Comparing Pay As You Go Mobile Broadband Plans
Comparing Pay as you Go Mobile Broadband Plans
When looking for pay as you go mobile broadband plans, it's important not to get this mixed up with wireless broadband plans. Pay as you go mobile broadband plans are not the same thing.
Pay as you go or prepaid wireless broadband is effectively a service that allows you to log on to wireless (Wi-Fi) hotspots with a select account. Prepaid mobile broadband is effectively offering you broadband anywhere – in other words, 3G Internet.
The benefit with prepaid broadband as opposed to traditional offerings is that you aren't tied in to any service or contract. You can pay for the broadband usage upfront and then use it as you go (pay as you go). So if you only intend on using 3G Internet on select occasions, prepaid is the right thing for you. This way you don't waste money for Internet access that you are not going to use.
There are a variety of companies offering you services in this bracket. At the time of writing, the best companies to look out for are Cricket, ReadyBroadband, Slingshot, Verizon Wireless and Virgin Mobile.
Each company usually supplies you with USB modems (you would need to purchase it up front) and then access to its network through these. You just connect the modem to your laptop and you're mobile.
Here's a basic breakdown of what some companies are currently offering you. Cricket are offering a $40 plan where you get 'unlimited' mobile broadband. It's a straight deal, except that 'unlimited' does have a small stipulation. If you exceed 5GB of usage, you can still get Internet access but the speed of your access will drop.
ReadyBroadband offer three plans – 100MB for $25; 200MB for $45; and 500MB for $75. You purchase top-up cards when you need more broadband. It's more 'prepaid' as Cricket, but as can be seen is more expensive too.
Slingshot offers a plan for $59.95, but like Cricket your speed slows down when you've used more than 5GB of broadband. Other packages range from $24.95 for 100MB to $49.95 for 500MB.
Verizon Wireless work very differently – you pay $15 upfront for 24 hours of consecutive use. Once the time is up you need to top-up. This kind of contract makes sense for only those who do intend to be on the web all day, otherwise it may not make much sense.
Virgin Mobile offers $10 for 100MB; $20 for 250MB; $40 for 600MB; and $60 for 1GB.
The difference in price between all these is notable. However, you need to look at the kind of coverage each provides before making a quick decision. Cricket looks like the best deal, so far, but will they cover your area adequately? It appears that it uses the Sprint or Verizon network, but this isn't entirely clear. Most carriers in the US are still breaking into this market and setting up their 3G networks across the country. This is what you need to look at before you go for pay as you go mobile broadband plans.
