Mobile Broadband

Look For Mobile Broadband at Amazon

Sprint & Verizon have eclipsed the Mobile Internet field since regarding 2004. They have gone back and forth assorted times in regards to who has the best coverage, pricing, broadband cards and so on. But, that said, they are reasonably similar. They both cost $59.99 a month. They both use the same precise technology with the same top speeds. They both have a 2 year contract in order to get the Broadband Card for a decent price.

Recently, a new contender has emerged that does offer something different. Some for the better, some for the worse.

Let’s look at the vantages of Cricket Broadband first:

1) No Contract – Month to Month service

2) No credit checks and no deposits

3) Only $40 a month for Unlimited service vs. $60 a month for Sprint or Verizon

4) Rev A service in most areas – up to 3.1 Mbps downloads, but in reality Cricket’s coverage is much more spotty than Verizon or Sprint. Actual speeds are normally 300Kbps to 1000Kpbs.

Now for the downsides:

1) Coverage! Cricket is fixed to only select cities in the USA. If you are a general traveler outside your home city, you will want Sprint or Verizon since they have MUCH more coverage allround the USA. But, if you just want something that works in your city, and Cricket has coverage there, it can be a decent choice.

2) Customer Service. Cricket may be very hard to get technical aid from – peculiarly when it comes to a Broadband card.

3) Technical issues. We have heard of humans having disturb getting on a lot of websites, while other web sites are no problem, in addition to slower that expected speeds for a lot of customers.

Bottom Line:

I would not commend Cricket for standard travelers, or for use in an RV as the coverage is just not there. However, if you are lucky sufficient to live in a city where Cricket offers service, then Cricket is could be an alternative for you. Just beware of the lack of coverage nationally and the difficulties you may face if technical issues arise. Verizon, while more expensive, is a much more stable and sure fire choice, exceptionally if you are running a business or handling critical tasks with your service. Additionally, a gain for either service is you don’t have to buy a $6 coffee to get unsecure WiFi internet at a cafe!

Nationwide Mobile Broadband internet access without a contract or regularly every month bill. Finding access to the Internet while traveling may be a hassle. With Ready Broadband and your laptop PC, it is easy. Whether you are in an airport terminal, riding a cab, taking a break at a coffee shop, on vacation, or in your hotel room, just click and connect. Includes a USB access device (models may vary), connectivity software and 5 megabytes of pre-loaded broadband Internet access. Additional access is purchased online at www.readybroadband.com or by clicking the ‘Add Money’ radio button on the connection manager when needed. Data plan denominations are as follows: at $25 for 300 MB, $45 for 1 GB, or $75 for 2 GB. With no contract, no credit check and no on a monthly basis bill, you merely buy access when you need it and recompense not one thing when you don’t. It’s the smart way to stay connected. Models may vary.

Most helpful customer reviews

67 of 68 people found the following review helpful.
Good for light users, not so great for heavy users
By Mike Frerkes
I’ve had an Asus netbook for nearly two years and finally decided to equip it with a mobile broadband card. Since my need for such a device would be very casual (I have a 15Mbps cable modem connection with wifi router at home and 3G data on my phone) I was looking for a service that wouldn’t require some lengthy contract or a large investment up front. Virgin Mobile seemed to offer more economical plans ($20 for 300 MB) but the initial cost of their modem was significantly higher. ReadyMobile seemed to fit both requirements, especially with respect to start-up costs.

First, I’ll talk briefly about the modem. It is a Sierra Compass 598 which runs on Sprint’s network. Setting up the device might require a little patience for some users. While the instruction sheet says you can plug the USB modem right in and install drivers from imbedded flash memory, I was unable to do so. That will require installing those files from an included CD-ROM. For those of you, like myself, who have a netbook with no optical drive present, you’ll need to copy the entire installation package, about 95 MB total, on to an SD card or USB flash drive. The driver software set-up process took longer than I expected, but eventually I was able to get everything running. To finalize the set-up and establish service, you have to call ReadyMobile and speak to a service rep. I was on hold for about 10 minutes, then spent another five minutes getting the account activated.

The service itself seems to work just fine. I was able to play full-sized CNN news videos with very little buffering, though I could tell things didn’t run as smoothly when compared to my 15Mbps cable connection. That’s to be expected given the difference between an EVDO connection and a cable connection over wifi. As far as basic web browsing and email is concerned, the ReadyMobile handles both tasks quite effectively. Video sites such as YouTube are certainly watchable, but can chew quite a bit off your MB balance. I do not recommend this service if you’re planning on streaming tons of audio or video on a regular basis.

I decided on the $25 plan for 250MB of data. That is about the only plan ReadyMobile offers that is cost-effective for light users. The $40/600MB plan is not a good value, and the $75/1GB plan is an absolute rip-off. If you will be using large amounts data over an extended period of time, Virgin Mobile broadband offers a much better value. However, if you’re somebody who needs a more temporary mobile broadband set-up for occasional usage, ReadyMobile is quite economical thanks to their lower-cost modem. It certainly is more suited to my needs than those expensive long-term contract plans offered by AT&T and Verizon.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful.
Headache free internet for about two days…
By nowann
I had a cable internet connection, then switched to this device (purchased new from Amazon) to see if I could save some money and get away from the contracts, etc. After a few weeks of using this device, it has me running back to/knocking down the door of the big contract companies again. For what it’s worth, the software and device are essentially fool-proof to install, and you can share your purchased airtime among as many computers as you wish so long as they all have the Ready Broadband software installed and have the USB device attached to whichever computer you wish to have connected at the time. The USB device came with a small disc to install the software from a cd-rom drive. You can also download the latest version of the software from the Ready Mobile/Broadband website. Account activation over the phone was automated – didn’t have to talk to a rep, just pushed a few buttons and things were ready to go.

Everything worked problem free for about two days. Then I started getting error messages every time I tried to connect. Ex: “The modem is already in use” “Device not connected”. Or the device would automatically disconnect while I would be in the middle of viewing a video, typing an email, or simply surfing. The unexpected disconnections are frequent and frustrating when I have to reload a page (which knocks off more from my data balance) and start all over again from the beginning – I am in a major city where signal strength shouldn’t be a problem. I often have to detach and reattach the USB device to get it recognized. Sometimes when restarting/reattaching, the Ready Broadband software freezes and locks up any open programs making me restart the whole computer.

I’ve noticed for each time I load a page (not graphics loaded, just a simple text page or google), it takes off about 1-1.5 MB, even if the webpage content is less than that. For an approximately 9 minute youtube video, I got knocked down about 50 MB. This adds up extremely quickly and even for a very light internet user, your balance disappears quickly.

Aside from the expected deductions, the way this keeps track of your balance is questionable. One day after disconnecting, I had 100 MB left. When I connected the next morning, it said I had 0!! I’m using the ’0′ balance right now, and have no idea if the software is correct or mistaken. I am able to have a connection right now even if it says I am in “negative” balance, but don’t know how long that will last. I have no confidence the data balance is deducted correctly.

This device is only for those who need it as a last resort for mobile broadband service. Do not think this will be a reliable replacement for your main home connection needs.

19 of 24 people found the following review helpful.
BEWARE: Purchased data expires after 30 days!
By Gregory P. Amis
Much of the marketing and description for this thing hides the fact that any data-throughput that you purchase expires 30 days after activation. I bought this thing hoping to use it sparingly every other month or so. A minimum $25 purchase that expires after 30 days, that’s useless to the casual user. You might as well just get a real data plan. I plan to return it to amazon UNOPENED.