Mobile broadband is easy to access, if you decide to sign up to a contract you will get either a small USB modem or a dongle that plugs into your laptop. Chose a data allowance that meets your needs because if you go over your allowance you will get hefty charges. If you buy online and you are not happy with connection speed or reliability you have a 7 day cooling off period when you can cancel your IP. Mobile broadband will not replace a fixed line connection for most users unless you are a light user or a student who does not require a fixed line. 

Before deciding on your provider check 3G coverage as mobile signals can be patchy in rural areas and blocked in some city buildings i.e. such as basement flats. The number of WiFi hotspots is growing rapidly and connecting to these will save you money (BT claim to have one million hotspots in the UK).

The latest reviews of mobile broadband providers indicate that BT are the tops for reliability, connection speed and value for money. Go to BT to check out their latest deals.  Virgin Media are also rated well but appear to be less reliable than BT with regards to losing connection when you are on the move. O2, Vodafone and T-Mobile are rated as average – though T-Mobile are less reliable but gain on good customer service. Orange and 3 have the lowest ratings with poor reliability and average connection speeds.

Although BT appear to offer the best all round service including value for money and customer service, all the providers mentioned in this article offer freebies, deals and incentives – so before you sign up for a contract it is worth trying PAYG to test out broadband services in your area.

For more information, visit the broadband provider’s websites;

• BT website
• Virgin website
• Vodafone website
• O2 website
• Orange website
• Three website
• T-mobile website

1. AOL is the cheapest, charging £4.99 a month offering up to 8Mb speeds and 10GB download limit. The minimum contract is one month and if you stay longer than 3 months you will pay £9.99 a month.  Check it out on the AOL website.

2. Be Broadband will offer you a faster 24Mb service with minimum contract of 3 months at £24.43 a month as well as line rental. Visit the Be website  for more details.

3. The cheapest mobile broadband provider is 3 charging £15 a month for a minimum of one month. It offers speeds up tp 7.2Mb and a 3GB monthly download limit. Note that the mobile network used to access the internet is not as reliable as a landline service. Visit the three website for more information and deals.

Note that Plusnet have a similar deal to AOL at a slightly more expensive £5.99 a month for 8Mb speeds and limit of 10GB. Click on the ad to the right for more info.

The company founded in 1997 has more than 300,000 customers to whom it sells more than one million services. The company has a policy of cutting costs by limiting their advertising and marketing – they rely on word of mouth recommendations.

Telecom Plus is popular with consumers who want to deal with one supplier who offers a range of services on one bill. It offers a monthly bill so that customers can keep track of their household budget. Their chief executive, Charles Wigoder claims that they could grow bigger and be more successful than their larger rivals - Carphone Warehouse. If you are interested in reading a review of the UK’s best broadband provider visit Mac broadband - in the ISP News – currently Zen Internet tops the charts.

Any customers out there with experience of Telecom Plus please let us know your views.

Interested to learn more visit the Utility Warehouse and the Carphone Warehouse websites.

The recommendations given here are for bundles that include line rental, phone calls and broadband. If your home is in a rural, or less populated area you can expect to pay £5-£15 more and your broadband may be slower too. Some of the most popular broadband providers (Zen, O2 and Be) do not offer home phone and broadband bundles.

Utility Warehouse, offer an excellent and competitive bundle which includes discounts for multiple services such as energy, phone and broadband. Their cheapest bundle  is Broadcall standard at £21.75 a month with a twelve month contract. Check out the details at the utility warehouse website and you can see a review of their offer on which.co.uk/uw

Plusnet offer a good value for money bundle at £17.24 a month for a 12 month contract. However a review of their customer service was rated as slightly below the standard of Utility Warehouse. Visit www.plus.net for offer details.

TalkTalk bundles include phone and broadband for £18.48 a month for an 18month contract. Not highly rated for customer service but check it out for yourself at www.talktalk.co.uk

Sky offers a monthly bundle at £29 a month for 12 month contract but only sky TV subscribers can get Sky phone and broadband but if you would like to have Sky TV its deals could prove to be attractive to you. Check out the sky website.

Deals include a router from Utility Warehouse or a wireless router from the other networks mentioned. If you would like to know more about routers please check out mac broadband in the guide section. Plusnet and Utility Warehouse offer a free connection service; other providers charge a set up fee of £30-£60.

The price of a pay as you go mobile broadband dongle with o2 is £14.67 for this limited time offer – that is a bargain!

• Pay as you go daily price = £2 for upto 500MB of downloads
• Pay as you go weekly price = £7.50 for upto 1GB of downloads
• Pay as you go monthly price = £15 for upto 3GB of downloads

All the deals offer unlimited Wi-fi access.

Visit the o2 website to take advantage of this latest discount deal.