I will be visiting the UK soon and will be bringing my laptop. I will be staying somewhere where there is no wi-fi in the building. Will renting a usb modem help my access the internet? Thanks in advance.
Welcome to the forum; the main problem with renting a USB modem is that they normally have an 18 month rental period. Depending on where you are staying, many hotels, some bars and some trains offer wi-fi and there are Internet cafés in some places.
If you know where you are going, you may find that a local LUG (see UK Linux User Groups) can help you with advice on local wi-fi hotspots you could use.
Thanks John. I’ll be staying in Aberystwyth at my parents flat on the 3rd and top floor of an apartment building with a 270 degree view. I’m wondering if the usb modem will be strong enough to pick up a signal. Otherwise I’m going to have to go hunting for a ‘hot spot’.
Last year while in Northamptonshire, I checked the broadband providers for good coverage at the address I was staying.
The best and cheapest was an O2 dongle package (Huawei Model E1752Cu with 3 GB / 1 month pay as you go sim) at 30 GBP.
(This dongle is not recommended for Linux OS, initialisation and top-up is only possible via a Win/Mac laptop.)
Later in the year I visited South Yorkshire only to find there was no O2 coverage, hence the above was unusable.
So purchased a 3 wireless dongle (Huawei Model E585 with 5 GB / 3 months pay as you go sim) at 50 GBP.
This works ok with any OS and works via the laptops internal wireless interface and can be used by up to 5 users.
Recommendations,
Check that the broadband provider you choose has coverage in all the areas you intend to visit.
Make sure the dongle you buy is compatible with your OS, unless you go for the wireless type.
If you are only staying a short time, buy a pay-as-you-go sim, they are very easy to top-up if needed.
If you are on a tight budget use a cafe which offers a wireless connection, although speed may be a bit slow.
Both dongles now work ok, after unlocking them, on any German network with any provider’s sim.
Thanks John, the station is about 5 mins walk from the flat. I’ll let you know if they work and which was best.
Ok, I’m here and I’m up and running! I went to Carfone and got the 5gb deal. I bought the Huawei E353 dongle. Took a while to download everything but was worth the wait. I’m a happy camper, so thanks for all the advice.