Internet access

Need to first state that I am not very up on technology and terms etc but I am looking to get mobile internet to be able to use my laptop when we are away, in UK but also possibly in Europe. What is the cheapest way to do this?
We are members of CC but to use WiFi on their sites is very expensive.

Any Advice please.

Thanks Happy Helen

You can get mobile broadband on your laptop/notebook using a mobile wifi USB stick, mine is from t-mobile:

http://www.t-mobile.co.uk/shop/mobile-broadband/usb-stick/

shows the common options, I've been with them for a few years and have beaten down the price plus I get free access to t-mobile & BT hotspots etc. For overseas they do Travel Boosters which are not horrendously expensive, see here:

http://www.t-mobile.co.uk/shop/mobile-broadband/euro-broadband-booster/

Note if you already have any inclusive internet access on your phone, you should be able to tether your laptop/notebook to that, your phone provider website should have instructions.

I have a contract with 3, they promote themselves as 'the Internet providers' and I have unlimited Internet on an IPhone which I can tether other devices to. Now here is where I fall down, I have not been travelling far enough out of my usual areas to see how it works in a fields, so to speak
I do have a mate however that is an HGV driver and he has a 3 phone and a separate 3 dongle for his confuser and he tells me that he rarely cannot get Internet access.
Well that's my fourpenny worth, when I travel get to travel more, I will know more.
Good luck

rogerblack wrote:
Note if you already have any inclusive internet access on your phone, you should be able to tether your laptop/notebook to that, your phone provider website should have instructions.

However, not all carriers facilitate that: Tesco doesn't, much to my annoyance. So if I really have to use a computer (rather than a smartphone) I use a 3-mobile dongle in UK when I can't find free wifi.

Because my home ISP is BT, so I can use their wfi hotspots in the uk, using a smartphone. That is often all I need, but if out of free wifi, and need a lot of data, I resort to the computer + dongle.

Abroad is a different kettle of fish. The dongle can be loaded in UK (for extra payment) for overseas use, but I usually just seek out free wifi every few days: it's holiday, after all!

Hi Helen,

We use an Orange Dongle (on contract) and carry a '3' Pay & Go one as a back-up in the UK, but even then, do not always get a signal !!

Best of luck

Brian

We also carry two aerials - one plugs into the USB port on the laptop and extends the range we can receive wi-fi - e.g from McDonalds, campsite (note that in France many sites have free or very low cost wi-fi).

http://www.solwise.co.uk/wireless-usb-rocket-bgn.html

The other clips over the t-mobile dongle for use where the 3g signal isn't quite strong enough:

http://www.solwise.co.uk/3g-antenna-omni-a0121.htm
using this adapter:
http://www.solwise.co.uk/3g-datacard-to-antenna-adapters-adpt-026.htm

I obtained these back in the days when I still ran my own business and needed to keep in touch with customers/suppliers whilst travelling - there's no such thing as a holiday when you're self-employed.

However now I have taken early retirement I don't need to use them as much - life is one continuous holiday!