Unlimited mobile broadband

Unlimited mobile broadband is highly desirable as it allows you to share internet with all your devices at home or on the move, offering an alternative to conventional home broadband.

Three, EE, O2, Vodafone and National Broadband offer unlimited mobile broadband plans with a choice of dongles, Mobile Wi-Fi and home routers available. We'll run you through all the options to find the right deal for you.

Three Unlimited Mobile Broadband

Three currently offer the cheapest unlimited mobile and home broadband plans, which are available on 24, 12 or 1-month contracts.

The only mobile broadband device currently available on Three is the Three 4G MiFi, which is the latest portable, battery-powered device that supports speeds up to 300Mbps and allows you to get up to 32 devices online simultaneously wherever you are (as long as you have signal on Three).

There are also a few home broadband devices, which can be used anywhere but require mains supply. If you get Three 4G Broadband you’ll be sent the Three 4G Hub, also known as the Three 4G Broadband Hub. It supports 600Mbps download speeds, you can connect up to 64 devices at the same time, and it supports dual-band Wi-Fi. 

There’s also Three 5G Broadband, which comes with the Three 5G Hub, the current model of which is a rebranded Zyxel NR5103E, which as the name suggests offers 5G rather than 4G speeds, but as with some of the options above this requires mains power. It’s seriously fast, theoretically supporting speeds of up to 4.7Gbps (though Three’s network currently tops out at 1Gbps), and with support for 64 simultaneous connections.

Vodafone Unlimited Mobile Broadband

Vodafone have now introduced unlimited mobile and home broadband plans with a few different devices available.

They have the Vodafone 4G Mobile Hotspot, which is a battery-powered 4G Mobile Wi-Fi router that enables you to share internet with up to 32 devices at once and supports speeds of up to 300Mbps. Also available is the Vodafone 4G Mobile Dongle, which is a dongle that plugs into the USB port of a laptop or computer and support speeds of up to 150Mbps.

If you’re after 5G then there’s the Vodafone 5G Mobile Hotspot, which is similar to the 4G model but pumps the maximum download speed up to a whopping 3.8Gbps. This is a rebranded ZTE MU5001 5G.

The most interesting one of all is the Vodafone GigaCube, which is a home broadband router that's available in two varieties – one with 5G and one with 4G. It plugs into a power socket and shares internet with up to 64 devices at the same time, with the GigaCube 5G supporting 5G speeds of up to 2.8Gbps (though that’s faster than you’re likely to get on a UK network). As that one's 5G, it’s very fast, but coverage is currently slightly limited, so check whether it’s available in your area before buying, or pick up the GigaCube 4G instead. Note however that at the time of writing, only the 5G model can be had with unlimited data.

EE Unlimited Mobile Broadband

EE offers unlimited broadband on a range of devices – both 5G and 4G, and both battery and mains-powered.

So you can get unlimited broadband through EE with the Smart 5G Hub. This is a 5G home broadband device which supports average download speeds of 146Mbps. Or if you want 5G when out and about there’s the 5G WiFi.

There’s also the Smart 4G Hub 2, which is a 4G home broadband device, and the 4G WiFi, which is a compact 4G option for when you’re out and about. So there’s a lot of choice on EE.

O2 Unlimited Mobile Broadband

O2 offers unlimited mobile broadband on a selection of devices, including both 4G and 5G ones.

There’s only one 5G broadband option on O2 at the time of writing, namely the Netgear Nighthawk M6, which is a mobile broadband device, so it doesn’t need plugging in.

There are also plenty of options for 4G, including the Netgear Nighthawk M1, which is a battery-powered option that can get up to 20 gadgets online.

There are two devices from Alcatel as well – the Alcatel Pocket Hotspot 4G if you want something battery powered (with support for 32 simultaneous connections), and the Alcatel Dongle 4G if you just want to plug a dongle in to the device you’re getting online.

National Broadband

4G National Broadband doesn’t have its own network, rather it lets you connect to whichever one has the best coverage in your area, and it offers a 4G home broadband router and unlimited data plans.

The 4G WiFi Router offered by National Broadband supports download speeds of up to 300Mbps and up to 64 simultaneous connections, making it comparable with most of the best rival 4G devices.

Then there’s the 5G WiFi Router, which is a far faster option, with maximum download speeds of 1.65Gbps.

Other Networks

The rest of the UK networks don't currently offer mobile broadband plans, including iD Mobile, Asda Mobile, GiffGaff, Tesco Mobile, Sky Mobile, Smarty, VOXI, Lebara Mobile, Lyca Mobile, Talkmobile and 1pMobile.

Note that this chart includes the maximum data for 4G or 5G mobile and home broadband dongles and routers.

Alternatives

Unlimited data only SIM

Another option is to buy a mobile broadband dongle, or mobile Wi-Fi or home broadband device SIM-free and put in a data only SIM card with unlimited data.

Currently, Vodafone, O2, Three, Smarty and EE are the only networks offering unlimited data only SIM plans for use in mobile broadband devices and tablets.

Recommended data only SIM unlimited deals

	24 Month Plan Unlimited data	£24 a month View Deal
	12 Month Plan Unlimited data	£24 a month View Deal
	12 Month Plan Unlimited data Fastest speeds available	£33 a month View Deal
	1 Month Plan Unlimited data Fastest speeds available	£37 a month View Deal
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Use an unlimited voice SIM in a tablet or dongle

One way to get unlimited mobile broadband is to buy an unlimited voice SIM and use it in a Mobile Wi-Fi device or dongle to tether data to other devices. 

Three, EE, O2, Vodafone, Smarty, iD Mobile, Lebara, Giffgaff, Lyca Mobile, Tesco Mobile, Talkmobile, VOXI, and Asda Mobile all have unlimited data plans for voice SIMs, and as a general rule you can use voice SIMs in mobile broadband devices on any network, however there are sometimes additional restrictions that you should be aware of.

For example, EE and O2 don’t allow you to regularly tether to 12 or more devices, with O2 additionally saying you can’t use a voice SIM in a mains-powered device (which counts out home broadband but not mobile broadband). O2 and Giffgaff also have a fair use limit of 650GB per month, with EE’s being 600GB, and Lyca Mobile’s being 450GB.

Recommended Unlimited SIM Deals

	12 Month Contract Unlimited data Unlimited mins Unlimited texts	£23 a month View Deal
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Tether (personal hotspot) your phone to share unlimited data

Another option that effectively delivers unlimited broadband is to use your phone to share data to other devices over a personal Wi-Fi hotspot. Three's unlimited plans, listed above, are suitable as they don't have any tethering restrictions.

This is a great option, but the downside is tethering quickly drains a smartphone's battery, so you'll need to keep it plugged in or charge it frequently.

The other networks with unlimited data plans also let you tether without significant restrictions at the time of writing.

Do you really need unlimited data?

If none of the other solutions are suitable then you might consider how much data you actually need.

If you’re using mobile broadband instead of Wi-Fi at all times then you may eat through 30GB+ of data every month, and if you’re also heavily using it for streaming video and the like then in that case unlimited data might be helpful.

But if you’re using mobile broadband as it’s designed – which is for when you’re out and about, travelling, or having short-term Wi-Fi issues, then even if you use mobile broadband heavily with multiple devices connected you should be fine with a high but not unlimited amount of data.