Marina Wifi access.......BT FON?

[dukes4monny]

Hi all, having just bought my first yacht, I am hoping to be able to use it as an occasional office away from home for my own (mainly) internet based business.
I am investigating various methods of accessing the internet whilst in Harbour(s).
I know that most marinas have internet access, but I'm guessing this is an expensive way of connecting up?
I have also investigated getting a USB modem for my laptop, but as I understand it, these only give you a relatively low speed (3G) connection...........although I believe 3 are introducing a high speed (HSDPA) version through this year.
My wired broadband service is with BT, and I have just found that they have introduced BT FON which makes use of their customers hubs to create a Wifi network, and I can access this at no extra cost................have any of you wise old (or young) sages on this forum used this for mobile internet access? If yes, is it any good?

 

[bendyone]

Been with FON for a couple of years, have a wifi wireless signal at home with 2 channels , a private one and a fon one. Works well at home and I can use any fon signal when out and about.
When you find one it works well.

 

[Bilgediver]

If yes, is it any good?
*********************
It is an excellent service for BT service engineers as it gives them Wi Fi access all over the country though they have to park outside your front door as the BT hubs are pretty low powered.

BT FON is only switched on if the householder has applied for it and it does give you easier access to BT WIFI outlets as you can then access them using your normal username and password instead of the long strings BT give you for accessing when you originally sign on.

You can only use BT fon at a marina that has BT and as you get 300 free minutes a month without BT FON then you don t really need it?? BT has reciprocal agreements with other providers such as WIFI the cloud and you can also sign on at these outlets and use your free minutes.

 

[PembrokeshirePromise]

If you are regularly in the same marina (or ones that share the same broadband provider) I would have thought that a subscription to that was about the most cost effective (normally about £10 a month or so).

If you are in an area where 3G exists - then I think this compares quite well to boradband you will get in a marina (which is often quite highly contended). If in an area without 3G then you fall back to GPRS which is similar to old dial up - OK for emails and a quick check of the weather - but nor for serious work online.

 

[Coastgal]

We were delighted to discover BT Fon when we were in Sovereign Marina, Eastbourne. However, when we moved on to Port Solent, Portsmouth we discovered there weren't any households with BT Fon access turned on, so ended up with WIFI Sparks (Premier Marina's own supplier). So in theory, BT Fon sounds great, but you're totally dependent on local BT users allowing you access.