Mobile broadband dongles mirror mobile phone growth, says report

A drop in data prices has led to the widespread use of mobile broadband USB sticks, which is mirroring the take-off of mobile phones in the mid-1990s, according to a report published this week.

UK data charges have fallen from £45 per Gbyte two years ago to about £3.50 per Gbyte on average, said Jessica McArdle, a spokesman for comparison website Top 10 Broadband.

She said that packages were 65% cheaper, four times faster and three times more inclusive in terms of download allowance than the £45 equivalent of two years ago.

McArdle said a series of price drops in the mobile broadband market means that mobile broadband is no longer perceived to be the luxury product it was two years ago.

She said operators will start to include mobile broadband dongles as part of standard mobile phone deals as early as 2009, mirroring the way operators now include broadband with fixed phone deals.