3 Mobile Broadband Pay Monthly

• One of the cheapest mobile broadband deals
• Free mobile broadand modem
• Up to 5GB monthly usage available (extra data 10p per MB)
• Fastest mobile broadband speeds in tests
• Get cut-price MS Office 2007 when you sign up and a free upgrade to Office 2010

3 mobile broadband review: Pay Monthly

3 was one of the very first mobile broadband operators on the scene so they've had plenty of time to perfect their service but are their mobile broadband pay monthly deals actually any good?

Never a one for simplicity, 3 mobile broadband has a whopping six pay monthly tariffs to choose from (and that's not including 3 mobile broadband pay as you go, 3's free laptop broadband deals or the heavy-use friendly 3 Mobile Broadband 15GB).

Tariffs

Broadband 1GB - £7.50 a month

For the light user, 1GB is a fair monthly allowance. These deals are all £7.50 a month.

All three of these packages are identical apart from their contract lengths and whether or not the USB modem is included free of charge.

The only contract options are 18 and 24 months - although you get a free modem with either. The 1GB 18-month and 1GB 24-month packages are identical, so you may as well opt for the 18 month one.

Going over your usage allowance can get expensive quickly - 3 charge 10p per MB, so £10 for 1GB - so if you think you'll go over regularly it's well worth checking out 3's more substantial mobile broadband deals.

Broadband 3GB and 5GB - £15 a month

The next tariffs up cost £15 and come with 5GB on 12 or 18-month contracts or 3GB with a one month contract.

5GB is now one of the larger mobile broadband usage allowances available and at just £15 a month easily beats many other deals. It still won't be suitable for heavy downloading but for many hours of browsing and emails, or a few iplayer shows a week, it'll be fine.

The only thing to decide is how long you're contract will be: with no set-up fees and a free modem either way we'd be swayed to just get the 18-month one - that way you can always renew or switch if there's a better deal available.

With 3GB for the same price, you can avoid tying yourself down with a 1-month rolling contract.

This package does come with a £9.99 price tag on the modem - but we think this is more than reasonable for going contract-free - after all, the modem on pay as you go costs £19.99.

Finally, 3 have a deal for heavier users. It's one of a kind - no other provider offers such a high usage allowance - so we've dedicated a whole page to reviewing 3 15gb mobile broadband.

What you get

With the exception of the 5GB 1-month contract, you get a free dongle (the USB modem) with all of 3's tariffs.

Three have just released a new dongle with these packages - the Huawei E1750 - and you can expect speeds of up to 7.2Mb/s. That means that this is a higher quality dongle than those available with other providers and should make it up to 100% faster to download websites, compared to a 3.6Mb/s dongle.

However, actual speeds depend on your proximity to the main network hub. Even on their website, 3 admit that the likely speeds will be "up to 2.8mbps", but this is still an adequate speed for mobile broadband.

If you happen to go over your usage allowance for the month, then expect to pay 10p for each MB of data that you exceed. This can get very expensive very quickly, so it's best to keep a tab on your usage throughout the month, so you don't get any nasty surprises at the end.

Anything else?

If you're already a 3 customer, you can benefit from a 25% discount each month for mobile broadband.

Their coverage currently stands at 90% of the UK, and they are constantly upgrading for faster speeds and better coverage, with a proposed 98% coverage for 2009. You can currently check if you're likely to get a strong service on their coverage checker on the 3 website.

You'll can also get Microsoft Office Home & Student 2007 at a discounted price when you sign up - £59.99 (RRP:£110) - and a free upgrade to the 2010 edition when it comes out this summer.

Unfortunately, that's only a few pounds cheaper than at most shops and Microsoft are giving the upgrade to everyone. More 'offer' than 'special', then.

So are they any good?

Depending on what you use your mobile broadband for, then yes. They have a wide range of packages to suit everyone, even if the sheer amount of them can seem confusing!

3 shares its network (and vice versa) with T-Mobile, which allows both parties to offer increased coverage and better speeds. T-Mobile offers the fastest mobile broadband and 3 mobile customers will benefit from this.

3 were the first provider to start using a 3G network and this head start means they have the largest 3G network in the UK.

It's a shame 3 don't include free wireless hotspot access, like O2 and T-Mobile do, but then they don't operate a WiFi hotspot network so they would have to partner with O2's The Cloud, T-Mobile or BT Openzone to do this.

They are however, a great provider to go with if you're having connection troubles, due to their high UK coverage.

A little more detail...

Mobile Broadband		Special Note...	Any good?
Usage Limit:	Up to 5GB
Max Speed:	Up to 3.6Mb
Choose a package option to see more details

Payment & Contract
Monthly Price:	from £7.50
Modem Cost:	from Free
Contract Terms:	from 1 month
Choose a package option to see more details

3 Mobile Broadband Pay Monthly package options...

Broadband 1GB 24 month		Up to 3.6Mb 1GB usage		24 months		£7.50		Free
Broadband 1GB 18 Months		Up to 3.6Mb 1GB usage		18 months		£7.50		Free
Broadband 5GB 24 Months		Up to 3.6Mb 5GB usage		24 months		£15		Free
Broadband 5GB 18 months		Up to 3.6Mb 5GB usage		18 months		£15		Free
Broadband 5GB 1 month		Up to 3.6Mb 5GB usage		1 month		£15		£9.99