

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Thats the one, but have been with them for ever, so pay £10 for the £15 jobby. The ZTE allows you to tether with a USB lead. I tried with my Samsung and it wont allow tethering. You will need a ZTE F102 . But be quick they are becoming scarce.

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atlantisbird

atlantisbird

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A big thank you

Hello all,
The information you are putting in is helping a lot to see what is available today so a big thank you all for your input.

There seems to be a consensus that 3 is the one for the UK.
I did buy a Mifi and get a £12.15 "3" top up from Ebay which lasts for 90 days, we have bought it 3 times last year with no problems.

Does anyone regret getting rid of your home landline/broadband?.

Do you get annoying texts,phone calls when you have a modern mobile?

Silly question, can one make phone calls from an iPad?

The mobile we have is PAYGO from T-mobile which has not had a top up since summer 2012 the phone is an old one which does not have the camera and other things which seem to be popular in todays society, we don't do texts,Facebook or twitting. However we do like the clarity of the iphone's pictures which we saw in a darkened room taking pictures of exhibits at York Museum and the cloud thingy which we do not really understand as yet but it appears it automatically would go to the photo studio where it could be altered or stored.
We like the idea of getting rid of BT landline and broadband and we think that if we choose the right combination apart from the initial expense it should surely be cheaper and one less monthly bill dropping on the doorstep.

As an aside is there a way to save the whole thread so we can go back to it and re-read later as we tend to take our time and look at as many options before committing to spend our brass.:Eeek:
Thanks to all.
Atlantisbird
Ann & Harry
 

Minxy

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Does anyone regret getting rid of your home landline/broadband?.
Yes and no!

Broadband: When '3' are working on the transmitter it is a pain in the bum and we've had problems with not being able to use it, or it being so bl**dy slow a snail could've got the info we were trying to get quicker! Most of the time its fine for what we need and being in the 'Hull Kingston Communications' black hole area we don't have much choice about other packages anyway. However, even if we did have a choice of BT etc now, I don't know whether we'd bother as it does what we want and I would think if you are out and about in your motorhome most of the time, it doesn't really make sense to pay for landline based broadband.

Phone: No regrets whatsoever! The only downside is not being able to easily call 0800 (ie freephone) numbers, and the 0870 etc numbers are expensive, however by using the below website we are able to find alternative numbers in the vast majority of cases so the cost of the call for us is either free (we get unlimited national 'standard' landline calls), or comes off our monthly allowance. There's also a mobile phone app so you can look up numbers from your phone too.

http://www.saynoto0870.com/search.php

Do you get annoying texts,phone calls when you have a modern mobile?
Yes, but nowhere near as much as you get with a landline and you can often see the number of who's calling before you answer so can ignore it completely.

We like the idea of getting rid of BT landline and broadband and we think that if we choose the right combination apart from the initial expense it should surely be cheaper and one less monthly bill dropping on the doorstep.
Definitely agree with this!

Mel

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ukbill

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buy a wifi booster and then just use macdonalds wifi for free even abroad its the same as are some intermarche
 
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atlantisbird

atlantisbird

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Phone & broadband in retirement.

Thank you for that Mel I was sure we would not get the replies for my last questions as it disappeared quickly from the current list of posts.
We now have a few ideas we can mull over let's hope there is more ideas to come.

It looks like you are in the posh area of KC then, Cottingham ,Hessle or very posh Beverley
area.
Should have gone to Specsavers. :ROFLMAO:

All the best
Atlantisbird
Ann & Harry
 

Minxy

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Thank you for that Mel I was sure we would not get the replies for my last questions as it disappeared quickly from the current list of posts.
We now have a few ideas we can mull over let's hope there is more ideas to come.

It looks like you are in the posh area of KC then, Cottingham ,Hessle or very posh Beverley
area.
Should have gone to Specsavers. :ROFLMAO:

All the best
Atlantisbird
Ann & Harry

Ah-ha - I didn't realise you were just up the road a bit! :Smile: Yup, we're in Cottingham, a 'long' stone's throw from Swift!

If you're ever coming down our way let me know and you can come round for a cuppa or bite of lunch and a natter!:thumb:

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atlantisbird

atlantisbird

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Ah-ha - I didn't realise you were just up the road a bit! :Smile: Yup, we're in Cottingham, a 'long' stone's throw from Swift!

If you're ever coming down our way let me know and you can come round for a cuppa or bite of lunch and a natter!:thumb:

If you bought a Swift it is not too far to take it in to get repaired then.:ROFLMAO:

Seriously though if you are coming up to Beeford or are camping locally on a meet let us know.

The information gleaned so far has been very helpful and you are the first one to tell us that you have got rid of land lines. It looks like it could therefore by a saving as well.
Some of the other ideas have been useful as well and it will take more investigations and more questions both here and when we meet up with other funsters on rallies. The next one for us will be at Chester.
Cheers
Atlantisbird
Ann & Harry
 

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