The Great Network Dongle War

Broadband dongles are becoming increasingly popular, especially pre pay dongles as you can pay as you use rather than being tied into a 12, 18 or 24 month contract. Not forgetting the added bonus of not having to purchase a landline. Three are the leaders in the broadband dongle market with around 40% of the market. T-Mobile trail not too far behind with 24%, Vodafone roll in with 21%, with O2 come in last with just 4%. O2’s low market share could be due to their restricted sales to only O2 customers.

So where do Orange fit into the equation I hear you cry! They roll in at 4th position after snatching 12% of all dongle sales, this could be down to the deals on offer in stores such as Carphone Warehouse and Phones4U.

The Orange dongle is being promoted with a free HP laptop in Carphone Warehouse stores, while Phones4U (via their online outlet Dial-a-Phone) are offering half price line rental for ten months.

It seems that the mobile networks will have a fight on their hands to keep hold of the top spots. They will have to be competitive to win over new customers within the ever growing dongle mobile phone market.

Pre pay dongle sales have jumped from 10% to 25% of the market in just two months. This is thought to be due to a large number of sales among the large immigrant populations in urban areas of the country.

Could mobile broadband dongles see the end of fixed line home broadband? Only time will tell, but it is handy to be able to use the internet wherever you go, rather than being tied down to just your home.