People looking for shorter minimum contract periods in the mobile broadband market will be able to take advantage of a new pay monthly package from Vodafone.

For £15 a month you will get a 3GB data cap and there is a 12 month minimum contract to cover. However, your money also bags you a free USB dongle to help you get online.

Vodafone offers a similar package for people who want a rolling contract similar to a pay-as-you-go scheme. The monthly price and data cap are identical, but with a one month minimum contract you will need to pay £19 for the dongle.

Whether you like the sound of this Vodafone package will depend on how you respond to wireless broadband prices. If you know that you will need the service consistently for at least 12 months, then it is a good deal as you will save the £19 fee for the dongle.

Vodafone has undercut its closest 12 month-offering rival Orange, which has the same data cap and free dongle deal costing £18 monthly. Orange gives you the option to upgrade the USB dongle to a premium edition that comes with a free microSD memory card and the claim of offering a better connection, but you will have to pay £20 for the privilege.

By looking at these latest deals it is easy to see how much mobile broadband prices have fallen over the last year. Data caps have virtually trebled in this lower price bracket and a pay-as-you-go mobile broadband contract is nearly as attractive from a financial point of view as a fixed term option.

Simple Broadband’s Communications Manager Simon Gerrard added “Vodafone now offers its users some of the most competitive mobile broadband packages out there, along with fast download speeds.”

Apple’s iPad is making a big impact in the world of mobile broadband and with its April launch date set, many UK customers will be interested to see whether the new tablet computer will make a difference to the way in which we use the internet whilst we are at home and on the move.

The iPad will initially be available with built in Wi-Fi connectivity, although the major networks are more interested in how it will fare when 3G compatibility arrives with a subsequent release.

With 3G on board, mobile broadband providers will be able to ship the iPad to consumers without the need for a dongle and allow them to connect anywhere that their 3G networks are available.

Apple executives are arriving in the UK to meet with the management teams behind the mobile broadband networks and lengthy talks followed by the possibility of a bidding war for the mobile broadband enabled version are likely to ensue.

There is a chance that wireless broadband prices for the iPad will be a little different than for other mobile broadband offerings.

Firstly it will have to be offered as part of a long term deal in the same way that free laptops are currently bundled with mobile broadband. Secondly, Apple may well demand up to 30 per cent of the revenue that the networks derive from data usage charges, as it currently does this with its iPhone handset.

At the moment there is no news in regard to which mobile broadband providers will actually offer the iPad when it arrives, but all of the major UK networks have expressed interest in the technology.

Simple Broadband’s Communications Manager Simon Gerrard said “The iPad will make an interesting alternative to mobile broadband deals which include free laptops, but its impact on wireless broadband prices remains to be seen.”

Mobile broadband provider Orange has come out on top once more in a recent survey carried out by YouGov which compared all of the mobile broadband operators in the UK based on real user experiences.

YouGov, which is an independent organisation, compiled data relating to various key areas in mobile broadband and Orange came out at the top of 9 of these lists.

The survey revealed that customer satisfaction is one of Orange’s many strong points, along with the reliability of its mobile broadband connections. Orange was also top dog when it came to upload speeds, which few consider when comparing wireless broadband prices and its mobile broadband products are also deemed to be easier to use than some other providers.

The last YouGov survey of mobile broadband providers was published back in October 2009 and it also found that Orange was generally considered to be one of the best mobile broadband operators in the UK at the time.

Orange’s broadband’s Asif Aziz said that he and his firm were glad to have been voted to the top of the mobile broadband charts once more and that it was representative of the hard work that had been put into their products and deals.

Mr Aziz also said that Orange put its popularity down to the quality of its mobile broadband networks in combination with the high levels of customer service that it attempted to offer to all of its mobile broadband users.

Simple Broadband’s Simon Gerrard commented “Orange is leading the way in terms of customer service, spreading the good word about mobile broadband. Other providers may offer faster download speeds, but it is clear from this new survey that a significant proportion of customers are interested in quality and not quantity when comparing wireless broadband prices.”

Competition in the mobile broadband market does not seem to be slowing down, as O2 has just laid down yet another gauntlet in the price wars by halving the cost of some of its mobile broadband deals in order to attract new customers.

Users looking for a free laptop to accompany their mobile broadband package are in luck, as O2 has cut the cost of certain deals in half, resulting in packages that previously cost £50 now setting you back just £25.

For your money you can choose one of Asus’ popular Eee PCs, which are compact netbook computers that favour portability over high-powered software. You can also connect to the internet at up to 3.6Mbps using O2’s 3G networks and there is a 3GB monthly data allowance for this particular bundle.

For those looking for a little more power to go with their mobile broadband, the £35 a month deal that includes a Samsung R519 with the same download speeds and data allowance might be more suitable.

Both of these packages can be augmented with an additional data allowance for £10 more a month, giving you a total of 10GB usage.

Given that current statistics indicate that more people are interested in free laptop deals than ever, these price reductions could really help to bolster O2’s customer base.

Simon Gerrard, Simple Broadband’s Communication Manager noted that “O2 has really upped the stakes here by cutting the prices of its mobile broadband packages. Currently every major provider is scrambling to grab new customers and with the price of Vodafone mobile broadband USB deals falling, alongside the cost of other packages, there are now plenty of ways in which to get online without breaking the bank.”

New information suggests that the current range of mobile broadband bundles that include a free laptop computer as part of the package could soon be improved when the latest laptop technology is added by mobile broadband providers.

At the moment there is a wide selection of technology on offer, with small netbooks with basic hardware sitting alongside full sized notebooks sporting dual core processors and multimedia capabilities. These deals, which are aimed at those looking to get online from scratch, are gaining popularity amongst mobile broadband customers from all walks of life.

However, at present, the majority of mobile broadband deals that include free laptops require the addition of a separate mobile broadband dongle which must be plugged into the laptop to access the internet. Once the new range of laptops is made available, this could all change.

Experts predict that mobile broadband providers will begin to offer free laptops which come with the 3G mobile broadband modem built into the body of the device, which eliminates the need for a separate mobile broadband dongle. This will be supported by other traditional connectivity options such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth and will vary depending on the manufacturer and network you choose.

The inclusion of 3G connectivity with new laptops is seen by some as a sign that computer manufacturers are buying into the mobile broadband phenomenon and are anticipating continued growth within the industry that gives these new laptops a unique selling point.

If you are looking to compare wireless broadband prices in the next few months you could see a shift in the type of laptops that are being bundled with mobile broadband deals if these predictions are realised. Most providers are constantly updating their range of free laptops in order to remain competitive, so there is a high possibility of this occurring.

The popularity of pay as you go mobile broadband deals is likely to increase exponentially over the first few years of the decade, according to a report authored by market analyst firm Tariff Consultancy.

It expects that over 300 million users will choose pay as you go packages globally by 2013, with Asian customers making up the most significant proportion of the total, followed closely by consumers in the USA.

It is believed that pricing strategies will influence how this growth progresses and the UK mobile broadband industry is seen as one of the most advanced when it comes to offering customers a good deal. Data allowances for users on pay as you go mobile broadband contracts in the UK are often parallel to or slightly better than those offered to customers who choose a pay monthly service if the cost of each gigabyte of data is taken into account.

Other networks in different regions are taking longer to alter their pricing strategies, but Tariff Consultancy’s MD suggested that if trends in the UK continued, many network providers would be looking to shift a majority of their mobile broadband business away from pay monthly and towards pay as you go.

Unlike other reports, this latest analysis of the market is focused specifically on mobile broadband for use by PC and laptop owners, rather than including all mobile phones with 3G connectivity in its focus. This allows for a more accurate picture of the future of mobile broadband tariffs and trends.

Simple Broadband’s Simon Gerrard added that “although pay as you go deals are certainly falling in cost, it is a little too early to completely discount the power of the mobile broadband pay monthly deal as yet. With the savings potential of start-up deals such as the Orange mobile broadband free laptop packages around, there is still good reason to consider a fixed term contract.”

According to an industry source, an unprecedented number of mobile broadband customers now utilise their service as their primary broadband connection.

Most industry experts and business users think of mobile broadband as a supplementary service, aimed at plugging the connectivity gap when users are on the road and assuming that a majority of customers have a fixed line service to use when they are at home.

Official figures released by Ofcom suggest that over 40 per cent of mobile broadband customers actually consider the service to be their main broadband connection. These results however require some context in order to fully appreciate their impact.

The figures released by the industry regulator show that just 6 per cent of all broadband customers have a mobile broadband contract and no fixed line alternative. On the other hand there are only 8 percent of broadband customers who have both a fixed line service and a mobile broadband contract for use when they are away.

Mobile broadband is one of the more popular technologies amongst the younger audience, with one in ten adults under the age of 35 using a mobile broadband connection as their primary means of gaining online access. Affluence is also becoming associated with mobile broadband as it is often comparatively expensive when considered against a fixed line alternative if it is to be chosen as the sole internet connection.

Although wealth and mobile broadband are associated, lower earners are also a growing element of the market with around 8 per cent of homes bringing in under £12,000 relying on mobile broadband alone to connect to the internet. Those with a tight budget who need to compare wireless broadband prices to ensure that they are getting the best deal are being enticed by the potential savings they could make and by the fact that mobile broadband does not require line rental payments.

A recent study by a price comparison site has disclosed new information suggesting that mobile broadband trends are shifting, with more users choosing pay-as-you-go packages over fixed term contract deals.

The survey of market trends in October 2009 found that 53 per cent of people who picked up a mobile broadband contract online chose to go for a package that they could top up. This is the first time that pay monthly contracts have been less popular than the pay-as-you-go alternatives.

It is believed that wireless broadband prices for pay monthly mobile broadband contracts are not necessarily at the heart of the statistics, but rather that the move to pay-as-you-go deals is being influenced by the shorter commitment period offered by the deals.

Broadband expert Rob Webber indicated that the popularity of pay-as-you-go mobile broadband had been steadily increasing for the last 12 months, with a sharp rise occurring in the second half of 2009.

Mr Webber explained that the trend looks set to continue throughout the run up to Christmas as mobile broadband would be picked up by many as a gift for a family member. The flexibility of pay-as-you-go mobile and the one-off up-front price for the services is likely to make it the gift of choice for the foreseeable future.

Mobile broadband is commonly purchased as an addition to an existing home broadband connection, used by those who want to access the internet when they are away from home. For sporadic or occasional use, pay-as-you-go mobile broadband has obvious benefits over fixed term contracts, although the best wireless broadband prices per megabyte are still to be found on pay monthly contracts. The need for correct comparison and careful consideration of individual requirements is highlighted by the market shift.

Consumers around the country are constantly hunting for the cheapest mobile broadband in the UK. In many cases this involves using price comparison sites to size up the various deals. Prices will vary according to the volume of data a customer anticipates using every month and in most cases these limits must be strictly observed in order to avoid paying extra.

As you may expect, there is industry pressure to alter the way in which consumers pay for their mobile broadband usage as usage levels and user numbers continue to grow, placing ever greater pressure on the available bandwidth. Falling prices also mean that companies are having to handle a 400% rise in mobile broadband use, offset only marginally by a meagre 40% rise in real revenues.

News from a recent study by Camiant showed that consumers and the networks are in agreement about one thing: the structure of mobile broadband price plans is in need of a serious rethink. It is clear from the study that consumers could be faced with ever stricter data limit enforcement, resulting in significant penalties for exceeding their allowance and as such a different approach, such as connection management, would be preferable.

The survey also revealed that consumers across Europe are actually unsure as to the rules and restrictions of their existing mobile broadband price plans, with data caps confusing many and ignored by even more. As such, a price structure which restricts mobile broadband speeds during peak periods but has a relaxed approach to overall data allowance would be seen to be the best solution to everyone’s problems.

It was also revealed that consumers would encourage networks to offer unlimited usage for a single mobile broadband function, for example gaming or downloading, whilst retaining the data cap for other applications. It is clear that flexibility and customisation are going to be integral to delivering the cheapest mobile broadband in the UK in years to come.