Enterprise Nation

Its moniker might make you chuckle, but the broadband dongle is being taken seriously as the Next Big Thing in telecommunications. San Sharma takes a look at the device and how it might save you and your home business time and money.

A dongle is a USB device that plugs into your laptop to give you mobile internet when you're on the move. Increasingly, it's being considered as an alternative to ADSL and cable broadband internet, which is used in most homes. But is the technology ready to power your home business, in and out of the home office?

The dongle works by connecting to 3G mobile networks, maintained by providers such as 3, Vodafone, T-Mobile, Orange and O2. Just as mobile phones are beginning to replace traditional landlines, experts are saying that dongles are set to do the same for traditional broadband internet access. They can be used in the home, as well as on the move, and since they don't require a fixed line or cable, they could save you money on connection fees and rental charges to BT or Virgin Media. More and more people are using mobile phones in the home anyway, so your landline might not be so sorely missed.

Saying that, as a home business owner, it's nice to be able to offer customers and clients a fixed line on which to reach you. (But you can, at least, give that impression with a SkypeIn account).

Another reason why you might want to hang on to your landline will depend on your need for speed. Dongles are advertised as providing broadband speeds, in some cases faster than those found in homes, but reports suggest this is unlikely. Speeds fluctuate depending on how many people are sharing the same signal in your area and there are limits to how much you can download in a month, making mobile internet fine for surfing the web and checking e-mails, but a bit of a problem if you download large files, such as attachments, music and video files.

As a final point, beware of long term contracts. Providers offer them between 18 months and 2 years. Tech analysts predict that speeds will rise and prices will fall. So it might just pay out to hold out.

For a comprehensive review of broadband dongles on offer from all five providers, with speeds tests and price comparisons check out the link below. And let us know if you use a broadband dongle in your home office and how you get on in the comments. – San Sharma

• The Best Broadband Dongle - [Fool.co.uk]

Photo credit: Flickr user charlton_b.

San Sharma is a creative thinker, blogger and designer, as well as a writer on popular culture, technology and business.

• www.sansharma.com