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BroadbandChoices.co.uk compares all UK mobile broadband providers and packages so you don't have to. Check mobile broadband deals, prices and availability with us before getting your dongle.
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Mobile broadband on a contract
| Supplier | Package details | Speed (up to) | 1st year cost | Monthly charge | Download limit | Go |
| 3GB + Unlimited WiFi (1 Month) | 7Mb | £205.63 | £14.69 | 3GB | ||
| Mobile Broadband 15GB (24 Months) | 4Mb | £180.00 | £15.00 | 15GB | ||
| 10GB + Unlimited WiFi (18 Month) | 7Mb | £352.56 | £29.38 | 10GB |
Mobile broadband pay as you go
| Supplier | Package details | Speed (up to) | 1st year cost | Monthly charge | Download limit | Go |
| Mobile Broadband Pay As You Go - Broadband Lite | 3Mb | Pay as you go | Pay as you go | 1GB | ||
| Pay and Go Mobile Broadband | 4Mb | Pay as you go | Pay as you go | 3GB | ||
| 1GB Mobile Broadband Top Up & Go | 4Mb | Pay as you go | Pay as you go | 1GB |
Browse our Mobile Broadband Guides
Our journalists cut through the marketing hype to find you the best mobile broadband deal. Browse our free consumer guides for fair unbiased advice on the best UK mobile broadband providers, deals and dongles.
We've put together a comprehensive list of all available mobile broadband deals, from pay as you go mobile broadband to contracts. Find the one that works for you.
Pay as you go mobile broadband
Many providers now offer mobile broadband deals on dongles and Pay as you go plans. Check our guide to PAYG mobile broadband.
Our guide to all free laptop deals from 3 (Three), O2, Orange, T-Mobile and Vodafone. Compare free laptop deals from all mobile broadband providers.
Get the low down on mobile broadband coverage in your area before you buy. Our guide to mobile broadband coverage across providers.
Compare the best broadband dongle deals across top UK mobile broadband providers.
Our expert guide to free mobile broadband dongles. Get connected wherever you are for less.
What’s so great about mobile broadband?
For a start, it does exactly what it says on the tin; it makes broadband mobile. You simply sign up to your mobile broadband provider, who will supply you with a USB modem, or dongle, which you can plug into any PC you want, and connect to the internet wherever you are.
So if you’re on your way to an important meeting, taking a long train journey (though like a mobile phone, connectivity might be patchy), or just want to take your broadband with you everywhere you go, mobile broadband is the answer.
It also means that you can kiss goodbye to your line rental. Mobile broadband modems don’t connect to a phone line in your wall; they use the 3G network and connect to the internet wirelessly. And at £11 a month paying by direct debit to BT (www.BT.com), this could save you £132 a year.
And although the 3G network doesn’t cover the whole of the UK, it does connect almost 90 per cent of the country. At the end of 2006 providers 3 mobile broadband(www.Three.co.uk) and T-Mobile (www.T-Mobile.co.uk) joined forces to improve their coverage and boost speeds, with the plan to cover 98 per cent of the population with speeds of up to 7.2Mb by 2009.
Are there any drawbacks to mobile broadband?
Still in the early stages of mass adoption, there remain some drawbacks to mobile broadband. Cost has always been one of the biggest deterrents of mobile broadband; providers charged so much for downloads that it just wasn’t worth it. But now, 3 offers a connection with a 1GB allowance from only £10 a month, while other providers T-Mobile and Vodafone (www.Vodafone.co.uk) both apply fair usage policies to their packages.
Coverage can also be a problem in some areas, though all of the mobile broadband providers offer a service that allows you to check the coverage in your area. Make sure you find out what your coverage will be like before you sign up.
Speed was the last major hurdle for mobile broadband providers, but with Vodafone currently leading the pack with speeds of up to 7.2Mb, and 3 and T-Mobile looking to boost their speeds in the next year, this is no longer the issue it once was.
How much does mobile broadband cost?
Each of the mobile broadband providers have different pricing schemes; 3 is the cheapest, starting at £10 a month, but charges customers who go over their download limit, T-Mobile is the mid-range provider but costs are quite high unless customers sign a 24 month mobile broadband contract while Vodafone offers 12,18 and 24 month contracts with a starting price of £15 a month.
However, each company offers a range of packages, including pay-as-you-go and even a pay-per-day package. So no matter how often, or how little, you want to use it, you’ll be able to find a suitable mobile broadband package.
- 3 Mobile Broadband Packages
- T Mobile - Mobile Broadband Packages
- Vodafone Mobile Broadband Packages
- Virgin Media Mobile Broadband Packages
- O2 Mobile Broadband Packages
- Orange Mobile Broadband Packages
What can I do with my Mobile Broadband download allowance?
It can be difficult to work out which mobile broadband package is right for you based on download allowances, but you can use this as a rough guide:
- 1GB of mobile broadband data lets you send 650 plain text emails and surf the web for 30 hours and download 30 two minute videos and download 60 music tracks
- 3GB of mobile broadband data lets you send 2,000 plain text emails and surf the web for 100 hours and download 100 two minute videos and download 200 music tracks
- 7GB of mobile broadband data lets you send 4,500 plain text emails and surf the web for 200 hours and download 200 two minute videos and download 400 music tracks
Is it difficult to set up?
Mobile broadband is the easiest of connections to set up. All of the modems offered by the UK’s three providers come with pre-loaded installation instructions so you simply plug in your dongle and it will automatically install the software you need to connect the internet.
Then, whenever you want to surf, you just plug your modem in, open the mobile broadband provider’s logo on your desktop, and away you go.
O2
O2 offers three main contracts, one on a rolling 30 day contract and a 18 and 24 months contract. Customers willing to commit for a 18 or 24 months will get their USB modem stick for free, while those choosing a monthly contract will have to pay £29.38.
Packages start from as little as £9.79 a month and offer either a 3GB or 10GB monthly download allowance, with excess usage charged at 19.6p per MB, and free, unlimited use of The Cloud’s 7,500 UK wireless hotspots.
| Supplier | Package details | Speed (up to) | 1st year cost | Monthly charge | Download limit | Go |
| 3GB + Unlimited WiFi (24 Month) | 7Mb | £156.68 | £9.79 | 3GB | ||
| 3GB + Unlimited WiFi (18 Month) | 7Mb | £176.28 | £14.69 | 3GB | ||
| 3GB + Unlimited WiFi (1 Month) | 7Mb | £205.63 | £14.69 | 3GB | ||
| 10GB + Unlimited WiFi (18 Month) | 7Mb | £352.56 | £29.38 | 10GB | ||
| 10GB + Unlimited WiFi (24 Month) | 7Mb | £352.56 | £29.38 | 10GB | ||
| 3GB + NC10 Mini-Laptop + Unlimited WiFi | 7Mb | £352.56 | £29.38 | 3GB | ||
| 3GB + R510 Laptop 3GB + Unlimited WiFi | 7Mb | £430.85 | £29.38 | 3GB | ||
| 10GB + NC10 Mini-Laptop + Unlimited WiFi | 7Mb | £469.80 | £39.15 | 10GB | ||
| 10GB + R510 Laptop 2GB + Unlimited WiFi | 7Mb | £469.80 | £39.15 | 10GB | ||
| 10GB + R510 Laptop 3GB + Unlimited WiFi | 7Mb | £548.09 | £39.15 | 10GB |
T-mobile
T-mobile doesn’t charge customers as soon as they exceed its fair usage policy, however, it does publish the limits it sets on its two packages at 3GB and 10GB and any customer who exceeds their limit more than three times will be asked to upgrade to a more expensive mobile broadband package.
Rather than dictating the price you pay for your USB modem, with T-Mobile, the length of the contract you sign will determine the amount you pay each month. Standard contracts are 12 months but customers willing to sign a mammoth 24-month contract can cut their monthly payments by £9.
T-Mobile also offers a “daily” mobile broadband package, and after buying your modem you’ll be able to connect for no more than £4 a day.
| Supplier | Package details | Speed (up to) | 1st year cost | Monthly charge | Download limit | Go |
| Mobile Broadband Pay Per Day (3GB) | 7Mb | Pay as you go | Pay as you go | 3GB | ||
| Mobile Broadband Plus (24 months, 3GB) | 7Mb | £165.00 | £10.00 | 3GB | ||
| Mobile Broadband Plus (18 months, 3GB) | 7Mb | £180.00 | £15.00 | 3GB | ||
| Mobile Broadband Plus (3GB) + Asus Eee PC 904HD Laptop | 7Mb | £300.00 | £25.00 | 3GB | ||
| Mobile Broadband Plus (5GB) + HP 6735s Laptop | 7Mb | £360.00 | £30.00 | 5GB | ||
| Mobile Broadband Extra (24 months, 5GB) | 7Mb | £360.00 | £30.00 | 5GB | ||
| Mobile Broadband Plus (5GB) + HP 6735s 3G Laptop | 7Mb | £420.00 | £35.00 | 5GB |
Virgin Media
Cable broadband provider Virgin Media (www.VirginMedia.com) recently entered the mobile broadband market offering customers an 18 month contract. For £15 a month, you get a 3GB monthly download allowance and a free USB modem stick.
| Supplier | Package details | Speed (up to) | 1st year cost | Monthly charge | Download limit | Go |
| Virgin Mobile Broadband (18 Months) | 3Mb | £184.88 | £15.00 | 3GB |
Vodafone
Vodafone recently added two new, cheaper packages to its mobile broadband portfolio and a 30-day rolling option in order to compete with other UK providers. It is also the fastest, offering a choice of modems with speeds of up to 7.2Mb in selected parts of the country.
The Mobile Broadband 3GB package is aimed at moderate users and has a 3GB download limit with a charge of £15 per additional GB. The Mobile Broadband 5GB is for more regular users with a 5GB download limit and a £15 charge per additional GB and the rolling 30-day option is good for users who don't want to commit to a long contract.
Like 3 and T-Mobile, Vodafone offers a choice of three contract lengths at 12, 18 and 24 months, and while all Mobile Broadband 3GB have to pay something towards their modem, on the two more expensive option only customers on the shortest contract will have to pay for their modem. There is no discount for choosing the very long 24-month contract over the 18-month option.
| Supplier | Package details | Speed (up to) | 1st year cost | Monthly charge | Download limit | Go |
| 1GB Mobile Broadband Top Up & Go | 4Mb | Pay as you go | Pay as you go | 1GB | ||
| 3GB Mobile Broadband (24 Month Contract) | 7Mb | £165.00 | £10.00 | 3GB | ||
| 3GB Mobile Broadband (18 Month Contract) | 7Mb | £180.00 | £15.00 | 3GB | ||
| 3GB Mobile Broadband (12 Month Contract) | 7Mb | £180.00 | £15.00 | 3GB | ||
| 1GB Netbook (Mobile Broadband + Dell Inspiron Mini Laptop) (24 Month Contract) | 7Mb | £240.00 | £20.00 | 1GB | ||
| 3GB Netbook (Mobile Broadband + Dell Inspiron Mini Laptop) (24 Month Contract) | 7Mb | £300.00 | £25.00 | 3GB |
3 Mobile Broadband
By far the cheapest of the mobile broadband providers, 3 also offers very flexible packages, with a range of prices, download limits and even pay-as-you-go options. 3 offers a choice of four contract lengths; 1, 12, 18 and 24 months and unlike T-Mobile and Vodafone, 3 doesn’t apply a fair usage policy. Instead, you’ll be charged per MB if you exceed your limit.
Contract customers will pay 10p for every MB over their allowance, however, installing our free Broadband Download Monitor will allow you to keep tract of your downloads, and set alerts as you reach your limit.
| Supplier | Package details | Speed (up to) | 1st year cost | Monthly charge | Download limit | Go |
| Mobile Broadband Lite 1GB (12 Months) | 3Mb | £168.93 | £10.00 | 1GB | ||
| Mobile Broadband 15GB (24 Months) | 4Mb | £180.00 | £15.00 | 15GB | ||
| 3 Mobile 15GB + Acer Aspire 150b Laptop (24 Months) | 3Mb | £270.00 | £22.50 | 15GB |
Orange
Internet Everywhere is Orange's (www.Orange.co.uk) new mobile broadband package, that the home broadband, phone and mobile provider currently only offerings on an 18 month contract.
It costs £15 a month and comes with a 3GB download allowance, after which you’ll be charged £15 per additional GB.
Top speeds currently reach 1.8Mb and all customers get a free USB modem stick (Orange does not offer dongles).
| Supplier | Package details | Speed (up to) | 1st year cost | Monthly charge | Download limit | Go |
| 1GB Mobile Broadband (18 months) | 4Mb | £121.47 | £9.79 | 1GB | ||
| Orange Mobile Broadband + Asus Eee Laptop (Black) | 4Mb | £297.63 | £24.47 | 3GB |
Which is the best package for me?
Because of the very low usage allowances, and the high costs in getting a 7GB or 10GB allowance, heavy downloaders shouldn’t use mobile broadband as their only connection just yet.
However, this year prices are likely to drop more, and allowances likely to go up too . But you need to think about the way you’ll be using your mobile broadband connection before signing up to any package.
Think about how much you’ll be on the internet, whether or not you’ll be downloading a few songs from iTunes, or want to have the BBC iPlayer download service running in the background all the time.
Avoid signing a 24 month contract because in two years time, when all of the providers are offering at least 7.2Mb mobile broadband, prices have dropped considerably and download allowances have increased equally, you could be stuck on an outdated, overpriced package.
Mobile phone broadband, but without the dongle!
If you already have a 3G mobile phone then you could save yourself the cost of a mobile broadband dongle. By connecting your lap top to your 3G phone via "blue tooth" you will can get a basic broadband connection, also saving on the need for a wire. While "dongles" and 3G technology are developing using your mobile for broadband could save you time and signing a lengthy contract
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