[Closed] how do broadband dongles work?

It's a little thing that plugs directly into your computer. It has a built in arial and connects you to the internet via a mobile phone network (so it works anywhere you have mobile signal).

Like a mobile you either have a contract for it or you can get pand go ones.

They're not usually as quick as using a router, but they're better than nothing.

it's a special time in a boy broadbands life...

Before you buy one make sure your 3G reception is very good in your area. They are just little 3G modems like you have in your mobile. Not good for streaming video or downloading stuff. But fine for STW and email.

http://www.compare3gmobilebroadband.co.uk/3g-coverage-uk.htm

Generally, you'd get one when regular broadband wasn't available in your area. If you can, this is almost always a better option.

We recently had to use one when we went over to wireless (as the pc doesn't have a wireless card). Seems to work fine although the wireless speed is massivley variable, although I don't think that's anything to do with the dongle.

I used a 3 dongle a few years ago, and it was totally pants, pretty much unusable. I recently bought another 3 dongle, which also has a wireless transmitter (so it does not have to have a wired connection to you PC) and it's been amazing. It never drops out, you can share the connection with others, and because it's not wired, you can position it near a window.

Really good for ipads to, because you can buy the cheap non-3G versions, and connect to the wireless dongle.

I have a Vodafone one for when I'm working away - if you can get a 3g signal it's acceptable, but if relegated to GPRS you'll end up wanting to smash things.

Remember dial-up? It's worse.

Any wireless networks in the area? Could offer your neighbours a few quid each month in exchange for their wireless key 🙂 Or a wireless hotspot, although not sure how the costs would compare to a dongle.

Oh - one more thing. If you do get a decent signal and the 'urge' to watch a video comes over you, on PAYG it can get very expensive.

I have a T-mobile one it's fairly quick in the righ signal (faster than my home connection but that is pants) I am on the PAYG deal same price and limits as the contract. I basically paid £45 for the dongle and got 3 months free use at about 3Gb/month after that it's £15/month when you want it. Contract deal was free dongle and 18month contract at £15/month. As I dont always need it I pay then stop it.

For iplayer I used the download option

Basicaly its a usb stick in which is a sim card is held.
I use an O2 one most days at work for looking for info or downloading files when out of the office ,its has a 3gig limit and I have never used more than 10%. It costs £10 per month on contract.
I can watch webcams but streaming vid whould prob be asking too much.
Before buying one check what reception is like in the block on various networks first and buy the strongest,if contract prices are the same

I,m using a payg 3 dongle at the moment, its ok first time i used it i watched a few things on iplayer and pretty much used up all my months allocation,didnt do that again!!!

I have an o2 one on payg as I dont use it all the time. 2 quid gets you 24 hour access with 300mb download and unlimited wifi if you're near an appropriate hot spot. On 3G I was really surprised just how fast it was.

Agree with what's been said about checking signal. All of the internet providers have maps which show coverage. Or go to the various shops and give them the postcode, they will check signal.

I've got T Mobile on a contract you get a usb cable and a sim card in a stick. I live on a farm in an area where none of the providers guarantee good signal, so some days I only have GPRS and others I have 3.5G. I can watch vids on youtube etc, it's not fast enough here for the watch-again tv sites, although it was ok at Hertford (why it's so important to check coverage).

Today, for example, it's windy and cloudy and the signal is rubbish.