Mobile Broadband is the name that is given to the 3G (third generation) services that allows mobile phone users to connect to the internet and download and upload data.

Mobile Broadband in the UK is continuing to grow in popularity as prices continue to drop and the technology becomes more readily available. It's popularity will primerilly grow aomongst broadband users who are on the go and need access from different locations, such as business people or people who rent places to live and often move around so don't want to have to worry about getting an fixed land broadband connection that they may not be able to take with them when they move without hassel doing so. Mobile broadband means that whenever the user has a mobile phone signal they can connect to the internet via a broadband connection such as on their laptop.

Mobile Broadband is still a relatively new technology and is unlikely to replace home broadband connections anytime soon but with the way broadband is developing there is no reason to think that in the future mobile broadband could become much more widely used and even start to replace some home broadband connections.
Another way where mobile broadband could become popular is for those people who do not have a landline in their home or those who don't make use their landline other than just for the internet. Getting rid of a landline can save on monthly line rental charges that may not really need to be being paid.

3G technology makes use of HSDPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access) and HSUPA (High-Speed Uplink Packet Access).

Currently there are 3 mobile broadband operators in the UK, these are from the big names in mobile phones:

Vodafone Mobile Broadband

T-Mobile Mobile broadband

Three Mobile Broadband