Dongle users should keep an eye on mobile broadband usage to avoid penalty

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More than other users, mobile broadband users are exposed to higher monthly cost and could also increase it if they do not stick to the monthly download limits fixed by their providers. On average, a mobile broadband internet customer get 1-5 GB data usage on their deals that may cost between £15 to £30 per month. With this usage limit, a 3G mobile broadband user can do most of the things on the internet they like. For downloading video clips or movies or large files, you may require much more than this monthly usage allowance.

A cheaper deal would cost £10 a month, but will usually put the users on a package with 1GB that is too small regular surfing.

The latest research report from Moneysupermarket.com shows that more than three-fourths of the UK mobile broadband users are more likely to cross the monthly download limits thereby putting them on the penalties by their providers. The recent popularity of streaming videos, networking habits and also the growing mobile broadband speeds have made the users to surf the net for more time , it was reported.


Do the customers know about the restriction on their package? Twenty-five percent of the mobile internet users have no knowledge of monthly usage cap on their deals while 50 % of the customers do not exactly know how much data they could download in a month.

Currently, mobile broadband service providers in UK offer monthly subscription packages and pay and go deals. It is first type of broadband deals that make the people to get the risk of over-downloading in a month, the report says.

How much penalty, the providers impose on the heavy users who breach the down load limits.
O2 mobile broadband charges £200 for every gigabyte extra usage. Three (3) mobile ISP charge £100 per GB while Vodafone, Orange and Virgin Media put moderate penalty on the extra usage of £15/GB.

T-Mobile provider does not charge for the usage beyond the monthly cap. It is good news for T-Mobile broadband users, however, it is mystery why other mobile ISPs are so severe on limit crossers.

Mobile broadband users plug a device called dongle into their USB port on their Pc/laptop to surf the net. USB Dongles are becoming hugely popular as they help us to access the broadband internet on the move. However, James Parker at Moneysupermaket warns of Dongle users:

“Dongle users are most at risk of incurring charges from exceeding download allowances as limits on dongles tend to be much lower than fixed-line packages,”

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