helllo all

i need to get some knowledge on the 3G providers in the UK, specifically with regard to an application using a modem/3G router, not a phone based unit.

I have tried to speak the networks but no-one is able to grip the question let alone the probable answers! What i am looking to do is have a 3G router with a USIM enabled for data only transactions. a fixed IP is a potential requirement but my router can handle DDNS so its not an essential...

basically, i am hoping that there is a network technical person about who i can have the right conversation with who also has a good idea on the commercial aspects.

My ideal situation would be to have a WnW enabled SIM that works on 3G but it isnt going to go into a handset. I cant seem to get any real answers; when it comes to the SIM working in routers the setup is quite a complex procedure and i need a fair amount of info from the networks like APNs and the like...

any help on this would be very useful..

TIA

I'm not sure if this helps in any way, shape or form but...

http://www.novatelwireless.com/products/ovation/index.html

Is that the sort of product you are after?

Although we have some at work for testing purposes, I know very little about! They seem to be pretty nifty tho...

not quite what i'm after i'm afraid... thanks tho!!

i have the hardware solution and i need the other half of the equation - the SIM card!! the difficult bit is in the fact that the SIM wont be in a device that will use the voice telephone number at all. I dont think an off-the-shelf card from my local T-mobile store with WnW on it is going to do the job - i will try it however...

thanks again tho...

anyone else?

The problem I can see is that the sim will need a mobile number associated with it to allow authorisation with the HLR in the network, this is how the network knows you have an account.

Data is really just a extention of the standard voice service, you can have voice without data, but not the other way round.

This will come down to the agreed standard that is 3G and before that GSM.

The way you suggest is possible, but the networks have no way of implimenting as their networks stand.

Hmmm, this thread is over a year old, did you find a solution Samsonite? I would have thought one of T-Mob's SIMS on a data only plan would have done it. Yes you would have a voice number but you don't need to use it.

cor - blast from the past!!

it turned out to be as simple as you think - a SIM only, rolling 30 day contract with WnW plus enabled is spot on! the router can initiate IPSec tunnels to an ADSL router with a fixed IP(much simpler than getting a UMTS based fixed IP) so all traffic is data only and it works a treat!

we've been doing these industrial routers for a while now - including an ADSL2+ unit with a 3G module built in...

thanks for the replies but yes, all sorted now.

I'd be interested in a little more detail. I have a T-Mobile MDA Pro that I use as a mini laptop and require a data connection but no voice. What I ideally want is just WnW contract without the USB modem or any voice option. Did you get a normal voice contract with the WnW bolt on, or do they do a data only SIM? I have seen the USB modem gizmo, but all I need is the SIM that would come with it.

andy

it is a voice based SIM - the £7.50 is a voice based tariff with (i think) 50 minutes and a handful of texts. its a 30 day rolling contract paid via Direct Debit.

we use the £12.50 WnW bolt on as it has a 3Gb data allowance and we dont get any problems with some of the more unusual connections we have at work (IPSec tunneling with a GRE tunnel inside that as well as VNC sessions to HMI's). T-mob have yet to say we cant do what we are doing and when we need more cards, the boss simply phones the normal T helpline, orders the SIM and hey presto, they arrive in a day or two! not entirely sure if he activates the WnW bit at the point of ordering or if he does that once we have the card itself tho...

the SIM's go into a HSDPA/UMTS/EDGE/GPRS router so done ever go near a voice based connection.

Thanks for the info. At the moment I use the mobile data so little, that I use a PAYG SIM and when I do need data I am on the £1 per day max plan, so the times I do use it over a year it works out much cheaper than a pay monthly and not using it often. Think I'll stay with that for the moment.

Which router?

I am currently looking for a low-cost reliable 3G to WiFi router if anyone has any tips...

P

sorry Paul, you certainly wont want my one!!

its a 3G router with a single LAN port and no WiFi - made for industrial markets its DIN rail and works from -20Degc thru to +55. Current cost is £700+VAT! Demonstrably more reliable than your average Linksys equivalent (about 10 times better MTBF at 20DegC at the last calculations) and suited for industrial applications...

I've seen a few around on eBay - look for "3g router". They tend to take a PCMCIA 3g card. I did see one that was a Draytek Vigor unit that had ADSL, network, ISDN and 3g router all in one!

http://www.draytek.co.uk/products/vigor_3g.html