Thoughts on Mobile Broadband
Until recently the only way to connect to the internet without using a land line connection was to take your Wi-Fi enabled
laptop to an area covered by a free to access wireless network or hotspot and connect to broadband that way. However, you
would still ultimately be using a landline service, and there was no convenient way to receive a broadband internet connection
in your home and on the move without having to pay extortionate prices to used someone else`s Wi-Fi network. However, with
the introduction of mobile broadband in the UK you can now access a broadband internet connection anywhere in the country
that has network coverage without the need for any land line or any wires, which provides a truly liberate broadband service.
Mobile Broadband Technology
Mobile broadband uses the same networking technology that is available on the latest
mobile phone handsets to access the internet and provides much quicker download and upload speeds than were available on the
previous generations of mobile networks. When you sign up for a mobile broadband package you will be sent a Mobile Broadband
USB dongle which contains a receiver and a USB modem that allows you to connect to the internet and will plug straight into
your PC or laptop and be ready to use in minutes. The USB dongles are all roughly similar in size and shape and will look
much like any USB memory sticks that you may have seen, but the technology contained within each one is often different and
will offer different performances. Often you will be required to pay more for your mobile broadband package, either as a one
off payment or increased monthly payments, in order to receive a USB dongle that is capable of higher download and upload
speeds, though usually a basic dongle will be packaged free with a mobile broadband contract.
Mobile Broadband Providers
Because mobile broadband operates over mobile phone networks it is offered by all of the large mobile phone companies including
3, Virgin, BT, O2, Orange and even BT. Even though there are different packages offered by each provider, there are a few
things which will be universally true of all of them. You will need to sign up to a fixed term contract of between 12 and
24 months, and payment will be required each month. You can also expect to have a monthly data allowance cap placed on your
mobile broadband connection. This is usually expressed in gigabytes and can be anywhere between 1GB and 15GB, but the thing
you need to know is that 1GB equates to roughly ten hours of web browsing a month. If you exceed your monthly allowance you
may either have your mobile broadband access limited or you may be charged extra for any additional data that you download.
The best advice when it come to choosing a mobile broadband
package is to shop around and only pay for what you will actually use. If you won`t need much usage, go for a cheap deal,
but if you`re a heavy user you may need to spend money to ultimately save money.
