Pay as you go Wireless Internet in USA

I would check with the hotels you are staying at to see if they offer WiFi or internet service, that might be a better deal. Or Google "Free WiFi/Internet Access" in whatever city you are traveling to.

http://www.boingo.com is the largest commercial WiFi provider in the US if not the world. They do have plans you can sign up for, or you can just pay as you go. They also have roaming agreements with some wireless companies. In some locations they have a scheme, it you're willing to watch a three minute commercial from Bank of America they will give 30 minutes of access for free.

Elaine:

For very limited usage while traveling, what you want to do is tether your laptop to a compatible phone and use the only prepaid wireless service I know of that allows data usage, AT&T. Or, you could get a USB stick compatible with GSM and use a prepaid AT&T SIM card in that. This can be somewhat complicated to setup, but it can be done. The downside is that you are probably limited to 2G speeds even if you are using a 3G capable phone or modem (AT&T reportedly throttles the speed on prepaid users of data -- but not sure if this has been confirmed). The second downside, the rates can be steep if you use a bunch of data. At the moment the costs are $20 for 100 MBs if you buy a "feature package."

The upside: No long-term contract and if your data needs are modest (simple browsing, reading and writing email), the cost is bearable.

Send me a private message if you want more help or explanation of how to do this.

Elaine:

For very limited usage while traveling, what you want to do is tether your laptop to a compatible phone and use the only prepaid wireless service I know of that allows data usage, AT&T. Or, you could get a USB stick compatible with GSM and use a prepaid AT&T SIM card in that. This can be somewhat complicated to setup, but it can be done. The downside is that you are probably limited to 2G speeds even if you are using a 3G capable phone or modem (AT&T reportedly throttles the speed on prepaid users of data -- but not sure if this has been confirmed). The second downside, the rates can be steep if you use a bunch of data. At the moment the costs are $20 for 100 MBs if you buy a "feature package."

The upside: No long-term contract and if your data needs are modest (simple browsing, reading and writing email), the cost is bearable.

Send me a private message if you want more help or explanation of how to do this.

I paid $50 for my ATT wireless modem and €2,50 per day to use it in Germany. Novatel's wireless is a 3G Modem and a wireless router, for $400 - great if you have 17 people using it, but highly inefficient for only one person. And then they charge $15/day (€12/day).

I'm like you, Elaine, I only want to use it once, maybe twice, a month, but they've priced themselves out of the market.

It doesn't look like Boingo is compatible with Laptops.

It doesn't look like Boingo is compatible with Laptops.

Boingo is regular WiFi. It will work with any device including Laptops/Netbooks. All you need is a credit card to connect.

OK, after reading the Boingo site more carefully, I see that it is only Wifi, and there is software you can download for the PC. I want G3.

BTW, the only sites near me are MacDonalds and Starbucks. I get both of those free with my Qwest DSL account, plus Barnes and Noble.

Actually, the only time I have had a need to use Mobile data is at our monthly Wall Fans meeting. It's at a Panera and they have free Wifi. Maybe I don't need G3, afterall.

I can get prepaid G3 Data service from Consumer Cellular, which uses ATT, but according to ATT, it is only compatible with Internet enabled phones, not with laptops. Maybe the providers are hiding something, but that's the story I get.

Just reporting in that I purchased the Virgin Mobile USA Broadband2Go USB device for 79.99 at Best Buy. I also purchased $20 of time that gives me 30 days or 300 MB - that's about 15 hours of web-browsing or 25,000 emails (who gets that many?). The down-side is that the installation instructions were not clear and it took a phone call with the tech support area to complete installation. I was in an area that Sprint classifies as only having "Fair to Good" coverage (Cape Cod), so loading pages took 5-10 secs. Now that I'm at home, it's as fast as my RoadRunner Turbo. I can top up my account anytime online and now I can have wireless on my laptop when I need it and I didn't have to commit to a 2 year contract.

Elaine, that Virgin Mobile plan, is that $20 prepaid for 30 consecutive days, in other words, $20/month (or less)?

Or is it 30 random days?

I looked at the Virgin Mobile kit when I was out. $99 for the modem, then as low as $10 for up to 100 MB. The card expires after 10 days, but still, if you only used it once a month, that's $10/month and you'd have it 1/3 of the time.

I've been looking at the Virgin pay as you go for a while.

They just came out with a Mifi hub that allows you to connect up to 5 devices on the same wireless connection as well. It's $149 and the single USB dongles are down to around $70. Unfortunately, it runs on Sprint's 3G network which isn't compatible with Europe so it would only work in the US

The 30 days start from the date of first usage.

Lee - The 30 days are consecutive so yes, it's like $20/month, or until you use up your 300 MB. I think it's perfect for occasional usage. Now I don't have to drive to BAM or B&N at lunch time - I can just eat and surf in the company cafeteria. Did you check Best Buy? They have it for $79.99 (I bought mine on 6/30 )