Mobile Broadband Providers

December 5, 2008 by Gadget
Filed under Laptops & Computing

3 Mobile

3 Mobile not only offers some of the best value mobile broadband subscriptions in town, but it also has a staggering choice when it comes to tailored packages – there should really be something for everyone for this provider, regardless of budget or download usage requirements.

3 mobile rewards its existing customers with a massive 50% off line rental on all 18 and 24-month mobile broadband contracts, (or a free dongle on 12-month Broadband Lite contracts) so it could pay to have both your mobile phone contract and mobile broadband contract with them.

3 now advertise their headline speed as 3.6Mbps, which brings it in line with most other providers. However, as with all mobile broadband services you may not get this speed everywhere. Be prepared to work with speeds a little slower, particularly if you are working in more out of town areas.

To choose a 3 Mobile package, you first need to choose if you want a dongle only (which is all you need if you already have a laptop), or whether to go for the full laptop + dongle package (which is a cost-effective way to get online from scratch).

There are a couple of laptops available – both from HP – including a skinny, mini-laptop that could be handy for really mobile travellers.

If you don’t feel like you can afford a monthly subscription, 3 also offer a pay-as-you-go package, where you top up download ‘credit’ as you like – just like a pay-as-you-go mobile phone.

3 Mobile Broadband

O2

Big movers and shakers in the mobile phone industry, O2 were relatively late entering the mobile broadband market. Making a name for themselves in the high street, signing up to a mobile broadband package with O2 should give you peace of mind when it comes to customer service. They’re also well renowned for putting together some good offers.

Mobile internet packages from O2 are relatively simple. You can either pay up front for a dongle and choose a one-month rolling contract, or opt for a free dongle and sign yourself up to a longer 18 or 24-month contract.

Currently, there are four different O2 mobile broadband packages available, each bundling in a free Sony Ericsson T280i mobile handset. Alternatively, if fast home broadband is important to you too, you can bag yourself 16Mb home broadband for only £5 per month when you sign up to an O2 mobile broadband package.

O2 Mobile Broadband

Orange

Orange’s mobile broadband offers may be modest, but no one could argue that they’re not straightforward. Its dongle-only package is reasonably priced at £14.68 per month with speeds matching the competition fairly well. The 3GB download cap may be a little limiting for heavy users but there’s no setup or connection fee.

Alternatively, if a spanking brand new laptop sounds good to you can bundle in an Asus Eee PC 901 16GB notebook worth £349.99 for £24.47 per month on a 24-month contract.

Orange Mobile Broadband

T-Mobile

If you’re interested in kitting yourself up with a T-Mobile mobile broadband package unfortunately you’ve picked the wrong time to do so. Oddly, but presumably down to heavy demand, the operator has currently run out of mobile broadband products.

Anyway, once they’re back in stock a good selection of consumer deals should be available – both contract and pay-as-you-go.

T-Mobile offer some of the fastest mobile broadband connections around and you should be able to set yourself up with a “fair usage policy” rather than a download limit. You could also find that speeds are drastically bumped up if you’re within reach of one of T-Mobile’s WiFi hotspots (and seeing as they’re set up in places like Starbucks there’s a pretty good chance that one is easy to find in your area).

T-Mobile Mobile Broadband

Virgin Media

Another newbie to the mobile broadband scene. Virgin Media offer a straightforward dongle-only deal that gives you a 3GB download allowance without any connection fee. The speeds aren’t the fastest around, but as they use the T-mobile network you can expect good coverage across the UK (although, unfortunately you can’t access T-Mobile Wi-Fi hotspots).

There’s a 3GB per month download limit on Virgin Media’s mobile broadband package but be warned – exceeding this cap could end up pricey. There’s a £15 per GB charge in the UK, or £5 per MB if you’re using your dongle abroad.

Virgin Media

Vodafone

Vodafone is not only the fastest mobile broadband provider, with speeds of up to 7.2Mb, but it also offers the widest range of package and promotions.

If you want to connect without the commitment, there’s a one-month rolling contract for £20 per month (although you will have to pay for the dongle upfront). Alternatively, Vodafone also offers a great Laptop plus dongle deal, which gives you the ultra-light Dell Inspiron Mini 9 with Windows XP.

Vodafone

For more informtation about all of these mobile broadband providers, visit Mobile Broadband Genie

For more info on the next generation broadband services, visit the LTE Broadband website.

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