The UK arm of Vodafone has launched its first pay-as-you-go USB mobile broadband ‘dongle’ targeted at users who do not wish to be tied to a contract. The USB modem – known as ‘TopUp and Go Mobile Broadband’ – costs £39 with 1GB of usage included. The operator claims that 1GB of data is enough for about 30 hours of browsing. Further data is available at £15 per 1GB and is topped-up either via a voucher, or using a debit or credit card over the phone. Vodafone said the product also doubles up as a USB memory stick with 4GB of memory.

The pay-as-you-go model marks a change in how Vodafone UK has been selling its mobile broadband dongles to date, which are typically given away for free as part of monthly contract. Its entry level subscription product costs £15 per month for 12 months with 3GB of data usage per month included in the price. According to recent figures from Strategy Analytics, the global market for such dongles is to grow to 26 million units next year from 20 million in 2008.