Brian Nadel recently wrote a nice article comparing broadband service from the big three wireless carriers, AT&T, Verizon and Nextel. Normally I have good connectivity within my house through my local cable carrier and don’t mind paying for airport WiFi once in a while. I’ll be traveling to the Northern Virginia area in the next month and want to have a broadband connect card as an option for connecting wirelessly. The $300/night hotel I’m staying in doesn’t offer free WiFi, instead it’s a $10/day T-Mobile hotspot. Add that together with the fees from the airport (Boingo) it comes up to a hefty $80 for internet service while away from home for a single week!

In Brian’s article he mentioned that AT&T had an $80 option for those adverse to a 1 or 2 year commitment. Intrigued I stopped by my local AT&T store and was given a bunch of misinformation that differed even from the information I was able to read on the AT&T site. 2 calls to AT&T later I was still unable to get the $80/month plan mentioned. I asked my sales consultant if there was an option to add it onto an existing line of service which could be upgraded and downgraded as needed based on my travel patterns and still no luck. At least a 1 year commitment is required. I was able to get an offer of a month to month with no discount on the card plan (which is to be expected) for $29.95/month with a 10Mb data allowance. Unfortunately the overage charges are outrageous ($0.06/kb). A single webpage might end up costing $2 to $3 to view!

There are companies that are catering to my more specific needs - a short term “rental” but they’re making a hefty profit on the service. I found two services, one which I wouldn’t even think about giving my credit card information to. The other, Rovair, seems to have a nice product offering, comparable with purchasing WiFi cost wise - but of course with the added convenience of your own dedicated connection.

Verizon and Nextel only offer plans with contracts as well. Verizon does have a 1 year options and Nextel locks you in for 2. So now I’m back to considering my options with pay as you go WiFi and spotty EDGE connectivity through my paired Blackberry and probably the most economical - going without <shudder />.