Posted: 21st Aug, 2007 By: MarkJ
Mobile Broadband continues to get cheaper as reports claim that the 3G mobile phone operator '
Three' could be about to launch a series of new packages starting at just £10 per month for a 1GB usage allowance.
Please take note that the following price information is not final and may very well change prior to introduction. It is not yet clear precisely when the new tariffs will be introduced but at this level they could trigger a revolution:
At £10 a month, the basic Mobile Broadband package ("Light") gets you 1GB of data, while £15 gets you 3GB, and £25 up to 7GB. Data usage outside these buckets is charged at 10p/MB. 3 will throw in a free USB modem to existing customers, or £29 if you sign up for eighteen months.
By comparison, T-Mobile's Web'n'walk Plus deal, which today offers the best value, permits 3GB for £24.68 (inc. VAT) and 10GB for £37.45 - which means that the "Plus" and "Max" offerings from 3 work out at a lower minimum price per MB. Vodafone offers 3GB for £25 per month, and a curious deal where you get £8.50 for 500MB in a 24-hour period.
It leaves the other two UK operators competing for the dunce's cap. O2 and
Orange both offer 1GB for £45 a month. We're excluding plans with a cap in the megabytes, such as
Orange's 160MB for £20 a month.
The price point of £25 per month for a 7GB data usage allowance is exceptionally good and brings flexible mobile broadband usage into the consumer domain. That's quite an improvement considering their current data card pricing, which charges £45 inc. VAT for a 1GB allowance and free card.
Perhaps the biggest draw will be that consumers aren't restricted to accessing data purely from their phones, with
Three being more than happy for them to surf via a laptop; sign us up. More @
The Register.