How To Avoid Exceeding Your Mobile Broadband Download Limits

The instant success of mobile broadband has changed the way we surf the web forever. The mobile internet technology that became a hit almost overnight shows promising signs that it is here to stay, despite causing some confusion to potential and existing customers over misunderstandings regarding the restrictions on this service and what it actually means.

The term ‘download limit’ (or ‘download allowance’) might seem straightforward enough, but there are thousands of internet users who are stumped by the meaning of the term and the implications it has for their use of the internet. The main complaint with mobile broadband providers from existing customers, and a reason for potential customers’ reluctance in signing up for a mobile broadband package, is the lack of information provided on restrictions with the mobile broadband contracts, for example, connection speeds download limits. There seems to be a plethora of internet jargon based information available, but what people want to know is, how does this translate to the average man on the street?

The most appealing feature of mobile broadband is the freedom it provides the user, allowing them to surf the internet on a laptop wherever they want. On the flipside however, unless you understand what the package you are signing up for is offering (including the limitations to downloading data) you may find yourself lumbered with big charges that can sometimes be accumulated when the monthly download allowance is exceeded.

Similar to home broadband, your mobile broadband package will come with a download limit set for each month, what this means is that there is a limit to the amount of data (in Gigabytes) you can access or download for each month. What the mobile broadband providers don’t tell you is what the allowance (in Gigabytes) is equivocal to in terms of how many emails you can send/ receive, or how many songs you can download.

Below is a simple download allowance reference, which breaks down two examples of monthly download allowances (using estimates) into layman’s terms:

It is difficult to predict how you will use the internet, but it makes life easier when you know roughly how much data each function is approximately equivalent to. For example, a plain text email (sent or received) is 20Kb, one webpage visit is worth 50Kb, one downloaded song is 3Mb, and a film is 400Mb.

On a larger scale this means that 1Gb of mobile broadband allowance lets you do all of the following:
• Send 650 emails
• Surf the web for 30 hours
• Download 60 songs
• Download 30 two-minute videos

3Gb of mobile broadband allowance will allow you to do even more, including all of the following:
• Send 2,000 emails
• Surf the web for 100 hours
• Download 200 songs
• Download 100 two-minute videos

As you can see, once equipped with the information relevant to you and your needs, there is no longer a need to be daunted by the idea of using mobile broadband. Understanding about download allowances will help you to choose the right broadband package, which in turn will mean you can surf the web on the go, without ever having to worry about exceeding your download limit or incurring extra charges.

For more information on mobile broadband and download allowances visit the Top 10 Broadband website.

By: Kimberley Howson

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Kimberley Howson is a writer for Top 10 Broadband, the UK’s no. 1 comparison site for broadband and mobile broadband.