Data only USB dongle

[AndrewC_1273566]

Hi all

Asking for an elderly friend.
He is looking to get a USB dongle with a data only SIM to give him internet access in his house.

I can see there are e.g. £5 for 2GB plan which rolls over each month.

My question is will my friend need to buy a USB dongle first or does that come with the plan? If he has to buy one, any recommendations?

Once plugged in, is it a simple installation process?

Cheers

Andy

[MSF]

@AndrewC_1273566  A few points here.

The 2Gb data plan does not roll over as far as I can see. It lasts for 30 days or until used if that comes first.

Smarty do not recommend using mobile data as a broadband replacement.

Your friend would not receive a USB dongle with the sim - he would need to buy one (afraid I cannot advise due to lack of knowledge)

Are you certain that the friend has a good signal in his home and also will not need more than 2Gb data per month?

If he gets a dongle, he would need to ensure that the APN setting was changed to mob.asm.net; this change should be explained in the manual.

[JJP2]

Very valid points from @MSF there,  @AndrewC_1273566 

When using mobile broadband to access the internet, 2 GB of data isn’t going to last very long. 

As you neighbour is elderly, I wonder if he would qualify for the “social tariffs” offered by the likes of British Telecom amongst others.

BT offer a social tariff on fixed line broadband with unlimited data for £15 a month. (My concern would be that your neighbour may start with 2 GB a month, for £5, use that 2 GB, and then need to part with more money for another data package, so £15 a month for unlimited data on a social tariff may actually work out cheaper)

This would be worth a read :

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-telecoms-and-internet/advice-for-consumers/costs-and-billing/social-... 

[MSF]

@JJP2  The Smarty Social Tariff is £12 per month for unlimited. The customer needs to be in receipt of certain income-based benefits to qualify.

[JJP2]

Yes indeed, as they are elderly, they may be in receipt of pension credit. 

The BT social tariff is for fixed line broadband, where the Smarty tariff is a mobile tariff, which, as you yourself quite rightly point out, isn’t a replacement for fixed line broadband. 

[AndrewC_1273566]

Hi JJP2 and MSF.

Thanks for the replies.  I will chase up the Social Tariff thing ( I had no idea ) and note the other pieces of advice. 

Cheers folks

Andy

[JJP2]

You’re welcome 

Social Tariffs seem to be kept quiet for some reason…

For those that qualify, Smarty offer a social tariff of £12 per month for unlimited minutes, texts  and data. The only caveat being that Smarty do not recommend mobile broadband as a long term replacement for fixed line broadband. 

In addition to the Ofcom article above, if I recall correctly, there is also plenty of info on social tariffs on Martin Lewis’ MoneySavingExpert website. 

[MSF]

@JJP2  Agreed that mobile data is not a broadband replacement but it should be sufficient to allow people to meet and commitment to DWP (Job search, form filling etc) and also to communicate with utility companies, banking etc