Give slow mobile broadband a speed boost

Twice a month our leading broadband forum expert Matt Powell will be examining some of the topics raised in our community and Ask the Genie sections, giving advice and guidance on technical issues to solve problems and ultimately get the most out of your broadband and mobile broadband.

To kick things off we're going to focus on something that's a concern for every mobile broadband user: speed.

A slow connection is probably the most common complaint about mobile broadband. Our reviews and forums are full of comments from people tired of mobile broadband that crawls along at a painfully slow pace.

But before we get into what could go wrong, remember that mobile broadband will always give slower download and upload rates than advertised. Like home broadband providers promising 'up to' 24Mb, the numbers quoted by the networks are a best case scenario and realistically you're unlikely to achieve the potential maximum.

On a good 3G signal you can expect to get somewhere in the region of 1-3Mb download, with an upload rate under 0.5Mb, but judging by all the questions and complaints we receive many of you aren't even getting a speed that could be measured in Mb.

Network issues

Network coverage is obviously a big factor. You have to be using mobile broadband in an area which offers 3G to get the best speeds. On a mobile phone handset this is usually indicated by a 3G icon somewhere on the screen, dongles will flash different colours or tell you in the software application.

No 3G? The connection is going to be very sluggish, taking a painfully long time just to load a web site, so if you're considering buying a mobile broadband dongle it's vitally important you check the coverage. This can be done using the tools available at every provider's site, just click on the ISP's logo below to go to its own national coverage page:

Simply tap in your postcode or town and you'll instantly be told the state of the network. The tools vary in usefulness - Vodafone offers a nice map which actually shows the local variables in signal strength and says whether you're likely to good signal indoors and outdoors, while T-mobile just gives an incredibly vague rating. If you're in any doubt about the results then contact the provider for more information.

Upstairs, downstairs

But even in areas where we're told the 3G signal is strong there can still be issues. The type of material used in buildings can have an affect, as can hills or other obstructions. Just being on the ground floor can have a huge effect - in one location where I regularly use my mobile broadband, going up a single flight of stairs is the difference between no signal and strong 3G coverage.

One quick, dirty and cheap method - and an alternative to purchasing an external antenna - is to attach your dongle to a USB extension cable and place it on high up on a shelf. The cables only cost a few quid and this extra height can give a noticeable improvement. Even moving closer to a window might make a difference.

Unfortunately there's no way to predict local interference, and in all fairness it isn't the fault of the network. Checking the signal on a mobile handset will give a fairly accurate indication of the kind of connection you can expect with mobile broadband on the same network.

Assuming the signal is decent, though, and there are no buildings or hillocks stopping you from getting online then the problem could lie with the network or your equipment.

It's rare, but network base stations can develop faults. The speed will also be affected if lots of people use the network in your area at the same time. If you've had a sudden drop in speed recently then a call to your provider is in order.

Occasionally there can be other troubles. O2 recently admitted that the iPhone was so popular it had affected the speed of the network.

We've also had a couple of reports on the forums from people who have had errors with their SIM cards, or been sent an upgrade to their dongle that has downgraded the connection speed. This isn't commonplace, but can happen. Borrowing a friend's dongle or using your mobile phone as a modem is a good way to eliminate the network or your equipment...if it works on one and not the other then it's time to give your network a bell and see about a replacement.

Software tips

Hardware issues aside, it's also worth taking the time to check the set-up of your laptop or desktop. Even if you've had no issues it can still be a good idea to optimise your PC for mobile broadband use. Here are a few tips:

• Disable auto-updates

Aside from stealthily using up your data allowance auto-updates running in the background also slow the connection. Common culprits include anti-virus software, Windows update and bloated Adobe software like Adobe Reader and Photoshop.

• Force 3G access

You may able to force your dongle to only use a 3G connection through the software control panel, which can be handy if the signal fluctuates and it tries to drop to 2G speeds. Just remember to disable this when you're in an area without any 3G coverage.

• Streamline your web browsing

You can control whether your browser loads Flash videos, scripts and other page content automatically, or even if it downloads pictures on web pages. This is much easier if you use the Mozilla Firefox browser as there are a bundle of free add-ons which do the job for you. I'd recommend checking out FlashBlock, AdBlock and NoScript for starters.

For further reference, we've also covered speed issues extensively elsewhere on the site, especially in our mobile broadband speed guide and last year's mobile broadband road trip (look out for the 2010 awards coming up in the next couple of months).