A lot of people have seen me using the internet on my laptop when I have been at their house fixing their computers. Whether you have dial up or a broadband connection, or none at all it does not affect me due to the system that I use to get internet access no matter where I am in the country.

The way this is done is with the Vodafone mobile internet 5 gigabyte plan for $40 a month, on a 24 month contract.

After one month of using the service, I have some numbers that will come in handy.

In terms of speed, currently Vodafone is getting ready to roll out their new 3G mobile phone network which will allow for faster connection speeds around the country. Where the connection is not strong, or when there is no 3G Vodafone network you will be stuck on a slower connection, GPRS, close to dial up speed.

The 3G connection is close to 1.5 megabits per second, the same speed as some ADSL connections.

Being a 5 gigabyte limit does bring with it a possibility of going over your limit for the month if you are going to be doing a lot of music or video downloads during your month. 10c per megabyte will be charged if you use more than the 5 gigabytes allowed, but your connection will not be slowed.

While $40 a month for only 5 gigabytes in downloads might be expensive, for someone who is often on the move, or needs easy access to the internet no matter where they are, it is a good choice.

You should be aware, on the day you sign up for the Vodafone mobile internet plan you are only given a 160 megabyte limit. You will not be informed about the limit when you sign up so be very careful what you do for those first 24 hours as you might end up with a very large bill the following month.

For comparison, I have conducted a speed test of my home internet connection, provided by Locall Australis and a speed test, while at home, using the Vodafone connection.

It should be noted that in some parts of Sydney, including in the city, you will only ge a dial up connection, and areas of the Central Coast north of Wyong you will get the same. 

For details on the Vodafone service you can check out their website, www.vodafone.com.au