Mobile Broadband

One of the frequent questions we get asked here at broadband.co.uk is "can I get broadband without a landline telephone?".

The answer is "Yes!", the service you are looking for is Mobile Broadband.

This is the broadband.co.uk guide to Mobile Broadband:

• Mobile Broadband Deals
• How Does It Work?
• No Need For A Landline
• How Much Does It Cost?
• Installation
• Overseas Use
• Mobile Broadband Coverage
• Mobile Broadband Providers
• Will I Get Hit With Hidden Costs?
• Mobile Broadband v Fixed Line Broadband
• Who Is Mobile Broadband Good For?
• Mobile Broadband Routers
• Future Of Mobile Broadband
• Glossary

Mobile broadband uses the mobile phone network to connect you to the internet. This is made possible by a new technology called High Speed Downlink Packet Access or HSDPA, but this is quite a mouthful so its better known as Mobile Broadband. You will be provided with a special USB Dongle or Stick which plugs into your computer to allow you to connect. You don't need to use your mobile phone. You pay not for how long you use the internet, but rather you pay for the amount of data you download. The great advantage is that you don't need a BT phone line, and you aren't tied to one location, wherever you go so can your mobile broadband connection!

The biggest drawback with traditional broadband is that in most cases it forces you to have a landline from BT even if you don't require a phone line for any other use. With more and more people nowadays either using mobile phones rather than landlines it makes even more sense to make your broadband mobile rather than fixed.

Surprisingly it probably costs less than you think, especially when you consider that you don't have to fork out for a telephone line as well (which is the case with most fixed line broadband). Deals start from as little as £10 per month, and go up to over £50 per month. There are 4 types of deal:

• Pay As You Go Mobile broadband - With PAYG mobile broadband it works very much the same as with PAYG Mobile phones, you buy a dongle and then when you want to use it you buy top ups. You can buy top ups either online or at any shop that sells mobile phone top ups. You can buy top ups in various price ranges, the more you spend the more usage you get. Prices for a 1Gb top start around £10 depending on your network.
• Contract Mobile broadband - With Contract mobile broadband you sign up for a fixed period of time (usually between 12 and 24 months) and you receive a free dongle and a certain amount of data usage inclusive per month (between 1Gb and 15Gb depending on the package). If you use more than your standard data allowance during a month then you pay extra on top for the additional data. The providers provide you with a secure webpage with your usage amounts so you can keep an eye on your usage levels. Prices range from £10 per month to £40 per month depending on the length of contract and the amount of inclusive data per month.
• Starter Kits - Mobile broadband starter kits are similar to PAYG deals, but they come with a certain amount of data included and an increased time limit to use the data before it expires. Starter kits are an excellent present to give someone who needs to get connected but doesn't want a fixed contract. Prices start from around £69.99.
• Free Laptops - Mobile broadband with free laptops provides you with everything to get online, including the laptop! Now it really is simple to get online. You have to take out a mobile broadband contract (usually between 18 and 24 months in duration) which will cost between £30 and £55 per month depending upon the specification of the included laptop and the amount of inclusive data per month.

Mobile broadband is simple to install, you simply plug the supplied dongle into a spare USB port on your Windows or Mac computer and it will automatically set itself up and you will be online in no time. It really is that simple. In the unusual event tha t it doesn't work first time then each supplier has technical support just a phone call away.

More and more people are taking advantage of mobile broadband to keep connected when they are abroad, it works just as easily abroad as it does in the UK. However you have to watch out for increased charges when you are overseas as with many suppliers this kind of use is not included in your monthly allowance. See each individual provider for details about using your mobile broadband connection abroad.

Mobile broadband is particularly being adopted by the motor home community who have found that it provides the perfect way to keep in touch with family back home and research the next destination on their trips.

Technically mobile broadband will work anywhere there is a mobile phone signal, however if an area has a weak signal or the aerials have not been upgraded to the 3G or higher standard, then the speeds can suffer significantly. In urban areas you stand a very good chance of getting excellent download speeds, in other areas it's worth checking individual suppliers coverage maps. The good news is that more and more areas are being upgraded to enable the fastest speeds.

• 3 Mobile Broadband Coverage Checker
• T Mobile Coverage Checker
• Orange Mobile Coverage Checker
• O2 Mobile Broadband Coverage Checker
• Vodafone Coverage Checker
• Virgin Mobile Broadband Coverage Checker

Not surprisingly mobile broadband is provided by the mobile phone networks (and resellers such as Virgin Media). Here is a brief rundown of each supplier:

• 3 Mobile - 3 Mobile have very much taken the lead when it comes to mobile broadband in the UK. They offer all types of deals from Pay as You Go to free laptop deals. 3 Mobile provide the widest range of mobile broadband deals currently on the market.
• O2 - O2 have now launched a range of deals to suit all types of users, along withe their 50 day Happiness Guarantee they are worth looking at.
• Orange - Orange as one of the heavyweights of the UK mobile phone industry naturally have a mobile broadband offering. They offer a number of deals including special offers for students.
• T-Mobile - The first T-Mobile mobile broadband deals came out at around the same time as 3 Mobile's first deals, however they originally branded them as "web 'n' walk" rather than mobile broadband, and this was a marketing faux pas. They have since rebranded their offering as "mobile broadband" and have seen sales rise as a result.
• Vodafone - The early Vodafone mobile broadband deals were aimed squarely at the business market which is still Vodafone's string point. A range of consumer mobile broadband deals have now been launched including free laptop offers.
• Virgin Mobile Broadband - The new kid on the block, Virgin Media are the latest mobile broadband supplier.

Like most fixed line broadband deals there is a limit to the amount of data you can download. If you have pay as you go mobile broadband then you have nothing to fear, as when you have used up all your data you won't be allowed to download anymore data till you have purchased a new top-up.

With contract mobile broadband you will be charged for extra data which gets added to your monthly bill. However the providers provide you with secure account webpages where you can keep an eye on the amount of data you are downloading so you can watch your use.

The biggest difference between mobile and fixed line broadband is that you don't need a landline phone for mobile broadband. Mobile also gives you much more flexibility, if you leave the house then you can take your broadband connection with you. On the downside fixed broadband is easier to share amongst more than one computer using a router. Mobile broadband routers for 3 mobile broadband are available, but they do not work with other providers modems. Maximum "up to" speeds are currently higher on fixed line broadband, but in some areas that are far from the nearest telephone exchange mobile broadband can be faster than fixed line.

Just about anyone can find mobile broadband useful, but here are some of the scenarios where mobile broadband is the perfect solution:

• Homes without a landline - why get a telephone line when you don't need it? Mobile broadband is the perfect solution.
• People in short term lets - don't want to tie yourself into long term fixed line contracts, simply get a mobile connection you can take with you when you leave.
• Business users - being out of touch means wasted time and missed opportunities, a mobile broadband connection means whenever you are away from the office you can stay totally in touch.
• Students - online access is invaluable to every student, with a mobile internet connection you have guaranteed connectivity at home, in digs, in Lectures or the student union bar!
• Motor Homes - if like many people you spend much of your time exploring home and abroad in a motor home then a mobile broadband connection is a great way of staying in touch and planning your next destination.
• Backup connection - if you prefer a fixed line connection for most of your usage a mobile dongle can be a great backup in case your normal supply fails (and we know that happens a lot!) to keep you online.

With fixed line broadband it is now common for the connection to come bundled with a wireless router, allowing more than one computer to connect to the connection at the same time. It was the case with mobile broadband that only one user could use the connection at a time.

This has now changed as the first mobile broadband wireless routers are starting to come on the market that allow you to share the connection simultaneously amongst a number of computers.

Mobile broadband won't stay still over the next few years. Here are a few technologies that are coming our way:

• 4G - the successor to 3G, 4G will see a huge increase in speeds.
• Femtocells - a mini mobile base station that sits in your house and connects to a fixed line phone to boost the speeds if you get poor coverage. As they require a fixed line it sort of defeats the point of a mobile broadband connection, but regardless they are expected to become more common.

Mobile broadband (like most technologies) is full of terms that to the uninitiated make no sense whatsoever. Here's a complete glossary to help you out:

• 3G - Third Generation mobile network provides for a good data transfer rate.
• 4G - Fourth Generation mobile network. Trial 4G networks in Japan are capable of mobile broadband speeds when stationary of up to 1 Gbps.
• Dongle - A dongle is a mobile broadband modem that is around the same size as a credit card but a bit thicker. It plugs into a laptop or desktop computer via a USB port and provides net access.
• Stick - A stick is a small stick device, usually about an couple of inches long, that plugs into your computers USB port and works as a mobile broadband modem to provide your internet connection.
• Datacard - a type of mobile broadband modem that can only work with laptops with PCMIA expansion slots. The rarest kind of modem.
• HSPA - High Speed Packet Access. A type of mobile broadband standard.
• HSDPA - High Speed Downlink Packet Access. Another standard, currently the one most often in use with most deals.
• HSUPA - High Speed Uplink Packet Access. A standard that allows for very fast mobile broadband uplink connections.
• LTE - Long Term Evolution. Related to 4G technology, LTE will be at the forefront of the next generation mobile broadband networks in a few years time.

You've reached the end of our mobile broadband guide. Why don't you look for some of the best deals available?

• Contract deals
• Pay As You Go deals
• Starter Kit deals
• Free Laptop deals