Mobile broadband review - Vodafone

By Fergal Barry-Murphy. Published on March 7, 2008 This post currently has no comments.

Studying with laptop

Mobile broadband has brought the possibilities offered by the internet to a new level. Simply plug your modem into your laptop and receive a high speed internet connection on the go. Over the next few weeks we will review the services provided by all the mobile broadband providers starting this week with Vodafone.

As we reported last week, the cost of mobile broadband has come down sharply in recent weeks making it a much more affordable option for computer users, and maybe even a possible alternative to standard cable and ADSL broadband.

Vodafone has been offering mobile broadband for a couple of years now but its recent £15 per month offer has brought it under the affordability radar of a lot of people for whom it was too pricey before.

The £15 per month rate is Vodafone's cheapest option and comes with a few strings attached. First off, you have to sign up for a 24 month contract to avail of this tariff, though you do get a free USB modem. If you pay an extra £39 you get the higher speed 'Modem Stick'.

If the 24 months is too long for you, you can reduce it to 18, 12 or even one month. However, once you do this the prices go up. For example, on the 12 month plan the modem will set you back £99, while on the one month plan you pay this price for the modem and £20 per month for the service.

One of the biggest issues with Vodafone mobile broadband is the 3GB monthly limit. Each extra GB will cost you another £15 so Vodafone's claim that you “can browse the web, download music and movies” is a little spurious given that the average movie is well over 4GB.

If you just like to check your email, do a bit of browsing and download the occasional song, Vodafone's mobile broadband should be fine. If you want to download high volumes you will want to look at Vodafone's business options.

For £25 per month you can enjoy unlimited downloads. There is a possibility that you could hit fair usage policy limits but we have not heard of any problems with this. Also, if you sign up for a business package this month you may get six months free on longer contracts. Vodafone also offers a more expensive business package that covers the cost of mobile internet abroad for £95 per month.

Coverage

Vodafone's mobile broadband offers speeds of up to 7.2Mbps. However, being a mobile service the quality of signal and download speeds will depend on where you are and other factors. As a general rule, you will get mobile broadband coverage in and around cities and towns. Once you start moving into rural areas it is touch and go. Also, because it is a mobile service there is no way to know how many other users there are in the same cell at any one time, so speeds can vary a lot.

However, in general connection speeds are good at about 1.5Mb, however they will vary by location and may be affected by weather conditions. The service works well while moving in cars and trains, and if you lose broadband coverage it will seamlessly adjust to a standard GPRS signal without you losing your connection. The modem is neat, easy to carry and installs itself.

All in all, Vodafone mobile broadband is a good product. The £15 per month 3GB option is very affordable, as is the unlimited business option. However, it probably hasn't reached the level where it can be recommended as a replacement for a home broadband line. However, if you spend time commuting on a train each day or if you travel a lot in general it offers excellent speeds and coverage for broadband on the go for what is now an affordable price.

Learn more about Vodafone's Warpspeed mobile broadband here

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