Free Dongle with Mobile Broadband Contract
Compare free dongles and click through to buy from the mobile broadband network
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| Hardware | Setup | Monthly price | Contract | Speed (Up to) |
Downloads | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sponsored link |
Unlimited browsing (3GB fair usage but no extra charges) just £10/mth for the first three months (then £15) on an 18-month contract. Comes with T-Mobile's Night In offer: movie/game rental + snacks for £5 |
Check coverage> | |||||
| 1 | FREE | £15 | 24 months |
7.2Mb | 15 GBper month | Check coverage> | |
| Broadband (15GB) |
Exclusive Genie offer (Ends 07 Sep): £50 Naked Wines voucher from Broadband Genie (ONLINE ONLY)Extras: Free delivery plus 14-day money-back guarantee. |
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| 2 | FREE | £12 | 18 months |
7.2Mb | 5 GBper month | Check coverage> | |
| Broadband (5GB) |
Offer: £3 per month off for the whole contract use voucher code 3MBB3OFF Extras: Free delivery plus 14-day money-back guarantee. |
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| 3 | FREE | £15 | 1 month |
7.2Mb | 3 GBper month | Check coverage> | |
| Starter 3GB Broadband | Extras: Flexible Starter plan with no long-term commitment | ||||||
| 4 | FREE | £23 | 24 months |
3.6Mb | 15 GBper month | Check coverage> | |
| MiFi Broadband (15GB) + iPod Touch (8GB) | Extras: iPod Touch (8GB) . MiFi router connects up to five devices to the internet at once, wirelessly. 80 free text messages/mth. Free delivery plus 14-day money-back guarantee. | ||||||
| 5 | FREE | £20 | 18 months |
7.2Mb | 15 GBper month | Check coverage> | |
| Broadband (15GB) | Extras: Free delivery plus 14-day money-back guarantee. | ||||||
| 6 | FREE | £35 | 18 months |
3.6Mb | 20 GBper month | 0800 2947338Check coverage> | |
| Panther | Extras: 14 day guarantee. Orange Wednesdays 2 for 1 cinema tickets. | ||||||
| 7 | FREE | £7.50 | 18 months |
7.2Mb | 1 GBper month | Check coverage> | |
| Broadband Lite (1GB) |
Offer: Extras: Free delivery plus 14-day money-back guarantee. |
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| 8 | £49.99 | £15 | 1 month |
3.6Mb | 2 GBper month | 0800 2947338Check coverage> | |
| Dolphin | Extras: High-performance dongle plus free 8GB MicroSD card. 14 day guarantee. Orange Wednesdays 2 for 1 cinema tickets. | ||||||
| 9 | £4.99 | £15 | 1 month |
7.2Mb | 5 GBper month | Check coverage> | |
| Broadband (5GB) | Extras: Free delivery plus 14-day money-back guarantee. | ||||||
| 10 | FREE | £17 | 18 months |
3.6Mb | 5 GBper month | Check coverage> | |
| MiFi Broadband (5GB) | Extras: Connects up to five devices to the internet at once, wirelessly. 20 text messages/mth. Free delivery plus 14-day money-back guarantee. | ||||||
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All about free dongles
When it comes to convenience then having mobile broadband as your way of getting online provides the ultimate in freedom, particularly when it comes in the form of a free dongle.
Having a mobile broadband set-up alongside fixed-line or cable scenario used to be seen as something of an extravagance, the sort of thing that was only really suited to well off business people who could justify the extra expense involved. Even though it did provide consumers with the additional benefit of being able to get online while they were on the move, it was invariably an expensive extra.
But that's not really the case any more. Having a small monthly mobile broadband fee for a laptop, often connected via a free dongle, can be surprisingly cheap and cheerful.
A free dongle makes all the difference
Just like any consumable product or service that sees a huge surge in demand, we've seen mobile broadband with a free USB dongle thrown in become a standard feature in the network providers price comparison tables. As a result of this demand, those tariffs have also been getting a lot more reasonable as the competition has stepped up between mobile operators.
While getting a dongle for free might not save you a fortune, it's certainly an added bonus that used to be something of a rarity when it came to picking a mobile broadband deal.
Of course, people have different requirements and not all of us want or need the convenience of a mobile broadband package. However, if you're looking for a way to take your online activity with you wherever you go then choosing mobile broadband is a no brainer. It allows you to stay online just about anywhere as long as there's adequate network coverage.
One of the more notable differences between mobile broadband packages of a couple of years ago and the ones you'll find in our comparison tables now is that the majority of them now offer a free USB dongle as part of the package, especially on contract dongles deals'. To buy a dongle never used to be prohibitively costly, but it was often an annoying additional charge that made mobile internet seem good but nigglingly expensive.
Get a dongle for free
Now that the majority of mobile broadband contracts come with a free dongle, the demand for internet on the go has gone through the roof. Cheaper prices for mobile broadband packages, a free USB dongle and freedom to surf wherever you want has meant this is now the best way to get online for many consumers, depending on their situation.
Students have been great beneficiaries of free dongles with mobile broadband. Need to do that essay on the train home, with a bit of online research? Well you can. Taking the laptop to the library? Not a problem. Checking the football results while you're down the student union for a couple of early ones on a Saturday afternoon? All in a day's work for a dongle.
But it’s not just business people and students who can get the benefit from mobile broadband. Families on holiday, people wanting a back-up for their fixed-line connection, staying with someone who doesn't have broadband at all? There is so many places a dongle can come in handy.
Add in the other incentive of a free laptop that comes with some mobile broadband packages and you’ve soon got a package that'll prove hard to resist for people with all kinds of broadband requirements.
Free laptop and internet dongle deals
You don’t have to look far across the deals in our price comparison tables to see that the free laptop plus a USB dongle thrown in for nothing have become commonplace in the last couple of years. This is a great way of arming yourself with the convenience of mobile broadband, while also getting a decent bit of up-to-date kit.
Opting for a free laptop and dongle deal will allow you to stay online for a couple of years at least with a machine that is designed to give optimum performance while connected to a mobile broadband supply. You'll doubtless pay more for a laptop and free USB dongle package, but signing up for a lengthier contract does at least mean you'll spread this cost over a longer period of time.
Laptops used to be seen as something of an extravagance, but the models featured in many of the free deals generally have pretty decent technical specification and, with a free broadband dongle thrown in for good measure, can actually work out quite reasonable if you spread those costs across a 12, 18 or 24 month contract period.
Deciding on the right type of free dongle deal
You'll find plenty of choice when it comes to selecting a dongle for free but you'll also need to decide which package is going to be best suited to your mobile broadband needs. The numerous pay-as-you-go free dongle deals make good sense if you're not a heavy broadband user or want to keep close tabs on how much you spend each time you're online.
If you can get dongles for free and then only have to pay for the time you're online with a pay-as-you-go dongle deal then you'll find that your overheads can be kept to an absolute minimum. The only issue is if you start to download larger amounts of data, such as music, movies and catchup TV shows. There are usually reasonable quotas allowed in the majority of mobile broadband deals, but pay-as-you-go packages can often be less convenienent than a contract option if you're the sort of person whose entertainment habits revolve around online activity.
If that's the case, then you're probably best shopping around the free dongle deals for a contract package. People who sign up for a fixed-term package will find much more choice, the free internet dongle will be thrown in and you'll be able to upload and download a lot more data all for a fixed monthly price.
So, while a pay-as-you-go mobile dongle deal will allow you to purchase online time and connect for only the time you really need it, contract dongles give more flexibility. In some cases you'll also find that non-contract dongles don't offer such nimble performance as a contract dongle.
If all of that has convinced you to head down the route of the contract dongle option then be prepared to sign up for a fixed period, which can be anything from the pretty standard 12, 18 or 24 months depending on the mobile broadband provider you're looking at.
If you're planning on using a free broadband dongle deal to quickly check email or spend a few minutes browsing the web then a contract dongle package is likely to be an unnecessary expense. But if you want to occasionally download a movie, a lot of music or watch TV shows then getting a contract package with a free internet dongle in there too is probably the best way to go. Even then, keep a careful eye on your data cap!
By comparing the various broadband dongle packages you should be able to get a good idea of how much data usage you'll be permitted to enjoy. But also be aware that free pay as you go dongle deals often have limits on when you can use the data - normally within 30 days. So don't go saving it for a rainy day!
Sign up and get dongles for free
You'll find a whole raft of free pay-as-you-go dongle deals and monthly contract dongle options are available from all of the mobile broadband providers. Be sure to spend plenty of time doing your homework on the data usage limits of these dongle deals though, because you could end up paying through the nose if you start exceeding limits or caps specified in the terms and conditions.
Nevertheless, compare the free broadband dongle options carefully and you'll end up with a mobile broadband supply that gives you the freedom to surf wherever and whenever you like. Not only that, having a free dongle and go-anywhere internet mobility will take a lot of the dullness out of travelling, or being stuck in a hotel room with a grainy TV and overpriced Wi-Fi.
Broadband Genie can help you compare dongle broadband not just for the cheapest, but on various aspects of 3G internet or 3G broadband. You can read through current wireless broadband customer reviews on their laptop internet service from different providers, to see which would be best suited to you. There are many UK providers available: Vodafone, 3 Mobile, T-Mobile, O2 and Orange.
If you're canny enough to do the right level of research it may also be feasible to not only get a free USB dongle but a rather tasty new laptop into the bargain. If you only keep it for the duration of the contract then you'll have had good use out of it. Thanks to stiff competition between mobile broadband providers, there's never been a better time to get yourself a free dongle deal.


















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