This is a great annoucement for Three customers, made on the website by none other than cricket legend Adam Gilchrist. Three has struck a deal with Telstra to gain access to selected areas of the Telstra Next G network.

Previously if Three customers wanted to roam onto the Telstra network, it was ridiculously slow. But under the new deal, Three roaming will at broadband speeds in selected areas. Three has updated their coverage maps to reflect these  changes - they are now up to 96% 3G coverage of the Australian population.

Click Here To Check Out The Latest Three Coverage Maps

Price Reductions

Other than increasing covergae, Three has also been able to bring the cost of roaming down. Thankfully, or otherwise only those on the BRW Rich List would have been able to afford it. Data roaming for Three Mobile Broadband is now 50 cents per MB, down from $1.65 per MB. It’s still not cheap, but it’s a considerably better option than before.

On the Three prepaid wireless plans the $7.50 roaming add-on feature has increased from 4MB to 15MB. So there are great price reductions across the board.

How To Access Roaming

Roaming comes disabled, to if you want to start using it, you’ll need to change modem settings in the Connection Manager. Refer to your modem instruction booklet for details. 

You will need to have a capable modem to get the faster roaming speeds on the 850MHz  frequency that Telstra uses, as well as the 2100MHz frequency that Three uses. The E160 is suitable - click here to see it in more detail.

If you are looking at Three Mobile Phones that are compatible to roam onto Next G, then suitable models are the Nokia 6500, Nokia 6600, Nokia 6120, Nokia E63, Nokia E71*, Nokia N85, Nokia 3120*, Blackberry Bold, Sony Ericsson C510, Sony Ericsson W705 and coming soon is the Nokia E75. Previous models that are compatible are the Nokia 5610, HTC P3600i, HTC Dopod 838, HTC Tytn 2, Palm Treo.

The mobiles above with the * (asterisk) indicate that they come in both compatible and non-compatible models - so check carefully before ordering that you have the correct one. Click here to see Three Mobile Phones.

See the Three Coverage Maps

Cheap Wireless Internet

Sometimes the terms ‘cheap’ and ‘value for money’ are easily interchanged. When I write about cheap wireless broadband deals, I don’t mean it’s cheap and nasty - I mean the price is excellent and the service is what is needed. We all know that in most cases you get what you pay for - but what we all want to avoid is getting even less than what we paid for - even if it doesn’t cost much.

Value For Money

So if we are looking for value for money in any product or service it’s more than just price which is a consideration. Let’s take wireless broadband as the example - considering this is a site about wireless internet, that hopefully makes sense! The considerations that I would have if I were to be searching for value-for-money wireless broadband would be:

1) Cheap price

Then I’d also need:

2) Coverage where I want to use it

3) Adequate customer service if I need support

So How Does Three Stack Up in Cheap AND Value For Money?

1) Cheap Price - with plans starting at $15 per month for 1GB of data allowance, 3 is definitely a market leader in terms of price. If you need more data, then their higher plans are also better than the competitors in almost all cases - 3GB for $29, 6GB for $39 per month and 7GB for $49. If you don’t want to spend much, then 3 is the way to go.

Three’s prepaid broadband is also really cheap with 12GB, a USB modem and 12 months to use the credit only $279!

2) You need coverage where you want to use wireless broadband. If that is in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Geelong, Gold Coast or Sunshine Coast then the cheap price will likely be backed up by coverage in your area with 3.  Click here to check your coverage on the 3 website.

I spoke to a businessman last week who wanted a cheap wireless broadband deal for his not-so-frequent travels to other capital cities where he sometimes does presentations. He didn’t want to top up a prepaid service, so the $15 per month 1GB plan from 3 was the obvious choice for him, plus $5 per month to get the USB modem. He ordered online and had it delivered to his office within a few days.

3) Three’s customer service is pretty market standard. I definitely wouldn’t recommend them as the best for support in the industry, but they are far from the worst. I think it’s service that is fair and reasonable for getting such great wireless broadband plans. 

Samsung F480 with Wireless Broadband

The Sasung F480 has a 2.8-inch LCD touch screen - it’s a impressive looking phone! It also has a 5 megapixel camera , an RSS reader and expandable memory. It is also HSDPA enabled, so you’ll get the fastest available wireless internet speeds on your mobile.

The F480 is free on the $69 Combo Cap, which comes with $650 worth of standard calls and SMS per month plus 500 minutes of free calls to other 3 mobiles!

The USB modem is free on this plan and comes with 2GB of included data each month. 2GB of data is worth about $30 per month - so this is a great deal all for $69 per month.

Click Here to Get This Deal Now!

Nokia E71 Bundle with Free Wireless Broadband

The Nokia E71 has a 2.36-inch screen with 16 million colours - it’s a large screen for a phone that also has a QWERTY keyboard! The E71 has built in A-GPS with Nokia Maps 2.0 for the latest in mobile navigation technology. It also has a 3.2 megapixel camera and comes with a free 2GB MicroSD memory card.

The Nokia E71 is free on the $69 Combo Cap, which comes with $650 worth of standard calls and SMS per month plus 500 minutes of free calls to other 3 mobiles!

The USB modem is free on this plan and comes with 2GB of included data each month. 2GB of data is worth about $30 per month - so this is a great deal all for $69 per month.

Click Here to Get This Deal Now!

LG Viewty (U990) with Wireless Broadband

The LG Viewty has a large 3-inch touch screen as well as an impressive 5 megapixel camera. It also has an MP3 Player and a DivX Media Player.

The Viewty is free on the $49 Combo Cap, which comes with $350 worth of standard calls and SMS per month plus 300 free minutes per month for calling other 3 mobiles!

It also comes with a USB Modem for Wireless Internet and includes 1GB of data per month! This data and USB modem alone are worth about $20 per month - so it’s a fantastic deal for only $49 per month.

Click Here to Get This Deal Now!

Bundle Plans for a 3 Mobile Phone with Wireless Broadband

Three has some great bundle deals which combine a free mobile phone on a Cap with a Wireless Broadband service. As well as the free mobile you get a free E160G USB Modem with either 1GB or 2GB of data!

The featured phones with the Wireless Broadband Bundle are:

• LG Viewty U990 - Free on the $49 Cap with bonus USB Modem with 1GB of data per month
• Samsung F480 - Free on the $69 Cap with bonus USB Modem with 2GB of data per month
• Nokia E63 - Free on the $49 Cap with bonus USB Modem with 1GB of data per month
• Nokia E71 - Free on the $69 Cap with bonus USB Modem with 2GB of data per month

Click on the phones below for more details!

Click Here to Visit the 3 Website!

Using Wireless Internet Whilst Overseas

You can use 3 wireless broadband in a number of overseas countries if you are traveling. And the great news is that 3 leverages its global networks to bring you rates in many countries that are significantly less than the competition.

Standard Pay-As-You-Go roaming data charges currently range from $10 per MB (Vodafone) to $20 per MB (Optus), with Telstra in the middle at $15 per MB. It’s expensive, but it’s the going rate for 3G and GPRS data roaming unfortunately. Some companies are introducing roaming bundles to make it slightly more affordable.

Only 50 cent per MB on selected networks with 3 Roaming

With 3 you can use wireless data on the 3 network in the following countries for only 50 cents per MB!

• Austria
• Denmark
• Hong Kong
• Ireland
• Italy
• Sweden
• UK

So if you are traveling to these countries and want to use wireless broadband, then 3 is the best option. Just remember to use the 3 network in those countries, otherwise you’ll be paying high data roaming rates of $10 to $20 per MB.

Full List of 3 Roaming Partners and Roaming Data Costs

If you would like to see the full list of countries where your 3 mobile broadband service will work and what it will cost you here is the link on the 3 website:

Click here to see the full list of 3 Data Roaming Partners and Costs

The speeds will vary from country to country. If GPRS is listed, then your maximum download speed will be about 45kbps. That’s nothing fast - it’s like dial up speed. If 3G is listed then their network has been upgraded to have broadband speeds. But the actual speeds to get will be entirely dependent on the network where you are roaming.

Click here to sign up for 3 Wireless Broadband

Remember to call 3 before you go overseas to activate your roaming! Remember to select the 3 network where possible for great rates!

Happy Travels!