Cutting the cord and ridding ourselves of BT

When was the last time that your home phone got serious, regular, use?

That was the question I found myself asking when BT announced recently that they were upping their prices again. This got me to thinking about what we were actually paying for and I quickly came to the conclusion that we weren’t getting very good value for money.

The problem (for BT) is that there are so many other ways we can be reached these days whether it is email, text message, Skype, Facebook or even Snapchat. Very, very few choose to phone us and those that do … Read the rest

4G Arrives in Reading (sort of)

20140214-085900.jpgI noticed this morning that my iPad was now showing a 4G notifier in the header rather than the usual 3G.

Three, my network provider, have been very good saying that they wouldn’t charge any more for this unlike other operators. Today I found out why – it doesn’t work, at least not in Reading where I am.Switching to 3G I immediately got a lovely fast signal whereas on 4G nothing.

I am hoping that this is a temporary thing and will quickly improve when more cells are rolled out. Here’s to super fast mobile access.… Read the rest

Three Offers up Cheap(er) Mobile Roaming

Here’s a welcome bit of news just two days before I go off on a weekend break to Denmark – UK mobile provider three are introducing an all-you-can-eat mobile roaming tariff of “only” £5 per day. Called the Euro Internet Pass it allows monthly contract customers to access the web on the go.

One of the real frustrations of travelling abroad in the past has been that if you wanted to use the maps app on your phone to find out exactly where you were and where the restaurant was that you were making for it could have cost you … Read the rest

3 mifi with OLED screen

Received my new 3 mifi dongle yesterday. This one is basically the same as the previous module with a few important differences:

1. It has an OLED screen giving much more information than before, including the amount of data this session.

2. It now has a web interface that allows you to both configure and monitor the device. This save you having to flash the device yourself with the worry that you will brick it.

3. There is now only a single button. You switch it on. It connects. You’re good to go. Much better

4. It’s now a trendy … Read the rest