16/11/2009 (www.ISPreview.co.uk, UK, London) – Anybody who has spent any amount of time with a UK Mobile Broadband connection knows that reception is one of the most frustrating aspects of the service. Good reception means your operator will switch you to its fastest network platform and be more stable. Bad reception forces you to tolerate slower and increasingly unstable links that have more in common with the Internet of 10 years ago than today.
Furthermore most mobile operators advertise headline Mobile Broadband speeds that, in the majority of cases, are simply unattainable. In reality the average performance is much more likely to be in the 1-2Mbps region than the dizzy heights of 7-14Mbps. This is one of many reasons why current technology is best viewed as a compliment to existing fixed land-line services and not a replacement.
The good news is there are some handy tips, tricks and tweaks you can make to improve your chances of getting a good Mobile Broadband signal.
1. Check your coverage
Sometimes the simplest advice is the most important and checking to make sure that the area you are intending to work within has sufficient coverage of 3G Mobile Broadband services is a critical first step. Each of the UK’s five major network operators has an interactive coverage map on their website, so look for that and pay special attention to 3G or HSPA coverage (relates to Mobile Broadband).
2. Try before you buy
The worst decision anybody can make is to rush out and buy a Mobile Broadband contract without really knowing whether the service for your area is any good. One solution to this dilemma is the “try before you buy approach”, where you purchase a cheap NO-CONTRACT pay-as-you-go
(PAYG) or pay-per-use (PPU) Mobile Broadband package from a chosen operator prior to buying a full contract. This will allow testing of the service without locking yourself into a lengthy agreement.
3. Try to avoid surfing during peak periods
In general, the busiest time to use a Mobile Broadband service is during peak usage hours, such as when people come home from work (usually between 5pm and 10pm). During these periods your service speed is likely to be noticeably slower in comparison to the early morning or very late at night.
4. Positioning is everything
Naturally the best signal can always be had by simply going outside and staying stationary, ideally in an area of good reception; this is how Mobile Broadband is supposed to be used. Otherwise you should try to situate yourself as near to a window or the outside world as possible because this is where the signal will be strongest.
5. Try an antenna booster
The easiest solution to improving your reception quality might be to connect an external antenna / aerial booster to your Mobile Broadband USB Modem (Dongle). These work best with modems that have a CRC9 connector built-in and may give you a small boost in signal quality.
Just be aware that they are not cheap and the performance advantages are frequently very overrated.
6. The Do-it-Yourself (DIY) solution
Don’t be afraid to get inventive, for example you can cut a small slit with a knife into the top of an old plastic drinks bottle and slide your modem in before taping it up. This can then be left positioned as high up as possible outside in mild weather (extremes of hot, cold or wet should be avoided), with a USB extension cable being run from the modem back to your laptop.
The full article has significantly more detail, pictures and advice:
http://www.ispreview.co.uk/articles/09_Improve_Mobile_Broadband_Performance_Tips
