More and more often, people are accessing the Internet through the use of laptops and other mobile devices. When people are on the move and away from their regular ADSL or fibre optic connection, mobile broadband connectivity is often used. In order to pick up mobile signals for Internet use, it is necessary to have some sort of 3G or HSPA connection, often in the form of an internal mobile modem or an external USB surf stick (Base Surf Stick) . Surf sticks have become especially popular in recent years, as they enable anyone with a simple USB connection to access the mobile web. Increasingly, people want to access the Internet when they are away from their home location, through the use of their smartphones, tablets, and laptop computers. While smartphones and tablets have internal SIM cards and mobile modems, laptops often rely on external surf sticks in order to connect to the Internet.

Wireless broadband is the term most often used to describe the use of wireless Internet access across a wide area. While it is often confused with WiFi, wireless broadband uses different technology and is used in a very different way than WiFi signals. Using wireless broadband, anyone with a laptop and a surf stick can access the Internet from practically any location they choose. While access does depend on the location of the user, and is often restricted to the populated regions of the developed world, mobile or wireless broadband is becoming more popular and widespread all the time. The word broadband is typically used these days to describe any high speed computer network, including many of the wireless networks that are in operation around the world.

While many laptops manufactured these days come with an internal modem where a SIM card can be used, this technology is still restricted to business laptops and those with a high price tag. Many budget laptop manufacturers rely on USB modems, which are commonly referred to as surf sticks. A surf stick looks much like a regular USB thumb drive, being much the same size and shape while having a different functionality. Many surf sticks have simple indicator LED lights and a single input for a simple antenna, which can be used to pick up wireless signals and provide access to the Internet from a wide range of locations.