Ken's Tech Tips

May 25th, 2011

With mobile broadband, you can get your laptop online when you’re on-the-go. In this article, we compare mobile broadband tariffs and look at alternatives such as tethering.

What is mobile broadband?

Traditionally, broadband meant a high-speed connection to the internet through your landline. Mobile broadband also provides a high-speed connection to the internet but instead of going through your landline, it uses a 3G connection to the nearest mobile mast (the same technology that your mobile phone uses to communicate with a mast).

The advantage of mobile broadband is that your broadband connection is no longer home-bound. You can use it when away from home – your mobile broadband connection will work anywhere in the country where a 3G signal is available.

The disadvantage of mobile broadband are that it tends to be slower and more expensive than broadband through the landline.

In order to use mobile broadband you will need a dongle (which is essentially a mobile broadband “modem”) and a subscription to a mobile broadband service.

What is a dongle?

A dongle is a mobile broadband modem which plugs into a spare USB port in your laptop or desktop computer (pictured). It’s about the size of a USB memory stick – usually you can plug it in and it will be installed automatically. It’ll enable your computer to connect to a 3G mobile broadband service.

As an alternative, it’s possible to get a “personal wi-fi hotspot dongle” instead. This uses wi-fi instead of a USB cable to connect your laptop/iPod Touch/Kindle/etc. to a 3G mobile broadband service. Three, Vodafone and Orange offer a wi-fi dongle.

What tariffs are available?

The following mobile broadband tariffs are currently available in the UK:

Network	Monthly Price	Data Allowance	Excess Charges	Contract Length
500MB per month
Vodafone	£7.50	500MB	£7.50 per 500MB	1 month
Orange (Racoon)	£10.00	500MB	5p/MB	1 month
Orange (Racoon)	£10.00	500MB	5p/MB	12 months
1GB per month
Three	£7.87	1GB	10.2p/MB	18 months
T-Mobile	£10.00	1GB	Usage restricted	18 months
O2	£10.21	1GB	Bolt-On required	1 month
Orange (Dolphin)	£15.00	1GB	5p/MB	1 month
Between 1GB and 5GB per month
Orange (Dolphin)	£15.00	1GB & 1GB off-peak	5p/MB	12 months
Vodafone	£15.00	2GB	£15 per 1GB	1 month
Vodafone	£15.00	2GB & 1GB off-peak	?	18 months
Vodafone	£20.00	2GB & 2GB off-peak	?	18 months
5GB per month or above
Three	£15.99	5GB	10.2p/MB	1 month
Three	£15.99	5GB	10.2p/MB	18 months
Three	£15.99	15GB	10.2p/MB	24 months
Three	£20.99	15GB	10.2p/MB	18 months
All-you-can-eat data
If you take out a mobile phone contract on Three’s “The One Plan”, you’ll get a free inclusive mobile broadband service when you tether your phone to a computer. This comes with all-you-can-eat data with no download limits. “The One Plan” starts at £25/month either as a rolling 30-day SIM-only tariff or a 24-month contract with a inclusive handset.
Three’s The One Plan	From £25.00	All-you-can-eat data Mobile broadband via tethering 2000 minutes 5000 texts	N/A	1 month/24 months

What should I be looking for in a mobile broadband tariff?

When choosing a mobile broadband package you should look at:

• The network & coverage – Which networks offers good 3G connectivity in your area? Nothing can be worse than signing up for a long contract and then finding out that you can’t use the connection indoors! You can use the coverage checkers on the networks’ websites to determine the level of coverage. Alternatively you could bag yourself a free Pay As You Go SIM card, pop it into an unlocked 3G mobile phone and see what the reception is like.
• Download limits – Mobile broadband packages are capped; they give you a limited amount of data. See our guide to download limits and how much data you’ll really need but be warned about applications such as Windows Update which can use data in the background. You can use a programme such as tbbmeter to find out how much data you use and ensure that you don’t go over the limit. Charges can be pricey if you go over your limit so make sure you don’t exceed your data allowance.
• Contract length – Do you want to pay as you go or sign up for a contract? The benefits of Pay As You Go mobile broadband are that you can carry unused allowances over to the following month. However, regular users will find Pay Monthly mobile broadband on a contract better value. Secondly: how long are you willing to sign a contract for? 1 month, 12 months, 18 months or 24 months?
• Price – Shop around and find the best value mobile broadband package for your needs. Ideally you won’t want to pay for data allowance that you won’t use; at the same time you won’t want to accidentally run up large charges for exceeding your limits.

How much data do I need?

It’s difficult to know how much data you’ll actually use through tethering. It really depends on how you use your computer: the applications you use, the amount of photos/music/videos you download and share and whether your computer is configured to automatically download software updates (e.g. Windows Update). Applications such as tbbMeter can help to measure your data usage.

We’ve got a detailed guide to data allowances and what they correspond to in terms of every-day use on your phone. Whilst the figures should be similar for computer-based browsing via tethering, please be aware that things aren’t so simple because of differences in how efficiently different applications use data and differences in background data usage (e.g. software updates).

Can I simply use my phone’s internet connection instead of getting a dedicated mobile broadband tariff?

Yes, but only if you’ve got a phone and a tariff which supports tethering. Tethering essentially means sharing your phone’s mobile internet connection with a PC/laptop. Only Three’s One Plan and O2′s Pay Monthly tariffs support tethering by default:

• Three’s One Plan comes with all-you-can-eat data and free tethering (see our review of The One Plan). You’ll have no download limits on your phone, or your mobile broadband connection when tethered. It’s available as a rolling 30-day SIM-only tariff for £25/month or a 24-month contract with inclusive handset (from £25/month).
• O2′s Pay Monthly tariffs come with free tethering (see our review). You’ll have a download limit of either 100MB, 500MB or 1GB (depending on the data tariff you choose). The download limit is shared between when you use internet on your phone and when you use internet through tethering.

For other networks and tariffs, you’ll have to purchase a tethering add-on. We’ve got a detailed guide to tethering tariffs in the UK.

How does mobile broadband through a dongle differ from mobile broadband through tethering?

On the whole, there should be no difference between using a mobile broadband service through a USB dongle or using one by tethering on your mobile phone. Connection speeds & service should be the same. The benefit of mobile broadband through a dongle is that you can purchase it independently and separately from your phone (your USB dongle could use a different mobile network from your phone). In our opinion, it might simply be better value to put them both together and opt for a tethering-supported package such as The One Plan.

Can I replace my home broadband connection with mobile broadband?

Probably not, no. You’ll typically get a much better deal on home broadband and there won’t be download limits either. For example Sky offer “up to 20Mbps” home broadband with no download limits for £10/month (this deal is for non-TV customers, Sky TV customers receive a £2.50/month discount). For mobile broadband, you’d get 1GB of data per month and you’d be lucky to receive a download speed of more than 2Mbps.

On the whole, home broadband is always superior to mobile broadband and is certainly a requirement for high-bandwidth services such as video on-demand and music streaming. Mobile broadband is a great addition for use when you’re on the go.

How does mobile broadband differ from wi-fi?

Wi-fi is another technology which allows you to access the internet when you are away from home. For example, coffee shop and fast food restaurants may advertise free wi-fi internet access (or you may have to pay to access their wi-fi internet connection). It could be difficult to find a wi-fi internet connection to use on the move as wi-fi signals tend only to cover very small areas. With mobile broadband, this shouldn’t be a problem as 3G mobile broadband signals cover large areas – you should be able to use it in a park as well as a coffee shop and you don’t need to worry about paying for wi-fi access.

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About Ken

My mission is to demystify the world of mobile technology for general audiences and to communicate how mobile technology can enhance every aspect of our daily lives. I've been maintaining the Ken's Tech Tips website since 2004. I have experience communicating mobile technology and presenting new mobile products both online and offline, including at various trade shows and events. You can check out my profile or drop me an e-mail.

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