Can anyone recommend a stand-alone internet provider?

In places like Carphone Warehouse I notice that they offer pay as you go or contract plans for wireless internet service that can go anywhere with you, not just be tied to your home use/router at home etc.

I'm going to be in transition again soon, and would like to avoid any wait-times to hook up service in new accomodation, so I'm thinking of getting one of these more on-the-go, autonomous services so that you can get online just wirelessly hooking into the service's hotspots no matter where you are, but legitimately because you're paying (monthly or payg).

Can anyone recommend such a service, or are they all much the same? Thanks for any tips.

I have one of these with T Mobile and am very happy with it. The speeds are mostly very good, but can be slow at ver busy times. Although they tell you that you have unlimited use, there is a fair use policy. They don't charge you extra if you go over it but they do say they might restrict your service if you keep doing it. It's fine if you just want to surf online and do a few small downloads. There is a more expensive package you can have that allows you greater usage and to use Skype and things like that.

Thanks Britwife, that is helpful and I will look into it.

The husband has Vodafone and it is pretty fast where we are. Keep in mind that the contracts on all of these are pretty long, usually 18 months unless you want to buy the dongle.

Quidco, the cashback site frequently has offers to get get money back if you go via their site to buy your service. We got back £90 and combined with the Vodafone deal, we're only actually paying for 14 months of a 24 month contact.

Hi there,

I think you get the gist now !!

However it is possible to get a Pay as you Go dongle. I've mentioned this previously in a thread for newly arrived immigrants into the UK (not just Americans).

3 do a £10/month pay as you go service. I've got the same but on a 18 month contract as I had a deal at the time, but once it lapses, i'll just do 10 quid pay as you go.

Connection bandwidth (or speed) is the issue, depending on the signal and where you are will determine how well you'll be able to surf. If you're in one of the larger conurbations you should see 3G speeds quite alot, the more rural you go, they'll drop in connection speeds.

Overall though, an excellent way to cover transitional periods whilst fixed line broadband gets sorted out - which in the UK is still a complete farce. I'm sure all the networks now offer PAYG, but do watch out on those limits and caps as mentioned!

Cheers! DtM! West London & Slough UK!

Thanks lost.librarian and Dennis the Menace; this is all great stuff and helping figure things out. I might indeed be going more rural, and I am a bit concerned about the usage limits and caps -- aside from a bit of downloading that can be high MBs at times, I'm online a lot  and might be even more if a telecommuting situation pans out with a company I'm in talks with. I will be scouting around the different service tiers...