Mobile broadband speeds
For most people speed shouldn't decide which mobile broadband service they buy. The reality is that mobile broadband is fine for email and web browsing, so it's fast enough for most people most of the time. The promised speeds, however, are rarely achieved, so making a choice based on them is just likely to lead to disappointment.
What affects speed?
The most important factor by far is the type of service that's available to you. Apologies for the blizzard of acronyms, but the services that are available are:
- GPRS - this is the oldest, slowest but most widely available service. It's ok for most email use, but a bit painful for web browsing
- EDGE - only some mobile phone networks offer this. It's fine for email use, and ok for web browsing. Maximum speed is only about 10% of the advertised 'up to' speed
- 3G - widely available and similar to or better than EDGE
- HSDPA - speeds are pretty similar to home broadband, so it's great where you can get it. Real speeds are usually around 40 to 50% of the advertised 'up to' speed
Other things that matter are:
- How close you are to the mobile phone mast
- How busy the local mobile phone mast is. You're affected both by people making calls (who get priority) and other broadband users (who you share with as the service is "contended")
- All the other things, such as being inside, that can affect ordinary mobile calls
What to do if you have speed problems
If you realise you have a problem early on, return the USB modem and switch to another mobile network. The mobile phone networks want you to be pleased with your mobile broadband, so take full advantage of their returns policies, which are typically more generous than for mobile phones.
For some people, especially those out in the country struggling to get service from any of the mobile networks, buying an external aerial may be a solution. You'll need to know where your nearest mobile mast is, and be prepared to pay £50 to £100 or more.