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I've looked into mobile 3G, but the download limits seem to be very low; the best I've seen is 10GB (from Orange). Ideally, I could go for something like ADSL, but the problem is that I'd need BT land-line, and isn't the minimum contract 12 months? Are there any other options I haven't considered? Please answer specific to the UK (United Kingdom).

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borrow somebody else's? Either legitimately (You could even offer to pay!) or... assumed consent? – Phoshi Mar 23 '10 at 20:33
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this question is about services local to one area and will probably be closed as "too localized". this site is for questions about computer hardware and software; service recommendations are outside of our scope. – quack quixote Mar 23 '10 at 20:33
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@Nick Bolton: why isn't 10 GB per month enough? How much do you need? – Peter Mortensen Mar 23 '10 at 20:37
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closed as too localized by Gnoupi, quack quixote, ChrisF, Sathya♦, Nifle Mar 24 '10 at 0:12

This question is unlikely to ever help any future visitors; it is only relevant to a small geographic area, a specific moment in time, or an extraordinarily narrow situation that is not generally applicable to the worldwide audience of the internet. See the FAQ for guidance on how to improve it.

3 Answers

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To be honest, if you don't have a physical phone line, you're a bit stuffed. It really doesn't matter how short your ADSL contract is, you will still have to pay the full years worth of line rental. If I remember correctly, cable (Virgin) is no better.

Personally, in your situation, I would investigate a multi port router and a pair of mobile 3G modems with different providers on PAYG. The diversity would be to work around the terrible reliability of mobile 'broadband'.

I've used 3 and Vodafone mobile 'broadband'. 3 was cheaper in absolute terms, but Vodafone was cheaper for my usage and much more reliable. If your bandwidth use is high, Pay as you go offers more flexibility than contract. 3's Broadband Max 7GB lasts for up to 30 days, but you can pay another £25 and get another 7GB before that if you need to.

Only needing mobile broadband infrequently, I mostly use Vodsafone's 1GB, no time limit top up at £15, because I was fed up with buying 3 top ups and having them expire with hardly any of the bandwidth having been used.

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If you can get it I suggest Be, check out there short term contracts: https://www.bethere.co.uk/web/beportal/shorttermcontracts

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This requires a BT connection (minimum term: 12 months). – nbolton Mar 28 '10 at 11:48
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PlusNet has a non-contract option for ADSL. You have to pay a £40 set-up fee though and you still need a land-line.

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