Prices, speeds and download limits vary across the mobile broadband networks. Mobile broadband contracts are available for 12, 18 or 24 months and they cost between £10 and £30. Mobile broadband dongles can also be purchased separately for use on a pay as you go price plan. These usually cost in the region of £60 and Top up credit is purchased in the same manner as pay as you go mobile airtime. Specific plans are available for business mobile customers. Most service providers operate a fair use policy in terms of download limits.
Vodafone offer several contract options to suit every budget. The Vodafone USB Stick Pro is available on a 24-month contract. This dongle can achieve speeds of up to 7.2Mb with a download limit of 3Gb and costs £15 per month with the first three months completely free.
Orange are offering a special online mobile broadband deal for £9.79 per month over 18 months. This provides the user with connection speeds of up to 3.6Mb and a download limit of 1Gb. They also offer the same speeds with a 3Gb download limit on a pink dongle which costs £14.68 per month on an 18-month contract.
The 3 Mobile Max Stick costs £15 per month over 18 months. Speeds of up to 3.6Mb can be achieved with a whopping 15Gb download limit.
T-Mobile plans vary from a 24 month which costs £10 for the first three months and £15 thereafter to free laptop deals which cost between £25 and £30 on a 24 month contract depending on the download limit requirement.
The 18-month contract offered by O2 for their 3.6Mb dongle costs £14.69 per month. They also offer a free mini laptop deal for £29.38 on a 24-month contract.