Friday, May 18, 2012

The Cheapest Broadband Stick

Our use of cellular broadband is mostly by tethered air card.  Wi-fi fulfills almost all of our mobile wireless needs but there are several times in the year where we need to resort to a cellular air card.  Looking for the cheapest broadband access without a contract yielded few options.  Over the years I stuck with my T-Mobile Rocket USB Stick and was relatively happy with buying 1Gb of data for $30 for a month.  As usual, I keep looking for a cheaper way to get my wireless features.  I looked at SIMple Mobile who offers 750 Mb at $25 and Virgin Mobile's 500 Mb at $20 for monthly access.  Yes, there are other prepaid choices, but I refuse to buy less than a month's worth of access and most prepaid carriers charge much more.

This weekend T-Mobile will start offering new prepaid broadband plan prices that make their service a bit more appealing.  While they have increased their bottom plan from $10 to $15, and now for 300 Mb of data instead of 100 Mb, it's the middle tiers that make us happy.  They now offer 1.5 Gb of data for $25 and 3.5 Gb of data for $35.  The $50/5 Gb plan stays the same.  These prices are good for other broadband device users and normally, T-Mobile delivers at or near 4G speeds.  Oh yes, we can also get Discounted T-Mobile Refills!

In the big picture, T-Mobile could have rocked the wireless world with even better prices...even AT&T offers a $5/50 Mb plan.  But for those of us who live in the Prepaid world, even a small price reduction makes us smile, and indeed willing to use our 'sticks a little more, and maybe our other broadband phones as well.  It's a crumb, but I'll take it.

1 comment:

G. in Boulder said...

Shopping on behalf of friends, I found the comparison site
Prepaid-Wireless-Guide, from which I jumped to TruConnect, which offers Sprint 3G for $4.99 a month plus 3.9¢ per MB. Credit doesn't expire as long as a device is used at least once every 60 days. Company sells a MiFi and a USB stick. Multiple devices may be utilized on a single account.

Then I discovered that, in June, the firm announced its partnership with Walmart, marketing as Internet on the Go, which is a more traditionally priced service that charges no monthly fee.

With their non-expiring data, these single-source offerings would serve users whose needs are moderate but variable and habitually travel in native-Sprint areas.