Vodafone Mobile Broadband USB Modem 7.2 review

Wireless hotspots are a brilliant and inexpensive way of getting online for fast downloads.

While they're growing in number, though, hunting one down when you desperately need to send an important email can be a pain. If you want the flexibility to get online no matter where you are, Vodafone's Mobile Broadband USB Modem 7.2 can help. It uses HSDPA to give you broadband-speed downloads wherever you are. The 7.2 in the product's name refers to the maximum download speed it supports: 7.2Mbit/s. This speed puts the service up against standard home broadband packages.

Before you get too excited, though, Vodafone has yet to update its entire network to support this new speed, so you won't currently get such performance everywhere in the country. Still, Vodafone is the only mobile company to offer a 7.2Mbit/s-capable modem at the moment; its competitors offer a maximum of just 3.6Mbit/s.

As with all wireless connections, the quoted maximum speed is usually quite a bit faster than the speeds you'll actually get when using the service. We tested our download speeds around London. In East London we managed only 515Kbit/s; from our Central London office we managed download speeds of 1,179Kbit/s. These speeds are in line with those of other 3G modems we've seen from other service providers. While they're not as quick as home broadband connections or wireless hotspots, these speeds are still good enough for heavy web and email use, although we wouldn't want to download anything huge such as a Windows service pack. If you stray out of a 3G area, the modem can downgrade itself to GPRS speeds, which will give you similar performance to that of a dial-up connection.

The USB Modem 7.2 is available on three contracts: 18-months, 12-months and pay as you go. The 18-month and 12-month contracts cost £29 a month and come with a 3GB per month fair usage policy. The only difference is that the modem costs £116 on the 12-month contract and £58 on the 18-month contract.

This service is a little more expensive than those offered by T-Mobile (£20 a month with a free modem) and 3 (£15 a month and £50 for the modem) with the same 3GB download limit. However, if you travel a lot, Vodafone's service suddenly looks much more attractive. When in Europe and, currently, the US, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, 24-hour unlimited downloads costs just £9.98, which is cheaper than the daily internet charges at many hotels. The pay-as-you go service is also very attractive for occasional UK users. The modem costs £141, but 24-hour access with a 500MB fair usage policy costs £9.98. This is great value for occasional use if you can afford the expensive modem cost.

T-Mobile and 3's services are better value for heavy UK users, but if you travel a lot or plan use it only occasionally, the Mobile Broadband USB Modem 7.2 is a good choice.