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Pay-as-you-go data plans in the US

Pay-as-you-go data plans in the US

Old Dec 19, 2008, 11:43 am
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Pay-as-you-go data plans in the US

Are there any? I am looking for something like Sprint XHOM (however, I am not in Baltimore) where there is no month to month contracts and where I can just pay on days I use the connection. Most of the time I can find a free or very low cost hotspot though on those occasion I can't I would be interested in just popping a 3G modem into my computer. I know that there are some carriers that let you do this on your cellphone (ie Boost Mobile $.35/day), though those are not at 3G speeds I believe and I don't think you are suppose to tether that to a computer either.
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Old Dec 19, 2008, 1:29 pm
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AT&T used to have a $19.95 unlimited add-on to one of their pay-as-you-go "GoPhone" plans, but this was discontinued as of last month. Now, they only offer 1mb for $4.95, or 5mb for $9.95.
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Old Dec 19, 2008, 1:40 pm
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Verizon used to have a deal with free embedded 3G modems in certain Dell laptops: you could activate on a standard $60/month unlimited plan or buy day passes as needed for something like $10-15/day. But Verizon seemed to shut down the day pass option at some point, and you couldn't get anyone to even admit that the deal used to exist, even though it was used as a selling point of the laptop.

I think that the carriers offering high-speed wireless data want to get people locked into the monthly service plans for the very same reason that you don't want one: most people need it only when traveling, and if they could pay for it only when needed, there wouldn't be nearly as much revenue.
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Old Dec 19, 2008, 8:18 pm
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It is not prepaid, but if you don't want a phone subsidy you can activate ATT's $60 a month 5 gig plan on a month to month basis.
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Old Dec 28, 2008, 9:22 am
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Boingo?

Just started lurking in this forum... someone recently mentioned boingo over in the marriot forum, but I dont know much about it. more of a wi-fi access service but those are pretty widespread these days
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Old Dec 28, 2008, 10:11 am
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Originally Posted by jamjets
Just started lurking in this forum... someone recently mentioned boingo over in the marriot forum, but I dont know much about it. more of a wi-fi access service but those are pretty widespread these days
Bonigo will be fine if you are near their hotspots. I have an account with them and their coverage is getting better, but it is not pervasive by any stretch.
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Old Jan 5, 2009, 11:10 am
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Any pay-as-you go *data plan* sims in the US?

With the demise of the workaround on ATT for getting unlimited data on my Aircard for $19.95/month, I'm looking for another alternative.

Is there anything like a prepaid data plan sim (my AirCard is GSM) that is available for either ATT or T-Mo? (Are there other options than these two?)
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Old Jan 5, 2009, 6:41 pm
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I feel a lot better just paying the $60 a month on AT&T's DataConnect plans. I get great service all over Hawa'ii!
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Old Jan 5, 2009, 6:47 pm
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Originally Posted by cblaisd
With the demise of the workaround on ATT for getting unlimited data on my Aircard for $19.95/month, I'm looking for another alternative.

Is there anything like a prepaid data plan sim (my AirCard is GSM) that is available for either ATT or T-Mo? (Are there other options than these two?)

I think Verizon may have come out with something recently.
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Old Jan 5, 2009, 6:52 pm
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Your only option is going to be what the operators wanted all along; pay their normal price.

The cheapest solution would probably be a family plan additional line with a data add-on, but you are looking at about $35/month for that on T-Mobile, without 3G (since there are currently no T-Mobile 3G cards). AT&T has a PDA only add-on for $30 (when added to a family plan, $35 stand-alone) which may be able to be used on a data card, but the "official plan" would be $60.

You got a good deal for some time, but the carriers got smart (and greedy) so you are pretty much out of luck.
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Old Jan 5, 2009, 7:24 pm
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ATT does have non all-you-can eat plans which in some mights might be enough. I also get 10% discount due to a Premier account so will look into either the $60 = $54 plan, or think about a lower spec'ed plan that I could change in a month that I know there is heavy usage anticipated.

Since I would be bringing my own equipment, there is no requirement for a contract.

Other thoughts? Thanks.
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Old Jan 5, 2009, 7:44 pm
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NOT GSM/SIM but Slingshot is on the Sprint network, cheap, reliable and easy.

www.slingshot.com
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Old Jan 5, 2009, 7:47 pm
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I don't understand the "cheap" part, since the $249 up front is more than buying and Aircard for ATT even full price (and there are lots of new ones available on Craigslist for <$100), and the rates are the same at ATT's

What am I missing ?
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Old Jan 5, 2009, 7:49 pm
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Originally Posted by cblaisd
I don't understand the "cheap" part, since the $249 up front is more than buying and Aircard for ATT even full price (and there are lots of new ones available on Craigslist for <$100), and the rates are the same at ATT's

What am I missing ?
Way faster, only one time to buy, it is less than I paid for the card ALONE a year back and has 2 months service included at the top level.
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Old Jan 5, 2009, 9:33 pm
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Originally Posted by cblaisd
I don't understand the "cheap" part, since the $249 up front is more than buying and Aircard for ATT even full price (and there are lots of new ones available on Craigslist for <$100), and the rates are the same at ATT's

What am I missing ?
Cards and phones are cheap, it's the service that is expensive.

Plus, you *did* ask for any pay as you go plans, and he mentioned one I hadn't even heard of

I agree though, it does seem a little pricey...

I think I've once also heard about Cricket offering a prepaid data solution...
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