 Asking the Internet: UK Connectivity
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Sep. 1st, 2009 @ 03:14 pm 
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So, here's the thing: I'm planning a trip to the UK. Possibly around November.
Now, there's a number of things that I want to have Sorted before I go. Some of them are basically paperwork here in Perth, but there are some important points to consider regarding my digital lifestyle and the maintenance of my mental health while I'm away (as well as that of people who love me and might otherwise worry).
It is genuinely important that I have internet and mobile phone access while I'm there.
Given that my plan involves going on a self-directed tour of Great Britain, the internet part becomes a bit of an issue. I'll be taking a laptop (my notebook, my EEE, or both), both because I wouldn't be able to handle that long without a computer and because I'll need somewhere to clear off the many, many photos I intend to take. My generalised aim is to hire a car and drive around Britain - I want to visit Land's End and John o'Groats and as many interesting places in between as I can.
I'll also be visiting relatives in England and northern Scotland, as well as my Ancestral Home, the "family seat" as my uncle calls it - a farm my family has worked for about 900 years.
A lot of the mentions of it if you google the place are megalith-related discussions of the stone circle there. Which is a little odd for me, because while those stones are historically relevant and meaningful and so on, they are marked first, in my heart, as the place where my grandparents' ashes were scattered.
Anyway, what I'm actually looking for advice on is the following things:
- Pre-paid mobile phone service. I've looked into it, and it should be trivial to take an Australian phone to the UK. Ours are triband by default now, and at least one UK provider seems to work on 3G. The phone I currently have, but have been considering replacing, is, I believe, a standard triband whatever; I'm thinking of getting another, but it still should be easy to take to the UK and just throw in a new SIM card.
Hence, I'm seeking recommendations for mobile phone providers, I guess.
- USB mobile broadband options. Again, I'd very much rather get pre-paid. Getting a contract when I'm only going to be there a few weeks seems silly.
For this I *will* need to get the modem - the one I have is locked to its network - but the options I've seen on quick googling are either two pounds a day, which: suboptimal, or else is 10 pounds per gigabyte, which would probably work out cheaper, but I'd like to look at the best option I can get. But I also want it to have reasonable coverage around Britain, so I'm eager for recommendations if anyone knows anything about this.
What's *really* important is being able to check e-mail, DW/LJ when I have the time, and keep in contact with my loved ones, as well as perhaps putting up the odd photo, since I plan to take many of them. (I will be taking my Good Camera and plenty of space for storing the pictures.)
I remember hearing people discussing travel, and how it would be better to remember things than just keep taking photos of everything. For me, though, my memory isn't that awesome, and taking photos is something I love to do and which actively contributes to my enjoyment of an experience.
So, yes. Any suggestions?
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Off the top of my head, my suggestions for networks would be to stay with one of the bigger ones, if you'll be moving around a lot and especially up into Scotland, where coverage tends not to be so good - that would mean O2, Vodafone, or Orange. One suggestion I would make is, if you're thinking of getting a new phone anyway, you could go for one that has decent web browsing capabilities and get a sim card which doesn't charge too much for internet use, which would cut out the need for a USB modem - you could check email and LJ/DW, at least, and maybe hit an internet cafe every few days when you're near a city/get off the motorway at a service station for making posts or sending emails more easily. This isn't an ideal solution - and I am aware I'm assuming that you're able to use a small screen - but I did pretty much all my internet reading on a phone while living in Italy for several months and it was okay for a short time (I also discovered I could plug the phone into my laptop and use it basically as a modem, but that would depend on the model). I assume you're coming into a city in the first instance, so possibly you could go first thing to Carphone Warehouse or something, which covers all the services and phones for all the networks, and ask them, or the site may be a good resource if you hadn't already found it. Enjoy your travel planning anyway! :) Getting to see your Ancestral Home sounds exciting: how lovely to have a place your family has been connected to for so long.
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| From: | ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png) sami |
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| Date: |
September 2nd, 2009 10:08 am (UTC) |
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Thanks for the tips!
I don't think phone browsing will work for me, alas, but I can look into a phone that will work as a modem. And I'll check out the site.
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