I am not sure how much the car hire folk are charging for mifi these days or the cost of internet hook up in places that charge for the service but Tesco mobile are selling the E5220 @ 50 + 15 for 15GB/month data so 65 sets you up with your own WiFi and a device which you can stick on ebay when yo get back home.
That does sound like a pretty good deal. Even better than the '3' set up that I bought, last June. I think the 'Top Up' for it ran 25 Euro for the month -- with a lower Data limit. The MiFi unit looks identical to the one I bought.
Do you know what Network Tesco is using? The '3' seemed to have pretty good coverage, though there were a few places where I couldn't get a signal.
I think the Car Hire people are getting about 30 Euro per week and up. Dooley was charging 10 Euro, per day. Some Android phones (HTC, for example) allow the phone to act as a MiFi 'hub' -- but, it would need to be an UNLOCKED phone, to be cost effective
Still, for Ireland Travelers who plan visits of two weeks or more (Or, 'Repeat' Customers, like some of us! ) this option from Tesco may very well be the best deal!
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Bob
Help Us to Help You. The more you tell us about your plans (dates, interests, budget), the better we can tailor our advice to suit!
I am going to take the gamble that the wifi signal is as good as the phone signal.. Tesco run on 02 but piggyback Hutchinson the same as 3 so maybe a double bite? going to ask a few questions on Monday when Customer care get back in and will order myself one. We have 3 on the National Broadband scheme this side of the lough and service is less than good even with the booster box so anything's worth a try.
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Two rules for Ireland, Take your time & bring a sense of humour
We are definitely curious about this as well. Curious if we can purchase and have it sent to us here in the sates, and then buy the top up once we arrive in September...
Have tried one out here and works as well as the "3" contract system just not convinced about changing purely on the amount of data we eat in a month here at home... I will though be buying my own unit for carrying when we get out and about.
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Two rules for Ireland, Take your time & bring a sense of humour
Having morning cup & having this little hotspot is very convenient. Signal strength in Kenmare town is very good. Web pages load quickly. I've yet to try in the car, but very pleased with performance here in the cottage. Actually, I'm outside since I'm also having a smoke the signal remains strong - the WIFI device is inside.
The buying of it was a bit difficult. First off, it was placed above a price card for a phone that sold for 129.99. Had to call the manager who confirmed for me that it was 49.99. The other sales assistants struggled to answer some of my questions about it, but after the sale, the Tesco phone support was excellent. At any rate, all is well now.
By the way, there was a great trad session in Crowley's last night & after a little shower, the clouds are breaking up, so the day looks promising. Trip reporting will have to wait. Til later.
-- Edited by Mac_T on Tuesday 6th of May 2014 04:15:26 AM