Anyone here use mobile broadband? Do you recommend it?

[Londoner]

Hi,

my BT broadband account is ending in a month or so and I am looking at alternatives instead of renewing. The truth is, I don't actually need a fulltime telephone landline for anything except braodband so I wondered if there was an alternative.

Looking at the mobile phone providers' packages I see that Orange offer mobile broadband which can be used with a laptop - so I was wondering if this might be worth thinking about. My concern is that it may not be fast enough or unable to deliver websites or downloads.

So I am just scouting around to hear from those of you who use this technology with a laptop - what do you think? What is your experience of it? Is it a worthwhile alternative to landline?

Thanks for reading,
Phil

[flanzig1]

I use mobile broadband with my work laptop when I need web access at a remote site if no WIFI or can't use a customers network. I would guess that download speeds could anything from dial-up to WIFI. If this would be your main internet access, would check to see if if signal strength is good and what kind of plan they offer(they may charge like a cell phone, by the minute).

[trulad]

I use Sprint ($60.00/month) because we have no wired phones,just two cell phones. My speed in my home is actually faster than my DSL was. On the road it works well wherever there is Sprint service.
trulad

[not important]

I have a friend who uses Verizon and he is very happy with it. Not sure what he pays but i do know it's a flat fee.

[david08]

I have experience with using Sprint...

[MrDravenX]

I don't use it however my Blackberry through VZW can at as a modem. I don't know how it works but I will be trying it out when I move next month so I can have internet access until we find a place and get setup.

[thefultonhow]

I have Sprint EV-DO and have used it with my laptop. Honestly, this depends a lot on the 3G tech that your carrier uses, and I'm probably a little spoiled by college Internet2 and fast Comcast cable at home, but I think using 3G as your primary connection at home would be woefully inadequate on many services. I have EV-DO Rev. 0, which is a bit faster than standard GSM 3G but I don't think as fast as the 3.5G that some of Europe has, and file downloads and YouTube watching are pretty excruciating. If you need the flexibility and are willing to make the sacrifices, it's a reasonable choice for many people, but for power users or for anyone who doesn't move around a lot, standard DSL or cable/fiber makes more sense.