3G mobile broadband is not new and data cards have been around for a long time, but it has only been in the last year that we have seen mobile broadband packages that can seriously compete with fixed line services. With packages from £10 per month with 1GB included these mobile broadband packages offer a real alternative to fixed line services particularly when there is no additional line rental to pay unlike traditional adsl services.
At the moment the download limits offered by mobile broadband packages a fairly light compared to fixed line services with caps of around 7GB for £25 they are therefore not suitable for heavy users and downloaders , but this should steadily improve as the demand for mobile broadband increases and the networks drive on to expand their share of the broadband market.Some reports suggest that by 2010 fixed line services will be overtaken by mobile service – but only time will tell ,as there is still many unanswered questions about 3g mobile broadband like how will the the networks cope with increased levels of contention on the networks with the increasing amount of data users.
I personally think that with improvements and future speed increases of fixed line broadband services the majority of home and business users will still opt for fixed line services although i am sure mobile broadband will be a close contender.
T mobile’s first quarter results were recently announced showing that 1 in ever 4 of their customers are taking mobile broadband and they have predicted that the number of mobile broadband sales will quadruple by the close of 2008
Jim Hyde spoke (UK chief executive) said
“We are seeing strong growth in the uptake of mobile broadband. During 2007, just 4 per cent of new contract customers signed up for mobile broadband but this has now shot up to 25 per cent. The increase in our non-voice revenues is a direct reflection of this positive trend.”
3 continue to cut the cost of their mobile broadband packages by offering a huge 50% to existing 3 Mobile customers who take a 18 or 24 month mobile broadband contract . This makes their 1GB broadband lite package only £5 per month and includes a free USB dongle. The new prices for all the packages are listed below
please visit 3 mobile for more information
| Broadband Lite |
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1 GB |
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Now £5 was £10 |
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| Broadband Plus |
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3 GB |
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Now £7.50 was £15 |
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| Broadband Max |
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7 GB |
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Now £12.50 was £25 |
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O2 have finally entered the USB mobile broadband market with their snazzy new dongle pictured below.
The dongle is in the shops and available online from today as part of a mobile broadband package with speeds of up to 1.8Mbps and a 3GB monthly download limits -
Its available free on an 18 month contract or for a one off £119.99 payment for a 1 month rolling contract. the monthly line rental is £20 for existing 02 customers and £30 for new customers
The bundle and will also include unlimited free Wi Fi access via the “Cloud” network in a similar way to t-mobile offering free hotspot access.
visit the O2 website for more information
If you are an existing 3 mobile customer you can now get a huge 50% off the monthly price of mobile broadband, meaning you can get their 3.6Mbps broadband from as little as £5 a month with free usb dongle included. The half price discount is available on all 18 and 24 month mobile broadband contracts.
the special offer prices are:
- up to 1gb £5 per month with free dongle (usually £10 per month)
- up to 3gb £7.50 per month with free dongle (usually £15 per month)
- up to 7gb £12.50 per month with free dongle (usually £25 per month)
to qualify for the discount you simply enter your existing 3 mobile phone number during checkout – for more information please visit the 3 mobile website
We have created a new section of our site dedicated to business mobile broadband packages you can now compare dedicated 3G business broadband in the same way as normal mobile broadband.
Both T mobile business and vodafone business have a number of services designed specifically or the business traveler including free wi fi hot spot access and roaming bundles to allow you to use your mobile broadband abroad for more information see our mobile business broadband section.
Following vodafones £15 a month mobile broadband deal & its massive advertising campaign sales of the USB dongle device in vodafone stores are reported to have increased dramatically with one store member reporting
‘We’re selling about 50 per month now. It used to be five per month.’
This increase looks set to continue as the demand for mobile broadband continues to grow in the UK
source: Mobile Today
for more information please visit the vodafone website
Customers buying 3 Mobile broadband can now chose the new slimline USB stick instead of the standard pebble type modem . The new stick offers the same speed and performance as the traditional 3 modem but eliminates the need for the short usb cable by plugging directly into your machine , this is likely to appeal to laptop users who are looking for the most lightweight and portable modem.
Vodafone have been offering a similar USB stick for sometime now and has proved a great sucess for them and im sure 3 stick will be just as popular for more information please visit 3 Mobile Broadband
3 Mobile has reduced the price of its prepay mobile broadband dongle from £99.99 to £69.99 whats even better is that existing 3 customers get a further £50 discount meaning they can get the dongle for £19.99 for more information on the price cuts please visit 3 Mobile
If you already are a pay as you go or contract mobile phone customer then if you sign up to 3 mobile broadband before the 31st of march you will only have to pay £19.99 for the usb dongle modem instead of the regular £69.99 normal price - all you need to do is enter your account number and mobile number during checkout
Offer available until 31/03/2008 while stocks last to existing customers registering on Broadband Lite, Broadband Plus or Broadband Max or Pay As you Go customers purchasing a Broadband Add-On (Add-on valid for 30 days from activation). Maximum discount is up to £50 off the applicable purchase price of USB Modem. Minimum term contract applies to contract customers. Service limitations and terms apply.
visit 3 mobile for more information
