October 15, 2009 at 18:28We are looking for mobile Internet in Finland
The material will be of interest to those who regularly visit Finland. Our studio is located in St. Petersburg, so for most of the office trips to the finals are a regular vacation, often trips include part of the work week, which means that you need to be in touch. As a result, we finally decided to deal with the Finnish mobile Internet.
Our roaming is a different story altogether, I have long wanted to understand whether the minimum cost is really 40 rubles per 100 kb. That is, it’s quite possible to spend 5-10 thousand rubles per working day! But what about the 21st century?
A quick survey of acquaintances showed that everyone heard something, but no one knows for sure. So you have to be a pioneer. Near the border, in Imatra, we found Prisma (a local supermarket, very common in Finland) and immediately went to the Elisa communication salon (one of the main communication operators in Finland). Finland quite speaks English, at least the younger generation, so a short conversation with the staff showed that the best option is a USB GSM modem + prepaid SIM card. To save 70 euros on a modem, you can just buy a SIM card, put it in the phone, connect the phone to the computer and configure access through the phone, but I also needed my phone number and the Internet. When buying a SIM-card, 7 euros are credited to the account, then you can replenish it in any salon. You can also replenish your account via SMS,
So: a modem costs 79 euros, a SIM card is included, plus we were given a gift with an unlimited Internet access card for a month. They said that this is a temporary action, but I think that such actions will be permanent. We also bought a voucher for 20 euros for the future to replenish our account.
The cost of access is 1.5 euros per 1 mb., But not more than 1.9 euros per day. If you spend quite a bit of traffic, then pay at the rate of 1.5 euros / mb. If you exceed 1.9 euros for traffic, pay 1.9 euros for the whole day. You can also activate unlimited Internet access for 1 week. The cost of unlimited per week is 6.9 euros. On weekends, it’s better not to activate the weekly unlimited, but for 4 days or more this can already be done.
By default, traffic charging is used. In order to enable unlimited, you should send a special SMS to the service number. Do not forget to do it!
This is a USB GSM modem
Connection package with a SIM card
Gift access card for a month of unlimited Internet
Voucher for replenishing a SIM card
There is a cable in the kit, so the module can be removed away from the computer. This is very useful, because when the module is turned on, the sound of interference from cellular communication is constantly heard from the speakers of the laptop.
To get started, install the SIM card into the modem.
We insert the modem into the USB-connector of the laptop. If autorun does not start, go through “my computer” to the new disk that appears there (there is a built-in flash drive, it contains all the installation files), run autorun.exe.
When installing, select the language - English (it was written in the instructions, but for some reason we were not offered to choose or we did not notice, so we installed in Finnish, but everything is clear intuitively, there were no problems). When prompted to select an operator, select Saunalahti.
After installation, run the program, do not worry, the program itself will be in English.
All! You have the internet!
If you want to activate the weekly unlimited - the envelope icon will be in the upper right corner - click it, the SMS control window will open, create a new SMS with the text "DATA7" to the number 15020.
The modem allows you to work in 3G networks, in our case the cottage had only regular GSM, so I had to be content with slow Internet, the speed did not exceed 35 kb / s. At the time of writing this post, I have not tested the communication module
in 3G networks.
In the salon where we bought the modem, we were told that it is suitable exclusively for "Elisa", but I assume that the module will work with any SIM card in any country, but not a fact. The SIM card itself will definitely work only in Finland, excluding the Allland Islands. Consider this when choosing.
Have a good rest and work in Finland. I will add new information on the Internet in roaming when information appears.
PS
If you are going to live in a Finnish cottage, ask the owners if there is any Internet there before buying all these devices. To our surprise, on the last day we found a socket behind the curtain. They stuck a cable and lo and behold - we have high-speed Internet! And it’s absolutely free!
Such a device on the roof indicates the availability of the Internet.
Our roaming is a different story altogether, I have long wanted to understand whether the minimum cost is really 40 rubles per 100 kb. That is, it’s quite possible to spend 5-10 thousand rubles per working day! But what about the 21st century?
A quick survey of acquaintances showed that everyone heard something, but no one knows for sure. So you have to be a pioneer. Near the border, in Imatra, we found Prisma (a local supermarket, very common in Finland) and immediately went to the Elisa communication salon (one of the main communication operators in Finland). Finland quite speaks English, at least the younger generation, so a short conversation with the staff showed that the best option is a USB GSM modem + prepaid SIM card. To save 70 euros on a modem, you can just buy a SIM card, put it in the phone, connect the phone to the computer and configure access through the phone, but I also needed my phone number and the Internet. When buying a SIM-card, 7 euros are credited to the account, then you can replenish it in any salon. You can also replenish your account via SMS,
So: a modem costs 79 euros, a SIM card is included, plus we were given a gift with an unlimited Internet access card for a month. They said that this is a temporary action, but I think that such actions will be permanent. We also bought a voucher for 20 euros for the future to replenish our account.
Cost
The cost of access is 1.5 euros per 1 mb., But not more than 1.9 euros per day. If you spend quite a bit of traffic, then pay at the rate of 1.5 euros / mb. If you exceed 1.9 euros for traffic, pay 1.9 euros for the whole day. You can also activate unlimited Internet access for 1 week. The cost of unlimited per week is 6.9 euros. On weekends, it’s better not to activate the weekly unlimited, but for 4 days or more this can already be done.
By default, traffic charging is used. In order to enable unlimited, you should send a special SMS to the service number. Do not forget to do it!
This is a USB GSM modem
Connection package with a SIM card
Gift access card for a month of unlimited Internet
Voucher for replenishing a SIM card
There is a cable in the kit, so the module can be removed away from the computer. This is very useful, because when the module is turned on, the sound of interference from cellular communication is constantly heard from the speakers of the laptop.
Step-by-step description of settings
To get started, install the SIM card into the modem.
We insert the modem into the USB-connector of the laptop. If autorun does not start, go through “my computer” to the new disk that appears there (there is a built-in flash drive, it contains all the installation files), run autorun.exe.
When installing, select the language - English (it was written in the instructions, but for some reason we were not offered to choose or we did not notice, so we installed in Finnish, but everything is clear intuitively, there were no problems). When prompted to select an operator, select Saunalahti.
After installation, run the program, do not worry, the program itself will be in English.
All! You have the internet!
If you want to activate the weekly unlimited - the envelope icon will be in the upper right corner - click it, the SMS control window will open, create a new SMS with the text "DATA7" to the number 15020.
Speed
The modem allows you to work in 3G networks, in our case the cottage had only regular GSM, so I had to be content with slow Internet, the speed did not exceed 35 kb / s. At the time of writing this post, I have not tested the communication module
in 3G networks.
Roaming and Compatibility
In the salon where we bought the modem, we were told that it is suitable exclusively for "Elisa", but I assume that the module will work with any SIM card in any country, but not a fact. The SIM card itself will definitely work only in Finland, excluding the Allland Islands. Consider this when choosing.
Have a good rest and work in Finland. I will add new information on the Internet in roaming when information appears.
PS
If you are going to live in a Finnish cottage, ask the owners if there is any Internet there before buying all these devices. To our surprise, on the last day we found a socket behind the curtain. They stuck a cable and lo and behold - we have high-speed Internet! And it’s absolutely free!
Such a device on the roof indicates the availability of the Internet.