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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 553 3 Mobile Broadband reviews»

  • unhappy

    by Ian at 09:24 on 19 Feb 2012Report abuse

    I´ve been on 3 PAYG for a couple of months now. We´re only using mobile broadband due to be being in a rented house for a short time only, previously we had landline broadband for seven years without a single problem. Since using 3´s mobile broadband my internet usage has dropped considerably. The service is completely unreliable, it may work ok for 5 minutes or maybe a couple of hours, it then drops out and I can´t reconnect for ages. I don´t know what HSPA+ is but it appears to be what I am connected to 80% of the time.
    3´s service is basically an emergency reserve last resort internet connection for people who have no other way to connect to the internet, I would certainly never recommend anybody ever actually signs up to any sort of contract for this rubbish.

  • neutral

    by Chris Toon at 02:03 on 17 Feb 2012Report abuse

    I dont understand why 90% of you take out these 24 month contracts,why dont you use PAYG first to see how your connection is in your area,then think of all the money your be saving rather than just wasting it. I am curently a PAYG user with 3 ,the internet is really fantastic on my Motorola Xoom.I can Stream BBC iplayer and Twitch TV with no problem.Overall happy with 3 Services (Note: with 3 contacts you get a 3 day trial period where if your not happy with your connection or change your mind about having to pay monthy you can always cancel within the 3 day period,but sounds like to me that most of you dont know that.

  • unhappy

    by Guido10_0 at 16:12 on 15 Feb 2012Report abuse

    I have been getting poor service from my 15GB/month service. When ever I try and watch a film from BBC website I keep getting Insufficent Bandwidth to view program. So I have contacted 3 about the issues I am having and they have stated to me that because I am trying to watch films during their peek time this is why I am having the problem. So I have started to watch films outside that time period and I am still coming up with Insufficent bandwidth to stream program. So I spoke to them today asking if I could speak to a manger as the service I was getting was not doing what it should. The guy on the other end was from India so had a difficult time understanding what he was saying and at the end of the conversation he said to me that if i was not happy with the service the best I leave. I asked if he was a manager and he replied that he was but that he had a manager, so I asked if I could speak with him as really this guy didn't know his ass from his elbow. He informed me that I would have to arrange a time for his manager to contact me which I have do so now we wait and see what this manager has to say. I'm on the £15.99/month 15GB service. The problem I am having is that when I try stream a film from the BBC weside it keeps coming up with Insufficent broadband to view programm. Why is it that we have paid for a service that comes with conditions as to when you can use it. I have also run ping commands to websites like Google and BBC which keep dropping off or have very very slow respond times. The guy from 3 said that that can be affected by weather, signal strenth, building, trees etc etc. The signal strenth on my idicator is at its highest which blows that out the water.

    Question:- Do these big companies thing their clients are muppets.? Where is the service we are paying for? They should be held up to provide the service they said they would provide when they sold you the contract.

    Anyway will keep you posted on what the next manager has to say about their POOR service.

  • unhappy

    by mark at 08:45 on 14 Feb 2012Report abuse

    ave just changed over from 02 startin to regret that now .takes ages to load pages ,s**t signal . oh well u live an learn .

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