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By Richard Evans
The internet has revolutionised the way we buy holidays, communicate with our friends and deal with our finances, among dozens of other tasks. Now its usefulness has taken another step forward - the net has gone mobile. Limited forms of browsing have been available for years with wap-enabled mobile phones and, more recently, the Apple iPhone and its imitators. But the advent of “dongles” - small broadband modems, working on the mobile phone network, that plug into your laptop - has brought the internet as we use it at home to computers on the move. If you are thinking of buying a dongle, however, there are several factors that need to be considered before you hand over your money. Location, location, location… The advanced “3G” networks that provide mobile broadband do not cover the whole country, so you'll need to find out which operators do have a signal where you want to use the service. All the networks have tools on their websites that allow you to check whether 3G coverage exists at particular addresses, so you can check for each location that is important for you - work and home and the journey between the two, for example, or perhaps a holiday home or where your children are at college. Even if the operator says there is 3G coverage at your home, say, you are not guaranteed a service. “The major 3G networks cover most of the UK population. However, getting a proper signal within a coverage area can still be a problem,” says Charles Ponsonby of simplifydigital.co.uk, a switching service. “Local topography and buildings with thick walls can compromise the 3G signal and may cause problems with your broadband connection.” The connection may either fail altogether or switch to the much slower GPRS network in the middle of your internet session, he adds. The maximum speeds offered vary from one network to another - the highest is 7.6 megabits per second (about the same as the advertised speed of many home broadband connections) - so it's worth checking if speed is particularly important to you. But remember that you won't necessarily get that speed if the signal is not strong enough where you want to use the service. Go it alone? A reliable signal is especially important if you intend to make your dongle your sole means of connecting to the internet, which would mean saving on the charges for renting a landline (about £11 a month) and for the broadband service itself (perhaps another £10 a month). It also avoids the need to arrange a new connection when you move home and the cost of terminating an unexpired contract, for example. “If you do not have a landline at home then mobile broadband is an obvious starting point,” says Mr Ponsonby. But as he points out, there are drawbacks with this course of action and it won't suit everyone. While fixed line broadband contracts often impose no usage limits, they are universal in the mobile broadband market. Some allow you to download 1GB a month, others 3GB or more. “If you or your family are looking to download a lot of songs or video (through the BBC's iPlayer, for example) then a mobile broadband connection may not the best alternative for you,” says Mr Ponsonby. “What's more, if you do go over your usage limit on your mobile broadband service, there could be a heavy bill to follow.” Most providers charge for each additional megabyte (MB) used, but costs for each additional gigabyte (1,000 MB) can be between £15 and £200, according to recent research from Which?, the consumer lobby group. The price is right: Pay monthly or as you go? There are two types of mobile broadband tariff: pay monthly and pay as you go (PAYG). You can buy PAYG credit that lasts from one day to one month, and you'll need to buy the dongle upfront, according to Which?. It calculated that, for frequent users, a monthly contract would usually be cheaper. Longer contracts sometimes include free dongles. The cheapest pay monthly deals cost £10 a month, although competition could drive prices lower in future. If you are happy with the usage limit that comes with deals at this price (usually 1GB), there is no reason to pay more, but heavy users are likely to be better off buying a more expensive package with a higher download limit. Another option is to buy a bundle deal: a mobile broadband contract that includes a laptop computer. You don't pay for the computer separately; instead the monthly cost is higher. These deals are marketed as “free PC” offers. “A free laptop sounds very appealing,” says Mr Ponsonby. “However, once you read the small print you will see that the laptop is not free at all. “For example, 3 is currently offering mobile broadband for £10 a month while for £25 a month you can get a free Compaq Mini 700 laptop. To get the laptop, you have to sign a 24-month contract. By the time the contract expires, you would have paid £240 for that 'free' laptop, which is about the same amount as the laptop is worth.” Even if you were thinking of buying the same model laptop that is being offered, you may still be better off buying it separately, he adds. Without the laptop, you only have to sign a 12-month contract. After that, you would be free to decide whether you wanted to stay on the same network or switch. Mr Ponsonby addes: “On balance we do not wholeheartedly recommend the free laptop deals.” Anything else? One of the benefits of mobile broadband is that you can use your dongle in almost any computer and switch from one to another as often as you like. The software needed to set the service up will typically be loaded on the dongle, so you don't need separate installation CDs, for example.You can be up and running in a matter of minutes. Useful links: |
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