If you’re a regular visitor to the UK or if you need mobile broadband now and again, but not enough to take out a contract, this might well be a wicked deal for you.
3UK have just announced that they’re selling their USB modems at 69.99 pounds on pay as you go. Genius. Last year, 3UK kicked the mobile broadband marketplace into touch with the launch of their tenner-a-month mobile broadband service (I’ve got one of those and it’s wicked).
Many shops in the 3UK empire couldn’t actually re-stock fast enough, such was the demand. Indeed, a USB modem is no longer the domain of the uber-geek. I come across lots of normobs who have one now.
The other mobile operators here in the UK were caught asleep at the wheel. Vodafone continued to knock along at at 30+ pounds/month price plan until recently — losing many a customer to the very tempting 3UK offer. T-Mobile, too, one of the first to launch mobile broadband, were steeply priced compared to the tenner-a-month deal.
The next stage for domination for 3UK is pay as you go — for causal users, international travellers and those (like me) up for impulse purchases. You can now walk into a 3UK shop — today — and walk out with a USB modem that will work instantly.
All you need to do is top it up. Quoting from 3UK’s release:
With the current Pay As You Go price plan customers can get a 1GB data allowance with a £10 Add-on, 3GB with a £15 Add-on and 7GB with a £25 Add-on. Each Add-on lasts for 30 days.
3’s most popular 3GB package provides users with up to 2000 plain text emails and 100 hours of surfing the web, with an additional 100 two minute video downloads and 200 music tracks.
Reasonable to me, particularly if you’re spunking 20 pounds a day on wifi fees at your hotel.
More details and ordering here.
Ewan don’t know if you realised from your screenshot, but since you haven’t mentioned it in your post… not only has the usb modem been reduced to £69.99 on payg both instore/online but if you are an existing 3 customer you can buy the usb modem for a measly £19.99 (£50 off!).
Now that is one cracking bargain!!!
Totally missed that Zakir!
£20 sodding pounds? Oh that’s simply not fair!
My laptop suddenly ceased to function late last week and I’ve no chance of affording a replacement for several months so now I’ve got no use for a bloody usb modem!
Damn the timing of Three’s amazing offers!
Wonder what the American readers will make of “spunking”?
🙂
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Excellent – I’ve wanted one of these as a stand-by (not needed for every day use) for a while and £19.99 (existing customer) is practically free 🙂 I read elsewhere that the ZTE device they offer (over the various coloured rounded ones) actually supports up to 7.2Mb although Three don’t support this (yet). Is that correct? Can anyone comment on which one to choose (other than colour!) for use with a Mac before I go and ‘spunk’ my £20.
Awesome stuff! as an existing Three customer I just ordered one for £19.99… hopefully I can ditch the payg sim and use my X-Series SIM in there.