HSDPA Modems For Trading

[LevII]

On the face of it these devices are the biz. Trade from the beach, mountainside, pub etc. Even while roaming round the world.

I jumped in and bought one from '3'. In a very good reception area (big cities) it was OK. Elsewhere I found it hopeless.

Has anyone tried the offerings from Orange, Vodafone or O2 etc? If so, what do you think? I'm quite happy with less than HSDPA performance for my EOD trading style. The main issue for me is network coverage.

LII

 

[0007]

On the face of it these devices are the biz. Trade from the beach, mountainside, pub etc. Even while roaming round the world.

I jumped in and bought one from '3'. In a very good reception area (big cities) it was OK. Elsewhere I found it hopeless.

Has anyone tried the offerings from Orange, Vodafone or O2 etc? If so, what do you think? I'm quite happy with less than HSDPA performance for my EOD trading style. The main issue for me is network coverage.

LII

Useful feedback. I've been considering 3's sytem as I live in a good reception area. Had a similar problem with T-mobile coverage on a mobile phone - just too patchy and unreliable. So went over to Vodafone - more expensive but always get a signal in the places I go. Maybe that's why Vodafone is more expensive - especially so for HSDPA.


Other reports seem to indicate that the 3 (Hutchison) product is perfectly ok in a good reception area (see their website for coverage map) and it's certainly very good value if it does what you want. If you compare it to a fixed line broadband connection then the BB can only receive in one static position whereas this is the minimum state with Hutchison.

For me, the issue is reliability - if your HSDPA modem fails then you are stuffed. My local "3" shop was a bit reticent about what happens if the modem (that you have bought or got free) fails - comments like "we'd replace it" but no firm timescale or cost eg. what happens if it fails after 2 years?

My current view is that this will be the way forward but probably not just yet. If there wasn't such a long lock-in period with "3" (up to 2 years) I'd certainly give it a go now.

 

[0007]

Vodafone now in play ?

Was in Voda shop today. Got an offer on until end March - mobile broadband £15 month with 3GB allowance and decently fast (3 meg) download - 7 meg available if you buy superior modem.

Seems reasonable deal in view of the better coverage - might give it a try (I dislike BT almost as much as British Gas). Details on Voda website.

 

[hrokling]

I got one (Huawei, I think) about six months ago, but was somewhat disappointed by the performance - although that's my provider of course. All operators are building and expanding their capacity, so it's more a question of time really. Now they only need to build out the area around my cabin, where I'm only getting GPRS!

I also did experience it falling out on a few occasions - but then I'm not using it for trading, and I don't think the tech seems mature for that yet.

 

[jwhite8359]

A lot of users are being missold the new high speed modems by Vodaphone.

The new device and tariff (£25 per month all you can eat and 7mb modem) sound excellent but unfortunately the high speed network is only available in the City,some parts of the West End and major airports. I bought one for my daughter who lives pretty central in Kilburn but even she can't pick up the HSUPA network.

Speaking to Vodafone, it will be a number of years before the network is available nationwide.

 

[0007]

A lot of users are being missold the new high speed modems by Vodaphone.

The new device and tariff (£25 per month all you can eat and 7mb modem) sound excellent but unfortunately the high speed network is only available in the City,some parts of the West End and major airports. I bought one for my daughter who lives pretty central in Kilburn but even she can't pick up the HSUPA network.

Speaking to Vodafone, it will be a number of years before the network is available nationwide.

jwhite - Thanks for that. It seems that the standard 3g coverage gives speeds up to 1.8mb (ok for humdrum stuff) and covers mainly urban areas: map here - Vodafone Coverage Viewer From what I can tell, you can get this for £15 / month up to 3gb download, for length of contract. So anybody's guess what charges / conditions / coverage in 2 yrs time.

 

[new_trader]

[EDIT]

but then I'm not using it for trading, and I don't think the tech seems mature for that yet.

What!?

Trading is only bits of information, 1's and 0's, that's all, and they provide enough speed for that..

 

[Captain Haddock]

I got the "3" modem last week purely for backup purposes.
I realised that 2 ADSL lines are no good if your exchange goes down or someone severs the cables routing to your property.....anyway.....
I am going to team it up with something like this Products Center -- Vigor2820n which will automatically swicth over to the 3G adsl should the land line go down.

In terms of service, the speed is ample, but I do notice occasional pauses in data transfer which could be a problem if you were relying on it soley.

 

[bottomdollar]

Guys
I use the Windows PC mobile phones to trade. I am trading Forex using the mobile Metatrader platform and it works great. You have charts + indicators.
It's a shame that I can't trade well!

 

[hrokling]

What!?

Trading is only bits of information, 1's and 0's, that's all, and they provide enough speed for that..

1's and 0's as long as they appear - if you get disconnected when you're scalping using size, well... that's not primetime quality. I don't know if it's the base stations, the software I got or what - but my modem+service sure isn't good enough to rely on. I do have it as backup however.

 

[fifty2aces]

What!?

Trading is only bits of information, 1's and 0's, that's all, and they provide enough speed for that..

High definition video is just 1s and 0s as well, so that's not the point. You are right though, trading doesn't use massive amounts of bandwidth, the problem is more latency (ping time) and reliability - both of which will usually be better if you are connected by wire (ideally a direct line to the exchange, although this isn't an option for everyone).