Ask Our Expert

Mobile broadband download limits

Our Broadband Expert says...

A mobile broadband connection is a great way to keep you connected on the go. As you probably know though, download allowances are far lower than most fixed-line home broadband connections. This means that you need to think about how much data you'll need before you sign up, and be careful not to exceed your limit.

Download allowances

Mobile broadband download allowances vary widely depending on the package you're signed up to. Orange Mobile Broadband (www.Orange.co.uk) currently offers the lowest monthly allowance at just 500MB for less than £5 a month - perfect for low users, while 3 Broadband (www.Three.co.uk) offers the highest - 15GB for just £15 a month on a 24 month contract - great for people who are considering replacing their home connection with mobile broadband.

Most mobile broadband packages offer around 3GB a month, though tariffs of 5GB and 10GB are also available.

How much data you need

If you already have a home internet connection that you plan to replace with a mobile broadband contract, then it's a good idea to see how much you currently download.

Install our free Broadband Download Monitor to see how much you download at the moment and what kind of package would best suit your needs.

If you do a lot of downloading or regularly watch missed shows on catch-up services such as the BBC iPlayer or Channel 4's 4oD, you will have to curb your usage to make sure you don't end up exceeding your allowance and being charged.

If you only plan on using your mobile broadband connection for general web surfing with the occasional download then you should be fine.

Most suppliers offer a guide to download limits on their website, but you can also use the following as a guide. Data is based on "average sizes" - for example, an average sized photo. If you regularly download large files you need to allow for this in your calculations.

• 100 emails without attachments - 1MB
• Three emails with attachments - 1MB
• One email with a photo attachment - 1MB
• One hour on Instant Messenger - 1MB
• An hour's web surfing - 20MB
• Downloading a 3 minute MP3 - 4MB
• Downloading a 10 minute video - 40MB
• Downloading one film trailer - 10MB

There are 1024MB in 1GB, so if you have a 3GB monthly download allowance, you'll have a total of 3,072MB to use.

1GB a month should allow you to:

• Send 1,000 Outlook/HTML Emails
• Surf the internet for 10 hours
• Download 5 four minute videos
• Download 32 four minute music tracks

3GB a month should allow you to:

• Send 3,000 Outlook/HTML Emails
• Surf the internet for 30 hours
• Download 15 four minute videos
• Download 96 four minute music tracks

10GB a month should allow you to:

• Send 10,000 Outlook/HTML Emails
• Surf the internet for 100 hours
• Download 50 four minute videos
• Download 320 four minute music tracks

Free overnight downloads

If you're worried about your downloads you could go for one of Orange's new Early Bird tariffs that offers free overnight downloads between midnight and 9am.

There are three packages are available - offering 1GB, 3GB and 10GB a month, but if you do all your downloading overnight, you can save your precious allowance for daylight hours. This allows you to download more without the risk of being charged for exceeding your allowance.

Excess charges

No matter which tariff you sign up to, you need to make sure that you don't exceed your download allowance. With its fair usage policy, T-Mobile Broadband (www.T-Mobile.co.uk) is the only mobile broadband provider that won't immediately charge you for going over your limit. However, you could have your connection restricted to just web surfing, or be asked to upgrade to a more appropriate - and more expensive - package.

Other providers' charges vary from as little as 1.96p per MB with Orange to as much as 10p per MB with 3 and even 19.6p per MB with O2 Mobile Broadband (www.O2.co.uk) - which adds up to almost £200 if you go 1GB over your allowance.

Other providers such as Virgin Media Mobile Broadband (www.VirginMedia.com) and Vodafone Broadband (www.Vodafone.co.uk) charge £15 for an extra GB of data if you go over your limit.

Additional data

The best way to avoid expensive additional charges is to make sure you don't go over your limit. Each provider allows you to track how much you've downloaded by logging into your account and many will also text you to let you know when you're nearing your limit.

However, if you've used up all your data but still need to get online, buying an additional data bundle is much cheaper than paying the excess usage charges. Orange offers the cheapest bundles, which you can add as 30-day rolling bundles. This means that you'll have to cancel your additional data bundle if you don't need it one month. Orange charges just £5 for 1GB, £10 for 3GB, £15 for 5GB and £20 for an additional 10GB bought in this way.

Pay as you go

If you're still worried about your download allowance, you could try a pay as you go mobile broadband tariff or a one-month mobile broadband contract first. These packages let you try mobile broadband without committing to a long contract - so you can see how you get on with your lower download allowance first.

Also, with a pay as you go plan, you will have to top up before you can get back online once your monthly allowance has been used - avoiding any extra usage fees, though you will have to pay around £20 for your mobile broadband dongle.

NB Best buy tables (orange background) are always current.

Examples in the text of the article (white background) are correct at time of publication.

Ask us a question

If you have a general switching or provider query please email us at OurExpert@broadbandchoices.co.uk