Data and Email explained
What is Data?
Data essentially means any non-voice mobile applications, but generally covers text messaging and mobile Internet use. Although mobile email is sometimes grouped in with data for convenience, most operators price mobile email separately, so we have done the same.
Inclusive texts
One or two small business price plans will include a number of free texts as part of your monthly tariff deal, but most don't. So, if your business users text or access the Internet a lot, you'll need to consider a Data Bundle (aka a Data Plan).
Data Bundles
Most operators package data as a bundle, so you'll get a package of text messages or Internet pages/downloads for your money. Many of the operators will let you use your data bundle pack for text messages or MB of Internet use. For example, Vodafone's Text 150 gives you 150 texts or 10MB of data for £7.50.
Email explained
If it is essential that your business users can access their work email accounts on the move, before committing to your price plan, you'll need to think about choosing an operator that offers a competitive email deal. Email solutions requiring access to a server-based email account will be more expensive than those requiring connection to an Internet email account. Aside from the original set up costs, operators generally charge for email packages as a set monthly fee starting at around £5.
Datacard deals explained
Datacards are operator modem-cards that slot into the side of your laptop and enable you to send and receive email and access the Internet wirelessly while on the move. Datacards come in three speeds HSDPA (super fast), 3G (fast) and GPRS (quite fast) and some will also feature Wi-fi for accessing the Internet when within range of a hotspot. Like voice-plan contracts, datacard deals will require users to commit to the contract for a minimum of a year and, in addition to the laptop datacard itself, users will also get a bundle of inclusive data.
