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3 mobile broadband

3 overview

  • Wide range of packages including pay monthly contracts with 1GB, 5GB or 15GB data allowance
  • PAYG mobile broadband available with data included - ideal for gifts
  • Great range of laptop specs available with a mobile broadband month contract
  • If you're an existing 3 Mobile customer, you get 25% off any 18 month mobile broadband package.
  • Free delivery and 14 day returns policy

Best selling 3 mobile broadband deals

3 Broadband Genie Road Test results

3 Road test
Three Huawei E367 dongle
Downloads
rating -5 stars5 stars
Uploads
rating -5 stars5 stars
Most stable
rating -4 stars4 stars
Coverage
rating -3 stars3 stars
Feelgood factor
rating -5 stars5 stars
Dongle software
rating -4 stars4 stars
Overall rating
rating -5 stars5 stars

May 2011

2011 Awards: Dongle on the Move Overall Winner, Best Downloader Winner, Best Uploader Winner, Most Stable runner-up & software runner-up

It's hard to describe just how far ahead of the competition Three's Huawei E367 was. Of our six award categories it aced three and was runner-up in two – and wasn't far off being placed in the last one, coverage, either. So what is Three doing so right?

At the time of writing (May 2011), the E367 is the only dongle of its kind on the UK market. It is packed with advanced chip technology and is designed for the coming 3G+ networks, which means it gets more out of mobile broadband now and will get even more in future. Three claims it is 40 per cent faster and we won't be disputing that here – it was certainly head and shoulders ahead of the competition.

So, the long and short of it: the Three E367 completed the most upload and download tests, with the fastest average and individual top speeds in both. It completed all but one of the upload and download tests to external sites (Facebook, BBC etc) and was the only dongle to complete all of the streaming tests we put it through. Quite simply a fantastic performance.

It has left us struggling for a negative, so we're not going to bother trying. All we will say is make sure you can get a good signal in your area if you do decide on Three – it's a great dongle, but it can't pull a signal out of the air if there isn't one to begin with!

Overall analysis of the Mobile Broadband Genie Road Trip 2011

by Chris Marling May 2011

About 3

While Three mobile broadband may have been late to the party as far as mobile network operators are concerned (being the fifth and final one to gain a 3G licence), it has concentrated hard on trying to lead the pack in terms of 3G mobile broadband. So far, it has pretty much succeeded.

UK residents have been bombarded with everything from free 3 mobile broadband dongles and MiFi units to aggressive pricing campaigns. Over the past few years it has pulled back on some of its customer service problems too, while its network has gone from also-ran to contender.

Launched as a brand of the Hong Kong-based Hutchinson Whampoa Corporation, 3 UK's mobile network arrived in 2003. The company launched its mobile broadband in August 2007, undercutting its rivals, while its pay as you go version followed in December of the same year. 3 became the first mobile broadband operator to launch 'free' laptop deals in July 2008 and it now offers mobile internet contracts from less than £10 per month. It was also the first to market with mobile WiFi, which it has dubbed MiFi.

In 2008, 3 signed an agreement with rival network T-Mobile to combine their 3G access networks: at the time the biggest agreement of its type (it has since been trumped by a similar deal between Vodafone and O2). In 2011 Three began to offer truly unlimited mobile broadband to its smartphone customers, while also offering the biggest range of mobile broadband deals on dongles, MiFis and laptops in terms of data allowances.

3 customer reviews

Show all 545 3 Mobile Broadband reviews»

  • unhappy

    by Boat Gypsy at 12:04 on 1 Feb 2012Report abuse

    I'm on 3's 15gb a month for £15, which I thought was a good deal, until I realised that if I use my monthly allowance up they always allow you to go a small amount over before telling you your allowance is up. They then charge a huge amount on top for virtually no data. For instance, whilst I should be paying £15, on every month where I have used my data up I have been charged £35.99. The amount of data used over my allowance is always, suspiciously, exactly the same amount, so clearly they have set their system up to do this.

    In addition despite coverage being good and being able to get a good strong signal, I regularly get dropped connections, sometimes every few minutes.

  • unhappy

    by Maxi at 18:23 on 31 Jan 2012Report abuse

    I am very angry with 3 connect! I signed a 15 month contract and the signal was always low! Impossible to use it during weekends.

    I want to end my contract but after having 1000 phone calls they are not giving me any service.

    I feel so frustrated! I will make a formal complain to any UK agency.

  • unhappy

    by Jonny at 15:02 on 31 Jan 2012Report abuse

    Avoid 3 like smallpox. They are absolute crooks who will have debt collection agencies calling you with threats should you ever attemp to close your contract or have difficulties with your account or service disagreements.

    I eventually rid myself of them to my relief. Do not enter into any contract or agreement with these criminals

  • unhappy

    by Michael at 21:57 on 23 Jan 2012Report abuse

    RIGHT! That's it! I hate 3! Just got off the phone having spoken to 4 people. I'm locked into a 24 month contract which gets me 15GB per month. Considering my last dongle on orange only gave me 6GB per month, i thought i would never have to worry again. It runs out faster every month. It ran out after 10 days this month. I only really use the internet in the evenings and not every evening. I just don't see how i could have used up that amount of data in that time. They told me that websites like facebook use much more data than they used to but that still doesn't explain it. And even if it did then it's terrible to lock someone into a 24 month contract for a soon to be redundant device/data plan. I'm about 4 months in and the thing is nearly useless already. After 20 months I immagine my 15GB will get me about 10 mins of browsing. They won't let me cancel or downgrade.

    I recommend using any other way possible to get online but NOT A DONGLE!
    It's too late for me now but here's a tip: Get a smart phone on contract with an "all you can eat" tariff. Then set up a "wifi hotspot" and link it to your PC. That way you'll get unlimited internet at pretty much the same speed, a nice new phone and unlimited internet...

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