Group Test - Mobile Broadband

3 has done the most to popularise cheap mobile broadband for consumers and it matches these affordable tariffs with excellent download speeds. However this is tempered by poor upload speeds, the slowest of the five networks. If you’re roaming on 3 in another 3 network the fact that you’re charged as if you are home is superb, but if you’re not in one of the few countries with a 3 network roaming is an expensive business. For the travelling businessman then, it's a less attractive option.

T-Mobile, it has to be said surprised us with it speeds, with it coming in faster than Orange in our tests, and while its downloads weren't as fast as 3, its upload speeds were, which makes it a better all round package on the 18 month tariff. We also liked the speed of the software installing and the look and feel of the app. What’s more, with T-Mobile the first to announce even higher upload speeds from its already launched HSUPA service and things are looking good for it.

Winner:

The overall winner though is Vodafone, with speeds that were appreciably higher than the competition, and if time is money, that’s what counts. Though the modem is free with the 24 month package we wouldn't be tempted to go for it over the 18 month. Technology moves at such as pace that 18 months is easily long enough to be locked into a deal, and that extra six months could prove frustrating down the line.

Though it wins the group test, the overall experience wasn’t quite good enough to get it a full marks. Even though it was the fastest, the gap between the fabled 7.2Mb/sec maximum speed and the actual speed put paid to that, as did the image compression issues.

However, of the group, if you want to web pages to open reliably and downloads to complete quickly, in our tests your best bet is with Vodafone.