If you’re thinking of signing up for a shiny new mobile broadband package and are trying to decide who the best provider to go with is, you need to know what the network coverage in your area is like.
Mobile broadband coverage varies by region, and like a mobile phone signal, it will be weaker or even non-existent if you’re underground or in some rural areas.
Coverage & speed
The coverage you get largely depends on two things; the provider you’re with and where you live - but even if you have the latest modem and live in a “turbo-charged” area you still won’t get the top advertised speed; distance from the mobile mast, trees and other buildings between you and the mast, and the number of users all influence the speed you experience.
Vodafone recently decided to stop advertising its mobile broadband at speeds of 7.2Mb following complaints from rival provider 3 that the vast majority of consumers would not get this advertised speed. Although 3 currently operate a slower network than Vodafone, with a theoretical maximum of 3.6Mb, it actually advertises its top speed as 2.8Mb in recognition of the fact that customers will rarely, if ever, reach the “theoretical maximum”.
All mobile broadband providers can offer a detailed breakdown of network coverage by individual postcode if you visit their website or go into a store.
3
3's (www.Three.co.uk) Turbo Network - offering a theoretical top speed of 3.6Mb and an advertised top speed of 2.8Mb currently covers 90 per cent of the UK’s population, and is set to increase to 98 per cent by early 2009.
According to 3, “most people on our Turbo Network can expect a speed ranging from 1Mb to 1.5Mb, allowing you to download a 3-4 minute music track in 30 seconds or less.”
To find out if you live within a Turbo Networked area, or if your area is expecting an upgrade soon, just visit the 3 website, or go into a 3 store.
As well as upgrading its network to cover 98 per cent of the UK with Turbo speeds, 3 is also working with T-Mobile - with whom it shares 3G coverage - to build speeds up to a theoretical maximum of 7.2Mb - the same as the current Vodafone network.
T-Mobile
T-Mobile (www.T-Mobile.co.uk) shares its 3G network with 3, so it too currently covers around 90 per cent of the UK - also set to increase to around 98 per cent by early 2009 as the joint network is updated and extended.
And like 3, its current theoretical top speed is 3.6Mb, but it advertises it as 2.8Mb in recognition of the fact that this is an unachievable speed for most customers.
This top speed will be increasing to a theoretical maximum of up to 7.2Mb by the end of the year but you should check the T-Mobile website or in store to see what the coverage is like for your specific area.
Vodafone
Although Vodafone (www.Vodafone.co.uk) does offer some of the fastest speeds in the UK, they are not available to all customers. It recently decided to stop advertising its mobile broadband at speeds of up to 7.2Mb following complaints that few, if any, customers would actually connect at this speed.
At present, Vodafone’s theoretical 7.2Mb maximum is only available in London and major UK airports, which according to Vodafone offers typical speeds of between 1.7Mb and 5.5Mb allowing you to “download a 5MB file in seven seconds - 14 times faster than using 3G”.
While it is working to extend its “super fast” speeds to more of the country, other regions are covered by the same speeds as 3 and T-Mobile - up to 2.8Mb. Vodafone plans to increase its theoretical top speed to 14.4Mb by the end of the year.
Again, visit the Vodafone website or go into a store for more detailed coverage for your area.
O2
O2's (www.O2.co.uk) recently launched mobile broadband service is currently only available to existing O2 mobile phone or home broadband customers and offers the lowest speed of all the mobile broadband providers.
Its 3G network covers 80 per cent of the UK population and although it’s fully HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) enabled for future speed increases, it currently only offers a top speed of up to 1.3Mb. However, O2 will begin increasing this to a theoretical maximum of 3.6Mb from June 2008 with further increases in the pipeline.
All O2 mobile broadband customers get free, unlimited access to 7,500 wireless hotspots throughout the UK so that you can surf the net at high speeds without it coming out of your monthly 3GB allowance and your USB modem stick will automatically choose the fastest available network - GPRS, 3G or HSDPA - or one of The Cloud hotspots.
More details of O2’s coverage can be found on its website or in store.
contact us 
