31-05-2015, 05:01 PM
Dongles too can be used as reliably for online platforms as wired broadband, provided they give at least 512 kbps speed as stated (though not impossible to work with less than this, but it will be very irritating). You can even use your 3G phone via USB tethering for that matter! The general practice is to have a wired broadband and have a dongle as a backup; but you can also have a universal dongle as your primary source of internet, with a second SIM of another provider on hand as a backup. I have personally tried all these options on online platforms with no damn issues whatsoever!
The speed variation that people talk about is true, but you have to understand something here. The speed is directly dependent on the signal strength and varies greatly with change in signal strength. So, first check out if you have good, consistent signal strength, i.e. 80-100% with full 4 to 5 notches showing up on the signal bar at any given point of time, and more importantly in the very specific spot in your house where you intend to use the dongle. Anything varying more than this or dropping less than this range will impact your speed in a big way.
Nowadays, all reputed providers are giving 3G speeds in the range of 3-5 mbps on average and they even go up in excess of 9+ mbps depending on network traffic from my experience. Supposing even if your provider gives a speed of 1 mbps, it is good enough to work considering you have a signal variation in the range of 80-100%. When figuring out the speed, don't go by the words of others or some tricks of a wily sales executive; confirm it yourself on speedtest.net.
Furthermore, the dongle needs to be connected to the backside USB port of the PC, which is directly connected to the motherboard. As far as possible, do not use extension cables; but if it can't be avoided, use a branded, high-quality shielded USB cable no longer than a meter. Anything else will cause data loss and interference, which will negatively affect the performance of the dongle with frequent disconnections and poor speeds in spite of a good signal. Also, buy a dongle of a reputed brand if you are going for a universal one, preferably Huawei or ZTE.
The speed variation that people talk about is true, but you have to understand something here. The speed is directly dependent on the signal strength and varies greatly with change in signal strength. So, first check out if you have good, consistent signal strength, i.e. 80-100% with full 4 to 5 notches showing up on the signal bar at any given point of time, and more importantly in the very specific spot in your house where you intend to use the dongle. Anything varying more than this or dropping less than this range will impact your speed in a big way.
Nowadays, all reputed providers are giving 3G speeds in the range of 3-5 mbps on average and they even go up in excess of 9+ mbps depending on network traffic from my experience. Supposing even if your provider gives a speed of 1 mbps, it is good enough to work considering you have a signal variation in the range of 80-100%. When figuring out the speed, don't go by the words of others or some tricks of a wily sales executive; confirm it yourself on speedtest.net.
Furthermore, the dongle needs to be connected to the backside USB port of the PC, which is directly connected to the motherboard. As far as possible, do not use extension cables; but if it can't be avoided, use a branded, high-quality shielded USB cable no longer than a meter. Anything else will cause data loss and interference, which will negatively affect the performance of the dongle with frequent disconnections and poor speeds in spite of a good signal. Also, buy a dongle of a reputed brand if you are going for a universal one, preferably Huawei or ZTE.