UK network provider Three is hoping to capture the imagination of home broadband users who want to sever the ties between themselves and a fixed line connection.
Of course mobile broadband has been available for a few years now, with laptops and desktop computers endowed with connectivity via USB dongles or Mi-Fi devices. However, Three is taking things a step further with its Web Cube, a kind of mobile broadband router designed for multi-user homes.
The Web Cube will initially be available only to customers in Leeds, Glasgow and Edinburgh, at a cost of around £60 up front, plus a £15 a month charge for a rolling 30 day contract. For your money you will get a 10GB data cap and the Web Cube will broadcast its connection up to 30 metres, allowing around five different Wi-Fi devices to connect simultaneously.
Those who commit to a two year contract will get the Web Cube free and get an extra 5GB of data to chew through each month.
The Web Cube taps into Three’s HSDPA mobile networks and promises to deliver average download speeds of between two and five megabits per second, which is below the UK’s average broadband connection speed of a little over 7Mbps. However, Three also says that it should be capable of a maximum download speed of 10Mbps in areas of good coverage, once the scheme goes national.
The main incentive behind this offer is to get rid of the need to pay line rental fees on top of the cost of a broadband package, as is necessary when you have a fixed line connection over ADSL or fibre optic cable.
Like mobile phone users, the Web Cube will let you move around and still get access to your broadband, while not having to add any extra monthly fees for using a physical landline.
The ideal target audience for the Web Cube is students who will not be in the same property for an extended period and others who may be moving home but still want to get web access without committing to a contract that locks them into a single location.
Of course with unlimited data plans now offered by rival networks like T-Mobile, people could take to using their smartphones as tethered devices, which turn HSDPA signals into internet access for their laptop.
Given that most people will be paying for a mobile contract on top of their home broadband, the most frugal customers out there will see sense and stick to a single deal which does everything they need.
Mobile broadband is still not as fast or consistent as fixed line alternatives in the UK and with 4G/LTE networks still on the distant horizon due to disputes over the allocation of the spectrum, we may be stuck with 3G for at least another year. Given that the iPad 3 and iPhone 5 are rumoured to feature LTE connectivity, this will feel like an increasing burden later in 2012.
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