And one-month mobile broadband plans free you from contracts, allowing you to enjoy all the benefits of mobile broadband, without committing to a lengthy plan. Plus, even if public Wi-Fi is available, this isn’t an ideal option. You’ll often have to register, which can be a hassle and mean sharing details you might rather not. Sometimes there are costs involved, often the speeds are slow, and public Wi-Fi is also far less secure than mobile broadband. Mobile broadband helps you get your various gadgets online anywhere – all that’s needed is a mobile signal for your mobile broadband device to connect to. These devices are either battery powered or plug directly into the gadget they’re bringing internet to, so there’s no need for mains power. Yes, O2 offers data only SIMs designed specifically for use in mobile broadband devices. These come with a monthly data allowance (up to unlimited data), and as you’re not also buying a device you’ll pay a lower monthly cost. There are several factors to consider when aiming to whittle down the choice of the best mobile hotspots to just one.

Beyond that, you need mobile coverage– ideally 4G, or 5G if you have a 5G dongle. And you need a compatible device to use it with, the most common being a laptop. How fast are dongles? This is all great news, as it means you’ll be able to use O2 mobile broadband almost anywhere in the UK. Can I get data for the device I already own? For dongles, there’s the Alcatel Dongle 4G on O2, and the Vodafone 4G Mobile Dongle. Is unlimited data available on a one-month mobile broadband plan? The coverage still isn’t perfect. The leading operator (EE) has made decent inroads and currently provides over 92% of the UK population with 4G, but that still leaves a number of areas which won’t get a 4G signal. While O2 is currently hovering around 70%, Vodafone’s last update put it at 68% and Three’s coverage is at around 63%. Dongles plug into a laptop and only get the one device online, but don’t need their own battery and are very compact. Mobile Wi-Fi routers meanwhile can broadcast a network to multiple devices, like your home broadband router does. However, these are bigger and battery powered.Different networks offer different mobile broadband devices, but the main things to consider are whether you want a 4G device or a faster 5G one, and whether you want a dongle or a mobile Wi-Fi router. Mobile broadband refers to devices that let you connect your laptop, tablet, and other gadgets to the internet wherever you are, as long as there’s a mobile signal. Mobile Wi-Fi devices do this by broadcasting a Wi-Fi network using a mobile signal, so gadgets that don’t have their own SIM card but do support Wi-Fi can get online.

In any case, with one of these mobile Wi-Fi dongles you’ll be able to connect any device that supports Wi-Fi to the internet wherever you are, as long as there’s a mobile signal (which there is in the vast majority of the UK and most other countries), so they’re extremely useful gadgets to have. Finally, there’s the Alcatel Dongle 4G. This is a bit different because rather than being battery powered, you plug it into a laptop and it’s powered by that. It also doesn’t beam out a Wi-Fi network – it just brings Wi-Fi to the device it’s plugged into. This is a great compact solution if you just want to get a single laptop online, but it’s less versatile than the other options. O2 mobile coverage The main difference between 4G mobile broadband and 5G mobile broadband is simply how fast they are, with 5G speeds being a lot higher. Yes, dongles are extremely easy to set up. Just plug one into a compatible device and you should get an instant internet connection. Will I have to pay anything upfront for a dongle?

Easy to use

Yes, Three, Vodafone and O2 all offer one-month mobile broadband plans with unlimited data at the time of writing. You can see just these by changing the data dropdown above to ‘unlimited’. Frequently asked questions What is mobile broadband? With O2 you’ll get 4G coverage across most of the UK, as the network has around 99% population coverage. Its 5G coverage is harder to judge and improving at a rapid pace, but at a minimum it has a 5G footprint in over 2,100 UK towns and cities.

Mobile broadband lets you use a mobile signal to broadcast a Wi-Fi network that your gadgets can connect to. So if you’re somewhere that doesn’t have Wi-Fi and you need to get online with a laptop or other device that doesn’t have a SIM card, you can do so with mobile broadband. What’s the difference between 4G mobile broadband and 5G mobile broadband? If you ever find yourself away from your home or office and wishing you could get your laptop or other device online, then O2 mobile broadband is a way to do that. Applies to calls made in in the UK and when roaming in our Europe Zone to standard landlines and mobiles. Minute minimum charges apply 2. Text message Mobile broadband frees you from the confines of a fixed Wi-Fi network, allowing you to get devices like tablets, laptops, and portable consoles online wherever you are, just as long as there’s a mobile signal available.

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Dongles are also a lot smaller than other mobile broadband devices, but they can only get one device online at a time, and for the most part they only work with Windows and Mac computers. What else do I need with a dongle? It in theory tops out at 3.6Gbps, but that’s the hardware – O2’s network isn’t that fast (nor are any other UK networks), but you’ll still get the highest speeds the network is capable of. This can also get up to 32 devices connected to the internet, and it has an Ethernet port for if you want a more stable wired connection.

The Alcatel Link Zone MW70 supports both 3G and 4G networks, offering reliable and high-speed internet connectivity. It is also compatible with 2G standards such as GSM. There are are number of different mobile broadband devices designed for slightly different purposes. Mobile WiFiThat depends on whether you want to get one device online or lots. A dongle can typically only connect one device to the internet at once, and it needs to be a device that you can plug the dongle into, and which supports dongles – which in most cases means a laptop or desktop. While4G mobile broadbandcan certainly be fast it can also be expensive. We’ll get into specific costs in the section below, but suffice to say it still tends to be more expensive than 3G. It also often has quite strict data limits, which are less of a factor with standard Wi-Fi. With its compact and portable design, this router is easy to carry and use on the go. It is suitable for individuals or small groups who require wireless internet access in various locations. The Alcatel Link Zone MW70 is designed to provide reliable and durable performance over time. The selection of networks offering dongles will vary over time and you can see the current options above, but at the time of writing both O2 and Vodafone sell dongles. What dongles are available?