Mobile Broadband

This is where it all started. The term mobile broadband refers to a cellular service provider or other company that offers wireless internet anywhere — much like a cell phone. These services are usually offered on the same terms as a cell phone contract. They typically require a device, such as a USB dongle, in order to connect to the network. Increasingly, netbooks have started coming with mobile broadband modems pre-installed.

Carriers are constantly changing their mobile broadband plans and policies, and it’s important to stay on top of these matters if you’re going to find the best value for your needs. In this category we examine these issues so you can make the most informed decision.

Good news for you: mobile broadband pricing could decline

December 2, 2009

Every price decrease has to start somewhere. For mobile broadband, it might have started with T-Mobile. The last major U.S. carrier to offer mobile broadband services, T-Mobile stuck with the industry-wide cap of 5GB, but undercut its competitors by $10 per month, offering theirs at $50. They’re officially the cheapest of the Big Four now, [...]

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What exactly does 3G coverage mean?

November 18, 2009

One of the biggest stories in the cellular world over the past few weeks is the spat between Verizon Wireless and AT&T. It started when Verizon ran ads mocking AT&T’s 3G coverage, noting that they cover much, much more of the country with 3G than AT&T. The two sides argued, with AT&T eventually filing suit [...]

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4G technology will extend beyond phones, laptops

October 29, 2009

As it currently stands, 3G wireless services are used mainly on two devices: cell phones and laptops (including netbooks). This is mainly due to limitations of 3G networks. Yes, they can cover large areas, but they’re limited in speed and capacity. This has led to a number of restrictions on their usage — companies limit [...]

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Mobile broadband growth outpacing fixed line

October 13, 2009

Despite worldwide financial shakiness, mobile broadband remains a growth industry. While that rate isn’t quite as high in America, across the Atlantic people are signing up for mobile broadband plans faster than ever. A recent study shows that mobile broadband subscriptions are outpacing their fixed line counterparts. This is no insignificant number: mobile broadband subscriptions [...]

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Mobile broadband services could hit stride next decade

September 10, 2009

Despite the downturn in the economy, revenue from cellular services continues to rise. It was up 13 percent from 2007 to 2008, and it could go up around 29 percent between 2008 and 2010. The biggest gain could come from 2009 through 2013, when broadband revenues are forecasted to more than double. With new technologies [...]

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Sprint launches pair of mobile broadband to Wi-Fi hotspots

August 7, 2009

It wasn’t long ago that we heard of MiFi, a pocket device which could convert a 3G mobile broadband signal into a Wi-Fi hotspot. That was for Verizon at the time, and now Sprint is coming back with some similar devices of its own (though Sprint does have the MiFi as well). Pictured above is [...]

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Customers not happy with mobile broadband speeds

July 20, 2009

Earlier in the month we heard that mobile broadband speeds in the UK weren’t as fast as advertised. They boated speeds of up to 3.5 Mbps, but the average customer was getting less than a third of that. It’s no surprise, then, that a recent survey shows that only 11 percent of mobile broadband users [...]

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Wired finds Verizon's mobile broadband fastest

July 13, 2009

One question consumers will continue to ask: which carrier provides the best mobile broadband speeds. A few publications have attempted to answer this question. First it was Gizmodo, which pronounced Sprint the fastest. This came as a surprise to many, because AT&T and Verizon typically receive accolades for their speedy networks. A bit later, Gizmodo [...]

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Subsidized netbooks catching on

July 7, 2009

Americans, it appears, are willing to sacrifice the long-term for the short-term. While this can be discussed in terms of the current economic climate, our purpose is much more focused. The long-term sacrifices for short-term gains is evident in the wireless industry, perhaps like no other. Consumers commit themselves to two years of service at [...]

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Mobile broadband speed not up to par in UK

July 2, 2009

Here’s to wondering if the same trend exists in the US: A new report suggests that mobile broadband speeds in the UK aren’t as fast as advertised. While some carriers boast of speeds of around 3.5 Mbps, the average speed is just 0.9. Then again, they say that a statistician is someone who would drown [...]

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Americans consider mobile broadband expendable

June 26, 2009

People are cutting costs. They have been for quite some time now. It’s part of an economic downturn that has seemingly stabilized. Cutting costs means putting a priority on expenditures, and unsurprisingly only 10 percent of people would drop their home broadband connection. However, 48 percent would drop their mobile data plan. The only surprising [...]

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Special access pricing problem for smaller carriers

June 23, 2009

As they rule the cellular communications world, so do AT&T and Verizon rule the mobile broadband arena. Their competitive advantage here is control over backhaul and core networks. They levy special access charges on smaller carriers for access to these, which the smaller carriers are dubbing unreasonable. The matter has become a bigger deal now, [...]

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AT&T will not lower data rates for new iPhone

June 15, 2009

About a month ago, amid buzz and hype about yet another new iPhone release, word got around that AT&T might consider lowering data rates amid pressure from Apple. This is not a pretty issue for AT&T. They have an exclusive agreement with Apple for the iPhone which supposedly expires some time in 2010. AT&T wants [...]

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New broadband service from Virgin Mobile

June 11, 2009

Prepaid cellular provider Virgin Mobile has entered the mobile broadband space with a new offering, Broadband2Go. Unlike most of our mobile broadband providers, Virgin plans to offer this on a pay-as-you-go basis, much like their cell phone service. Instead of signing up for a monthly plan, subscribers will purchase data in megabytes. This can be [...]

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