Mobile Broadband Guide

What are dongles

Mobile broadband dongles allow you to connect to the internet, wherever you are, as long as you’ve got a mobile signal - just plug one in and you’re ready to go.

Dongles explained

The term “dongle” covers mobile broadband USB modem sticks as well as the older mouse-like wired modems. Whichever one you have, you’ll be able to connect to the internet and check your emails, train times or book cinema tickets, no matter where you are.

All mobile broadband dongles come with “plug and play” software so the program you need to get online is automatically installed the first time you plug your dongle in - you’ll be able to surf the net in minutes.

As long as you’ve got a signal from your chosen mobile broadband provider, you’ll be able to get online.

How do dongles work?

When you sign up to a mobile broadband provider you’ll be given a sim card to put into your dongle. This works in much the same way as a standard sim card, connecting you to your chosen mobile supplier. However, instead of using it to make phone calls, you put the sim into your dongle, plug that into your laptop and use it to connect to the 3G mobile broadband network - allowing you to surf the net.

Why use a dongle?

A dongle allows you to take the internet mobile. And because they are the size of a memory stick you can take them anywhere - and plug them into any compatible netbook, laptop or desktop.

Dongle download allowances

The amount you can download each month will depend on the deal you’ve signed up for. Currently, mobile broadband allowances range from 500MB a month with Orange Mobile Broadband's (www.Orange.co.uk) cheapest pay-monthly tariff to a generous 15GB a month on 3 Broadband's (www.Three.co.uk) top package, though most plans currently come with a 3GB monthly download allowance.

Excess usage costs can be extortionate, so make sure that you monitor your downloads and buy a data add-on rather than going over your limit.

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