There are now so many different mobile broadband packages available that it can be confusing trying to find the best deal for you. Are you looking for pay-as-you-go or a contract; do you want the fastest speeds or the cheapest monthly rate; do you want a free dongle or are you happy to pay out for the latest hardware?
Think about your needs and do your research so that you can find the right package.
Cheapest mobile broadband
If you’re looking for the cheapest pay-monthly mobile broadband package, then 3 (www.Three.co.uk) is the provider for you. Its Broadband Lite plan costs from as little as £5 a month for existing 3 customers willing to sign an 18 or 24 month contract.
12 month customers, or anyone not already with 3, have to pay £10 a month for the 1GB tariff - still the lowest headline rate on the market.
3’s 50 per cent discount for existing customers applies to all 18 or 24 month plans.
Fastest mobile broadband
Although its top theoretical speed of up to 7.2Mb is only available in London and major UK airports, Vodafone (www.Vodafone.co.uk) still boasts the UK’s fastest mobile broadband network. While customers should bear in mind that they will receive speeds significantly lower than 7.2Mb, Vodafone is working to extend this “turbo” coverage to more areas and also plans to introduce a new theoretical maximum of 14.4Mb by the end of the year - when competitors will be moving up to 7.2Mb.
Best coverage
Because mobile broadband coverage varies so much depending on where you live and how far you are from a mobile broadband mast, you shouldn’t rely on national coverage figures when you choose your provider. Check each provider’s coverage to see which one offers the best service in your area.
A detailed coverage breakdown - right down to individual postcodes - can be found on most providers’ websites or in stores.
All providers now offer USB modem sticks - though some will charge you extra or not let you have one on a shorter contract, and newcomers O2 (www.O2.co.uk) and Orange (www.Orange.co.uk) have forgone the already outdated dongles all together, only offering USB modem sticks.
The cheapest pay-as-you-go option
If you know that you’re only going to be an occasional mobile broadband user then a pay-as-you-go option will be best for you. At only £4 a day, T-Mobile's (www.T-Mobile.co.uk) Web’n’Walk Plus Daily option was not only the UK’s first daily mobile broadband plan, but remains the cheapest.
It comes with a fair usage policy rather than a set download limit so you won’t immediately be charged for exceeding your “limit”.
The highest download allowance
Most consumer mobile broadband packages have a download limit of between 3GB and 5GB, but you can get packages with up to 10GB a month if you’re willing to pay for it. T-Mobile’s Web’n’Walk Max packages have a fair usage policy of 10GB a month, so you won’t immediately be charged if you exceed this limit. Web’n’Walk Max costs £35 a month on a 24 month contract or £44 a month on a 12 month contract.
3 also offers a higher-than-average download allowance on its Broadband Max package, with a set download limit of 7GB a month for £25.
Free mobile broadband hardware
All of the mobile broadband providers offer some sort of free hardware but you’ll usually have to sign up to the very longest packages - those that tie you in for 18 or 24 months - in order to get it. Others will only offer free dongles, rather than the better, faster, USB modem sticks.
Ask yourself if signing a longer contract - and missing out on the cheaper, better deals that will arise over the next two year - is worth a free USB modem stick, or whether it would be better to pay a little extra to have a shorter contract and the hardware that you want.
3 offers free dongles and USB modem sticks on all packages apart from its cheapest 12 month Broadband Lite, where you’ll have to pay £49.99 for your hardware - still a good deal.
Finding the best deal
To find a deal that really suits your needs; think about how often you’ll use your mobile broadband connection, and what you’ll be doing with it.
For example, it’s not a good idea to spend three hours a day downloading programmes from the BBC iPlayer, as download allowances are not high enough and you’ll end up being charged a fortune on any of the set download limit plans, or being forced onto a more appropriate, more expansive tariff if you have a fair usage policy.
Do your research so that you can find a plan that will stay economical for as long as possible and try to avoid signing one of the longest 24 month contracts.
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