Contract Or Pay As You Go Mobile Broadband?
There are two main pricing structures for mobile broadband, and they're very much like those available for mobile phone services.
With mobile broadband on a contract you pay a monthly fee, for which you can use a set amount of data allowance each month. These contract deals often offer small extras such as free text messages from your computer, and some include a laptop with your contract.
Pay As You Go works just like the mobile phone equivalent. You'll buy a mobile broadband dongle and then top-up with data allowance as you need it. Most of the providers put a time limit on the credit you buy, meaning that you might have one month, for example, to use a top-up after you buy it.
Contract packages tend to offer much better value in a direct cost-versus-data comparison, but the Pay As You Go systems offer a commitment free way to use the service. This trade-off can make it difficult to decide which type of price plan will best suit your needs. To help you make that decision we've put together a simple list of pros and cons for each one
There are exceptions to some of the above pros and cons:
T-Mobile have a very fair policy on out-of-contract-use. They won't charge you for usage over you monthly limit, and will discuss moving you to a higher usage contract instead. You may also have your usage throttled over your monthly limit.
Vodafone have a set charge of £15 per gigabyte for out-of-contract-use, which is the cheapest of the other providers (some of which charge over £100 per GB!).
Several of the providers are now offering one-month contract packages, which give you the benefits of a contract deal, without the commitment. You'll still be billed monthly but you can cancel at any time.
Vodafone Pay As You Go top-ups don't have a time limit, so they don't expire.
You should weight up your usage needs before making the decision. Very light users may find the the Vodafone Pay As You Go deals work well, as you can buy a top-up and use it over a long period of time, making it best value for very light use.
Those with heavier usage needs will find much better value in the contract packages, and if you're happy to tie in for up to 24 months, you can get some great deals.
If you're not sure about committing to a provider for such a long contract, you could try one of the one-month rolling contracts from 3, Vodafone or Orange.
Try out the Perfect Match Search Tool to work out how much data you're likely to use.
With mobile broadband on a contract you pay a monthly fee, for which you can use a set amount of data allowance each month. These contract deals often offer small extras such as free text messages from your computer, and some include a laptop with your contract.
Pay As You Go works just like the mobile phone equivalent. You'll buy a mobile broadband dongle and then top-up with data allowance as you need it. Most of the providers put a time limit on the credit you buy, meaning that you might have one month, for example, to use a top-up after you buy it.
Contract packages tend to offer much better value in a direct cost-versus-data comparison, but the Pay As You Go systems offer a commitment free way to use the service. This trade-off can make it difficult to decide which type of price plan will best suit your needs. To help you make that decision we've put together a simple list of pros and cons for each one
The Pros
Contract Packages
- Good value available on data allowances
- Regular billing
- Extras often included
- Can include a laptop
Pay As You Go Packages
- No commitment
- Only pay for the data you need
The Cons
Contract Packages
- Ties you in for an extended period
- Usage over you monthly allowance can be charged at very high rates
- Using abroad can be extremely expensive
Pay As You Go Packages
- Higher cost per gigabyte of data transfer
- Top-ups expire after a certain time limit with most providers
- Can't use abroad with most providers
There are exceptions to some of the above pros and cons:
T-Mobile have a very fair policy on out-of-contract-use. They won't charge you for usage over you monthly limit, and will discuss moving you to a higher usage contract instead. You may also have your usage throttled over your monthly limit.
Vodafone have a set charge of £15 per gigabyte for out-of-contract-use, which is the cheapest of the other providers (some of which charge over £100 per GB!).
Several of the providers are now offering one-month contract packages, which give you the benefits of a contract deal, without the commitment. You'll still be billed monthly but you can cancel at any time.
Vodafone Pay As You Go top-ups don't have a time limit, so they don't expire.
Which Should You Go For?
You should weight up your usage needs before making the decision. Very light users may find the the Vodafone Pay As You Go deals work well, as you can buy a top-up and use it over a long period of time, making it best value for very light use.
Those with heavier usage needs will find much better value in the contract packages, and if you're happy to tie in for up to 24 months, you can get some great deals.
If you're not sure about committing to a provider for such a long contract, you could try one of the one-month rolling contracts from 3, Vodafone or Orange.
Try out the Perfect Match Search Tool to work out how much data you're likely to use.
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