Discussion:
Florida mobile BB options
(too old to reply)
Mark
2009-02-01 21:10:20 UTC
Permalink
For a UK visitor to the US, does anyone know what are the options for
low usage (say a few tens of MB per day) PAYG mobile broadband in
Florida? I use an unlocked Huawei E220 USB modem.

For example, is there the equivalent of Web'n'Walk on T-Mobile USA? I
have Googled and browsed the T-Mobile site without much luck

Does AT&T have anything?

TIA
--
Mark
J B
2009-02-01 21:12:08 UTC
Permalink
Post by Mark
Does AT&T have anything?
I have a go-phone sim for sale if you're interested.

http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/prepaid-accounts.jsp
--
J B
Kevin Reilly
2009-02-02 07:19:44 UTC
Permalink
Post by J B
Post by Mark
Does AT&T have anything?
I have a go-phone sim for sale if you're interested.
http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/prepaid-accounts.jsp
From the T&Cs it looks as though you can't tether on AT&T PAYG, so no
wireless cards or Bluetooth modems. :(
--
Kev
__________________________________________________________________________
"Thieves stole 600 loaves of bread from an empty delivery van yesterday."
The Sun
J B
2009-02-02 08:58:48 UTC
Permalink
Post by Kevin Reilly
Post by J B
I have a go-phone sim for sale if you're interested.
http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/prepaid-accounts.jsp
From the T&Cs it looks as though you can't tether on AT&T PAYG, so no
wireless cards or Bluetooth modems. :(
I'm sure there was mention of internet access somehow, but as I don't do
mobile internet, I'm not au-fait with it all, sorry!
--
J B
Dennis Ferguson
2009-02-03 03:59:34 UTC
Permalink
Post by Mark
For a UK visitor to the US, does anyone know what are the options for
low usage (say a few tens of MB per day) PAYG mobile broadband in
Florida? I use an unlocked Huawei E220 USB modem.
What is the band coverage of that modem? I'm pretty sure there's
no hope of the 3G working in the US (AT&T and T-Mobile 3G are
in bands different from Europe, and different from each other
for that matter), but does it at least support 850/1900 GPRS?
Post by Mark
For example, is there the equivalent of Web'n'Walk on T-Mobile USA? I
have Googled and browsed the T-Mobile site without much luck
The Sidekick Prepaid plan ($1/day of use) is the closest equivalent,
but it isn't very. First, you're supposed to have (and use, according
to the T&Cs) a Sidekick smartphone before they'll even enable it, and
if you somehow managed to get past that hurdle and are willing to
ignore the T&Cs I'm still not sure how restricted it is (I think
they might block normal email ports) and it would only be Edge
speeds.
Post by Mark
Does AT&T have anything?
Not really. Data is $5/MB, I don't know whether it will work
with a modem, and you'll need to violate the T&Cs even to use
the service with a phone tethered to the laptop. This service
will work tethered, despite the T&Cs, but the price is silly.

Unfortunately the cheaper prepaid services are CDMA. You can get
a month of unlimited data and unlimited calls for $50 from MetroPCS,
here

http://www.metropcs.com

if you happen to be fortunate enough to be somewhere which actually
has coverage, but the cost of a CDMA phone which is both tetherable
and supports EVDO (the CDMA version of 3G/HSPA) makes this a
silly option as well.

I have a feeling you are out of luck.

Dennis Ferguson
Kevin Reilly
2009-02-03 13:26:18 UTC
Permalink
Post by Dennis Ferguson
I have a feeling you are out of luck.
If the OP can't find a suitable mobile option, but will be staying
somewhere with a land line, he might like to consider a pre-pay global
access dial-up service.

I used GlobalRoaming during a couple of visits to the US and their service
was adequate if a bit basic. They levied a sensible per minute charge for
access but the calls themselves were free as in both cases there was a
number local to me in their database. They also offered WiFi access through
selected partners but I didn't use that facility. Sadly since being taken
over by / rebranded as MobilityPass their software became bloated and
problematic and thus difficult to recommend, but there are probably dozens
of other companies offering similar services.

It can be a bit of a culture shock going from broadband back to dial-up (my
experiences in the backwoods of Connecticut were particularly trying, where
the phone lines seemed to date from the turn of the last century) but as a
means of staying in touch by e-mail or sending the occasional small photo
it does the job.
--
Kev
__________________________________________________________________________
"Most books now say our sun is a star. But it still knows how to change
back into a sun in the daytime." From a school essay
Todd Allcock
2009-02-03 20:20:34 UTC
Permalink
Post by Dennis Ferguson
Post by Mark
For a UK visitor to the US, does anyone know what are the options for
low usage (say a few tens of MB per day) PAYG mobile broadband in
Florida? I use an unlocked Huawei E220 USB modem.
What is the band coverage of that modem? I'm pretty sure there's
no hope of the 3G working in the US (AT&T and T-Mobile 3G are
in bands different from Europe, and different from each other
for that matter), but does it at least support 850/1900 GPRS?
Post by Mark
For example, is there the equivalent of Web'n'Walk on T-Mobile USA? I
have Googled and browsed the T-Mobile site without much luck
The Sidekick Prepaid plan ($1/day of use) is the closest equivalent,
but it isn't very. First, you're supposed to have (and use, according
to the T&Cs) a Sidekick smartphone before they'll even enable it, and
if you somehow managed to get past that hurdle and are willing to
ignore the T&Cs I'm still not sure how restricted it is (I think
they might block normal email ports) and it would only be Edge
speeds.
Actually, it probably won't work at all unless you use a Sidekick phone
(known as the Danger Hiptop in Europe) since all data on a Sidekick plan is
routed through a special proxy server that services the Danger/Sidekick
phones. Unfortunately for the OP, T-Mo doesn't offer any other data options
for prepaid users.
Post by Dennis Ferguson
Post by Mark
Does AT&T have anything?
Not really. Data is $5/MB, I don't know whether it will work
with a modem, and you'll need to violate the T&Cs even to use
the service with a phone tethered to the laptop. This service
will work tethered, despite the T&Cs, but the price is silly.
Starting just today, AT&T launched a new prepaid data plan, offering 100MB
for $20. So far it's only available on their "pick your plan" prepaid
plans, so you need to buy a minimum of $30 in voice service prior to adding
on the $20 data, making the minimum buy-in $50 (plus whatever AT&T wants for
a SIM.) The data add-on isn't referenced on the AT&T website yet, but it's
available via phone, according to posts at HowardForums:
http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php?t=1488018&page=1&pp=15

Since it's a metered plan, rather than unlimited, tethering is likely ok by
theT&C (not that it would really matter on a prepaid plan used for such a
short time, since the user would probably long gone before AT&T figured it
out and shut him or her off.)
Post by Dennis Ferguson
Unfortunately the cheaper prepaid services are CDMA. You can get
a month of unlimited data and unlimited calls for $50 from MetroPCS,
here
http://www.metropcs.com
if you happen to be fortunate enough to be somewhere which actually
has coverage, but the cost of a CDMA phone which is both tetherable
and supports EVDO (the CDMA version of 3G/HSPA) makes this a
silly option as well.
I guess it depends on the length of the trip- compared to the $10/day resort
hotels tend to charge for internet access, $50 or even $100 (figuring the
cost of a phone or EVDO modem) might make sense to some people.
Post by Dennis Ferguson
I have a feeling you are out of luck.
If AT&T opens up the 100MB/$20 to pay-as-you-go customers, it could be a
viable option for international visitors, as least compared to anything else
we have available on prepaid here in the states.
Mark
2009-02-05 09:58:47 UTC
Permalink
On Tue, 3 Feb 2009 13:20:34 -0700, "Todd Allcock"
Post by Todd Allcock
Post by Dennis Ferguson
Post by Mark
For a UK visitor to the US, does anyone know what are the options for
low usage (say a few tens of MB per day) PAYG mobile broadband in
Florida? I use an unlocked Huawei E220 USB modem.
What is the band coverage of that modem? I'm pretty sure there's
no hope of the 3G working in the US (AT&T and T-Mobile 3G are
in bands different from Europe, and different from each other
for that matter), but does it at least support 850/1900 GPRS?
Post by Mark
For example, is there the equivalent of Web'n'Walk on T-Mobile USA? I
have Googled and browsed the T-Mobile site without much luck
The Sidekick Prepaid plan ($1/day of use) is the closest equivalent,
but it isn't very. First, you're supposed to have (and use, according
to the T&Cs) a Sidekick smartphone before they'll even enable it, and
if you somehow managed to get past that hurdle and are willing to
ignore the T&Cs I'm still not sure how restricted it is (I think
they might block normal email ports) and it would only be Edge
speeds.
Actually, it probably won't work at all unless you use a Sidekick phone
(known as the Danger Hiptop in Europe) since all data on a Sidekick plan is
routed through a special proxy server that services the Danger/Sidekick
phones. Unfortunately for the OP, T-Mo doesn't offer any other data options
for prepaid users.
Post by Dennis Ferguson
Post by Mark
Does AT&T have anything?
Not really. Data is $5/MB, I don't know whether it will work
with a modem, and you'll need to violate the T&Cs even to use
the service with a phone tethered to the laptop. This service
will work tethered, despite the T&Cs, but the price is silly.
Starting just today, AT&T launched a new prepaid data plan, offering 100MB
for $20. So far it's only available on their "pick your plan" prepaid
plans, so you need to buy a minimum of $30 in voice service prior to adding
on the $20 data, making the minimum buy-in $50 (plus whatever AT&T wants for
a SIM.) The data add-on isn't referenced on the AT&T website yet, but it's
http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php?t=1488018&page=1&pp=15
Since it's a metered plan, rather than unlimited, tethering is likely ok by
theT&C (not that it would really matter on a prepaid plan used for such a
short time, since the user would probably long gone before AT&T figured it
out and shut him or her off.)
Post by Dennis Ferguson
Unfortunately the cheaper prepaid services are CDMA. You can get
a month of unlimited data and unlimited calls for $50 from MetroPCS,
here
http://www.metropcs.com
if you happen to be fortunate enough to be somewhere which actually
has coverage, but the cost of a CDMA phone which is both tetherable
and supports EVDO (the CDMA version of 3G/HSPA) makes this a
silly option as well.
I guess it depends on the length of the trip- compared to the $10/day resort
hotels tend to charge for internet access, $50 or even $100 (figuring the
cost of a phone or EVDO modem) might make sense to some people.
Post by Dennis Ferguson
I have a feeling you are out of luck.
If AT&T opens up the 100MB/$20 to pay-as-you-go customers, it could be a
viable option for international visitors, as least compared to anything else
we have available on prepaid here in the states.
Thanks for all the ideas and info.

The $10/day hotel BB/Wi-Fi option looks to be the simplest and
unfortunately also the cheapest.

:-(

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