The whole package cost just £39 and included a 1GigaByte (GB) data allowance, which does not expire after a given period of time and can be used until it runs out. This made it ideal for our sporadic requirements, with extra data costing £15 per 1GB. Admittedly some rivals might offer 3GB for the same money, yet those allowances usually expire after the first month; hard luck if you haven’t needed to use the service.

Installation and Setup

Installing the USB Modem proved to be more complicated than indicated in the instructions. The necessary software and drivers are already stored on the device itself, so there’s no need for a CD and the installation should automatically begin after you plug the USB Modem in for the first time.

In reality our poor little Windows XP laptop ended up being bombarded with repetitive driver installation requests, even after the process had completed on the first attempt. We followed this process through and completed it a good six or seven times, including the odd reboot, before it finally seemed to take.

With the modem functional we finally got around to loading up the newly installed ‘Vodafone Mobile Connect Lite’ application, which manages the connection. The software is very easy to use and offers a number of other features, such as the ability to send and receive text messages or check your balance.