Cheap wireless broadband for 3 Months with Telstra

[markis10]

H/Norman were selling the Telstra WIFI 3G Modem for half price - $49, considering it comes with 5Gb of data that wont expire until three months after activation its a great deal, luckily Officeworks have matched price and have way more stock as well as online ordering if you dont have a local!

Telstra Pre-Paid MF30 WiFi Mobile Broadband at $49.50 in USB Modems

Specifications:

• Includes up to 5GB of data. 90 day expiry
• Network: HSDPA/HSUPA: Tri Band UMTS: 3G850/1900/2100 MHz
• EDGE/GSM: Quad Band 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
• Active Battery Life: up to 240 minutes
• Standby Life: up to 100 hours
• Portable Wi-Fi connection for when you're out and about
• Supports up to 3-5 users simultaneously
• Light and compact design
• Compatible on both PC and Mac
• Add up to 32GB MicroSD card to use as anexternal storage drive
• Warranty: 2 Years
• # Typical customer download speeds of 550 kbps to 3 Mbps and upload speeds 300kbps-1Mbps in other coverage areas.

HSDPA / HSUPA: 7.2 Mbps peak downlink devicerating^ /5.8 Mbps uplink rating^ Typical customer download speed of 550kbps to 3Mbps.Typical customer upload speed is 300kbps to 3Mbps incapitals, metropolitan and selected regional areas#.Actual speeds are less.
# Typical customer download speeds of 550 kbps to 3 Mbps and upload speeds 300kbps-1Mbps in other coverage areas.

 

[LiamR]

Wow. Lucky day. I was going to purchase one of these to replace my iPhone tethering with Optus.

I was going to say I could pricematch with DSE to get the points (And a DSE is close by) But IIRC you have to spend more than $50 for points?

Its a really good offer, thanks for posting it.

 

[munitalP]

I have one, they are great. The battery is 21/2 -3 hours max, but the charger is a USB nifty little unit so you can use it to also recharge from the laptop or seat back oops or power point. Word of warning, if using on a MB Air, for some reason it looses the WiFi password every now and again. Keep a copy of it with you to avoid the frustration!

 

[opusman]

Does anyone know if the unit is locked to Telstra? The missus is spending a couple of weeks in Spain on a language course later in the year and if she could use this with a local SIM it might solve her wifi problems.

 

[LiamR]

Word of warning, if using on a MB Air, for some reason it looses the WiFi password every now and again. Keep a copy of it with you to avoid the frustration!

Are you talking about a MacBook Air on MacOSX or Windows? I use a MacBook Air and only run windows.

Leads me to my second question... Theres a set Wi-Fi Password, you can't change it? :shock:

 

[Travel Guru]

Does anyone know if the unit is locked to Telstra? The missus is spending a couple of weeks in Spain on a language course later in the year and if she could use this with a local SIM it might solve her wifi problems.

I don't know, I imagine it would, but I just picked myself up a Netcomm MyZone for exactly that purpose for $115 from Hardly Normal when they had their recent 20% off sale.

At $49.50, I think i'll be picking one of these up anyway.

TG

 

[markis10]

Does anyone know if the unit is locked to Telstra? The missus is spending a couple of weeks in Spain on a language course later in the year and if she could use this with a local SIM it might solve her wifi problems.

According to Telstra:

If you want to use your Telstra Pre-Paid Mobile Broadband device on another network, you will need to pay a Network Unlocking Fee of $100.

There has been evidence that people have got it free by walking into a Telstra store!

 

[Travel Guru]

According to Telstra:

If you want to use your Telstra Pre-Paid Mobile Broadband device on another network, you will need to pay a Network Unlocking Fee of $100.

There has been evidence that people have got it free by walking into a Telstra store!

Any idea whether the SIM card can be removed and used in another device (such as Netcomm MyZone), I'm thinking of picking one up and putting it into the Netcomm once the 5gb is used and recharged, but wasnt sure whether this was possible.

When I tried to buy a SIM only from the T-Shop they looked at me like i was from mars wanting it without a modem.

TG

 

[LiamR]

When I tried to buy a SIM only from the T-Shop they looked at me like i was from mars wanting it without a modem.

Was this the Australia Fair one?

 

[markis10]

Any idea whether the SIM card can be removed and used in another device (such as Netcomm MyZone), I'm thinking of picking one up and putting it into the Netcomm once the 5gb is used and recharged, but wasnt sure whether this was possible.

When I tried to buy a SIM only from the T-Shop they looked at me like i was from mars wanting it without a modem.

TG

No problems at all, I currently alternate the SIM between the "pebble" as I call it and my USB modem!

BTW you can change the WIFI security code to one you can remember.

 

[Travel Guru]

Was this the Australia Fair one?

No, Robina.


TG

 

[timmmb]

I bought the 'elite' one of these and it's brilliant (see telstra.com.au/bigpond-internet/mobile-broadband/prepaid/get-started/).

I get as much as 1.5MB/s (15Mbps) at work and about one-tenth of that at home.

I might pick one up so that I have another 3GB when mine expires next month and give the unit to Dad, who is currently travelling across Australia with his Bigpond postpaid USB 3G stick.

Changing the WPA key (WiFi password) and APN are a piece of cake on the Elite. I assume that the MF30 is the same.

AFAIK, there would be no problem in putting the SIM into a Netcomm MyZone.

 

[Hvr]

Thanks for this, I was going to Telstra tomorrow to purchase one of these but not any more.

I'll see if DSE will price match otherwise HN here I come.

 

[Sifor]

Ha I actually won one of those Elite mobile WiFi things from Telstra in a competition... still haven't used it! Now that the iPhone 4 OS has the wifi function it makes these devices a tad redundant. Nine times out of ten you'll have your phone with you when you're using a laptop.

 

[Travel Guru]

Ha I actually won one of those Elite mobile WiFi things from Telstra in a competition... still haven't used it! Now that the iPhone 4 OS has the wifi function it makes these devices a tad redundant. Nine times out of ten you'll have your phone with you when you're using a laptop.

True though correct me if I'm wrong but the data rate on a iPhone would be higher than that of pre-paid broadband unless you've got a data allowance to burn?

TG

 

[munitalP]

Are you talking about a MacBook Air on MacOSX or Windows? I use a MacBook Air and only run windows.

Leads me to my second question... Theres a set Wi-Fi Password, you can't change it? :shock:

Not wanting to sound like an cough, but I have the MB Air for the Mac OS, not Win. If I wanted to run Win, I would have bought an equally as good Viao or Lenovo.

The MiFi has a set P/W - yes you are correct (unless Im too stupid to find the setting at http://1.2.168/xx_.xx_ or whatever the ip address is

 

[LiamR]

Ha I actually won one of those Elite mobile WiFi things from Telstra in a competition... still haven't used it! Now that the iPhone 4 OS has the wifi function it makes these devices a tad redundant. Nine times out of ten you'll have your phone with you when you're using a laptop.

Your totally correct. But I'm with Optus and the data on it is hit and miss, not particually fast either. Telstra seems to have fantastic coverage and great speed.

Not wanting to sound like an cough, but I have the MB Air for the Mac OS, not Win. If I wanted to run Win, I would have bought an equally as good Viao or Lenovo.

What can I say... I'm a sucker for Glass and Aluminum.... But yes, I bought it to use Mac OS, but the programs I use are nowhere near as good as on PC. I still think it's better than any Viao or Lenovo.

 

[Sifor]

True though correct me if I'm wrong but the data rate on a iPhone would be higher than that of pre-paid broadband unless you've got a data allowance to burn?

TG

I'm on a great plan with Telstra where I receive 2GB of data per month (therefore equivalent to 6GB in three months), $400 worth of calls n **** all for $39 per month with an upfront handset payment (iPhone 4 16GB) of $150 which was conveniently 'waived' as I was given a $200 bill credit that paid for the phone and first month.

A few years a go Telstra was a full cost premium service. Nowadays competition has forced them to become mainstream. I now have my home phone, mobile and internet with them. Nothing like having the fastest and most reliable telecommunications provider at a low cost.

 

[timmmb]

The MiFi has a set P/W - yes you are correct (unless Im too stupid to find the setting at 1.2.168/xx_.xx_ or whatever the ip address is

Easy: 192.168.0.1 -> admin/admin -> WiFi settings -> Security.

Ha I actually won one of those Elite mobile WiFi things from Telstra in a competition... still haven't used it! Now that the iPhone 4 OS has the wifi function it makes these devices a tad redundant. Nine times out of ten you'll have your phone with you when you're using a laptop.

I've found the iOS4 personal hotspot function to be a bit flaky and it consumes a lot of battery. I prefer my Elite.

-timb

 

[kaybee57]

Does anyone know if the unit is locked to Telstra? The missus is spending a couple of weeks in Spain on a language course later in the year and if she could use this with a local SIM it might solve her wifi problems.

Yes it is Telstra locked - am just setting mine up now and as per documentation " Your Wi-Fi modem is programmed to operate only on the Telstra network, you may need to pay and unlocking fee to use it on other networks."