Lycamobile launches 'unlimited' 4G for £12 a month. Great. Now where can I get a signal? Mobile phone networks need to learn what the word “unlimited” means. Both Three and Lyca claim to offer “unlimited” mobile broadband, neither of them do. International MVNO Lycamobile has launched what it calls “unlimited” 4G mobile data but there is a catch. After the first 10GB of data, the speed drops to 2G speeds of …
What the hell is 10GB on a 4G network !! will be gone in days !!
*browser "What a nice fast connection you have Here enjoy this 1080p advert before you get to your content."
*Provider "You've used 5% of your data allowance !!" Wanna buy some more no dont worry we will charge you anyway when you use it by mistake and we inform you 2 days after you go over your balance.
If you're gonna provide a high speed network just please give us the costs upfront rather than hiding.
preferably in addition to these deals so we know what were getting when we pay for it !!!
in the spirit of reg comparisons.
don't see Jaguar selling cars with just a cupful of petrol that you can only buy from them!
I used 3 mobile for home internet for a couple of months recently. The 25GB cap was never a problem. We're not super-heavy users, but do make fair use of Skype, iPlayer etc.
And it only cost £5 per month on top of my existing mobile contract (£3 for unlimited data, £2 to add tethering).
Well, three have gone from "unlimited data, unlimited tethering" plans to "unlimited (well, 25GB but that's close to unlimited, right?) data, unlimited tethering (as long as you limit yourself to 2 GB or less, we won't limit you! Unlimited!)".
It's still pretty good, but not that great..
this was 18 months ago on three, but I didn't have a tethering plan and I ran my flat internet off it for a month while waiting for the farcical dance of DSL connection.
I wonder if the fact it was a Meego phone masked the fact it was a router for my other devices?
In any case I dumped VM for Three as soon as I could...
P.
I am a fairly heavy user - typically downloading 30GB and occasionally peaking at 75GB per month. My contract is unchanged from Three's actual unlimited tethered deal (I triple check every month as it's a rolling 30 day contract) and being able to download this much is a godsend as I'm a consultant on customer sites with varying levels of internet access (typically either slow visitor wifi or I'm denied access with my laptop).
My major problem is that inner London (the city, Tottenham Ct Road/Oxford St, South Bank etc) has HSDPA and 4G but the backhaul isn't up to scratch. For instance (it has improved) I have regularly struggled with 0.2 Mbps HSDPA connections along South Bank.
All-you-can-eat data is "all the internet use you need" whilst in the UK.
It's when you go abroad to one of the Feel-at-Home destinations that you are capped to 25GB per month.
http://support.three.co.uk/SRVS/CGI-BIN/WEBISAPI.DLL?Command=New,Kb=Mobile,Ts=Mobile,T=Article,varset_cat=internetapps,varset_subcat=3583,Case=obj%283833%29
Yup, the T&C are pretty clear : "Does all you can eat data come with any limits? The limit is how much your device can consume"
Apparently throttling - but not a complete cut off - applies if you go over 1000GB. On my maths that requires 3Mbps, 24 hours-a-day 31 days-a-month. Which seems unlikely ....
Its about time we got rid of the definition of "unlimited" in the sense of mobile phone data usage and made the terms clear what data you are allowed, UPFRONT, without having to read the small print of the terms and conditions, or calling customer service.
Look at the Oxford english definition of word Unlimited and its what it says on the tin without having to read the bleeding small print at the back of said dictionary..
Someone needs to throw a dictionary at the Mobile Phones companies, Ofcom and also the ASA for allowing the word unlimited, providing it is defined in the small print.
Unlimited isnt unlimited, if its in the small print. Sort it out, will ya.
Its about time we got rid of the definition of "unlimited" in the sense of mobile phone data usage and made the terms clear what data you are allowed, without having to read the small print of the terms and conditions..
Look at the oxford english definition of Unlimited and its what it says on the tin without having to read the bleeding small print at the back of said dictionary..
Someone needs to throw a dictionary at the Mobile Phones companies, Ofcom and also the ASA for allowing the word unlimited, providing it is defined in the small print.
Unlimited isnt unlimited, if its in the small print. Sort it out, will ya.
Ironically I do have two teenagers: 16 and 18. They live on Facebook messaging and Skype, not call minutes and text.
All they want from a mobile operator is for them to be a carrier, the dumb pipe the operators fear. And they want bandwidth because most news comes from buzzfeed and sourcefed videos.
The younger one is a heavy reddit user but that's light on bandwidth.
Having a 10 gig data limit for 4G when the network partner is o2 is like owning a ferrari that can only be driven to the end of your drive and back.
o2's voice coverage is terrible - it always sounds like callers are connecting from a watery tomb and their data coverage on 3g is diabolically bad, let alone the tiny area of 4g coverage they have managed to roll out so far.
WRONG! Three *DO* offer unlimited data in the UK. The 25GB affects "free roaming" abroad only... and even then you have to exceed it repeatedly.
"If you use more than these amounts in any 2 months within a 12-month period, it could affect your roaming services and prevent you from using international roaming in the future. We’d tell you about this first"
I haven't read the T&Cs of this Three deal, but from previous experience of Three this might not be all it seems.
Three previously offered a SIM Zero - you only pay for what your use, no up front fee. Calls and texts were at a reasonable rate (if you made any, which you don't from a tablet), and you could buy a bundle of data (1GB was £5, good at the time).
Catch - you weren't actually allowed to use the SIM in a data device. It was for phones (not smartphones) only (Three's words). So while in theory it was great for fondleslabs (no calls), you weren't permitted by the T&Cs. I fail to see the difference - data is data, the device is irrelevant. But Three want your money for not providing a service.
I can't use my Galaxy Tab 2 (GSM - so makes phonecalls) for data with Three, even if it's a PAYG data.
Not an issue GiffGaff has my money instead, not sure I want to give cash to a company capable of such a stupid policy anyway. (Not that giffgaff are perfect, I understand you can't teather on unlimited plans and some shocking service availability).
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