Internet use is sky rocketing around the world, due to advances in network speeds, infrastructure, and available hardware devices. Mobile Internet access is becoming more and more popular, due in part to the popularity of smartphones and tablet computers. However, people with laptops are also enjoying mobile Internet access more than ever before, through the use of surf sticks (Surfstick vergleich) and other 3G compliant modem devices. A surf stick is the colloquial name for a USB modem that is able to access a mobile broadband signal. Surf sticks are used all over the world to access Internet services, with both pay as you go and contract products available for people to use.

The use of mobile devices to access online services is known as the mobile web, a collection of Internet connected applications, devices, and networks that work via standard mobile signals. In the past, people could only ever use the Internet through the use of fixed line terrestrial services, such as dial-up connection, ADSL, and similar technologies. However, all of this has changed in the 21st century, with millions of people around the world accessing the Internet through mobile devices and mobile signals. Some of the devices that are regularly used to access mobile Internet include smartphones, personal tablets, netbooks, and notebooks. While some notebooks come with built in mobile Internet receivers, most people rely on the use of surf sticks and dedicated USB modem technology.

The mobile Internet is an evolving place, both in terms of the hardware devices used to go online and the networks themselves. Some of the network standards used today include HSPA (3.5G), 3G, GPRS, and CSD. While the majority of people in the west have access to 3G, HSPA, and emerging 4G technologies, some of the other networks are still used in remote locations and throughout the developing and undeveloped world. Surf sticks play an important role for millions of people everyday, who use them to access online services from laptops and other devices. Most network providers around the world offer a number of USB modem products, either as fixed contracts or pay as you go services.