Mobile Broadband - December 2008

Mobile broadband is a new, fast growing industry and there are some brilliant offers provided by the 5 major mobile phone networks to attract new customers. Mobile broadband is great for those of us who like to take our laptops around with us, either for work or pleasure and can't always rely on a phone line for our internet connection. With mobile broadband you get a USB modem which plugs into your laptop and then you can access the internet via the 3G network. Speeds vary from around 1.8mbps to a very fast 7.2Mbps, depending on your location, provider and plan. The data transfer limits maybe seem a lot less than standard broadband suppliers offer, as they range from around 3Gb per month to 10Gb per month. However you'll be surprised just how little you use with general web browsing and downloading moderately sized files, such as music files, word documents and powerpoint presentations. In this article I have put my recommendations forward so that you can go through what the 5 main mobile phone providers offer so you can find the one that best matches your needs.

3 – My Recommendation:

3 would be my recommendation for mobile broadband supplier due to their highly competitive price plans and large choice of data transfer limits, from 1GB working up to a 15GB option.

3 actually offer the most, along with the biggest and smallest data transfer limits out of all of the big 5 providers. All of their pay monthly plans come with a free USB modem however they also offer a Pay as you Go (PAYG) scheme where you only pay for the months you use the broadband for. You do however have to pay for the USB modem and prices start at £49.99. If you think you're only going to need a month of mobile broadband every once in a while this could be the cheaper option.

If you're after a 3GB allowance, I would be tempted to use Vodaphone which offers the same price plan but offers faster download speeds of up to 7.2mbps.

Vodafone – Second:

Vodafone are the only company to be able to offer speeds of up to 7.2mbps. For mobile broadband this is very fast!

Vodafone have two packages, one starting at £14.68 a month which has a 3GB download limit or £25 a month for a 5GB limit. These come with either a free USB modem or a thinner, USB modem stick is available for those on a longer contract. Both plans are available on 24, 18 and 12 month contracts. There's also an option for a 30 day contract if you buy the USB modem at £49.

Though Vodafone's 3GB plan is one of the top around, I would be tempted to use 3s 7GB in preference to Vodaphone's 5GB plan which also costs £25/a month on a 12 month contract but offers you 2GB bigger download limit.

Orange – Third:

If you're after a 3GB download limit then Orange's Internet Everywhere package is second to 3, which is my overall recommendation, or Vodaphones' offerings. It costs the same at £15 a month and comes on a longer 18 months contract, which is great if you want to fix the price for a few more months. It comes with a free Windows and Mac compatible broadband dongle which can get broadband speeds up to 1.8Mbps. The 3GB download limit may not be for a power user but should be ample for web browsing and downloading emails with small attachments.

T-Mobile – Fourth:

T-Mobile currently have a fantastic offer on their Mobile Broadband Plus plan, which has a 3GB download limit plan, where you get £5 off for the first three months on their 24 month contract, and the rest are £15 per month. This therefore could be cheaper than Orange's offerings, however the longer contract length may not be for everybody. Their Mobile Broadband Max plan costs £30 a month and has a much higher, 10GB download limit.

They offer a free USB modem stick or USB modem and The Observer reviewed them saying "[T-Mobile has] the most consistent connection." (22nd June 2008 ).

They also offer a 12 month contract and there is a premium of £5 extra per month on each of their plans for this. If you're not sure if you're going to use the mobile broadband that much you could opt for their £4 per day package which could be more cost effective.

02 – Fifth:

02's mobile broadband is slightly more expensive than their competitors at £20 for a 3GB download limit with a free USB modem when on a 18 month contract, or £99.99 when paying per month.

For some customers there could be some advantages to their service which includes having a modem which works with both PCs and Macs, their modem will automatically connect to the fastest available network and what could be a potentially be the biggest advantage to some is that the USB modem can be used abroad, therefore if you do a lot of traveling this could be the one to invest in!

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Below is a table itemising all the different available plans that the 'big 5' offer. The contract length are in brackets by each package. If you think some of these are too long then check out their websites as you can generally get shorter contracts but the prices do go up slightly.

*1 (First 3 months only cost £10)

*2 £5 a month discount if taken out on a longer, 24 month contract compared to an 18 month contract.

David Macfarlane, Internet Consultant, Future in Sites Ltd.