Cheap Mobile Broadband Deals

Internet is not just a mode of communication but a compelling and more sophisticated way of sharing information. It has become a part of our monthly budget which is little more than extra. Mobile internet and Mobile broadband have become the most widely used means of internet access. However, all of us are curious and would like to get the most out of the cheapest plans.

“What is Cheap? Relatively low in price”. Cheap doesn’t mean that we compromise in quality. But it’s not an easy to task to identify the cheapest plans with the same quality providing better value for money. That’s what we call as being economical. Moreover it’s the users wish to consider things to be cheap based on their need and budget. Ours is just an effort to identify the cheap mobile broadband deals and plans available in UK and help users get the best value for money.cheap-mobile-broadband

Pay Monthly Cheap Mobile Broadband Plans

Mobile Broadband contracts in UK are available for 12, 18 and 24 months. Almost all the mobile operators offer a Pay Monthly contract with a free USB modem. These contracts provide a minimum data allowance of 1GB to a maximum of 15GB with many other offers and extra benefits.

Provider Monthly Cost Contract Speed
(up to)
Download Buy
£7.87 18 Months 7.2Mbps 1GB
£10 for 3 months
then £15 a month
18 Months 7.2Mbps 3GB
£15.99
Free PAYG SIM for a friend
24 Months 7.2Mbps 15GB
£10.21
3 Months FREE
18 Months 3.6Mbps 1GB
£20.43
3 Months FREE
18 Months 7.2Mbps 4GB

12 Months Contract

Orange is the only provider in UK who offers 12 months contract with a data allowance of 1GB, 3GB and 10GB with the cheapest price being £13 per month. The USB modem is offered for free and every extra 1GB would cost an additional £5. The download speed offered is up to 7.2Mbps with an unlimited off peak usage.

18 Months Contract

Except Vodafone all other providers in UK offer an 18 months mobile broadband contract with a data allowance of 1GB, 3GB, 5GB, 10GB and 15GB.

3-mobile offers 1GB of data usage at cheapest rate of £7.50 per month with a free USB modem, while Orange offers the same usage at £10 per month. But they also run an offer which provides extra 500MB per month making the total available usage to 1.5GB for £10.

Orange offers a 3GB data usage at £15 per month with the first 3 months at £7.50 per month; however 3-mobile offers a 5GB of data usage for the same price per month making it the cheapest plan at present. Also Orange offers the cheapest 10GB plan at £25 per month and the 15GB plan is offered only by 3-mobile at £30 per month.

24 Months Contract

Except Orange and Virgin mobile all the other providers in UK offer 24 months plan. 3-mobile holds to be the only provider that offers 1GB plan and also the cheapest provider to offer a 24 months contract at £7.50 per month.

Vodafone offers a 3GB data usage at £15 per months with the first 3 months at £5 per month. They also offer a 4GB package at £20.43 per month with the first 3 months at £7.50 per month. Both these plans make Vodafone to be the cheapest in this category.

Once again 3-mobile proves to be the cheapest in the 5GB and 15GB category which is offered at best prices of £15 and £25 per month, respectively.

Cheap Mobile Broadband Pay as you Go deals

Except for Virgin Media and Orange, all other mobile broadband providers in UK offer a PAY as you GO service. In a Pay as you Go mobile broadband plan the dongle is purchased with a pre-loaded data allowance which can be used for a specific period as mentioned by the provider. Users have to recharge the account with the available top-ups for further usage.

Vodafone offers mobile broadband modem plus 3GB of data allowance at an initial fee of £25. These modems can offer maximum download speed up to 3.6Mbps and are pre-activated for roaming in abroad. Users can top-up the account using 3GB top up package available for £15 per month. This seems to be cheaper than the other 1GB, 2GB and 3GB plans offered by 3-mobile, T-mobile and O2.

Users who wish to get more usage initially can choose 3-mobile broadband pay as you go plan which is offered for 79.99. It includes a USB modem and 12GB of data allowance for the first month. Users can top up the modem for any range from 3GB to 12GB from their My3 account. This plan seems to be the cheap and best for users who need a large amount of data allowance.

Pay up Front Cheap Mobile Broadband

T-mobile does not offer a 12 months contract, but they provide a USB dongle as a ’12 month Pay-up-Front’ plan at £149.99. This USB modem allows 2GB of data usage per month at 3.6Mbps, beyond which the user is restricted to access. The upfront cost includes the cost of the modem plus data usage of 2GB per month, for a period of 12 months. Even though the upfront cost seems to be a little higher, Users who are beginners and rare internet users are benefited on a long run. So this plan can be considered as a cheap and one time purchase.

How to select the Cheapest Mobile Broadband Plan?

  1. All the mobile broadband plans are introduced based on different users available in the market, so users should be aware of their need of a mobile broadband.
  2. Frequent users of the internet would be aware of the regular usage. If you are a more frequent user, its best to choose a plan that offers more data usage which might avoid extra payments and fluctuating bills.
  3. New users can mostly choose cheap pay as you go plans and then analyze their usage per month. All the providers in UK allow their customers to monitor their usage from their online account.
  4. Travelers and Business men using a mobile broadband dongle should be more considered about the Mobile Broadband Abroad charges. The mobile operators also alert users on excess usage during roaming and users can also subscribe for separate packages during roaming.
  5. Users, who do not want the trouble of paying the monthly bills and would not wish to top up now and then, can choose to get a pay up front modem that can help save money on the long run.