Optus prepaid wireless broadband may prove costly

OptusKey.jpgIf you only want wireless broadband occasionally — when you travel for work or pleasure —then a prepaid plan sounds like a good investment. Optus has just launched such a deal; pay $199 for a wireless broadband modem and then recharge in blocks starting at $30 for 30 days access. That might sound like a tempting offer but, as Paul Wright points out over at APC, Optus is charging a minimum 10MB access each time you connect — so if you check your mail a few times a day, you might chew up more data than you anticipated. Proceeding with caution might be wise. [Optus Pre-Paid Wireless Broadband]


    I was much wittier the last time I wrote this, but suffered the comments fate, so I'm reattempting...

    I have the 3 broadband equivalent of this USB stick. I assume it's pretty much the same aside from the SIM and UI. The plug and play is pretty grand, and genuinely works perfectly under XP and Vista. I recommend uninstalling the previous Vodafone software first as XP seems easily confused.

    I use it on Vista daily and the only complaint is that Vista seems to want to reinstall the software now and again, which is nothing more than a few moments inconvenience. Odd, but not problematic.

    Works fine on a mac too, though it isn't plug and play.

    It doesn't work easily on the eee as you noted. I understand the issue here is the dual mode function of the device. Linux doesnt recognise it as a memory stick+modem. I've followed some instructions unsuccessfully which effectively disable one mode on the dongle, and then you should be able to detect it as a modem.

    Here's a newer and much simpler article on using the dongle with the eee. Might be more successful than my failed attempt: http://www.greenhughes.com/content/using-huawei-e169g-usb-mobile-internet-modem-eee

    I'll be checking that one out next.

    I would like to go to a prepaid service since my plan expires soon and i like the financial freedom of "no plan".
    Tonight i have had to re-connect after the Optus connection dropped no fewer than 50 times.
    This is just catagorically getting worse on a weekly basis. Staying connected between say 5pm and 10pm requires re-connection constantly.
    Between 5-7 pm i was reconnecting after every search which was well below dial up speed even though HSPDA was indicated.
    At this rate, i will use 1 gig in two days just in reconnecting if on the prepaid mode of broadband wireless. Has any one else noticed this massive decline in quality?
    Maybe Optus are practising to become a bank instead of providing broadband. The ratio seems right. One real MB to create 9 fictional MB's, like the "Fractional Reserve Banking" system causing havoc in our economy.
    I am confused or numb.....not sure...hmm.

    bigpond wireless prepaid is much better than optus. yes, the prices for data are exorbitant, and customer service is crap, but it stays connected and downloads are acceptable.

Join the discussion!

Trending Stories Right Now