Although the availability of 3G networks is fairly high if you live in built up, heavily populated areas, being stranded in a so-called ‘not-spot’, where coverage is limited, is not uncommon. Thankfully a new technology is being introduced by Vodafone that will help to provide mobile broadband for those in dead zones.

For just £50 you can get yourself a new product called the Vodafone Sure Signal. This is a small box based on femtocell technology and it plugs directly into the back of your home broadband router.

Once you have the Sure Signal turned on, it will act as a miniature mobile base station, generating a short range 3G network which can be accessed by your mobile broadband enabled devices. It will also allow for better network coverage for voice calling and will ensure that you are always available.

The obvious issue with the technology is that it requires that you already have a home broadband connection provided by a landline. If this is the case, most people will already have Wi-Fi or Ethernet access to the internet, making the mobile broadband enhancements of the device a little redundant.

However, the femtocell technology will prove to be particularly useful for business and enterprise customers, as not only will it make mobile broadband available to them, but it will also provide mobile network coverage for phone calls and mobile browsing.

If you are a Vodafone customer and you have been unable to effectively compare wireless broadband prices and explore options including Vodafone in your area up until this point because there is inadequate 3G coverage in your area, then this will be an excellent product to pick up. And if you are not signed up to a Vodafone contract, but are thinking about switching loyalties, then now could be a great time to compare wireless broadband prices and get a better deal.

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.”

A new report by research firm ABI has predicted that between 2010 and 2014 the yearly sales figures for products compatible with mobile broadband will jump significantly. It believes that in four years time over 58 million portable products will be sold with built-in mobile broadband connectivity, which is 55 times the number of equivalent devices sold back in 2008.

The leap in sales will be driven by various factors, including falling wireless broadband prices, but will largely occur as ever more manufacturers integrate mobile broadband connectivity into a wider number of devices.

ABI expects to see producers of eBook Readers, handheld gaming devices, laptops and portable media players begin to add in mobile broadband connectivity where before they would have used Wi-Fi instead. Mobile broadband has obvious benefits over Wi-Fi as you do not have to find an unsecured wireless network to start using the internet and mobile broadband covers a significantly wider area than all the Wi-Fi hot spots in the UK.

At the moment any mobile broadband connection requires that a device is tethered to a certain network, so when you buy a dongle you will need to then commit yourself to a major provider. However, ABI believes that in the future there could be far more freedom in this area and that monthly wireless broadband prices could be ditched in favour of products which have the cost of the connection built into the one-off price, leaving consumers free to use it without worrying about minimum contracts or data allowances.

ABI’s Jeff Orr commented that network providers would have to adapt their business models and payment schemes to fit in with the changes that are coming in the mobile broadband market place. Simon Gerrard of Simple Broadband agreed, concluding that “the popularity and performance of mobile broadband can only improve, so things are looking very good for consumers.”

The Ford motor company has produced a new and unique system for its range of future vehicles which integrates mobile broadband to create a broadband connection for drivers wherever they roam.

The SYNC system is one of the most advanced communications systems as yet to be installed in a car, capable of using a 3G mobile broadband receiver to connect the vehicle to the internet. In addition the SYNC system will broadcast a Wi-Fi signal, producing a wireless hotspot on wheels.

Obvious applications of mobile broadband whilst driving include the ability to receive live traffic updates, as well as accessing entertainment functions including music and video streaming to keep the driver informed and the kids happy.

The mobile broadband connection will also allow the driver to make voice calls without needing a mobile phone with them and when stationary they should also be able to browse the internet, check emails and even instant message.

The SYNC system has avoided the one major pitfall which it could have faced by allowing users to plug in their own mobile broadband dongles to get connected, rather than tethering them to a single provider with an expensive built-in connection.

Ford President Mark Fields spoke of the conveniences that the SYNC system would offer. He gave the example of a family driving to a grandparents house, with one parent at the wheel whilst the other shopped online for the groceries and the kids were kept busy by talking to their pals online.

The SYNC system will be made available to customers in the US purchasing new vehicles some time in 2010, although news of its migration to the UK is not yet forthcoming.

Simple Broadband’s Communications Manager Simon Gerrard added “this is a very interesting development from Ford and once SYNC is available in the UK, we should expect that a Vodafone mobile broadband USB dongle could be used to get online whilst on the road.”

Schools around the UK are being encouraged to introduce pupils to the extensive educational and informative power of the internet and mobile broadband is being proposed as one of the key technologies to provide the youngest members of society with suitable access.

In particular one school in Cheshire is focusing on mobile broadband for their students after seeking the aid of the e-Learning Foundation. The Alderman Bolton Primary School is now hoping to receive support from T-Mobile in order to provide the kids with a fast and flexible broadband connection that they can use at home as well as in school.

A senior member of staff said that the pupils had been given instructions on the basic principles and operation of mobile broadband technology. They had then been able to demonstrate the benefits to their parents and many families have now invested in mobile broadband as a result.

Broadband access in the home and at schools has become a very important part of everyday life according to a spokesperson for the e-Learning Foundation. The positive elements of mobile broadband, with its applications as a practical, educational facilitator for communication and socialising amongst youngsters are seen to be increasingly important by teachers, parents and government officials.

There might be some who would consider these seemingly benevolent acts by the big networks as little more than marketing campaigns to hook children who will the use pester power to get their parents to invest in mobile broadband. However, it might be useful to teach children and parents alike the best way in which to compare wireless broadband prices whilst they are learning the ropes using mobile broadband technology, as this will ensure that everyone is getting the most out of the technology.

LTE has been trialled by O2 at its Slough-based UK headquarters. LTE stands for Long Term Evolution and refers to the planned next generation of mobile broadband technology that will hopefully be available to UK customers over the next couple of years.

On paper the trials sound very exciting indeed. O2 has partnered with Huawei, the firm that produces the majority of the mobile broadband dongles currently used by mobile broadband customers and it claims that the successful tests of LTE in Slough provided download speeds of up to 150Mbps.

Obviously this sounds to be very good news for everyone, although the roll out of LTE networking technology around the UK is not expected to begin in earnest for a couple of years. When it finally arrives it will mean better download speeds without a fixed line connection and many consider mobile broadband to be the most financially viable next generation broadband technology because it does not require that streets are dug up to lay cables with the associated disruption.

If this is indeed the case, traditional fixed line broadband ISPs could face stiff competition in the coming years and an all-out exodus to the more convenient and faster LTE services might even be on the cards. BT broadband options will be seeing improvements over the coming years with fibre to the cabinet technology providing faster broadband speeds to many customers, but it is the flexibility of mobile broadband’s next generation that could see it dominating the marketplace.

LTE technology is already commercially available in Sweden, with network provider TeliaSonera having launched the service for customers only recently. For the moment, the UK is lagging behind with this cutting edge connectivity, but O2’s trials could well generate some sense of urgency in the broadband market, accelerating evolution.

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.

Virgin Media has released a new mobile broadband service which should allow customers to connect to the internet at speeds of up to 7.2Mbps.

It appears that this is made possible thanks to a brand new USB mobile broadband dongle being included as part of Virgin Media’s various pay monthly contracts, which should help it to compete with the new Orange mobile broadband free laptop deals and regain some lost customers.

Virgin Media does not operate its own networks, but utilises the T-Mobile 3G cellular infrastructure to provide mobile broadband to customers around the UK.

The Head of mobile technology at Virgin Media said in a statement that he hoped the new service would allow even more people to get online when they were away from their homes or out of range of any Wi-Fi hotspots. He also said that the improved capabilities of the new dongle would hopefully make the mobile broadband experience more enjoyable for all customers.

Critics have pointed out that although Virgin Media are advertising the new service as capable of up to 7.2Mbps download speeds, the T-Mobile website states that their networks can provide a maximum speed of 4.5Mbps. It seems that Virgin Media could be falling foul of the same zealous and misleading advertising schemes for which most other mobile broadband providers have been criticised in the recent past.

For the time being the new USB modem is more expensive than its slower counterpart and since the speed gains in the real world could be negligible it is not necessarily going to be the speed that helps the service to sell. It is the Orange mobile broadband free laptop deals rather than the performance of its networks that have allowed it to make significant gains in the market and other providers would do well to follow Orange’s example.