Mobile Broadband Prices Slashed
Three of the UK’s top mobile broadband providers are planning to slash internet access prices in a bid to secure new customers.
In a head to head pricing battle, the 3 Network is planning to cut their Broadband Lite service to only £5 a month, which features a 2.8 megabit per second connection. Their 18-month contract features 1GB of downloads per month, along with a free USB dongle. However, to take advantage of this pricing scheme you must already be an existing 3 customer; with their cheapest tariff being £12 per month. New customers can still take advantage of the exact same service for £10 per month.
Vodaphone and Orange charge £15 a month for a 3GB service of downloads per month. That works out at £5 per GB of downloads, the same price as the 3 Network, whilst O2 charge £20 per month for the same service. T Mobile offer an unlimited download service, though their speeds aren’t as quick as some competitiors rates.
> > click here to compare mobile broadband providers
Please Note - All Prices Quoted Are Correct at Time of Posting
Is Mobile Broadband The Way Forward?
With mobile broadband technology getting better and faster, is the future of fixed line broadband coming to an end? Fast mobile internet really came to the fore with the introduction of High Speed Packet Access over the 3G Network. With the newly found freedom of a totally wireless broadband connection, consumers are more and more looking towards the latest USB hubs and data cards than a fixed router.
Vodaphone fast mobile broadband currently lead the way in wireless coverage with a 7.2Mbps download service, which they hope to raise to a massive 14.4Mbps by the end of the year. T-Mobile’s unlimited mobile broadband is in the process of doubling their 1.8Mbps download speed, whilst the 3 mobile broadband offers a service of up to 2.8Mbps. Also this year, T-Mobile and 3 have brokered a site sharing deal which will significantly improve both companies coverage. All three companies offer small USB dongles as a standard router, though Vodaphone have recently created a modem that uses a PC card data adapter.
If you have a phone line purely for internet access (I do!), switching to mobile broadband can save you over £100 a year in fixed line rental. With mobile broadband you can take your connection anywhere, and with the EU putting a price cap on excessive international charges too, the world really is your oyster if you like to sightsee and surf.
Obviously mobile broadband is not going to fit everyone’s needs. Online gamers may find a slight lag due to data latency problems, plus some services are blocked to reduce network running speeds. Heavy users of file sharing programmes may struggle to find the benefit of a wireless USB connection fairly restricting and also expensive, if they go beyond their capped “Fair Usage” allowance.
So the question is “to roam or not to roam”? With connection services now reaching fixed router speeds, it would seem a strange idea for a laptop user NOT to have wireless broadband. Though I’m not so sure we are going to see many desktop users carting around hardware on their backs like a Ghostbuster just yet!
> > Click here to compare mobile broadband
Please Note - All Prices Quoted Are Correct at Time of Posting
Carphone Warehouse Launch FREE Orange PAYG Sim Card with FREE Bluetooth Headset
For those of you looking for a new PAYG Mobile Deal, Carphone Warehouse have a great FREE offer from Orange Mobile. When you buy an Orange pay as you go simcard (FREE + £10 airtime topup) you will also get a free bluetooth headset worth £19.99.
When you add the SIM Card to your online shopping basket you will see a cost of £10.00 which is the airtime you are purchasing. The FREE blue tooth headset may not show in the basket but you will definitely receive it.
Orange is a great mobile phone company to go with as they offer unique benefits to their users such as :
- brand new animal tariffs that save you money
- 2 for 1 cinema tickets every Wednesday
- priority access to gig tickets all over the UK with gigs and tours from Orange
- the ability to keep your existing number
>> Click here to view the Carphone Warehouse’s Latest Offers
Please Note - All Prices Quoted Are Correct at Time of Posting
Mobile Phones Free Gift Offer
With mobile phone prices and tariffs changing all the time, it seems most telecommunication companies are breaking their necks to offer customers the ‘deal of a lifetime’. It only seems like yesterday that bills were very expensive for high use callers, but now with the amount of free minutes and texts available, even the most frequent users can minimise their costs.
I seem to remember when one2one (now T-Mobile) first issued their mobile contracts and allowed almost free text messages ith every unit. Little did they realise at the time the shift in consumer trends the market would have one day. These original contracts have been known to be change hands between punters for 4 figure sums, after one2one realised their error at the time and put texts up to 25p!
With such high competition for customers in the market today, it seems that just offering the latest phone with free minute and texts just isn’t enough of an incentive for some people. That’s why a number of companies are offering mobile phone deals with free gifts including games consoles and software into the deal as a softener; it’s certainly got a few people’s attention.
Companies such as Dial A Phone offer a plethora of amazing gadgets that come for FREE when choosing your phone and tariff. You can choose from iPods, Nintendo Wii’s, Sony PSPs, televisions, or blue ray disc players. Having recently signed an 18 month mobile contract myself, I must admit I wouldn’t have minded a free Wii in with my package! The amazing thing is, the Dial A Phone tariffs are exactly the same as all the major phone companies. So even though your receiving a free gift, you don’t lose out on minutes or texts.
The latest high street company to catch onto this deal sealing initiative are Carphone Warehouse. Not to be outdone by Dial A Phone, the Carphone Warehouse are offering not only free Nintendo Wii’s and £100 off the Apple iPhone, but also a FREE laptop when you sign up for certain broadband packages.
Times have certainly changed since I was walking around with my first Motorola brick, paying 50p a minute for one bar of signal. In fact times have changed so much that I’ve become one of those ‘when I was a lad’ type of characters. Maybe I’m just bitter because I didn’t get a free Spectrum ZX81 with my first phone…
> > click here to view Dial A Phone’s latest free gift offers
> > click here to view Carphone Warehouse’s latest free gift offers
Please Note - All Prices Quoted Are Correct at Time of Posting
Vodaphone First to offer Unlimited Mobile Broadband
Vodaphone will be the first phone company to offer unlimited mobile broadband access in the UK. Since launching the internet on mobiles, the market has witnessed a huge amount of growth in services. It seems that having instant availability on the move to email, messaging and the use of social networking tools, such as Facebook and Myspace, is now imperative to consumers. Pay monthly customers with now automatically receive internet access instead of having to buy an additional bundle for £7.50.
Director for Vodafone UK Ian Shepherd explained:
‘With our new price plans, Vodafone customers have the confidence to browse for as long as they need with no extra costs when checking their email, visiting their favourite social sites or making a final bid on eBay.’
> > click here to order mobile broadband with Vodaphone
> > click here to compare mobile broadband
Please Note - All Prices Quoted Are Correct at Time of Posting
Vodaphone Secure worldwide Apple Contract
Great news for Vodaphone customers across the globe, as the company has now tied down a deal with Apple to be their sole network provider in 10 countries.
After losing out to O2 in the UK and Germany, the new worldwide partnership ensures Apple iPhone networking privileges for Vodaphone in Australia, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Italy, India, Portugal, New Zealand, South Africa and Turkey.
The phone itself combines perfectly as an MP3 player, telephone and wireless internet connection, giving people on the move the multimedia platform of their dreams. The model to be launched globally is likely to be the latest ‘second-generation’ version that supports the faster 3G networks, which has just been released in the United States.
Vodaphone chief executive Russell Hewitt said
“The iPhone has already proved to be extremely popular and Vodafone is confident that today’s announcement will be well received around the world by people who are keen to get their hands on the new iPhone.”
Please Note - All Prices Quoted Are Correct at Time of Posting
PlusNet Broadband Increase Download Allowance
Enjoy more music, games, and online freedom with PlusNet’s latest internet upgrades.
PlusNet now offer 4 expansive broadband packages, each tailored to fit the everyday requirements of consumers at either end of the usage spectrum. Option 1 is for people who use the internet for basic needs, so for only £9.99 a month you can surf the web at your leisure with a download limit of 8MB. Option 2 now allows 15GB of downloads per month for £14.99 instead of 8GB, whilst Option 3 offers 30GB of downloads for £19.99, instead of the usual 20GB.
Also available at £19.99 a month is the superfast PlusNet Pro, an excellent option for serious online gamers who need their signal to be priority traffic at the quickest rates. All of these packages come with a line speed of up to 8MB, plus a free router, anti spam and firewall all fitted as standard. Along with these amazing deals, PlusNet also allows unlimited downloads between midnight and 8am, great news for all you night owls out there!
> > click here to order Plusnet broadband
> > click here to check out the top 10 broadband providers
Please Note - All Prices Quoted Are Correct at Time of Posting