Printed from www.pcpro.co.uk
How to use mobile broadband in businesss
BT Business Mobile Broadband
BT is a late entrant into the mobile broadband market, but it isn’t trying to build its network from scratch. Instead, it’s hitching a ride on Vodafone’s networks, and what makes it interesting for businesses is its bundle deal: BT Business Total Broadband.
Until the end of December 2008, BT is even offering free mobile broadband – if you order its Professional Business Broadband package, costing £26.99 per month excluding VAT, on a 24-month contract. This includes ADSL broadband, mobile broadband and 250 BT Openzone minutes.
If you’re only interested in mobile broadband, the most compelling attraction of BT’s £17.50 per month package (excluding VAT) is its bundling of unlimited minutes on BT Openzone. You can choose a 12-month, 18-month or 24-month contract, which affects the cost of the dongle: £120 exc VAT, £60 exc VAT or free, respectively.
Unlike Virgin, which also uses Vodafone’s networks, BT has produced its own software. This allows you to monitor usage of both data and time (on BT Openzone), and in general it’s well executed.
Potential frustrations for business users are that there’s no VPN software – unlike Vodafone’s offering – and we couldn’t find a way to switch off image compression. If you’re in a presentation and want to make a website look its best, this could prove a problem.
