Mobile broadband review – Vodafone

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.

The cost of mobile broadband has come down sharply making it a much more affordable option for computer users, and maybe even a possible alternative to standard cable and ADSL broadband.

Vodafone Mobile Broadband plans

Vodafone has been offering mobile broadband for a while now and with their plans starting at £15 per month they are starting to be within the affordability radar of a lot of people for whom it was too pricey before.

The £15 per month rate is the cheapest mobile broadband option from Vodafone.

You have to sign up for a 12, 18 or 24 month contract

An original USB modem stick comes free with the £15 plans. If you want to upgrade to a USB modem stick pro, then it’s free with a 24 month contract on a £15 plan and on an 18 and 24 month £25 plan, otherwise there’s a charge.

The £15 comes with 3GB of data download per month included. To up this to 5GB per month it’ll be a £25 per month plan that you’ll need.

If you need a laptop to use your mobile broadband then at £20 per month for 24 month contract, Vodafone are offering a free Dell Inspiron Mini 9 with it built-in. The PC also has Windows XP, Bluetooth, Wi-FI and webcam.

There’s also the Vodafone TopUp and Go service if you’re not wanting to get tied into any lengthy contracts.

One of the biggest issues with Vodafone mobile broadband, and indeed other mobile broadband providers, is the 3GB monthly data download 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.

Vodafone Mobile Broadband 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.

Whether it has quite reached the level where it can be recommended as a replacement for a home broadband line is questionable.

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.

(Updated Mar 09)

April UPDATE - Vodafone are currently offering some good deals on their 24 month mobile broadband contracts:

• £15, 3GB per month – pay just £10 / month for the first 3 months
• £25, 5GB per month – pay only £15 / month for the first 3 months