Broadband Guide

Orange mobile broadband

Updated: Wednesday 30 May, 2012

By Anthony Hill

Mobile operator Orange offers a range of broadband packages to suit different needs and budgets, with monthly discounts available for existing customers...

Orange (www.Orange.co.uk) has a variety of mobile broadband plans, with a choice of options within each package. You can choose from either a 30-day rolling deal, 18-month or 24-month contract.

How much you pay and the length of contract will affect a number of things, including the amount of data you receive, whether or not you get inclusive Wi-Fi minutes and the upfront cost of your USB dongle.

If you're only an occasional user, Orange even has a purely pay-as-you-go deal where you simply pay a few pence per MB of data you use, with an upper monthly limit of £40 - so you can’t accidentally run up big bills.

Orange mobile broadband dongles

With a USB dongle from Orange, you can get online from around £12 a month with no lengthy contract to sign.

Download allowances range from 500MB to 5GB and more expensive plans also include unlimited access to BT Openzone Wi-Fi whenever you're within range of a hotspot.

If you're an Orange customer for mobile phone or broadband, you'll also get a £5 monthly discount for mobile broadband.

Orange tablets with mobile broadband

Orange regularly refreshes its mobile broadband tablet deals, so you should check the product range often to see what’s new. Its tablet offers come with a 24-month contract, and you might also have to pay an upfront cost depending on the model and package you choose.

But for some people, a mobile broadband contract is an affordable way of spreading the cost of buying a tablet.

Orange mobile broadband benefits

One of the biggest benefits to Orange mobile broadband over its competitors is the £5 monthly discount it offers to existing Orange customers. Whether you're a contract mobile phone user or a pay-as-you-go customer, or even have Orange home broadband, you'll be able to take advantage of the discount when you sign-up.

Some packages also come with an extra 1GB of “quiet time” data that can be used between midnight and 4pm - on top of your normal anytime download allowance. You can also get inclusive Wi-Fi minutes with selected tariffs, allowing you to save your precious 3G data whenever you're near a BT Openzone hotspot.

As with other Orange products, Orange mobile broadband customers also get 2-for-1 cinema tickets Wednesdays as part of the Orange Wednesdays promotion.

Orange mobile broadband coverage

Even though more than 90% of the UK is covered by Orange’s 3G network, you should always use the online checker to ensure mobile broadband coverage is sufficient in your area. If you do sign-up and find that you don’t have adequate coverage, you can return your dongle and cancel your contract within 14 days.

Our expert’s verdict

Michael Phillips, managing director of Broadbandchoices.co.uk, said: “With its flexible contracts - starting from just 30 days - and its easy-to-add usage bundles, Orange mobile broadband is a great choice for anyone looking for a good value package - especially if you're not sure how much you're going to download each month.”

Use our free and impartial price calculator to compare the latest mobile broadband deals.