subject: How to get mobile broadband without a modem [print this page] How to get mobile broadband without a modem
The mobile broadband dongle, or modem, is fast becoming a symbol of a bygone era.
Far easier to have a device that can already connect to a 3G network than to add an extra piece of hardware on top of whatever it is that you're trying to get connected to the internet.
In addition, mobile broadband modems can't usually allow a device to access the internet by other means, for example by connecting to Wi-fi which some devices do automatically.
Modems do have some advantages as anyone perusing the latest broadband deals can see.
For one thing, while mobile broadband access on a device usually entails entering into a long contract, a mobile broadband modem can be pay as you go or on a short contract.
It also means that mobile broadband can be bought to older desktop computers which are unlikely to have the capacity to receive a 3G signal embedded.
In this sense, a modem allows you to bring broadband to a device. Whereas now the trend is for devices that are so portable you don't need to do that.
Despite all that, though, mobile broadband without a modem is practical and popular. So how can it be done?
The first way is with a smartphone. Many phones are now able to connect to the internet without any help and many also have specific interfaces which enable them to view sites in a user-friendly way.
For those of us that remember the first eye-straining forms of phone internet, this is a blessed relief.
Smartphones are available from a number of big broadband providers such as sky or virgin as well as mobile phone providers which offer download allowance for the internet connection as part of the allowance they offer.
Another way is with a tablet computer or a netbook which has 3G integrated and is able to receive or use a signal.
In some cases, the integrated software will be tied to a particular internet provider in which case you have to be very sure that you want to stay with that one.
In other cases, there is a SIM card - like a mobile phone SIM but usually smaller - which allows users to get online.
Download allowances can vary and are usually just one or two GBs large for the whole of a month. There are exceptions such as 3 Mobile Broadband 15GB, however, which allows users - you guessed it - 15GB of mobile broadband allowance a month.
