Pay as you go mobile broadband dongles are used for accessing the mobile internet. Mobile broadband dongles are simple to use – you simply install the supplied software, plug the internet dongle into your laptop (or desktop), and you are off and surfing the web.

The dongles are available as pay as you go options. This means that after the initial purchase of the dongle (budget for about £50) you can purchase credits. Much like with pay as you go mobile phones, the credits for mobile phones allow you to pay for usage of the dongle as you use it. If you don’t use the dongle much, then you don’t need to purchase mobile broadband credits so often.

All the major UK mobile phone operators will supply you with a pay as you go mobile broadband dongle;

• Orange (visit Orange website or visit the Orange product page for more information)
• O2 (visit O2 website or visit the O2 product page for more information)
• T-mobile (visit T-mobile website or visit the T-mobile product page for more information)
• Three (3) (visit Three website or visit the Three product page for more information)
• Vodafone (visit Vodafone website or visit the Vodafone product page for more information)
• Virgin Media (visit Virgin Media website)

Remember to check the mobile broadband reception for where you intend to use the internet dongle.

Check the mobile signal strength using a normal mobile phone from the operator you intend to use (make sure the right SIM card is in the phone).

Take your mobile phone to work, the office, the local park, the cafe, college, or wherever you intend on using the broadband dongle to surf the internet – and check what the reception is like.

Alternatively, use the postcode lookup services on the mobile broadband providers websites.