What is mobile broadband?

The most common way to get broadband internet access is by ordering fibre broadband for your home. However, that’s not possible everywhere, and what if you need to access high-speed internet when away from your house or workplace? That’s where mobile broadband comes in.

If you have a smartphone, you’ve been using mobile broadband this whole time already, perhaps even without knowing. We’ve got tons of experience testing and analysing the best broadband offerings in the UK, including both mobile and fibre. However, we understand this technology can be confusing, especially when compared to other broadband options.

The “broadband” in mobile broadband explained

The term “broadband” is a fuzzy one. A simple definition is a high-speed internet connection, but what is “high” speed? What we consider fast has certainly changed over time. Software is larger than ever, websites are packed with high-quality assets and 4K streaming media is commonplace. So, we now have to adjust what it means for an internet connection to qualify as “broadband”.

Ofcom, the UK’s telecoms regulator, enforces the “broadband universal service” policy, where you’re guaranteed a “decent” broadband connection defined as at least 10Mbps download speeds and 1Mbps upload speeds. This is enough to watch HD streaming video and general web browsing for a single person or some (very) light browsing for a household. So, as you can see, the standard for what counts as “broadband” is quite low.

In short, any connection using mobile internet technology fast enough to qualify as broadband is mobile broadband.

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The “mobile” in mobile broadband explained

What matters is the “mobile” technology in question. Mobile broadband uses the mobile network to send and receive data, meaning your internet traffic travels over the mobile phone masts you see dotted around the countryside or in the city – assuming they haven’t been cleverly disguised as a species of tree that doesn’t belong there.

Internet over mobile networks started with GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) technology, which was not broadband but worked the same as fixed-line internet from the user’s viewpoint. Users were billed for the data they sent and received, rather than how long they spent online, making it an always-on service. GPRS and its successor EDGE both offered download speeds far below 1Mbps, so even they would not have been considered broadband at the time.

With the launch of 3G (aka, third-generation) mobile internet, we finally got multi-megabit mobile internet speeds. Although 3G would not qualify as broadband by today’s standards, it enabled exactly the sorts of things you want from broadband, including media streaming, rich website browsing, video calls and fast downloads.

Today, most mobile broadband is 4G, which generally offers tens of megabits, putting it solidly in the broadband category. If you’re lucky and have a 5G handset and live where 5G service is available, you can enjoy (theoretically) multi-gigabit mobile broadband. In practice, you’re more likely to get speeds in the hundreds of megabits per second, but that’s hardly worth complaining about.

So, at the time of writing, “mobile broadband” refers specifically to 4G and 5G cellular technology and the devices that can use these communications standards. It doesn’t include Wi-Fi, even long-distance Wi-Fi. It also doesn’t include satellite internet technology, like that provided by Elon Musk’s Starlink company. Although these are “mobile” forms of broadband, they aren’t mobile broadband because they don’t use the mobile phone wireless network.

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“Fixed” mobile broadband (Yes, it makes sense)

To further muddy the waters, you can get “fixed” mobile broadband. This is when you have a 4G or 5G router installed in your home, providing internet connectivity to the household. This works the same as a fibre connection to your home, it’s just that the router connects to the nearest mast rather than a fibre trunk in the road in front of your home.

These routers have much stronger transmission strength and larger antennas. You may even have the option to have an external antenna installed on your roof or an outer wall to ensure the best possible performance.

Fixed mobile broadband plans usually offer better rates than mobile plans meant for travel routers or smartphones. However, you can usually only use them from your registered address unless your contract specifies otherwise.

We’ve tried quite a few of these services and, as we explain in our Three review, the four star provider is our favourite option for a fixed 5G mobile broadband connection.

The benefits and drawbacks of mobile broadband

Fixed and mobile broadband have their own unique set of pros and cons. The biggest advantage of fixed mobile broadband is that it doesn’t rely on infrastructure installed in your home. A FTTH (Fibre To The Home) broadband connection is generally the gold standard for broadband as of this writing, but it’s not yet available everywhere. Even where it is available, the speeds on offer may not be better than mobile broadband.

There could also be a waiting list for installations, unlike a mobile broadband router, which you can usually “install” yourself unless you need a roof-mounted antenna. If you have to move to a new place, it’s usually simple to take your mobile broadband connection with you after arranging with your ISP.

As for the broadband internet connection built into your smartphone, while most of us have this type of connection through our phones, it’s worth pointing out its advantages compared to using Wi-Fi hotspots in public places like hotels, restaurants or work.

Unless you use a good VPN, you’re always taking a privacy risk when using an internet connection provided by a third party. Whether that’s at your friend’s house or a coffee shop, by bringing along your own internet, you’ll have better control over your privacy and safety. Not to mention that modern phones can act as mobile Wi-Fi hotspots, so your laptop or tablet can also use your private mobile connection. Even if you aren’t bothered by privacy concerns, public Wi-Fi is often severely throttled and may block certain services, like YouTube. So it’s great to have your own internet connection to take with you wherever you go.

The downsides of mobile broadband aren’t insignificant. Performance is quite variable and depends on where you are, what the weather is like and how many other people are using the same “cell” of the network.

Mobile broadband can be more expensive than fixed-line options on a per-megabyte or per-megabit basis. Mobile broadband packages tend to have data caps, after which your speed is either severely throttled or you’ll have to pay for additional data. In contrast, fixed-line fibre packages tend to have no data caps, and throttling isn’t an issue on more premium packages.

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The future may be mobile

Fixed fibre broadband is generally the preferred home internet connection type today. However, with advancements brought on by 5G technology, mobile broadband may eventually be the default in every context. Cities, in particular, may be bathed in a cloud of high-speed networking, pulling together everything from self-driving cars to drones and personal gadgets.