Nowadays every operator is offering mobile broadband packages. If you thinking about getting one, I have compiled data from all operators for you to have an overview and comparison. You can see what different options available and decide which one suits you best.
Vodafone
Vodafone offers range of devices for mobile broadband: USB Modem, USB Modem 7.2, USB Modem Stick and ExpressCard. See table below for quick overview.
| Device | Device Cost(12months/18months) | Cost Per Month | Speed | Comments |
USB Modem |
£99 | £30 | up to 3.6Mbps | No long term commitments, you can cancel anytime with 30 day notice. Plug and play on desktops or laptops and Macs. |
USB 7.2 |
£57.58/FREE | £30 | up to 7.2Mbps | Speeds of up to 7.2Mbps. Plug and play on desktops or laptops and Macs. |
USB Stick |
£116.33/£57.58 | £30 | up to 7.2Mbps | Small, slim and fast, only on Vodafone |
ExpressCard |
£57.58/FREE | £30 | up to 7.2Mbps | Advanced receiver, ideal for laptops, adaptor for PC card slots supplied |
USB Modem 7.2, USB Modem Stick and ExpressCard can also be purchased on Mobile Broadband 24, any of the listed devices will cost £199.75 and 24 hour access will cost you £9.99. This is ideal for occasional users who do not go online everyday.
Also you can purchase Mobile Broadband Travel price plan, which will cost you £111.63 per month but gives you 200MB per month included on any network abroad and £4.99 per MB after that. This is ideal for people who travel abroad regularly and have to be connected all the time.
All broadband tariffs are subject to fair usage policy, 3GB download limit applies to monthly plan, 500MB limit to 24 hour access. If you do not use your monthly or daily allowance, it is not rolled over to next month/day. So you either use it or loose it.
Vodafone’s terms and conditions say that if your usage is continually excessive, Vodafone will warn you and charge you, may limit the speed of your service or ultimately terminate contract.
3
3 offers only USB modem with it’s broadband packages but have bigger range of price plans. See table below for available options.
| Price Plan | Device Cost (12 months/18 months/24 month) |
Cost Per Month | Speed | Comments |
| Broadband Lite (1GB) | £99.99/79.99/FREE | £10 | up to 2.8Mbps | Out of plan data is charged at £0.10 per 1MB and £0.10 per message. Compatible with Windows 2000, XP and Vista operating systems and Mac OS. Desktops or laptops. |
| Broadband Plus (3GB) | £69.99/FREE/FREE | £15 | up to 2.8Mbps | Out of plan data is charged at £0.10 per 1MB and £0.10 per message. Compatible with Windows 2000, XP and Vista operating systems and Mac OS. Desktops or laptops. |
| Broadband Max (7GB) | FREE/FREE/FREE | £25 | up to 2.8Mbps | Out of plan data is charged at £0.10 per 1MB and £0.10 per message. Compatible with Windows 2000, XP and Vista operating systems and Mac OS. Desktops or laptops. |
All of the above packages are available as Pay As You Go options with same allowances and cost but you will have to pay £99.99 for USB modem (available in various colours), you will have 1 month to finish allowance and every 1MB over allowance will be charged at £1.00.
Available colors:
T-Mobile
T-Mobile gives you a choice between USB Modem or Data Card. See table below for price plan options for USB modem:
| Price Plan | USB Modem Cost(12 months/24 months) | Cost Per Month(12 months/24 months) | Speed | Comments |
| Web’n'Walk Plus | FREE | £29/£20 | up to 1.8Mbps | 3GB monthly usage limit, compatible with PCs or Macs, free Wi-Fi access |
| Web’n'Walk Max | FREE | £44/£34 | up to 1.8Mbps | 10GB monthly limit, internet calling like Skype is allowed, free Wi-Fi access |
Data card options:
| Price Plan | Datacard Cost(12 months/24 months) | Cost Per Month(12 months/18 months) | Speed | Comments |
| Web’n'Walk Plus | £39.99/FREE | £29/£29 | up to 1.8Mbps | 3GB monthly usage limit, ideal for laptops, free Wi-Fi access |
| Web’n'Walk Max | £19.99/FREE | £44/£44 | up to 1.8Mbps | 10GB monthly limit, internet calling like Skype is allowed, free Wi-Fi access. Ideal for laptops |
T-Mobile also gives you access to Wi-Fi hotspots for free if you are new customer. This can be handy if you like to surf web while sipping coffee in Starbucks or travel often and need access at airport.
Prepay option also available, you will have to buy USB Modem for £99.99 and 24 hour access will cost you £4. It makes sense to buy a contract if you will be connecting more than 5 times a month.
So how do they compare?
If you travel abroad a lot and you need constant access to internet, Vodafone is best option. Other carriers do not give you bundles with international allowance, but at the same time Vodafone is the most expensive. Vodafone also claims that speeds can be up to 7.2Mbps, which is the fastest but I am not sure what speeds you actually get when using it.
If we compare 12 months contract with 3GB allowance and USB Modem, 3 comes cheapest at £20.83 per month (including £69.99 for modem), followed by T-Mobile at £29 (you get free Wi-Fi connection) and then Vodafone at £38.25 (including £99 for modem). Good thing with Vodafone’s package is that you can cancel contract with 30 day notice, so no long-term commitments!
Comparing to basic BT broadband package, you will have to pay £11 phone line rental and £17.99 per month for 5GB package. In total you pay £28.99 per month, you get speeds of up to 8Mbps but you are not mobile. So as we can see, there are now mobile packages which are even cheaper than this and you have advantage of taking it with you whereever you go!
I personally tried T-Mobile’s USB Modem as well as Datacard. USB Modem is much more easier to install and use, it is really plug and play as they say. Datacard is compact and can sit inside your laptop, but there are problems if you remove it and then insert again. Drivers may need to be re-installed and your datacard will not be recognized. I would say USB Modem is much morefriendlier option and gives you flexibility to use it with laptop or PC. I found that daytime there could be times that you may not get decent connection speeds, eventhough you have full 3G reception signal. Night time connection is pretty reliable and you get decent speeds as well.
So decision is yours, it all depends on your choice of what you need and what you going to use it for!
If you have any comments or experience with mobile broadband, leave a comment!
