Disappointing speeds in our tests, underwhelming plans and expensive hardware make Unwired a niche choice

Even at a glance, the Linksys WRV54G looks to be more than just an 802.11g/b wireless access point. It acts as an Ethernet switch connecting up to four wired devices, making this a good bridging choice between wired and unwired networks. It's also a router capable of hooking up to a DSL modem, which is useful for basic connection sharing.

There are three proposed near-term fixes for this: GPRS, WAP and XML. GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) isnt a cure-all, but it will be of importance to the early adopters - people using mobile data

This is one of the big traps for unwary broadband users, and avoiding services that meter uploads is a good idea, especially if you're a user of peer-to-peer (P2P) services like BitTorrent.

Cheap plans, good hardware and excellent results in our speed tests make 3 a deserving winner, in our group test against Telstra Bigpond, Optus, Vodafone, Virgin and Unwired.

How is mobile broadband different to Wi-Fi?What is WiMAX?What are the alternatives to 3G mobile broadband?What do the mobile broadband acronyms mean?

Latest IDC figures have tipped wireless broadband use to grow five times faster than the total broadband market, exploding from 25,000 users to 287,000 users by 2008.

Ever wondered what a particular acronym stands for? Find the answer in our comprehensive reference guide to computer industry acronyms. RTFM!