posted
I am interested in buying a (simlockfree) dongle to have internetacces while being in Egypt and other countries. On the website from Mobinil I saw an offer for a dongle for EP 99, with 3G, usage 0,30 EP par Mb. Does anyone have expierence with these dongles?
Posts: 7202 | From: EU | Registered: Nov 2006
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OK I just noticed that you said PREPAID and this is not about that so these are probably the bits that count:
Bear in mind that 'download' limits do not refer to stuff like movies, music or youtube, but EVERY SINGLE TIME you open a web page (because it is downloaded into temporary space on your computer).
With regards to reception - then you must try out where you will be first. My personal experience of Mobinil is that it is virtually useless in large parts of Cairo, but is the only one that can receive signals out in the desert!
I think actually Etisalat might have a decent offer with unlimited facebook and hotmail included - not sure. Check them out.
================= Generally, on contract, I use an Etisalat one and I am very pleased. Of course I bought it over 2 years ago when I first moved here and it was very expensive then. Not sure what the price is now.
I pay 149LE for unlimited access and technically speaking the speed is reduced from 512k to 64kb/s after 6GB. Let's just say in February, thanks to a solid, stable connection which was up without ceasing for 9 whole days in a row, I had 25GB before they reduced my speed
Can't say fairer than that.
This is UNLIMITED.
Posts: 5593 | From: Egypt | Registered: Dec 2005
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Etisalat's Huawei USB sticks are unlockable, I unlocked mine and use it with all three networks.
If you live in the middle of nowhere like me then either get a long USB cable or make sure the stick has an antennas socket so you can connect an external antenna.
With Etisalat basic I can generally get 2Mbps where I am which is not bad. But it requires some time to get the antennas positioning or USB stick (if you are not using an antenna) placed.
Make sure you disable GSM support on it and lock it to HSDPA only then you'll not get the sudden grind to a halt when single quality drops and jumps over to GSM/EDGE
Finding the perfect place for your stick is imperative. If you dont have an antenna taping the stick to the window works well too. Dont assume that vertical is the perfect position - radio waves (especially microwaves) have a habit of rotating, right now 45 degrees is optimal for me, whereas 90 degree vertical and 0 degree horizontal both have lower quality signals.
Posts: 140 | Registered: Feb 2008
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quote:Originally posted by Shanta Qadeama: .....I pay 149LE for unlimited access and technically ....
Shanta, is this per month or per quarter? We have some strange to me system to pay per quarter. Slow and unstable.
Posts: 132 | From: Alex | Registered: Oct 2009
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I pay 149LE per month for the unlimited package which has a capped speed of something or other which doesn't appear on the website but is fine for me. (You can pay 299LE per month for unlimited and get higher speed).
It is supposed to cut you down to a lower speed (64kB/s) after you have used 6GB but at the moment, as long as you can sustain a connection, they can only knock you down if you disconnect and reconnect. I managed to get 25GB this month - and that is a LOT of downloading - and a friend on the same package got 15GB before our speeds were cut.
It does very much depend on reception. I have mine permanently wedged on the window sill and connected to the computer by a very good quality USB extension cable. I used my computer in another room for several months and the disconnections were quite frequent as I had to have an exceptionally long extension cable to get the signal from outside.
Signal inside is not great (but the same with mobile phones as well - Etisalat and Vodafone - have to go outside with both to have a decent conversation! Am in a ground floor flat in the middle of other flats. Still it is a vast improvement on the days when I used to have to go signal fishing with the modem dangling off the end of a mop or go to the roof of the block to get a signal good enough for skyping!)
I did used to have TEData ADSL but I went through a period of 3 months with zero landline and zero ADSL despite having paid 3 months in advance for high speed and they just kept blaming each other and I got fed up with it and told them to cancel the contract. WHy they couldn't both turn up at the same time on the same day and check it out is beyond me. It was obviously outside my capacity to sort out! Also, round here, the landlines frequently go out for days on end, so it's good to have a method that doesn't depend on copper wires!
Posts: 5593 | From: Egypt | Registered: Dec 2005
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posted
Originally posted by Questionmarks: I am interested in buying a (simlockfree) dongle to have internetacces while being in Egypt and other countries. On the website from Mobinil I saw an offer for a dongle for EP 99, with 3G, usage 0,30 EP par Mb. Does anyone have expierence with these dongles?
Buy the Etisalat thingy, its 99 L.E. and you walk out with 50 MB free dowload and pay as you go...they cut you off once you don't pay, trick is to stay within your 50 L.E. monthly bill, that's easy if you avoid Windows updates, streaming video, U-tube, music downloads and stuff like that..they use 3.75 G technology when available (Cairo for sure)..good for moving around and keeping in touch...but nothing beats ADSL landline connection, unlimited download starting at 99 L.E./month. Posts: 3219 | From: Wisdom comes with age, but sometimes age comes alone. | Registered: Nov 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Dzosser: ...but nothing beats ADSL landline connection, unlimited download starting at 99 L.E./month.
Until the great day neither the landline nor the ADSL works and after 3 months of nothing, zilch, yadda and numerous complaints and personal visits to the offices of both companies you are no further on!
Posts: 5593 | From: Egypt | Registered: Dec 2005
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Originally posted by Shanta Qadeama: Until the great day neither the landline nor the ADSL works and after 3 months of nothing, zilch, yadda and numerous complaints and personal visits to the offices of both companies you are no further on!
Well that's either becoz you were trying when they were still new in da business(3 yrs.ago) or you being hooked onto a phone central that's being managed by a bunch of blokes..things like that could never happen in Zamalek/Mohandessin or even Imbaba..go bribe them or something. Posts: 3219 | From: Wisdom comes with age, but sometimes age comes alone. | Registered: Nov 2005
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had the same exact prob as SQ - phone company blamed TE Data, and vice versa. Even had hubby try his yelling and bribing tactics to no avail. went with Vodafone and no headaches so far.
Posts: 1103 | From: 6th of October | Registered: Jun 2007
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quote:Originally posted by Questionmarks: I am interested in buying a (simlockfree) dongle to have internetacces while being in Egypt and other countries. On the website from Mobinil I saw an offer for a dongle for EP 99, with 3G, usage 0,30 EP par Mb. Does anyone have expierence with these dongles?
I have a mobinil USB modem (Option 3G) and it is locked since I bought it with a two year contract. Not happy with connection and service at all, btw.
I use mobile internet with a prepaid card in Germany. I thought I would be able to use my mobinil modem, but then realized it was locked. I might have probably been able to unlock it, you can buy codes for unlocking all different sorts of USB modems on the net. But when I discovered that I couldn't use it, I needed internet access fast and didn't want to bother. So I bought an unlocked Huawei Surf-Stick E160 that I can use with any SIM card.
Posts: 2803 | Registered: Feb 2007
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Well, I'm home again, and didn't use the internet at all, when I was in Egypt. The amount of emails that were waiting after returning home wasn't that much, so no problems! Thank you all for the advices. For some reason the communication processes in Egypt are always causing problems...
-------------------- “Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I will meet you there.” Posts: 7202 | From: EU | Registered: Nov 2006
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