Broadband Dongle
A Broadband dongle is USB device that plugs into your laptop or desktop computer and enable 3G mobile broadband access. You dongle will work anywhere with mobile coverage though speeds tend to be faster in areas of 3G broadband coverage which include most cities and major towns in the UK (although coverage is poor in many rural areas). Dongles have seen a huge rise in popularity and with mobile broadband speeds set to increase significantly in the near future when the next generation of mobile network, 4G, is rolled out in the UK dongles could become a real alternative to fixed line home broadband services for many people. Dongles provide mobile broadband access and unlike home broadband connections there is no need to pay line rental to get your mobile broadband connection. Dongles were quite expensive when they first hit the shelves but there is now a range of cheap dongles (including pay as you go dongles) available to suit most budgets from all the main UK networks. You can use our comparison tables and read reviews of the different providers to help you choose the right option and save money.
Which providers offer Internet Dongles?
Internet dongles are available from the main mobile providers. At present there are a range of internet dongles available:
Vodafone
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O2
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3
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T Mobile
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Orange
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Virgin
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What about PAYG?
Most providers now offer a pay as you go dongle which won’t involve committing to any contracts. Like a mobile phone you just pay for the dongle and then top it up whenever required. Pay as you dongles are available from O2, Three, Virgin Media, Vodafone, Orange and T-Mobile. One disadvantage of PAYG dongles is that you need to pay for the cost of the dongle whereas they are free with most contract mobile broadband deals. Something else to be cautious of is sneaky clauses in the terms and conditions that will stop your connection working if it is not used regularly enough. For example, Vodafone will de-activate your dongle if it’s not been used in 6 months.
What are the advantages and disadvantages vs. fixed broadband?
The main advantage of a mobile broadband dongle over a fixed link ADSL or fibre optic internet connection is portability. Since these are small devices they will easily fit in a pocket or a purse and are great for using your laptop on the move. At this point we should add a note of caution; whilst a dongle is great for getting online anywhere with suitable network coverage, please be very careful about use abroad since data charges are in most cases prohibitively high and could result in a nasty shock when you receive your next mobile bill!
A secondary advantage is that if you are in an area with good 3G coverage and don’t need a really fast connection then if you use a dongle as your only means of getting online then you don’t need to worry about paying line rental meaning you can save yourself around £10 per month on this expense.
If you’re in an area with great 3G coverage and are a light internet user (by this we mean you don’t download lots of data we’re not actually talking about your weight!), then mobile broadband could be a replacement for your fixed line service. However for most people a broadband dongle will be secondary way of getting online. This is because the biggest disadvantage of mobile broadband is slower speeds and less reliability than a fixed ADSL or fibre optic service. You will also have much lower download limits than with a fixed line provider meaning that if you download lots of data (such as films, online games), our advice is that 3G speeds are not currently good enough to replace a fixed connection. This may change with 4G, the arrival of which all of us at Broadband Expert are eagerly anticipating!
