Mobile Broadband is available through a USB Modem or data card that just plugs in to your computer/laptop. This allows you to get high speed broadband on the move, whether you’re in a hotel room or local café, mobile broadband gives you that flexibility of checking your emails and surfing the web on the move.
Broadband speeds will be available between 1.4Mb/s and 7.2Mb/s but only under ideal conditions and the faster speeds will mainly be concentrated within London to begin with. The disadvantage of Mobile Broadband is in the price with ‘Three’ being the only network to offer a monthly subscription of under £20.
Vodafone will offer 12 month contracts at £25 per month with a monthly usage allowance of 3Gb (+ £49 for the USB Modem). Or you can have an 18 month contract which will offer the same but you get a free USB Modem.
T-Mobile will offer a 12 month contract at £29 per month with unlimited usage allowance plus a free USB modem. Three will offer contracts at £10, £15 and £25 per month with 1Gb, 3Gb and 7Gb monthly allowance, respectively. This includes a free USB Modem (only if pre-ordered). These prices may drop as the competitive market grows over the next few months with Orange announcing their products within the end of year.
If Mobile Broadband becomes a success and with Vodafone becoming the latest name included in the WiMAX Alliance, will this mean the downfall of the telephone land line? With recent statistics showing that there is a gradual decline in the time people use their landline with mobiles being the preferred method. Perhaps in the near future, we will no longer need a landline to be connected.