3 broadband packages

Our View

3 is a mobile broadband operator 100% dedicated to providing broadband on the go. In other words, they do not have a home broadband division. Mobile broadband is great for those who need to use the internet away from a fixed access point, like businesspeople or active users who want the freedom to be able to go online wherever they are.

3 has a reputation as the cheapest mobile broadband provider on the market, with packages starting from £10 a month. They offer a wide range of different deals, each split according to their individual top speed and usage allowance (the amount of data you can use before additional costs are incurred). With 3, you have the option of choosing Pay Monthly or Pay As You Go mobile broadband packages. The 3 Pay Monthly packages come in three different contract lengths: 12, 18 and 24 months. The packages are:

• Broadband Lite - £10 a month, 1GB data allowance, free dongle on longer contracts
  
• Broadband Plus - £15 a month, 3GB data, free dongle
  
• Broadband Max - £25 a month, 7GB data, free dongle

There is a 10p-per-MB charge for exceeding the data allowance.

Company History

3 is a brand of the giant Hutchison Whampoa corporation. Then known as Hutchison 3G, the company was granted a license in 1990 to operate third generation mobile services, paving the way for polyphonic ringtones and picture messaging. In 2003, the company became the first to introduce video calling to the UK, to much hype and media fanfare.

Since then the company has entered the mobile broadband market, using their 91% population coverage to enable subscribers equipped with a mobile broadband modem to access the internet anywhere they like. The company has over ten million customers in ten different countries, more than a third of whom are in the UK.