SERVICES

Broadband on the go Consumer Choice takes a look at mobile broadband providers to help you find the best deals on offer.

There are over 1.47 million active Summary of providers as Meteor (its subsidiary company). It internet subscriptions in Ireland with The current providers of mobile is available as a pay monthly service mobile broadband the fastest growing broadband in Ireland are as follows: only. You need not be an existing sector of the market. Mobile broadband • 3 has both a pay monthly mobile customer of Eircom to receive its is the name used to describe various broadband as well as a service mobile broadband and you will be types of wireless high-speed internet available to pre-pay customers. 3 is billed separately if you are. access through portable devices such as the current market leader for mobile Obviously, the advantage to pay-as-you- PC data cards, USB modems, USB sticks broadband in Ireland with over go mobile broadband services is the fact and phones with data modems. Of 150,000 customers. that you don’t need to enter into any these, USB modems which fit into the • Vodafone offers both a pay monthly minimum term contracts. However, that USB port on your laptop are the most and a prepay mobile broadband said, the cost of the broadband may be popular way to receive mobile service. Vodafone says its broadband higher and, depending on the package AT A GLANCE broadband. According to the network covers 88% of the and provider, the time you can spend on communications regulator, ComReg, population. the internet and using broadband mobile broadband subscriptions have • Meteor offers both a pay monthly and services will be limited to between one How does it increased by 90.6% in the twelve a prepay mobile broadband service. and 30 days. work? months to March 2009. This increase • has a mobile broadband service Most mobile broadband users in Coverage. reflects how broadband technology has for its pay monthly customers only. Ireland are bill-pay customers. Research matured in recent years and highlights • Eircom also has a mobile broadband by ComReg found that these customers Our survey. the potential growth of the market. service which uses the same network comprise over 90% of the market.

370 consumer choice OCTOBER 2009 SERVICES TABLE 1: BILL PAY MOBILE BROADBAND SERVICES

provider product monthly modem modem modem speed 1 monthly out of bundle minimum fee (€) price (€) upload download download limit charge (per Mb) contract (months) 3 Mobile Pay Monthly Broadband 19.99 E160G free 384kbs 3.6Mbs 15Gb 5c 18 3 Mobile Pay Monthly Broadband 19.99 E160G 9 384kbs 3.6Mbs 15Gb 5c 12 3 Mobile Pay Monthly Broadband 19.99 E180 49 2Mbs 7.2Mbs 15Gb 5c 12 Meteor Broadband To Go 16.99 E180 29 2Mbs 7.2Mbs 5Gb 2c 12 Vodafone Pay Monthly Broadband 19.99 E169 free 384kbs 7.2Mbs 5Gb 2c 12 O2 O2 Clear Broadband 19.99 Compass 888 69 5.2Mbs 7.2Mbs 10Gb 2c 18 O2 O2 Clear Broadband 25.00 Compass 888 79 5.2Mbs 7.2Mbs 7.5Gb 2c 12 O2 O2 Clear Broadband 30.00 Compass 888 119 5.2Mbs 7.2Mbs 5Gb 2c 1 2 O2 O2 Clear Broadband 19.99 E170 59 2Mbs 7.2Mbs 10Gb 2c 18 O2 O2 Clear Broadband 25.00 E170 79 2Mbs 7.2Mbs 7.5Gb 2c 12 O2 O2 Clear Broadband 30.00 E170 129 2Mbs 7.2Mbs 5Gb 2c 1 2 O2 O2 Clear Broadband 19.99 E220 free 384kbs 7.2Mbs 10Gb 2c 18 O2 O2 Clear Broadband 25.00 E220 free 384kbs 7.2Mbs 7.5Gb 2c 12 O2 O2 Clear Broadband 30.00 E220 free 384kbs 7.2Mbs 5Gb 2c 1 2 Eircom Eircom Mobile Broadband 19.99 E180 29 2Mbs 7.2Mbs 10Gb 2c 12

Note: Information correct as at 14 July 2009. 1 Maximum speed per second as claimed by provider. 2 30 days.

TABLE 2: PREPAY MOBILE BROADBAND SERVICES

provider product available cost modem modem modem speed 1 out of bundle passes (days) (€) price (€) upload download charge (per Mb) 3 Mobile 3 Pay Broadband 1,7 or 30 5,10 or 25 2 E160G 69 384kbs 3.6Mbs 49c 3 Mobile 3 Pay Broadband 1,7 or 30 5,10 or 25 2 E180 119 2Mbs 7.2Mbs 49c Meteor Broadband To Go 1 or 30 2.99 or 19.99 3 E180 69 4 2Mbs 7.2Mbs 2c Vodafone Pay As You Use Mobile Broadband 1 5 5 E169 79 384kbs 7.2Mbs 2c

Note: Information correct as at 14 July 2009. 1 Maximum speed per second as claimed by provider. 2 One day of access costs €5 with 500Mb usage allowance, one week of access costs €10 with 2Gb usage allowance, 30 days access costs €25 with 10Gb allowance. 3 €2.99 is for a day pass with 500Mb allowance, €19.99 is for a 30 day pass with 5Gb allowance. 4 Online price. Sold for €79 in-store. 5 500Mb allowance per day.

How does it work? of up to 7.2Mbps, with an upload speed recently published a survey which found In order to receive the mobile of up to 2Mbs. O2 offers the widest that broadband speeds for UK consumers broadband service, consumers need a range of modems to use with its mobile were significantly lower than advertised. modem and SIM card with their broadband service. In fact, no customer in the survey chosen provider. The modem, also called achieved the top speed advertised. a ‘dongle’, is almost identical in Speed If you would like to test the speed of appearance to a USB memory stick. In When mobile companies talk about the broadband service that you are order to get online, the SIM card is speeds of 3.6 or 7.2 Mbps they are receiving, you can do so by using an inserted into the modem before it is referring to theoretical maximum speeds, online speed test such as that at plugged into the USB port in your PC or not speeds you will experience all of the irishisptest.com. laptop – just like a memory stick or any time. Download speeds are usually much other USB cable. faster than upload speeds as most Coverage Vodafone, Meteor and Eircom sell consumers tend not to upload large files The level of coverage required is another only one type of modem for use with to the internet unless they have a important factor when considering which their mobile broadband service. particular reason to. mobile broadband service to go with. However, both 3 and O2 have a range of Besides the physical capacity of the This is particularly true if you’re a modems to choose from. modem itself, there are a number of frequent traveller around the country. Just The more expensive modems allow factors that can affect the speed you as with coverage, mobile for faster upload and download speeds. experience. These include distance from broadband coverage can vary across For example, with 3, you can choose an a mobile mast, trees and buildings providers, with some companies claiming E160 modem which has a download between you and the mast, and the to cover more of the population or speed of up to 3.6Mbps and an upload number of users in the area. Meteor, in country than others. speed of up to 384Kbps. This modem its terms and conditions, states that it Even where coverage is available, comes free when you sign up for an ‘cannot guarantee that you will reach whether that coverage is 2G, 2.5G or 3G 18-month contract or costs €9 for a maximum speeds advertised’. (G stands for generation) is also 12-month contract term. Also available As yet, there has been no national test important. Mobile broadband works best with 3 is an E180 modem which costs of broadband speeds in Ireland. in an area of 3G coverage as this allows €49 and operates at a download speed However, UK telecoms regulator Ofcom higher download and upload speeds.

SERVICES OCTOBER 2009 consumer choice 371 Useful contacts 3G networks also enable operators to “There are over 1.47 million active internet offer consumers a wider range of more ComReg advanced services. subscriptions in Ireland, with mobile broadband Block DEF Consumer Choice hasn’t tested network the fastest growing sector of the market.” Abbey Court coverage in Ireland and so can only Irish Life Centre outline what the operators say about CUTTING THE COST OF A MODEM Lower Abbey Street their service. Vodafone says that for data You might be able to use your phone as an mobile phone equivalent to an ADSL line in 1 requirements, its network is the most alternative to buying an expensive modem, the home. tel (01) 8049668 advanced in Ireland, with enhanced 3G 1890 229668 provided your handset is HSDPA enabled. It might also be possible to pick up a Broadband and GPRS capabilities that email Short for High-Speed Downlink Packet refurbished modem at a reduced price. O2 [email protected] “deliver consistently higher data Access, this is a new protocol for mobile sells refurbished modems (modems which www.comreg.ie performance.” The other providers boast telephone data transmission. It is known as have been either repaired or returned) on its similarly high coverage. All of the a 3.5G technology. Essentially, this standard website for up to €20 less than ones that Useful websites mobile broadband providers in our should provide download speeds on a are sold for the first time. survey have interactive maps on their www.vodafone.ie websites that allow consumers to check the risk of being unhappy with the and comes with a generous 15Gb www.three.ie whether they live in an area of coverage, service. Another possibility for download allowance. However, this offer www.meteor.ie and whether that coverage is 3G. consumers to consider is to take a ‘try applies only to an 18-month contract. www.eircom.ie before you buy’ approach. For a shorter contract of 12 months, www.02.ie Download allowances While none of the providers allow Vodafone’s mobile broadband also costs www.irishsptest.com Whether you are a pay monthly consumers to use their service before €19.99 per month and comes with a free broadband customer or you use a prepay paying for it, all of the companies in our E169 modem. However, the monthly service, you are subject to caps on the survey have money-back guarantees in download allowance is only 5Gb so it amount of information you can operation, so effectively consumers can would not be suitable for particularly download. This is important because try the service without risking their heavy internet users. you will be charged separate ‘out of money or before being locked into a O2 comes out on top in terms of bundle’ rates for whatever you download contract. However, the amount of time a flexibility as it has a 30-day service outside your allowance. consumer has to return the modem which costs €30 a month. An E220 Of the bill pay packages, download and/or cancel the contract varies modem comes free and the monthly allowances range in size from 5Gb to depending on the company. download allowance is 5GB. O2 also has 15Gb a month. According to 3, 15Gbs Meteor operate a ‘Works For Me 12- and 18-month packages. translates into roughly 150 hours of Guarantee’ which entitles the consumer While competitively priced, Meteor’s surfing online or 480 music downloads. to a full refund provided the modem is mobile broadband service is limited, as The average monthly use of 3 customers returned to the same store it was at the time of writing it is only fully is about 1.5Gb. This, however, is the purchased in with full packaging and available in Dublin, Cork City, average, so if you download a lot of proof of purchase within seven days. Drogheda, Dundalk and Naas. Since large files, or if you use your mobile This only applies to first time purchases. Eircom uses the Meteor Network to broadband service for work purposes, O2 and Vodafone operate a similar deliver its mobile broadband service, it you could go over your allowance. It is seven day return policy. Both 3 and suffers from the same limitation. not possible to roll over unused data Eircom operate a 14-day return policy, However, an attractive feature which may allowances from month to month. which gives consumers a little more time persuade some consumers to go with Prepay mobile broadband consumers to try out the service. However, check the Eircom is that free access to over 1,000 who only buy day passes are subject to exact terms and conditions of the return Eircom WiFi hotspots around the lower download allowances of 500Mbs. policy at the time of purchase as there country is included with the package. These allowances increase with the may be hidden steps you must take Although the prepay mobile longer passes for 7 or 30 days. Prepay before a return is accepted. For example, broadband services are flexible, they customers using 3’s mobile broadband 3 told Consumer Choice that the don’t represent good value for money service should be mindful of the higher consumer must register their and are only suitable for consumers who ‘out of bundle’ charge for downloading dissatisfaction with the product by are set against entering into a contract data. This rate is 49c per Mb, so the costs phoning 3 directly. Once registered, 3 and who don’t mind buying the modem. of any extra data downloaded would will give you your money back when you Download allowances are also lower quickly add up. go to return the product in-store. and, in the case of 3, the ‘out of bundle’ cost of downloading is quite punitive at Try before you Our survey 49c per Mb. Perhaps a better alternative (completely) buy It’s important to remember that our than the prepay offers is O2’s 30-day There is a lot of anecdotal evidence of survey was carried out based on the contract with a free E220 modem, 5Gb consumers buying mobile broadband information supplied by mobile monthly download allowance and out of services only to find out later that their broadband providers and is not a test of bundle charge of 2c per Mb. However, coverage or connection speed is service level or quality of coverage. consumers wishing to cancel should be unsatisfactory. Checking the interactive Of the bill pay offers, Consumer Choice aware that the O2 30-day plan is subject Report by maps that broadband providers have on thought that 3’s €19.99 per month offer to a 30-day notice period and a direct Mark Channing cc their websites is one way of minimising with free modem represents good value debit mandate is still required.

372 consumer choice OCTOBER 2008 SERVICES