Broadband via your mobile phone

Online on the go
HSDPA is the technology that’s making mobile data work at acceptable speeds, but to make use of it, you’ll need a compatible phone or data card ­ and just because a device works on a 3G network, it doesn’t necessarily follow that it’ll have HSDPA ­ many early 3G data cards won’t support it and even some relatively recent models of phone are without the technology.

As mentioned, laptops are available with HSDPA built in ­ all you need to do is slot a Sim card into the holder, and you’re away. But if you can’t afford a new laptop, don’t worry ­ there’s a growing number of data cards and other products that will help you get connected.

First, of course, is a standard mobile phone; with Bluetooth you could use a 3G-equipped phone, like Nokia’s N95, to connect to the internet ­ but many of the most attractive data tariffs simply aren’t available if you’re connecting in this way. They’re aimed firmly at people who will be using a dedicated data device.

In the past that’s meant a PC card, which is awkward for anyone looking to use a 3G mobile service with their desktop PC as a substitute for conventional broadband in an area where they can’t get a connection ­ PCI adaptors are available for desktops, but they can cost around £35.

PC Cards are still popular and available relatively cheaply ­ Vodafone’s Express Card comes with a PC Card slot adaptor and costs £58.75 on an 18-month contract, or £116.33 on a 12-month one, while Orange’s ZTE MF330 card is free on the 1GB/month tariff.

Increasingly popular, however, are external USB 3G modems, which are on offer from 3, T-Mobile and Vodafone at present; they’re much easier to use with desktop systems, compatible with the Mac, and pretty cheap ­ in fact T-Mobile’s giving them away free with 12-month contracts, while 3 gives them away on the top two price plans and charges £49.99 on the 1GB deal.

Vodafone charges the same as for its Express card, though you can get a free one if you don’t want the latest 7.2Mbits/sec capabilities.

While the casual data user might balk at paying £50 or more for a product of this kind, it’s important to remember that if you’re looking at HSDPA data for a broadband replacement, the price compares well with buying a broadband router and wireless access point for the home.

Getting online really couldn’t be much simpler; as far as Windows or Mac OS is concerned, it’s just another modem, and like a GPRS connection, you just tell your system to dial the special number *99#, after entering the name of your mobile network’s access point in the configuration screen. It really is that simple.

Picking packages
For most users, the big decision is really just a question of choosing which package you want. You may think that’s based solely on price, but there are other considerations too ­ some of which you’ll find outlined in the box.

In particular, if you want to travel abroad, remember that you can still fall foul of the ludicrous data charges levied by many of the UK mobile networks. But you don’t have to; Vodafone, for example, has a roaming pack that costs £99 per month but includes 200MB of international data usage, while roaming on 3’s networks is included in its fees, so if you travel to Ireland, Austria, Italy, Denmark, Sweden, Hong Kong or Australia it could be the best option for you.

Coverage overseas, however, may be the least of your problems. For all that the networks are talking up their 3G services, it’s quite limited, though growing swiftly. In London, for example, Three’s ‘Turbo’ network only covered the area inside the North and South Circular at the time of writing, and many rural or semi-rural areas don’t have it at all ­ even a moderately sized town like Winchester doesn’t get coverage in the period covered by the online map. So if you’re thinking of using HSDPA to give yourself rural broadband, or will be moving around a lot of different areas, check the coverage maps on the different network sites before you sign up and tie yourself in to a lengthy contract.

If it’s just occasional data usage that you’re after ­ perhaps the ability to connect in a particular place ­ then there’s one other potentially attractive option, which is Vodafone’s Mobile Broadband 24. You’ll pay a whopping £199.75 for the USB modem, but there’s no monthly subscription at all. Instead, you pay as you use, at £9.99 including Vat per 24 hours, with a fair usage limit of 500MB for each period; the modem price may put many off, but if you have a laptop with HSDPA built in, it could be an ideal tariff for some users.
Mobile data may still not be quite as cheap as we’d like it to be ­ but compared to this time last year, it’s a much better deal. And, as someone once said, things can only get better.