Mobile operator Vodafone UK has launched a new range of monthly and pay as you go (payg) Mobile Broadband prices and packages, which include some of the features that you'd normally expect to find alongside a fully fledged fixed line ISP. However, much to our disappointment, they have also scrubbed their no-expiry pre-pay usage top-ups.

Pay monthly

There are two new pay monthly price plans for customers to choose from with a raft of added extras and a £5 monthly saving:

* £15 a month: Now with 3GB of data included and free basic anti-virus, spyware protection and 2GB backup

* £20 a month: Now with a 4GB data allowance and free Premium PC Security Pack. The pack includes anti-virus, spyware protection, Firewall, parental controls, email spam filtering and unlimited back-up and restore. The Premium PC Security Pack also comes free with the existing £25 price plan.

Pay as you go

Vodafone is giving customers three times more data allowance when they purchase a new K3565 'TopUp and Go' USB Modem Stick 3.6 Mbps. Now instead of 1GB, customers will get 3GB of data valid for 30 days, for only £34.99. That’s 90 hours of browsing, 2000 emails and hundreds of downloads.

There’s also the option to browse on-the-move in style and add a personal touch with Vodafone’s new coloured dongles in blue and pink.

We're disappointed to see that Vodafone has introduced a 30 day expiry period on its pay-as-you-go Mobile Broadband data tops-ups for new customers. One of the primary reasons that we and many others chose to pay extra for the old package is because the no-expiry period made it excellent for casual/basic usage. Luckily existing customers will be unaffected by the change.

However Vodafone's new pay monthly options are perhaps more interesting because of their added security and backup features, which appear to have more in common with a traditional ISP service than an "access only" mobile operator. Indeed they are currently the only UK Mobile Broadband operator to offer such added extras.

It’s an interesting new twist on Mobile Broadband but we have to question the point of offering email spam filtering without also providing an email service. In fairness though, it's probably just a built-in part of the bundled software. This could become a new battleground for the operators.