Internet dongle
Mobile broadband is a relatively new piece of technology when you
compare it to other technologies such as fixed broadband. Mobile
broadband has only been on the market for the last five years or so, so
it’s common for people not to know much about it. With more and more
people nowadays wanting access to the internet wherever they are,
whether they are at home or on a train, mobile broadband is quite
popular. But you might be wondering is it worth it for you to buy an
internet dongle so that you can receive mobile broadband, and if you
aren’t too sure, here are some things that you should consider:
Internet dongle
1. Where Do You Live? – With a
service like mobile broadband, the speed of the internet dongle will
really depend on where you are. This means that if you live in a small
village or near mountains etc. mobile broadband might not be a great
option for you. However, if you live in a densely populated area like
London for example, there’s a good chance that your speed will be very
good – nearly as good as fixed broadband at times! As well as this, you
should take I to account where you will be using the internet dongle the
most. Let’s say you would mainly be using it while you’re travelling,
it’s well worth asking the Internet Service Provider (ISP) what the area
is like.
2. Easy To Use – Mobile broadband and internet dongles are usually
extremely easy to use, so you don’t have to worry about how you’ll
connect to the internet every time you want to check something online.
If you mainly use your laptop to browse the web, you don’t want to
constantly be changing from one wireless network to another wireless
network all day long. It’s much easy to just plug in your internet
dongle and have access to the internet pretty much wherever you are!
3. Internet Devices – Nearly everyone has more than one device that
they use to go online. Gadgets such as the iPhone need wireless networks
to connect to the internet (if you don’t want to be charged a lot of
money from using your mobile providers internet service) so it mightn’t
be too much use if someone in your family has one of these. However, if
you only use laptops or personal computers, mobile broadband could be
perfect for your needs. Internet dongles can be used on nearly all
laptops etc. so you don’t have to worry if it’ll work on more than one
computer. Newer versions of internet dongles are coming out every few
months as well as new software updates for them, so you can be sure that
your computer can use the internet dongle so that you can have mobile
broadband.
Hopefully the points mentioned above will help you
decide whether mobile broadband is a good option for you if you need to
get a broadband service. Always remember to compare a couple of ISP’s
before signing a contract; you might be surprised how big the
differences are between different companies!
Pros and Cons of Mobile Broadband
Although mobile broadband and internet dongles are a great new addition
to the broadband market, all things have good aspects as well as bad
aspects. If you’re thinking about agreeing to a contract (usually 12
months but can be longer!) it’s a good idea that you know the pros and
cons of mobile broadband first. So many people think that if you go in
to a store or call a company that provides mobile broadband that they’ll
tell you everything that you need to know about it. Although this is
true to a certain extent, you have to remember that most of the staff
are on commission, so obviously they’ll try to sell mobile broadband to
you. So, taking that in to account, here are some of the pros and cons
of mobile broadband:
Pros:
• Internet On The Go – There’s no other type of
broadband that you can use wherever you are. Although fixed broadband is
great, it can only be used in your home so it’s not much use if you are
out and about during the week. Internet dongles have made life so much
easier for a lot of people when you think about it.
• Quick To Get – If you’ve ever contacted an ISP (Internet Service
Provider) about getting “normal” broadband you’ll more than likely know
how hard it is to get them to call out to your house. Waiting weeks and
weeks just to get broadband isn’t exactly something that everyone wants
to go through. But if you are happy with getting an internet dongle, you
can simply walk in to a shop and buy it, and then you’re ready to start
browsing the web! It’s as simple as that.
• Cheap – Mobile broadband is so much cheaper than any other type of
broadband. There are plans that are literally less than £10 a month
which would be fine for some people.
Cons:
• Speed – Internet dongles are known not to be able to provide the
best internet speeds, but then again you have to remember that internet
dongles are so small and cheap so what can you expect? The speeds aren’t
that bad for the price that you’re paying, but if you like gaming
online or downloading movies etc. I wouldn’t recommend purchasing mobile
broadband as it’s simply too slow.
• Limits – Most companies which provide mobile broadband set quite
low limits on people’s internet usage. This is fine for some people, but
if you do more than just browsing web pages (music, games etc.) then
you could easily go over your monthly limit even though the companies
staff will probably tell you a different story.
• Only Compatible With Some Devices – Since devices such as iPads and
so on don’t have USB slots, you won’t be able to go online using an
internet dongle. This mightn’t sound too good, but when you consider the
price of mobile broadband; it might be worth not being able to do stuff
like this.
