A Broadband dongle is a USB drive/stick that works as a broadband wireless adapter on your pc or laptop. Broadband dongles work in the same way as a wireless adapter but instead of connecting to your local network at home, dongles connect to mobile broadband. Mobile broadband uses the mobile phone network to connect you to the internet.

Is mobile broadband suitable for you?

Mobile broadband is currently not suitable for streaming videos like iPlayer or downloading large media files as connection speeds are not parable with home broadband connections.

Mobile broadband is a relatively new technology (introduced in 2007), and as a result mobile broadband is slower than home broadband. Mobile broadband speeds are likely to become faster as the UK’s mobile infrastructure grows and develops.

Before choosing a broadband package, ask yourself, what type of internet user are you? If you regularly watch video online, use web hosting (e.g. ftp software to upload files)  or share media files on peer to peer networks you’re probably best going down the internet service provider (ISP) route and choosing home broadband. If you mainly use the internet for e-mails, shopping and on constantly on the go then mobile broadband would suit you.