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Mobile broadband - the verdict

Posted on 15 Jul 2008 at 12:38

The good news is that, in the majority of cases, compression can be switched off, although it's often not immediately apparent how. Vodafone users have to download the latest version 9.2.5 of the Mobile Connect software to tweak with its "optimisation" settings, for example, while T-Mobile customers have to download an entirely separate application called Web'n'Walk Accelerator from the company's website.

Provided you have a solid 3G connection, we found that turning image compression off had little or no effect on download times. If you find yourself stuck with only a GPRS downlink, however, then compression will ease page-loading times.

Banned sites

Image compression may well spoil your viewing of some sites, but it's better than seeing nothing at all - which is what happens when you attempt to visit certain sites or services on some of the broadband services.

VoIP is public enemy number one for some providers. T-Mobile, for instance, bans the use of services such as Skype on its cheaper packages, forcing customers to pay at least £35 per month for one of its "Max" subscriptions if they want to make free phone calls over the web. O2 is even more stringent when customers use The Cloud Wi-Fi. Its terms and conditions state that you may not use your connection "to allow the continuous streaming of any audio/video content, enable Voice-over-Internet-Protocol (VoIP), P2P or file sharing." Although an O2 spokesperson told us that regular use of services such as the iPlayer is fine. 3, by contrast, welcomes the use of Skype on even its cheapest deals.

Orange, meanwhile, employs some of the most erratic content-filtering software we've ever witnessed. We were banned from viewing the relatively harmless news aggregator, Digg.com, because it might contain inappropriate content, but the software was perfectly happy for us to take a poke around Playboy.com. The filtering can be turned off with a call to Orange HQ, but it's a needless irritation.

ADSL killer?

So with speeds that are at least comparable to ADSL, reasonable data charges and an almost unmatched ease of use, should we be thinking about replacing our home broadband connections with mobile dongles more permanently? "People are starting to think about whether it can replace home broadband," claimed Broadbandexpert's Ablewhite - and it's not hard to see why. With all the mobile phone networks giving away enough free minutes to keep even the most rabid gossip in credit, many people only use the home phone line for their broadband connection. And when you do the sums, with BT charging £10.50 per month for line rental and ISPs charging anything up to £30 per month for the ADSL connection, the economics of mobile broadband can become very appealing.

For some, it's not only cheaper, but faster. "Those in rural areas five miles from their local exchange who only get half a meg download speed - they're looking for any type of solution," said Ablewhite. "If they can get a strong mobile signal, they should be able to get good download speeds."

Yet, for the majority of people with a decent home connection, there are still good reasons to stick with ADSL or cable. Sharing a mobile-broadband connection isn't easy. Splitting it between networked PCs in the house, or other devices such as games consoles, NAS drives and Wi-Fi radios, would involve an elaborate connection-sharing setup. It's also doubtful whether the limited bandwidth could cope with the most intensive of online applications. That might not be the case for long, however. "If I were a fixed-line provider, right now I would be very worried," said Paolo Pescatore, director of operating strategy at analysts CCS Insight. "The networks have made significant upgrades to the HSPDA networks - before long, most will be offering 7.2Mb/sec."