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Author Topic: 3's unlimited sim only deal  (Read 5470 times)

j0hn

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Re: 3's unlimited sim only deal
« Reply #15 on: February 16, 2019, 03:12:05 PM »

OpenReach own and operate all the FTTC DSLAMs on their network.
Plusnet don't own any. Neither does anyone else though.
WarwickNet being the only exception I'm aware of.

That would only be relevant for ADSL.
Plusnet don't own their own ADSL MSAN's either though and use BT Wholesale equipment.

I would query any £30 charge on their forum linking to the staff post saying it wouldn't be charged.
« Last Edit: February 16, 2019, 03:14:43 PM by j0hn »
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grahamb

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Re: 3's unlimited sim only deal
« Reply #16 on: February 16, 2019, 07:25:40 PM »

Found this thread on the PN forum from last October which appears to make things much clearer.

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Weaver

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Re: 3's unlimited sim only deal
« Reply #17 on: February 20, 2019, 06:17:46 AM »

Will be very interested in this. Updates much appreciated
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Chrysalis

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Re: 3's unlimited sim only deal
« Reply #18 on: February 20, 2019, 12:18:24 PM »

Weaver any news on you signing up? would love to see you try out 4G.
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Weaver

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Re: 3's unlimited sim only deal
« Reply #19 on: February 20, 2019, 03:16:01 PM »

I am keen to explore this but have been so ill that I cannot make any progress. Morphine more than doubled which has been extremely effective but has knocked me out for good. I haven’t worked out what high-quality modem I need.

Also extreme problems with DSL seem to have improved hugely and thanks to our own Johnson’s SNRM monitoring software baked into the custom ZyXELs, I can watch the problems that are causing instability. It turns out that these are spikes in the d/s and u/s attenuation about ~8-11dB high, from 63→74dB d/s and 40→48dB u/s, thus weakening the signal amplitude either for a very brief period or - very occasionally - for most of a day. This seems to me to be a short-term high resistance thing. (Recte ‘impedance’, I suppose.)

Anyway, that has taken the immediate pressure off.
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grahamb

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Re: 3's unlimited sim only deal
« Reply #20 on: March 08, 2019, 01:00:11 PM »

So, time for the update.

I received the sim, finally, last Friday, having had to wait nearly two weeks from the opening of my account to receive it as the original appeared to have been lost in the post.

It's been in my phone for a week and, frankly, I am unimpressed with the network speeds (average 4Mbs down, slightly more than 10Mbs up) and the fact that the LTE signal appears to keep dropping in and out. In fact, I am so disappointed with the service that I've just cancelled the account under the 14 day cooling off period, which 3 agreed to. Obviously, I appreciate that it's probably down to my location (largish town on the SE coast of the UK) but, from reading the TBB forum thread, I was hoping for so much more.

Ho-hum...
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aesmith

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Re: 3's unlimited sim only deal
« Reply #21 on: March 09, 2019, 04:35:19 PM »

That's disappointing for you.  We're also considering going 3G instead of DSL.  Using my phone on EE I can get a 30meg download speed in the kitchen,  unfortunately that's not a brilliant place for a router though.   Three coverage used to be non-existent at home, but now their coverage checker says we're covered.  I've just ordered a free SIM to check it out, I can borrow a 3G dongle from work for test purposes and we'll see what we get.
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grahamb

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Re: 3's unlimited sim only deal
« Reply #22 on: March 10, 2019, 07:49:01 AM »

Yeah, it was disappointing. The sim would have been especially useful later in the year, as I said in my OP. I did use the coverage checker before ordering the sim - my postcode appears to be on the cusp of excellent indoor/outdoor coverage, the experience showed that it was on the wrong side.  ;)

Good luck with yours.
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aesmith

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Re: 3's unlimited sim only deal
« Reply #23 on: March 10, 2019, 06:47:45 PM »

I'm now wondering if I misunderstood their availability checker.  It asks what device, and if I put in Iphone SE its says I'll get brilliant service.   If I put in B331 which is their standard 4G router it says it's not compatible.  If I put in "Three HomeFi" which is another name for the same thing it says it is "is compatible with our 4G network, but not with our 4G Super-Voice network, which is available in this area."   So it seems maybe we don't actually have real 4G at all here, just 4G Super-Voice, whatever that is.

Anyway they should be sending a SIM with 200Meg of data so I can see what that does.
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aesmith

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Re: 3's unlimited sim only deal
« Reply #24 on: March 13, 2019, 06:39:04 PM »

So I got the SIM today, so without looking at anything else I stuffed it into my phone (Iphone SE) and it showed 4G but just one bar of signal strength.   Running a speed test upstairs for best signal, it got 7.15 meg down which was disappointing although still nearly twice as fast as DSL.  However the speed was all over the place, RTT 228ms and upload speed of zero.   At that point I reckoned it was a non starter.  Then I read the instructions which gave a process for registering to get some free data, so after I did that I got a download speed of 25meg and upload of 5meg.  Not as fast as EE but still miles faster than DSL if not officially "Super Fast".   I need to test with some proper data equipment and maybe buy a bit of PAYG data to play with.
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re0

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Re: 3's unlimited sim only deal
« Reply #25 on: March 13, 2019, 11:33:12 PM »

I'm now wondering if I misunderstood their availability checker.  It asks what device, and if I put in Iphone SE its says I'll get brilliant service.   If I put in B331 which is their standard 4G router it says it's not compatible.  If I put in "Three HomeFi" which is another name for the same thing it says it is "is compatible with our 4G network, but not with our 4G Super-Voice network, which is available in this area."   So it seems maybe we don't actually have real 4G at all here, just 4G Super-Voice, whatever that is.
4G Super-Voice is just a fancy term for VoLTE. Beware that VoLTE (Super-Voice) on Three is only using 800 MHz (Band 20). Also, coverage for Band 20 will show greater on the map but because it only has a bandwidth of 5 MHz it will be somewhat slow. 1800 MHz (Band 3, which has 15 MHz bandwidth) is just their normal, non-VoLTE frequency which is going to be a lot faster but less coverage, of course. If you do get a 4G modem in the future, ensure you can force it to 1800 MHz.
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aesmith

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Re: 3's unlimited sim only deal
« Reply #26 on: March 14, 2019, 12:40:24 PM »

Cheers, next test will be using a Huawei E3372 dongle.  I've just tried that in the office and it works with the 3 PAYG SIM, tested in a Meraki Z1 (homeworker appliance).   So I'm reasonable confident it will work in either my Zyxel or Billion routers.   I've got 137Meg remaining after my tests so far.  If I read their terms and conditions correctly it seems to be offering 200meg per month free of charge.
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re0

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Re: 3's unlimited sim only deal
« Reply #27 on: March 14, 2019, 07:59:23 PM »

Those free data SIMs get 200 MB a month for free. I've had one for years (I think over 2 years) and it's still giving free data to my knowledge.

By the way, tests (speedtest.net mobile app) for me can use up to around 120-130 MB each at approx 65/20 Mbps.
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ISP: Gigaclear - Hyperfast 900 (up to 940 Mbps symmetrical)

aesmith

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Re: 3's unlimited sim only deal
« Reply #28 on: March 15, 2019, 07:58:10 AM »

I think I've managed to empty the SIM before I got the router/dongle combination working, although the 3 account still shows 24meg remaining.  I may have to top up, or order another SIM
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