Introduction to T-Mobile

T-Mobile advertises mobile broadband speeds of up to 4.5Mbps in 3G areas. Starting at £10 a month customers can get up to 3GB of usage, which should be adequate for most users.

Let us do the math: 3GB is enough to send 2,000 e-mails, upload 300 photos, download 100 music tracks and browse the web for four hours a day.

What makes T-Mobile unique is its fair use policy. It's the only mobile broadband supplier that does not charge customers for exceeding the monthly download limit. However, if you do so repeatedly, T-Mobile will slow down your connection instead.

T-Mobile history

If you've travelled abroad recently, you may have seen the T-Mobile logo prominently displayed on billboards in other countries. With over 100m subscribers, T-Mobile is the world's sixth largest mobile phone provider. It currently operates in 12 countries including Austria, Germany, Poland and the United States.

T-Mobile UK was launched in 1993 as One 2 One. In 1999, it was acquired by Deutsche Telekom, the largest telecommunications company in Europe. Three years later, One 2 One was no more. It had been rebranded as T-Mobile.

In August of 2002, T-Mobile struck a deal with Starbucks to provide Wi-Fi HotSpots in its coffee shops. Customers could now surf the web while enjoying a cup of coffee. Six years later, there are over 20,000 T-Mobile HotSpots worldwide, including 1,200 in the UK. You can find them in airports, cafes and in many other locations.

In 2004, T-Mobile went 3G, paving the way for video calling and fast mobile broadband access. In 2007, it merged its 3G network with Three (3), which greatly improved its 3G coverage through the UK.

What makes T-Mobile's mobile broadband service unique is that the price includes access to HotSpots. If you're near a HotSpot, you can use it free of charge.

HotSpots enable users to connect at a faster speed than with mobile broadband. When you're not near a HotSpot, you can still go online using mobile broadband.

Everything Everywhere

At the moment, T-Mobile has teamed up with Orange to form Everything Everywhere, which means that T-Mobile customers can use Orange's network where the former doesn't reach and vice versa. The giants are planning a full merger soon but have not confirmed whether or not they will stick with Everything Everywhere or decide to completely rename their brand.