3G in London

[pmbellis]

Firstly, apologies if this is the incorrect forum ... can't think where else to put it. Also, searching for "3G" & "UK" doesn't work ... the terms are too short.

I'm flying to London on business next month & will need connectivity outside of the office.

So far:
1.) Vodacom 3G roaming ... R17.50 per Mb ... No Thanks
2.) The apartment I'll be staying in has internet at GBP12.00 per day. ... = GBP96.00 for 8 days ... No Thanks.
3.) 3Store has a deal for a dongle + 3Gb prepaid for GBP 39.99 ... Only problem is that this is an online store & I have visions of the package arriving here after I've already left ...

I already have a Vodacom 3G card, so what I'd prefer is just to buy a prepaid SIM, but can't seem to find any such packages. In addition, if I could either pick this up somewhere at a brick & mortar store, or get it shipped to my London address to wait for me there.

So ... anyone know of good prepaid 3G packages in the UK? I'll need about 2-3Gb while I'm there.

EDIT: Vodafone has a deal for a dongle + 3Gb prepaid for GBP 20.00 ... 1/2 the price of no. 3 above. ... still trying to figure out where their stores are ...
EDIT: AAH ... they have a store at Heathrow Airport & it's open till 22h00 on Sunday ... I think I'm going for this ...

 

[ramar]

As far as i know the three big providers all offer prepaid options, though they usually always require that you buy a USB dongle as part of the packager (but it is very cheap).

See this link - http://www.three.co.uk/Mobile_Broadband/Choose_a_price_plan/Pay_As_You_Go_Plus
3GB valid for 3 months including a dongle for 39 quid. And you can just buy those over the counters in most of their stores.
You can also check out vodaphone and orange - will have similar offers i'm sure.

 

[Jola]

I used Vodafone prepaid when I was there two years ago - worked well, but was a bit expensive at that time - still cheaper than roaming, though.

I used my Vodacom E220 dongle.

The Vodafone stores are everywhere, don't worry about that.

 

[pmbellis]

@ramar, Tx for the feedback ... I managed to find the GBP20.00 deal from Vodafone & I think I'll go with that.

 

[Terencek]

Just be careful that if you go for one of the many attractive deals which include a dongle, in the UK these dongles are often locked and will be a problem back home! I (almost) got caught that way with an astonishingly cheap Vodafone deal a while back.

 

[grok]

Only problem is that this is an online store & I have visions of the package arriving here after I've already left ...

Also, the UK have the most efficient mail. Many times when ordering something today you'll get in delivered sharply with the morning mail.