Oceania (Australia, New Zealand & the South Pacific) - Mobile Broadband dongle

What's the best option for buying usb wifi dongle to get internet access? I see vodafone have a white one for $29 with 3GB but says in metropolitan areas only so don't know what connectivity will be like...I will be staying MEL CBD area

The catch with those dongles is driver problems (if you use windows or mac); if this is a concern, use a pocket-wifi instead (standalone wifi/3G router). Vodafone is fine within 50km of MEL during normal times, but their network has had many outages and reliability problems in the past few months (same with 3, which is owned by Vodafone). The only really reliable network is Telstra, which of course costs more, but if you need a reliable connection then Vodafone is a problem. Sydney North Shore is hopeless for Vodafone (they rolled out free 3GB/month data on many voice phone plans, not expecting it to be used, and surprise, lots more data traffic than they have capacity for!!!!).

The catch with those dongles is driver problems (if you use windows or mac); if this is a concern, use a pocket-wifi instead (standalone wifi/3G router). Vodafone is fine within 50km of MEL during normal times, but their network has had many outages and reliability problems in the past few months (same with 3, which is owned by Vodafone). The only really reliable network is Telstra, which of course costs more, but if you need a reliable connection then Vodafone is a problem. Sydney North Shore is hopeless for Vodafone (they rolled out free 3GB/month data on many voice phone plans, not expecting it to be used, and surprise, lots more data traffic than they have capacity for!!!!).

Ah thanks for that! appreciate it

Yep for the moment Telstra is the only way to go. VF are rolling out a new network though at the moment so this will probably all change in 6 months or so.

I'll be spending most of July and August in WA and NT and have been looking at the Telstra Elite Wi-Fi pre-paid service. The only thing I'm unclear about is the 'activation'. Is it true you need an Australian ID and an Australian residential address?

cheers,

Henry

Yes, as an anti-terrorist measure you need strong id and an address. Passport is usually enough (even if not Australian), and a hotel address qualifies as an Australian address. Activation can be done at time of purchase (easiest), or later by phone (which seems a bit dodgy, but that's anti-terrorism for you). You can even buy it at the airport upon arrival (certainly at SYD and MEL, but presumably also PER and DRW).

I'll be spending most of July and August in WA and NT and have been looking at the Telstra Elite Wi-Fi pre-paid service. The only thing I'm unclear about is the 'activation'. Is it true you need an Australian ID and an Australian residential address?

cheers,

Henry

Yes, you need ID.

Be warned though, once you're outside the SW part of WA network coverage is patchy at best, and at worst you could drive for hours with no signal. The same goes for the NT oustide of Darwin and a few regional centres. As long as you don't expect to be sitting in the middle of nowhere having a video call back to Tampere and you should be ok.;)

I ended up getting the white one on the $29 deal with 3GB and it has been great, no problems. Thanks for your help

. Is it true you need an Australian ID and an Australian residential address?

cheers, t

Henry

I know your from the USA, but just for reference.

I have no problem using my NZ Drivers license and NZ Address to attain a sim.

Now back in NZ, do I need a NZ sim for it to work over here?

All you need is ID and ur hotel address is sufficient

Now back in NZ, do I need a NZ sim for it to work over here?...Most of the cheap dongles are locked, if you bought it from Voda or 3 etc. it will be locked to that vendor. You can pay to have it unlocked, or see if your supplier also is in NZ though you would get roaming rates. It might be able to take a new sim from the same vendor that is local to NZ -- or it might not. Most likely you need to start from scratch -- the downside of not buying a more expensive unlocked device.

All you need is ID and ur [sic] hotel address is sufficientJust to follow up for future readers of this thread...

I went to the Telstra store and picked out the pre-paid mobile broadband wireless modem. I showed my passport and they copied down the details. Then they happily wrote down the address I gave them, which happened to be my hotel address (but it could have been anything); i.e., proof of identity was required but there was no address verification.

When in an area with signal, the device is working fine. However, as we know, Oz is full of emptiness. :)

cheers,

Henry