Having internet connectivity everywhere you go has its attractive advantages. No more you are slave to WiFi-spot monopolies such as that infamous one ran by Mobinil and LinkDotNet.
Vodafone or Etisalat?
Both Vodafone and Etisalat offer 3G USB modems for the public.
Vodafone’s offer is 2GB per month over a 150KBytes/sec connection for 120LE — you buy the 3G modem (a Huawei E220) separately for 555LE… if you cross the 2GB quota, Vodafone charges you 1LE per Megabyte. The modem’s price is subsidized by Vodafone over the period of a year in the form of discounts on your bills; you pay about 70LE for the first year instead of 120LE.
Etisalat’s offer is unlimited downloads over 50KBytes/sec connection for 150LE per month… you pay 12 months in advance, and they give you the modem (also a Huawei E220) for free… if you cross a 6GB per month quota, your connection downgrades to about 5 to 8KBytes/sec (from 3G down to GPRS which is just like regular dial-up speed).
I gave it some thought, then I went for the Vodafone offer. My rationale was that I knew Vodafone has larger and more reliable coverage than Etisalat. Also, given my usage patterns, 2GB were enough… plus, I don’t have to pay for an entire year (what if I wasn’t satisfied?) as with Etisalat’s offer.
The First Month With Vodafone
The first month started just fine. Vodafone’s service is reliable, just as I expected. What I didn’t believe is that I could NOT know my usage statistics (How many megs did I download? How many are remaining to reach the 2GB mark?) except by using a program that monitors my usage. I don’t have a problem with the concept. However, I’m a “power user” who generally uses multiple computers and multiple operating systems. So “a program that counts usage” doesn’t cut it for me.
A Vodafone sales rep. told me before I buy the line that I can know my usage anytime during the month, and I would get an SMS when I reach the 2GB quota. It turns out that this is not true… he basically lied to me to make a sale!
I got aggravated. I kept asking and asking Vodafone for an entire month to tell me my usage, and their answer was always “we can’t do that”. The typical “you pathetic customer, bang your head against the wall” attitude.
I was impatiently waiting for that month to end. I was guesstimating my usage, knowing that if I was wrong, it will be a disaster… Days passed, and on the morning of a bright sunny day, I did get an SMS from Vodafone. “Dear customer, your unbilled amount has reached 2400LE”… I couldn’t believe what I was looking at, I stood still staring for a whole minute at the SMS and the 4-digit figure. They sent me an SMS only when they thought it was “nice” to notify me that I’ve already passed my 2GB quota limit by light years!
Thank you Vodafone, CONTRACT TERMINATED!
Hey… but it isn’t over yet. Remember the USB modem I bought? I can’t even return that back. Vodafone politely told me “The USB modem is yours”… Grinding my teeth, I thought “Sure, no problem, since it is mine, I would just go ahead use it with Etisalat”. It turns out the USB modem is locked to Vodafone — you can’t use it with any other operator.
So basically I bought something that is mine, but that I can only use with Vodafone! Well, Vodafone, you should go straight to hell for being absurdly unfair to your customers. Unlocking the modem myself was therefore the only choice I had. After some digging around I did manage to unlock the Huawei E220 modem using this lifesaver blog entry.
Fortunately for me, Etisalat sells a Data Line separately and charges you 150LE per month for unlimited download quota over a reasonable connection (50KBytes/sec). I’ve used that with the unlocked modem, and finally, I’ve found peace of mind!
Bottom Line
Avoid Vodafone like the plague! Etisalat’s data line gave me the best deal. For the best value for money: either buy yourself a 3G modem from somewhere, or buy the Huawei E220 from Vodafone then unlock it and use it with a data line from Etisalat.
** IMPORTANT UPDATE **
None of all the above USB modem solutions provide you with a real IP address, and there is no port forwarding of course. For the non-technical people, this essentially means that P2P programs such as muTorrent or eMule will always be as if they are behind a firewall (low ID). You also can never be able to run any kind of server application that accepts connections from the internet.
This is a major disappointment, especially for people like me who substituted their home DSL by a 3G modem solution.
** IMPORTANT UPDATE #2 **
I’ve cancelled my subscription with Etisalat, only because their 3G coverage where I live (Al-Rehab City, New Cairo, Egypt) isn’t good enough. It was pretty decent at first, but lately I’ve been having hard time connecting at 3G speed.
