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 4G 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 Huawei 4G Plus MiFi, which is the latest portable, battery-powered device that supports speeds up to 300Mbps and allows you to get up to 10 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. The first device is 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. Then there’s the Three 4G Plus Hub, which has largely the same specs, but which Three suggests will offer higher average speeds.

There’s also the Three 5G Hub, also known as the ZTE 5G Hub, 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 3.8Gbps (though Three’s network currently tops out at 1Gbps), and with support for  30 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 10 devices at once and supports speeds of up to 150Mbps. Also available is the Vodafone K5161Z, 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, and the maximum connected devices up to 32. This is a rebranded ZTE MU5001 5G.

The most interesting one of all is the Vodafone GigaCube, which is a 5G home broadband router that plugs into a power socket and shares internet with up to 64 devices at the same time and supports 5G speeds of up to 2.8Gbps (though that’s faster than you’re likely to get on a UK network). As it’s 5G, it’s very fast, but coverage is currently quite limited, so check whether it’s available in your area before buying.

There’s also a 4G version of the GigaCube, but this isn’t available with unlimited data at the time of writing.

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 5GEE WiFi. This is a 5G mobile broadband device which supports download speeds of up to 2.33Gbps (though as with other 5G routers this is more than networks currently support in general). Or if you want 5G for your home then there’s the 5GEE Router.

There’s also the 4GEE Home Router 3 and the BT 4G Home Hub, which are 4G home broadband devices, and the 4GEE WiFi Mini, 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.

While O2 is currently lacking 5G broadband options, there are plenty of options for 4G, including the Huawei 4G Pocket Hotspot 2020, which is a battery-powered option that can get up to 16 gadgets online, and the Huawei 4G Dongle 2020, which plugs directly into the device that you want to get online.

There are two similar 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.

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

Other Networks

BT Mobile has mobile broadband plans available, but it doesn’t currently offer unlimited data.

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, Plusnet Mobile, Lebara Mobile, Lyca Mobile, Virgin Mobile, Talkmobile and FreedomPop.

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, EE and Three 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	£22 a month View Deal
	12 Month Plan Unlimited data	£24 a month View Deal
	1 Month Plan Unlimited data	£26 a month View Deal
	12 Month Plan Unlimited data Max download speeds 10Mbps	£28 a month View Deal
	12 Month Plan Unlimited data Fastest speeds available	£33 a month View Deal
	1 Month Plan Unlimited data Max download speeds 10Mbps	£32 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, BT Mobile, Lebara, Giffgaff, Lyca Mobile, Tesco Mobile, Virgin Mobile, 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.

Recommended Unlimited SIM Deals

	12 Month Contract Unlimited data Unlimited mins Unlimited texts	£16 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, though note that you have to be a BT Halo customer to even get unlimited data on BT Mobile.

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.