Mobile Broadband Guide

Speed up your mobile broadband

While top advertised mobile broadband speeds are now 7.2Mb and even 14.4Mb, average actual speeds are usually far lower. So how can you boost your mobile broadband connection?

• Mobile broadband speeds
• Get an antenna extension
• USB extension leads
• Vodafone Sure Signal
• 3G signal repeaters
• Ditch your mobile broadband router
• OnSpeed
• Check for background programs
• Check coverage before you buy
• Mobile broadband refunds

Mobile broadband speeds

According to broadband authority Epitiro, actual mobile broadband speeds are only around 1Mb, and even Vodafone Broadband (www.Vodafone.co.uk), which currently offers the UK’s fastest hypothetical top speed of 14.4Mb admitted in August 2009 that customers in its fastest areas “can expect to see typical speeds of anything between 1Mb and 4Mb with a practical maximum speed of 10.8Mb”.

According to Vodafone, a customer with an average download speed of 1.2Mb should be able to download a large 5MB presentation in 33 seconds, a large 2MB photograph in 13 seconds and a 250KB Word document in 1.7 seconds.

Use our speed tester to see how your mobile broadband provider performs.

Video: How to speed up a mobile broadband connection

Get an antenna extension

Many mobile broadband dongles allow you to attach an antenna extension to boost your signal.

There are a wide range of antennas available - ranging from clip-on, omni-directional models that simply attach to your USB modem stick or laptop for a stronger signal in all directions, to high-gain directional antennas that send your 3G signal in one direction, reducing “wasted” signal strength.

Many mobile broadband USB modem sticks will only work with compatible antennas, so check with your manufacturer before investing. You should also note that if you have no mobile broadband signal at all, an antenna extension is unlikely to help.

USB extension leads

Often, your mobile broadband signal will be better outdoors, or near a window. However, you don’t want to have to go outside every time you want to get online.

Plugging your dongle into any standard USB extension lead will extend its range. This will allow you to position your dongle near a window - where there will be a better signal - while you sit somewhere else.

However, if you use a cable that’s too long, your computer might not be able to recognise the dongle connected at the other end.

Vodafone Sure Signal

The Vodafone Sure Signal is a small device that plugs into your home broadband connection to boost the 3G signal in your home. It costs £50 as a one-off fee or £5 a month, and is also available from free on selected Vodafone mobile contracts.

However, the Sure Signal can only be used if you have a fixed-line broadband connection - in which case it is unlikely that you would be concerned about mobile broadband speeds at home.

3G signal repeaters

Sometimes called “range expanders”, signal repeaters are standalone units that provide an easy way to increase the coverage of your mobile broadband signal. However, this simply means that you could use your laptop in more parts of the house - not just near the window. It won’t give you a stronger signal than you already have.

Signal repeaters can also cost more than a full year of mobile broadband - it would be cheaper to have a landline installed and get a more reliable fixed-line connection.

Ditch your mobile broadband router

If you get a poor mobile broadband connection, then using a router to share what little you have will only make it worse. Ditch your mobile broadband router and plug your dongle in directly.

OnSpeed

You cannot physically change the speed of your mobile broadband connection using software, but OnSpeed uses a technology called Content Sensitive Compression to individually compress each element of a web page or email. The end result is that PC web pages and emails can load and download faster using your existing internet connection. OnSpeed works for:

• Text
• HTML objects
• Photos
• Animated objects
• Office documents such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint
• Macromedia Flash files

OnSpeed costs £24.99 for 12 months, with no contract, and comes with a 14-day money back guarantee if you don’t see any improvement.

Check for background programs

If web pages are taking a long time to load, you should also check that no peer-to-peer programs are running in the background, or anything like Skype or podcast downloads - which can all slow down your computer. Read our guide to boosting your broadband speed for more tips.

Check coverage before you buy

One of the best ways to ensure that you get a decent speed from your mobile broadband provider is to check coverage in your area before signing a contract. All of the mobile broadband providers offer a mobile broadband coverage checker that allows you to see what kind of speeds you can expect at home, in your local pub or on your commute to work.

Vodafone recently upgraded its coverage checker to include speeds outside and indoors - where speeds can be significantly slower. And O2 Mobile Broadband (www.O2.co.uk) says that its coverage checker is sophisticated enough to tell you if you'll have poor coverage in any rooms at home.

Mobile broadband refunds

If you sign up to a provider, only to find that speeds are painfully slow and can't be improved, you can return your dongle and cancel your contract within a set number of days. This varies from 14 days with 3 Broadband (www.Three.co.uk) and Orange Mobile Broadband (www.Orange.co.uk), to a month with O2 and Virgin Media Mobile Broadband (www.VirginMedia.com).

T-Mobile Broadband (www.T-Mobile.co.uk) makes its refund decisions on a case-by-case basis.

Click here to Compare broadband packages, and find a provider that's right for you.

Click here to view a list of Mobile Broadband UK packages

Comments