Travel Technology - Paygo wireless broadband coming soon!

I know we brought this up in another thread a few weeks ago, but I found this release of a pay as you go, month to month wireless broadband operator, should be shipping soon.

50-60$ a month, 5GB or unlimited. Seems it will run on the t-mo network, which is building out more 3G and 4G services now.

http://www.telavamobile.com/Information/broadbandbullet.aspx

Here is another on T-Mo for just $39.99:

http://www.datajack.com/home

No idea how reliable they are though...

yeah, I think we are going to see more and more. rumour has it that sprint is working with a mvno for a product in this space.

No idea how reliable they are though...Clicking on the "coverage" tab should give us some idea.

Here is another on T-Mo for just $39.99:

http://www.datajack.com/home

No idea how reliable they are though...


If it sounds too good to be true.......it usually is.

From their site:

National 3G Coverage

Coverage information is currently unavailable. Check back for updates soon.
:rolleyes:

If it sounds too good to be true.......it usually is.

From their site:

National 3G Coverage

Coverage information is currently unavailable. Check back for updates soon.
:rolleyes:

I spoke briefly with them at CES and did not leave too impressed. Shame too, because on paper they look great.

It is about time. These are available all over Asia and Europe.

I have a Voda for HK and a Smart for PH where I travel to and stay longer which make hotels expensive. Basically I land, fire up computer, login to web site, top up and I am ready to go.

It will be nice to have this when I am in US.

rumour has it that sprint is working with a mvno for a product in this space.It's more than a rumor. Virgin Mobile USA Broadband2Go (http://www.virginmobileusa.com/mobile-broadband) has been on the market since Summer 2009.

well there you go.

I think in Europe, they have actual SIMs, not these dongles, and you can get more favorable rates, like if you recharge 10 Euro each month, you get a couple of hundred megabytes or something like that.

So how do you re-up for another month, do they bill you or you just pay online by a credit card? The latter would give you the most flexibility. Or say it's the 15th of the month and you anticipate using 3G for a few days so you purchase for a month then. Next month, you don't need it and in fact, you might not buy data again for months. Can they maintain your account?

Better than these USB dongles would just be a SIM that you would drop into a MiFi type of device.

It's more than a rumor. Virgin Mobile USA Broadband2Go (http://www.virginmobileusa.com/mobile-broadband) has been on the market since Summer 2009.

Sprint owns Virgin Mobile. Sadly though, their service is pretty expensive. Speed is good though, because it is using Sprint.

Sprint owns Virgin Mobile. Sadly though, their service is pretty expensive. Speed is good though, because it is using Sprint.The service is expensive, unless you're a very light or very occasional user, but the price of the dongles has dropped since VMUSA's sale to Sprint became final in December. It seems reasonable to expect that the price of the service will drop, too, in the face of new 4G competitors in the marketplace.

I think in Europe, they have actual SIMs, not these dongles, and you can get more favorable rates, like if you recharge 10 Euro each month, you get a couple of hundred megabytes or something like that.

So how do you re-up for another month, do they bill you or you just pay online by a credit card? The latter would give you the most flexibility. Or say it's the 15th of the month and you anticipate using 3G for a few days so you purchase for a month then. Next month, you don't need it and in fact, you might not buy data again for months. Can they maintain your account?

Better than these USB dongles would just be a SIM that you would drop into a MiFi type of device.

My Three INQ1 phone acts as a modem when plugged into a computer, and each £10 top up gets you 150Mb free. Sadly when you hook the phone up to a windoze PC it also tries to install its own software even if you are just using the USB to charge it. Twitter and Skype (and I think Win Messenger) are free though ^ no need for any credit to use them.

The service is expensive, unless you're a very light or very occasional user, but the price of the dongles has dropped since VMUSA's sale to Sprint became final in December. It seems reasonable to expect that the price of the service will drop, too, in the face of new 4G competitors in the marketplace.

I hope so...

FWIW; Verizon offers a similar service but their prices are even worse ($15/day with 75MB) or $50/month with just 500GB.

Really do hope the US catches up with Europe sooner or later...

FWIW; Verizon offers a similar service but their prices are even worse ($15/day with 75MB) or $50/month with just 500GB.


I assume you mean 500MB? 500GB would be a steal for $50 :)

Cheers,
Rick

I think in Europe, they have actual SIMs, not these dongles, and you can get more favorable rates, like if you recharge 10 Euro each month, you get a couple of hundred megabytes or something like that.

So how do you re-up for another month, do they bill you or you just pay online by a credit card? The latter would give you the most flexibility. Or say it's the 15th of the month and you anticipate using 3G for a few days so you purchase for a month then. Next month, you don't need it and in fact, you might not buy data again for months. Can they maintain your account?

Better than these USB dongles would just be a SIM that you would drop into a MiFi type of device.

Each dongle will contain a SIM. You could, for example, remove it from the dongle and insert it, for example, in an idle Nokia E51, which may have Joiku Spot installed and perhaps use it as a mifi device. ;)

You can also theoretically get a phone line added to your family mobile plan and use that line's SIM in a dongle :).

Each dongle will contain a SIM. You could, for example, remove it from the dongle and insert it, for example, in an idle Nokia E51, which may have Joiku Spot installed and perhaps use it as a mifi device. ;)

Interesting!

So "theoretically" you could take the AT&T iPhone sim card and place it in an AT&T dongle???

But the theoretical data charges could be huge. Depends on what kind of plan your friend has.

But the theoretical data charges could be huge. Depends on what kind of plan your friend has.

Unlimited data.

May well work. I'd try it! Why not just tether the iPhone?

May well work. I'd try it! Why not just tether the iPhone?

Upgraded the software - so can't right now. Haven't decided to JB or downgrade. Plus might upgrade from 3G to 3Gs in June.

It's more than a rumor. Virgin Mobile USA Broadband2Go (http://www.virginmobileusa.com/mobile-broadband) has been on the market since Summer 2009.

Virgin Mobile USA has just increased data allocations for Broadband2Go users.

$10 gets 100MB for up to 7 days

$20 gets 300MB for up to 30 days

$40 gets 1GB for up to 30 days

$60 gets 5GB for up to 30 days

http://www.virginmobileusa.com/mobile-broadband

Virgin Mobile USA has just increased data allocations for Broadband2Go users.

$10 gets 100MB for up to 7 days

$20 gets 300MB for up to 30 days

$40 gets 1GB for up to 30 days

$60 gets 5GB for up to 30 days

http://www.virginmobileusa.com/mobile-broadband

The $20 for 300 MB isn't too bad. That's more than most smartphone users consume on average per month. Of course with a laptop, probably different story.

Now make it a prepaid SIM that you can top up online at any time and get unlocked Mifi devices (without Wifi security issues) for about $50 and they'll get a load of customers.

But of course, on a GSM network, pricing might not be as good as Sprint or an MVNO using Sprint. And if they get too many customers, the service degrades.