Other pages in the review
Vodafone
The Vodafone card is the exact same model card 3 uses—a Novatel Merlin U630 and it comes with an external plug-in antenna which can be attached to the side of your notebook casing (again identical to 3’s).
The setup process never leaves the user in the dark, although it requires a little more input than with some broadband card installations. Setup checks the system requirements and asks which services you wish to access (ie: 3G, GPRS or both). The user interface allows the user to launch email and browser software and includes a client window which can display help, SMS client or usage statistics.
Coverage and plans
Coverage for Vodafone’s 3G service covers the same capitals as 3 but offers no regional service. On the other hand, Vodafone can offer its own GPRS fallback service—unlike 3 which must rely on Telstra. The plans offered are similar to that of 3 and Optus, though the basic plan prices are a little higher. Excess data costs are reasonable.
We were unable to test Vodafone in the same manner as the other services; network set up prevented our automated tests from running. Vodafone was unable to resolve this difficulty prior to completion of this review.
Expected service speed on the Vodafone network is 384/64Kbps; we were able to ascertain average download and upload speeds of 305 and 95.6Kbps respectively. We could not, however, satisfactorily determine latency and availability figures. Vodafone services appear to be quite reliable although we were unable to confirm this with thorough availability and throughput tests. The plans offered by Vodafone are fairly typical of 3G services, although higher in price than its nearest competitors.
Final words
The download speeds observed in testing say as much about service coverage and reliability as they do about the true speed potential of the technology.
To better allocate resources to clients ISPs may save bandwidth by applying lower speed restrictions to connections where there is relatively little activity. As a result the speed testing we do, which represents fairly light usage, may not always trigger the full available service speed. This factor may be responsible for some of the services tested returning relatively low results or results markedly different from what has been observed during parallel tests on previous occasions.
We suggest that readers avoid locking themselves into long-term contracts until they have had the chance to first sample a service. Ensure that speed, coverage and reliability are adequate to your needs. Service warranties normally allow users to get without being seriously stung if service is not what you require.