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Fuzzy Logic 3 brings 365-day prepaid wireless broadband and data rollover to life!
Fuzzy Logic 3 brings 365-day prepaid wireless broadband and data rollover to life! | 3 brings 365-day prepaid wireless broadband and data rollover to life! |
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| by Alex Zaharov-Reutt | |
| Tuesday, 11 November 2008 | |
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Page 1 of 3   
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From game changing deals offering many gigabytes per month for prices less than $50, to shaped broadband offerings once a limit has been reached, to 10GB and 12GB packages on the market, right through to networks that have become overburdened because of too many customers going wireless, 2008 has seen mobile broadband truly blossom. Mobile data has finally become as ubiquitous and affordable as mobile voice, and we’re no longer stuck in the GPRS era but have 3.6Mbps, 7.2Mbps and even the imminent arrival of 21Mbps-class wireless networks to choose from, while EDGE and GPRS remain ever handy fallbacks depending on the networks you use and the locations you’re in. Although 3 Mobile hasn’t officially offered prepaid wireless broadband until now, those in the know knew that Dick Smith had been offering the older “soap on a rope” modem at, from memory, $169 with a “month by month” payment option on no contract, but this was never promoted at 3 Mobile’s website or in stores. I’m not sure how long that Dick Smith offer lasted, but it’s irrelevant now, as 3 Mobile has officially joined the pre-paid race with some tempting options on a network that has been judged by APCMag to be second only to Telstra, and without problems Optus in particular has been experiencing by overburdening its network – something that has even forced it to curtail some of its subsidiary Virgin Mobile’s mobile broadband sales. Of course the roaming bugbear still exists on the 3G network, meaning any surfing in 2G roaming areas is charged at a separate, higher rate, but this is well known by consumers and quickly learned by new 3 Mobile customers who didn’t know or weren’t paying attention when they signed up. But it’s also a problem that will be alleviated to great degree when 3 Mobile completes its roaming deal with Telstra, offering 3.5G mobile broadband connectivity to 96% of the population by mid 2009, although whether this is on 850MHz wireless technology that 2100MHz 3.5G phones and wireless broadband modems can’t access I’m unsure about. Charges will still apply, apparently, but they’ll be much, much lower than today, and if the 850MHz network applies, 2100Mhz and 850MHz phones and modems will need to become the norm, as is the case with the iPhone 3G. If your phone or modem isn’t 850MHz compatible, you’ll get that functionality when you buy your next phone or modem, or make do with much cheaper 2G GPES and presumably EDGE roaming too, in the meantime. So, what will 3 Mobile charge for its mobile modems and pre-paid plans, which sell alongside its range of existing contract plans? Please read on to page 2. |
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