• Contract Mobile Phones
• Upgrades
• Pay As You Go
• Mobile Broadband
• Mobile Phone Blog
• Customer Services

• Networks
• Phones
• FREE Gifts
• USB Modems
• Sim Only

• Show all
• O2
• Vodafone
• T-Mobile
• 3
• Orange
•  

• Show all

• LG KC550 Orsay KC550 Orsay Silver KF750 Secret KU990 Viewty Black KU990 Viewty Purple KU990 Viewty Silver Prada phone by LG Prada phone by LG Silver

  Nokia 3120 Classic 6220 Classic 6300 6300 Black 6500 Classic Black 6500 Slide 6500 Slide Black 6500 Slide Silver 8800 Arte 8800 Sapphire Arte E51 E90 N82 N95 N95 8GB N95 Red Sport

  Samsung F110 Micoach Pink F400 F480 Tocco G600 Black G600 Pink G600 Purple i900 Omnia J700 Black J700 Chrome J700 Pink P520 Giorgio Armani U600 Dark Silver U600 Pink U800 Pink U900 Soul U900 Soul Pink

  Sony Ericsson C702 Black C702 Cyan C902 Black C902 Red K660i Lime White K660i Silver Black K770i Black K850i K850i Black P1 S500i W760i W880i Silver W890i W890i Black W890i Silver

•  

• Show all
• Apple iPod Touch 16GB
• Apple iPod Touch 8GB
• Hewlett Packard (HP) 530 Laptop
• Microsoft Xbox 360 Arcade
• New Apple iPod Classic 80GB - Black
• New Apple iPod Classic 80GB - Silver
• New Apple iPod Nano 4GB - Silver
• New Apple iPod Nano 8GB - Black
• New Apple iPod Nano 8GB - Silver
• Nintendo Wii + Wii Sports (Game)
• Samsung 19 inch HD LCD TV
• Sony PS3 40GB
• Sony PSP Black Slim and Lite
• Cashback
• Discounted Line Rental
• Free Line Rental
• Trade-In Cashback
•  

• Show all
• 3 Huawei E169 Stick (White) up to 2.8 Mbps
• 3 USB Modem (Black) - up to 2.8 Mbps
• Orange GTC225 USB Modem Stick - up to 3.6 Mbps
• USB Modem (T-Mobile)
• Vodafone USB Modem (White) - up to 3.6 Mbps
• Vodafone USB Modem Stick (White) - up to 7.2 Mbps
•  

• Show all
• Sim Only
•  

What is Mobile Broadband?

Mobile broadband is the newest and easiest way to get a broadband internet connection for your laptop or PC, and one that works everywhere, not just in your own home or wherever there's a WiFi hotspot. It is access to the web over the mobile network, it is not surfing the internet with a mobile phone! It's so easy to set up that it's becoming extremely popular among not only people on the move, but also as an alternative to fixed line broadband in the home. All you need is a portable dongle or a data stick (more information below) that plugs into your laptop via the USB connection. And that's it, a double click of the mouse and off you go! You don't even need to install any software, all the modems come with preloaded installation instructions, so they'll simply install themselves. All you have to do is choose the package that's right for you. Mobile Express currently offer 3 Mobile Broadband, Orange Mobile Broadband, T-Mobile Mobile Broadband and Vodafone Mobile Broadband

Who is Mobile Broadband for?

The obvious people to which Mobile Broadband will initially appeal are those in short term accomodation who don't want to be tied down to a fixed line contracts, urban nomads who divide their time between different homes, frequent travellers fed up with searching for internet cafes, or businessmen and women working on the move. That's not to say that its just for wandering souls however, because mobile broadband is a perfectly acceptable and affordable way of securing a home broadband connection as a replacement for your fixed line, and it also negates the need for a wireless router. So if you're fed up with paying a monthly line rental for a landline you never call from, read on... It also means that those people who are currently ineligible for fixed line broadband due to their distance from the local telephone exchange, can now access broadband speeds over the mobile network. Experts predict that mobile broadband is going to be so popular that it will overtake fixed line broadband in just a couple of years.

How does it work?

The term broadband actually covers different types of technology which are clumped together to mean high speed data transfer (Data as in web pages, music files, videos...). The broadband you get through the telephone line at home or via WiFi in an internet cafe is delivered via ASDL or cable networks, which are fixed to the infrastructure networks that support them. Mobile broadband however is delivered over the 3G (HSDPA) mobile network which means that anywhere you can get a mobile signal (3G now has a coverage of almost 90% of the population, and by the end of next year that figure will be 98%), you can access the internet at broadband speeds.

How Fast is mobile broadband?

If you're worried about broadband speeds over the mobile network dawdling in comparison with those over a fixed connection, then rest assured. Mobile broadband is available over the HSDPA network, which is like a extra fast version of 3G, capable of data transfer at up to 7.2 Mb per second. Home broadband connections can only provide half that speed. The actual speed will be dependent on the strength of your 3G connection, but average speeds for the minute are comparible with a fixed line broadband connection, and it's only going to get quicker.

How much does it cost?

Mobile Broadband is available in either Pay Monthly or Pay As You Go packages. The most common contracts are fixed price monthly packages that increase in price depending on the amount of data that you want to download. Typically providers will offer 1GB basic monthly packages, increasing to 3GB or 7GB for heavy users. The cheapest packages start as around £10 per month ranging up to around £25 for the larger packages. By way of a guide as to your internet usage:

1GB - Normal user: Surf the internet for an hour a day, send 500 emails in a month, download 100 high quality photos, 50 songs, 20 short videos.

3GB - Heavy user: Surf the internet for 3 hours a day, send 1000 emails, download 500 high quality photos, 200 songs, 100 short videos or a couple of films.

7GB - Very heavy user: Surf the internet 7 hours a day, send unlimited emails in a month, download 1000 high quality pictures, 500 songs, 5 films and 10 large software downloads

If you're worried about going over your usage each month, each provider gives you access to a dashboard so you can check your activity to date. Alternatively you could choose a Pay As You Go package in which you buy GBs of data usage as you would minutes and texts for a Pay As You Go mobile phone. You would have to pay upfront for the USB dongle or stick however, whereas this will often be free with a monthly package.

USB Dongle or USB Stick?

In terms of hardware you've got two options, dongle or stick. A dongle is a lump of plastic, a bit like a small mouse, that connects via a cable to your computer's usb socket. A stick plugs straight into your USB connection, without the need for the cable, similar to memory sticks that you can buy for transfer files between computers. In terms of technology there's no difference, its just whether you fancy the more compact stick, or the more flexible dongle.

Our Mobile Broadband range