Virgin Mobile USA Broadband2Go

I am excited and ecstatic about Virgin Mobile USA's new rates for their pre-paid Broadband2Go service. I have been using their service for over six months and hoping they would increase the megabyte to price ratio.

Two months or so past AT&T announced a plan of $25 for 2 GBs of use, which at the time surpassed Virgin Mobile USA's previous rate of $20 for 300 MBs in a 30 day period. I never expected they would announce a $40 unlimited plan within a 30 day period!

Users have rightly dinged this service for lackluster speeds. You will likely feel like you're connected at just above dial up speeds, even though Virgin is using Sprint's network. In my case, I don't do many graphic intensive things so the Broadband2Go service is suitable.

If you occasionally need mobile connectivity to the Internet and don't want to rely on public wifi the Broadband2Go service may be for you. The device costs $79.99 with no activation fee, contract or Early Termination Fee. You pay only when you need the connectivity.

Mobile Broadband / Pre-Paid Mobile Offerings

It seems the big three providers: AT&T, Verizon and Sprint have settled on $60 per month for mobile broadband with a 5 gig cap. They vary on the cost per megabyte when exceeding the 5 gig cap. Mobile Broadband was very helpful by providing a comparison chart of a sampling of providers and listing their respective features.

Virgin Mobile announced Broadband 2 Go which is a pre-paid mobile broadband offering starting as low as $10 for 100 megabytes of usage within 10 days. There is no activation fee, contract, early termination fee or overage charge. You must purchase a $149.99 Novatel modem from Best Buy and pre-pay for your usage. The most expensive option being $60 for up to one gigabyte of usage within 30 days. Megabytes can not be rolled over; unused gigs within 30 days are lost.

Verizon offers a Broadband Day Pass at $15 for 24 hours of continuous use. Restrictions for megabytes downloaded / used do apply and you must purchase a Verizon broadband modem or, if your netbook / notebook has mobile broadband built-in, you may purchase an ExpressCard.