Built-in 3G vs USB modems

When buying a new notebook, you may not immediately consider whether or not it includes a built-in 3G modem. However, it’s likely that you or your staff will need the ability to access data from remote locations at some point in the future. You can buy a 3G USB dongle separately, but what are the disadvantages – and advantages – over a built-in 3G modem? We put both technologies to the test.

Speed & range

One clear reason to buy a notebook with a built-in 3G modem is the aerial. With a 3G-equipped notebook, aerials are embedded into the lid to maximise its reception abilities. USB modems, on the other hand, can only squeeze the aerial inside their compact shells.

We put this to the test, using the 3G modem inside a Toshiba Portégé R600 attached to a Vodafone network and comparing it to the same notebook but this time using a Vodafone 3G dongle. We tested at two locations: central London and Sussex.

The testing produced a couple of surprises. The first is that, in good reception areas, the dongle was consistently faster than the built-in modem. In our Sussex test, it averaged 1.5Mbits/sec download speeds compared to 1.3Mbits/sec from its rival.

However, the improved reception of an integrated aerial meant the built-in 3G modem could find the fastest kind of 3G connection - HSDPA, which theoretically offers up to 7.2Mbits/sec download speeds - more frequently.

This proved to be a factor even in central London, where the integrated modem averaged over 1Mbit/sec while the USB dongle struggled along at 600Kbits/sec.

More anecdotally, this rule-of-thumb also proved true on our train journey from London to Buckinghamshire. Using its integrated modem, the Portégé was able to keep hold of a connection with minimal drops, whereas the dongle struggled to find a decent signal outside the M25.

Aesthetics & convenience

One key advantage of built-in 3G modems is aesthetics; few people would choose to have a USB dongle hanging out of their notebook given a choice, as it spoils the clean lines and can easily be dislodged.

It's also far more convenient to have such a key component tucked inside your notebook. It means that Windows can control its power usage, you can switch it on an off more easily, and you'll never lose it.

Flexibility in technology

One area where USB dongles offer some apparent advantage over embedded 3G mobiles is flexibility. After all, what happens if 3G technology is usurped by 4G in the next two or three years, and you're left with 3G in your notebook?

While potentially true, this is unlikely - at least for now. In the UK, mobile operators such as T-Mobile and Vodafone remain focused on 3G and 3.5G (usually referred to as HSDPA, high-speed download packet access). They invested a lot of money in buying those licences from the Government, and are keen to reap as big a return as possible.

Although we could never rule out a sudden move to 4G, it's very unlikely - not least because there's still an argument over exactly what it is. Some companies back technologies like WiMAX, others LTE (Long Term Evolution). It certainly won't be widespread in the UK by the end of the three-year lifecycle of a typical business notebook.

However, what is true is that modems give you more flexibility when it comes to incremental improvements in 3G technology. The modem inside your new notebook will certainly support HSDPA if it's from a reputable supplier, but it may be limited to 3.6Mbits/sec when the latest dongles support 7.2Mbits/sec - or, in the future, even higher speeds.

This may not matter at the time you buy your notebook, but in 18 months' time you won't be able to easily upgrade to faster speeds, short of removing the modem inside the notebook itself.

Flexibility in supplier

If you buy a 3G-equipped notebook you should make sure that your chosen manufacturer is network-agnostic. Most are, including Toshiba, but they often offer a free trial period with a certain mobile operator (such as Vodafone) to give you a taste of what 3G mobile broadband is like.

Some notebooks will tie you into deals, though, especially if the initial price is subsidised by the cost of the 3G contract - in exactly the same way as mobile phone deals work. If a price seems too good to be true, it's usually because you'll be tied into a long-term payment plan, typically 18 or 24 months.

This also tends to be true of all the deals for various suppliers of 3G mobile broadband via a USB dongle, and again the cost of the modem itself is hidden by the deal. In essence, you pay in the long run.

Flexibility in the office

The beauty of self-installing mobile broadband dongles is that small businesses can pass them around the office. So, for example, a small team of estate agents could share a single dongle, so they could show clients particulars of potential houses while out on visits.

There is one potential pitfall to using the same dongle in multiple laptops, however: keeping track of your data usage. While the client software that comes with all the mobile dongles will count the total data downloaded over a month on that particular machine, most providers don't offer a way of keeping tabs on the amount of data downloaded over the connection as a whole.

An honourable exception is 3, which allows users to register with an online usage checker. On the other networks, businesses will either need to keep a rough manual tally across all the different machines, or restrict the use of the dongle to a single laptop, if they want to avoid creeping over the cap.

O2, for example, will charge customers 20p for every megabyte they creep over their cap, while BT issues a 10p penalty for every megabyte over the mark - that's roughly £200 and £100 per extra gigabyte respectively.