Mobile Broadband Explained
For many of us, broadband internet has revolutionised the way we work, play and communicate, whether through the use of email, social networking, instant messaging and video calling, or via on-line shopping, live and on demand TV streaming, movie and music downloading and interactive gaming.
Now, thanks to recent advances, we can take our worlds with us when we leave our home or office as mobile broadband finally sets the World Wide Web free.
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What is mobile broadband?
Is it hard to setup?
Who provides mobile broadband?
How much does it cost?
Are there any drawbacks?
What is mobile broadband?
The clue here is in the name. Mobile broadband uses the same '3G' technology as modern mobile phones to provide high-speed internet access wherever there's a phone signal. This means that you can now check e-mail, surf, shop, chat and tweet virtually anywhere.
If you need to work on the move, by simply plugging in one of the incredibly portable USB modems (known as a dongle or stick modem) to a laptop you can get on-line without wasting time hunting down the nearest Wi-Fi hotspot and the inconvenience of passwords and pay-per-minute.
But it's not just for those who want to work on the go. Despite being primarily designed for laptops, these modems are incredibly PC friendly, and with speeds now comparable to home broadband connections and wider UK coverage than most cable networks, many people are turning to mobile broadband in the home as well.
Not only can mobile broadband be used as a handy backup when something goes wrong with the phone line or the broadband hardware, it can also replace normal broadband entirely. There's no need for wires or routers.
For those in rural areas with a slow connection and the many of you renting a landline just for broadband access, this could be the perfect choice. Going mobile would not only save you £10 or more per month in BT phone line rental, but it could also provide a faster and more reliable connection as well. Additionally, if you're moving into a new property, it could save you paying out the £120 charge for installing a landline.
Ideal for:
- Business people who want to work on the move
- Students who want web access in seminars and around campus
- Travellers who need the flexibility to work wherever they are
- People in areas with no access to or slow landline connections
- People who want broadband access without the additional cost of line rental
- People who want the freedom to work and surf wherever and whenever they want
Is it hard to set up?
No. Unlike home broadband connections, mobile broadband is incredibly straight forward. It's much like purchasing a mobile phone. Once you sign up, your chosen network or retailer will send you your modem or dongle (usually available in a range of colours). Simply plug the modem into your laptop or PC and the plug-and-play software installs itself giving you effortless on-line access all within 10 or 15 minutes.
Who Provides Mobile Broadband?
All six major mobile phone networks (3, O2, Orange, T-Mobile, Virgin and Vodafone) as well as BT (to a lesser extent) now offer mobile broadband packages to both existing and new customers. Contracts vary from a 30 day rolling option to 24 months, with the most typical being the 18 month option. Pay-as-you-go options are also becoming increasingly popular.
How much does it cost?
It's available from less than £10 per month on the longer term monthly contracts. Prices vary between networks and are dependent on contract length, download allowances and speed, type of modem included and whether a laptop is supplied as part of the deal.
Several networks also offer package deals with discounted rates for their existing phone customers or when mobile broadband is bought along with another service such as a mobile phone, home phone or home broadband.
Typical tariffs range between the £15 and £20 per month range, increasing to around £30 per month for contracts including laptops or the smaller netbooks. This means you can get a brand new computer for as little as £10 a month. The current best deals available are displayed on the front page of this site.
Pay-as-you-go deals are also possible and are ideal if you are not a regular internet user.
Are there any drawbacks?
Coverage - if you live or work in an area with no mobile signal then this clearly isn't currently the option for you! Signal strength is being improved however, with new and more powerful masts being set up all the time. Signal strength also suffers indoors, particularly if you have thick walls. But generally there's very little that can be said against this technology as proven by its growing popularity.
Speed - connection speeds aren't the same across all networks and deals but most networks intend to increase capability to the current top available download speed of 7.2 MB per second (average connection is around 1-2 MB per sec), with plans afoot for upgrades to speeds of 16, 21 and 28MB in the near future.
Whilst this won't quite match the 50MB that fibre-optic cable broadband (currently available from Virgin Media) is capable of, it's more than fast enough for any possible application from downloading movies to interactive gaming.
Connection speed (upload and download) also rarely matches that advertised by the networks, which is the maximum possible speed achievable. The more people using the service at any one time, the slower the speed will be. The reliability of the connection speed is also better on some networks than others and signal strength can have an adverse affect too.
Much like with mobile phones there are some areas, especially along train lines, where it isn't possible to get a signal, so there may be the occasional loss of connection when travelling by train or other transport. Many networks combat this by having an auto-reconnect function that steps in as soon as a signal is detected.
Allowance Caps - The average data allowance from most networks is 3GB (3 'Gigabytes') per month, which is enough to do the following:
- Hours spent browsing (daily) - 2 hours
- Emails sent & received (daily) - 125
- Music downloads (per month) - 25
- Video downloads (per month) - 45 mins
- Software updates / downloads (per month) – 2
Whilst this is more than enough for casual users, those who want to download or stream large amounts of media such as movies and music should go for a deal with a higher allowance such as the 15GB for £15 per month deal offered by 3 or the 10GB for £24.49 per month package offered by Orange.
T-Mobile also has an unlimited usage plan for a flat rate, however this is subject to a 'fair usage' policy which means that if you exceed 3GB on a regular basis, you risk your speed being reduced or even being disconnected.
It's best to choose a deal that provides more data than you're likely to use as charges for going over your allowance can be quite steep, ranging from £15 per GB with Orange to £102.40 per GB with 3.
Another option is to choose a flexible network like Orange that lets you purchase additional data bundles (for less than £5 for a 1GB bundle and an amazing 10GB bundle for under £20) to add to your contract allowance if you find you need a higher limit.
We think that most of the big changes in download limits have already taken place, though no doubt they will continue to improve gradually.
Costs - these aren't really a problem now, as they are very much in line with home broadband costs. We think that they are unlikely to reduce much further, although there will no doubt be offers, such as the first three months half price, that reduce the headline cost.
Roaming Charges - Looking for a device that you can use when you're on holiday? Look no further. With mobile broadband you can take your USB stick/dongle with you when you go abroad and connect to the internet with ease.
Alhough this may be an ideal option for business travellers, mobile broadband has yet to profit from the huge reductions in roaming charges that have benefitted all mobile phone users recently. Be aware that whilst in most cases you can now take your connection with you when you travel abroad, you will pay a premium for the privilege.
If this is an option you're likely to want, the best network to sign up to is Vodafone who offer a bundle of 50MB per day for the reasonable price of £9.99 in the EU and £29.99 in the rest of the World, with the same rate being applied for every 50MB after that.
Next best for EU countries is T-Mobile at £1.50 per MB (comparable to £75 per 50MB) but avoid them at all costs for rest of World travel (ROW), as the rate then sky-rockets to £7.50 per MB (£375 per 50MB).
The best pick for ROW is 3 at a slightly more slimline £6.00 per MB, though this will still burn a rather sizable hole in your pocket (£300 per 50MB) if you don't keep tight reins on your usage.
With movies and TV shows typically being hundreds of MB in size, any sort of downloading or streaming activity is best left until you're back on home soil.