Only couple of years ago, the idea of using the mobile phone network for your primary internet connection would have been laughed at. Tortoise like data speeds, fiddly hardware and ludicrously expensive data packages ruled out mobile broadband for the masses. In the pre-dongle dark ages, the only sensible options for getting broadband were via your phone line or, if were you lucky, a fibre connection like Virgin Media.
Fast forward to 2009 and 3G mobile broadband has exploded into the mainstream, creating a new generation of go anywhere wireless users. A competitive UK market and flexible pay-as-you-go packages have made 3G dongles commonplace for students, households and small businesses who no longer have a need for fixed line broadband.
Help! I Need To Share My 3G
A 3G dongle is great if you only need to hook up a single computer to the internet. But what if you want to use two computers and all you’ve got is one dongle? And what if you want to connect your XBox, Playstation or iPod Touch when all you have is 3G mobile broadband? Don’t worry, there’s no need to go out and buy a bunch of dongles, we’ve got three different options for you to share your 3G love!
1) Get A 3G Wireless Router
An easy and convenient way to share 3G at home or in the office
3G routers come in many different shapes and sizes
Once you've established a connection, you 'll be able to connect your WiFi devices via the 3G router. You'll also be able to use any printers or other shared devices on your home network.
Most 3G routers combine WiFi and Ethernet to give you a choice of wireless or wired sharing. Some 3G routers come with more advanced features. The Billion BiPac 7402NX has dual WAN interfaces for both ADSL and 3G connectivity, a 4 port Gigabit switch and a business class firewall.
Pros: lots of hardware choices, you can plug in your existing dongle or 3G SIM,
Cons: needs mains power, some models are a bit pricey
2) Enable Internet Sharing On Your Computer
By tweaking a few settings you can turn your computer into a 3G router.
If you need to share your 3G connection but don't want to spend any money on extra hardware, one option is to enable internet sharing on your home computer. It's a pretty simple procedure, requiring just a few tweaks to your network settings.
Use your 3G SB dongle to connect to the internet normally. After you've made the correct settings other computers will be able to access your mobile broadband via WiFi or your local area network (LAN). The main drawback to this method is that your computer has to be on all the time in order to facilitate sharing.
Internet Sharing For Windows Users
Windows users can take advantage of Internet Connection Sharing (ICS). ICS has been around since Windows 98SE and is one of those useful little features hidden away in the control panel. ICS can take any existing internet connection, whether it be from fixed-line or mobile broadband, and route it to another device via Wifi or your ethernet socket. There's not enough scope in this article to go into all the steps you need to take but there are some excellent guides to enabling ICS in Windows XP/2000 and Windows Vista/7.
Internet Sharing For Mac Users
Internet sharing on an Apple Mac is a very straightforward process. From your System Preferences window, select the Sharing icon. In the Sharing panel select Internet Sharing from the menu on the left. On the right hand side select your 3G dongle as your source and then use the drop down menu to select how you want to share your connection (via Wifi, Ethernet Bluetooth etc).
Pros: no need to buy extra hardware, no limits to number of clients,
Cons: sometimes fiddly to setup, needs a dedicated computer to act as the hotspot,
3) Mobile Wifi (MiFi)
Best solution for 3G data sharing on the move.
Mobile Wifi is a new way of hooking up multiple internet devices via a single 3G connection. Mobile Wifi, aka MiFi connects to the 3G HSDPA network, creating your own personal WiFi hotspot.
How Does MiFi Work?
A data enabled 3G SIM card allows the the MiFi device to connect automatically to the 3 network when switched on. The MiFi is battery powered, giving about 5 hours usage when fully charged. Once connected, it turns into a mobile WiFi hotspot. Up to five WiFi devices can share the connection, enabling you to simultaneously connect your iPod Touch, Playstation, XBox and more.
Currently only 3 are selling a MiFi device in the UK, although Vodafone will soon be bringing out their own version. SIM-free devices are likely to follow allowing you to insert any 3G data SIM.
Pros: completely wire free, 'intelligent' hotspot - requires minimum configuration, up to five Wi-Fi devices can connect at once,
Cons: another device to carry around, 5 hours battery life , currently only available on the 3 network, only available with 3 subscription.
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