Beginners Guide to Mobile Broadband
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Beginners Guide to Mobile Broadband
Published: July 24th 2008
Mobile Broadband has arrived. Everywhere you look there are adverts, shop windows and website banner adverts promoting the various Mobile Broadband services and tariffs, whether it's an offer of a 'free USB Modem', 'Mobile Broadband for only £10 per month,' or 'up to 7.2Mbps download speeds'. Thousands of people are signing up every month and the mobile phone operators are fighting each other to take control of this new market.
So, what is Mobile Broadband? Why is it suddenly so popular? Can it replace your home broadband?
This guide answers all these questions and more, helping you to understand whether Mobile Broadband is a service that you want to sign up for.
What is Mobile Broadband?
Mobile Broadband is a service that allows you to connect your PC or Apple Mac to the internet via a mobile phone network, instead of using a home or office based connection. The biggest benefit of this service is that you can connect wherever you are - your internet connection is completely portable (well, as portable as your computer!). You can surf the web whilst sitting in a cafe, download emails on the beach or chat on MSN whilst having a cheeky pint in the pub. The only dependancies are that you're in the UK and that you are in an are with 3G mobile phone coverage.
How does it work and is it easy to use?
Mobile Broadband is easy to set up and use.
When you sign up for the service you are given a small modem that looks similar to a memory stick. This plugs into your PC or Mac via a USB port, just like your iPod or mouse does. Installation is either automatic as soon as you plug the modem in, or you may have to install some software from a CD that comes in the box. The modem contains a mobile phone style SIM card and it wirelessly connects your computer to your chosen operator's 3G phone network, giving you a very similar experience to being connected to the internet at home. You will be able to do most of the normal things such as browse the web, send and receive emails, and use instant messaging.
Which companies sell Mobile Broadband?
The five major mobile phone operators - Vodafone, 3, O2, Orange and T-Mobile - all offer a variety of Mobile Broadband tariffs and products, starting from as little as £10 per month. You can sign-up online direct with the five operators above, or via a phone retailer such as CarphoneWarehouse or Phones4U.
How much does Mobile Broadband cost?
You can pay as little as £10 per month with a free modem. As with mobile phone tariffs, the more you pay per month, the cheaper the modem and the more data you can use.
It's important to choose a tariff that gives you a large enough data download limit for your needs. The charges for downloading additional data can be prohibitive. The cheapest tariffs only offer 1GB to 3GB of data downloads per month. This is fine for general web browsing, sending and receiving emails (assuming you don't receive lots of 5MB or 10MB attachments every day) and instant messaging. If you want to download music and films, big email attachments or watch videos such as the BBC iPlayer you'll probably need a bigger data download limit.
Do I have to sign-up for Mobile Broadband with my current mobile phone provider?
The short answer is no. You can sign-up for Mobile Broadband with any provider as it's a separate contract and a separate purchase, however some operators may offer a slightly cheaper deal if you take both your mobile phone and mobile broadband from them.
Can Mobile Broadband replace Home Broadband?
The Home Broadband companies are a little nervous that people will start cancelling their home connections and 'go mobile' - and rightly so! With speeds of 14Mbps and 28Mbps due in the next couple of years, no need to pay BT line rental and the ultimate in portability it's not hard to see why Mobile Broadband is becoming a serious alternative. The cheapest Mobile Broadband deals are sometimes cheaper than the cheapest home broadband deals. If you only pay BT line rental in order to get broadband and rely on your mobile for phone calls then mobile broadband could save you cash.
Perhaps you're a student or you rent? The portability of Mobile Broadband make's it ideal if you regularly move house, as you'll no longer need to pay early termination penalties from canceling contracts within your 12 month, or these days 18 month, minimum contract term. Your internet literally moves with you. The only risk is the quality of coverage at your new address.
However there are a few downsides that prevents Mobile Broadband from being a good replacement for home broadband...for the time being.
- 3G, the technology that allows you to transmit data at high speeds over the mobile phone networks, has limited coverage in many areas.
- Strong coverage can be found in most large towns and cities but even here you may find that the signal is weaker in a particular building or even a particular room so you should test your 3G signal out if possible or choose a deal with a 30 day cancellation period.
- Mobile Broadband is currently provided via a single USB modem per person which means you can't share the connection with more than one PC or Mac at a time. This means it can't replace the home broadband connection for a family...yet. Look out for Mobile Broadband Routers in the near future though.
- The much lower download limits compared to home broadband make Mobile Broadband unsuitable for medium to heavy downloaders.
Quick-Tip
It's important to note that just because 3G coverage is weak in a building for one provider, it doesn't mean it's weak for others. Each mobile operator installs and maintains it's own network of phone masts and their exact location will directly impact the quality of coverage you will get.
I'd like to try Mobile Broadband out and see how good it is, but I don't want to sign-up to a long contract in case it's not for me. What can I do?
Most operators offer a 30 day cancellation period in case you find that the 3G signal for that provider is too weak at your home or in the places you plan to use Mobile Broadband the most.
Quick Tip
As soon as you get hold of your modem you should throughly test it out at home, at your favourite coffee shop, in the park, and so on to make sure you're happy with the quality of connection whilst you still have time to cancel.
Another option is Pay as you go (PAYG) Mobile Broadband, currently only offered by 3. You pay around £50 for the modem and then top up your usage like a Pay as you go mobile phone. At time of writing 3 were the only operator offering a Pay as you go tariff. They sell 1GB of download data for £10 top up, although any usage not used within 30 days then expires.
Their Mobile Broadband Starter Kit is the ideal gift for a student - you can buy several months worth of access and the modem in one go.
Quick Tip
Want an internet connection whilst on holiday within the UK to keep in touch or keep the kids entertained? PAYG Mobile Broadband is ideal for that type of occasional use.