Avoiding new line down time

The broadband market in Spain is still developing, and migrating to a new provider can be problematical. We had our ADSL with Telefonica for the first year and the service was good, but expensive in year 2. We decided to move to Vodafone. Now, migration isn't as simple, so you walk into the Vodafone shop, sign the contract and you are given a router and dongle. You can then plug the dongle into the router and use 3G for your internet and telephone until such time as your service is transferred across. You don't start to pay for the service until you have been migrated onto VF.

It's a shame that the UK providers can't be as forward thinking and provide something similar. We are moving this month (still waiting for a date), but the residence currently has TalkTalk as phone and adsl provider. I don't want to go with them and Sky are providing the best deal. Problem is, it will more than likely be new year before anything can be done, regarding installations and the like, so, with the Christmas period, almost a month without adsl.

Mark

So, who pays for data sent via the 3G dongle? The answer is YOU. It is not free but factored into the price you pay.

You pay your monthly fee (which is cheaper than TF) once your line is activated, which usually takes between 1 & 2 weeks. You pay for phone calls made via the dongle, unless they are a part of the deal, which they are with VF. Data is limited (can't remember the cap), but it is enough to do day to day stuff. Once the line is activated, the dongle reverts to a normal PAYG at 3� a day.

Looking at the current deal, it seems that the usb modem is now free for 2 months, not just until activation, so even better deal.

The point being that you may not pay anything until activation but the post activation charges will include a hidden charge for the data already used. Do you really think they will give it away?

Many smartphones support tethering, so lots will get by using that.
Now if your mobile provider is also your broadband provider then perhaps a deal may be struck.

Failing that you can pick up PAYG mobile dongle in UK with 3GB of data valid for three months for £20.49

In reply to a post by MrSaffron:

Failing that you can pick up PAYG mobile dongle in UK with 3GB of data valid for three months for £20.49

Yes, that is probably the route we will be going down, on a rolling monthly.