Current state of play re. UK data plan pricing and advice re. 3 vs T-Mobile data access please!

Hi

My current O2 contract is coming to an end and I'm going to be moving
to a K850i - I've got a K800i just now and I like SE, but even better
the K850i has HSDPA support

I'm therefore looking for a reasonable data plan (something that
couldn't be said for O2 in the past year). I've looked at the current
deals on offer (see below) and it looks like it's down to T-Mobile and
Three (for my usage pattern at least - I want both mobile and mobile-
as-modem use (including ability to use Slingbox) and my voice/text
needs are around the 300/50 level per month).

The main thing I was wondering was - does anyone have any first hand
experience of 3 vs. T-Mobile's data services? For the past couple of
months I'd been assuming I'd be going with WnW Plus but the new 3
plans look fairly good - slightly more expensive (£2.50/mo) than T-
Mobile's, but less restrictive usage (I think!) with possibly better
HSDPA coverage and slightly faster access speeds (3.6Mbps vs.
1.8Mbps). Any problems with blocked ports on either service?

Would be very interested to hear people's views.

Cheers

Alan

-=-=-
O2
Costs
- £7.50/mo for 200MB O2 Web Bolt On - modem access NOT permitted
- £30/mo for 3GB O2 Web Max Bolt On - modem access permitted
Restrictions
- O2 Web Bolt On - Instant Messaging, IP Telephony, Point 2 Point file
sharing and file transfer, VoIP (e.g. Skypeâ„¢), Video and TV streaming,
Slingboxes; and Use in conjunction with routers not allowed
- O2 Web Max Bolt On - Instant Messaging, IP Telephony, VoIP (e.g.
Skypeâ„¢), Video and TV streaming; and Slingboxes not allowed
-=-=-

-=-=-
Vodafone
Costs
- £7.50/mo for 120MB - modem access permitted.
Restrictions
- No obvious restrictions but £2/MB over monthly limit.
-=-=-

-=-=-
Orange (very difficult to find information - eventually found at
http://www1.orange.co.uk/entertainme...orld/terms.php)
Costs
- £8/mo for Orange World Monthly Access - 30MB of anytime access - no
mention re. data modem access in T&Cs (cf. off-peak access) so appears
to be permitted.
- £5/mo for Orange World Off-Peak Access - 1GB of evening/weekend
browsing - modem access NOT permitted
Restrictions
- common to both plans: not to be used for other activities such, non-
Orange internet based streaming services, voice or video over the
internet, instant messaging, peer to peer file sharing, non-Orange
internet based video
-=-=-

-=-=-
T-Mobile
Costs
- Web'n'Walk - £7.50/mo for 1GB - modem access NOT permitted
- Web'n'Walk Plus - £12.50/mo for 3GB - modem access permitted
- Web'n'Walk Max - £22.50/mo for 10GB - modem access permitted
Restrictions
- WnW - peer to peer file sharing, internet phone calls or instant
messaging not allowed
- WnW Plus - internet phone calls not allowed
- WnW Max - no restrictions
-=-=-

-=-=-
Three
Costs
- Internet 10 - £2.50/mo for 10MB data - modem access NOT permitted
- Internet Max Add-On - £5/mo for 1GB data - modem access NOT
permitted
- Broadband Lite Add-On - £10/mo for 1GB data - modem access permitted
- Broadband Plus Add-On - £15/mo for 3GB data - modem access permitted
Restrictions
- I've searched over the site and even the T&Cs at
http://www.three.co.uk/personal/help...=1187800248881
don't seem to mention any services that are blocked - would be very
interested to hear people's views.
-=-=-

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› See More: Current state of play re. UK data plan pricing and advice re. 3 vs T-Mobile data access please!

In central London I get max speed of 450Kbps connection (tried in
about four locaitons) which appears to be for upload and dowload
speeds on T-Mobile WnW Pro using a Nokia 6120 classic as a modem.

I went into a T-Mobile store to ask if HSDPA was enabled and they said
it should be and it is a limitation of the phone that I'm not getting
closer to 1M and that I should get a data card for faster laptop
access.
I called up customer services and they did not have an option to
enable HSDPA against my subsription (Flext £15pm tariff).
According to the Nokia manual I should see a 3.5G icon when connected
at HSDPA speed, but I've only ever seen 3G or GPRS.

All in all I'm a bit disappointed by the modem performance.

With Three you'd have the option of using the 3G USB modem (excluding
the modem cost) for the same price as adding the modem capability to
your phone, which might be a bit more flexible.