Cheapest Cellular Card and Subscription

vanagon40vanagon40 Indiana Member
edited December 2008 in Internet & Media
I am considering giving my (soon to be) 17 year old daughter a laptop for Christmas. We are on dial-up at home. I do not have ANY high speed internet options available here, so do not suggest paying for cable/DSL/etc and getting a wireless router. My only options are plugging into the phone line (and if I get lucky I can get as high as 26.4K baud on my phone line--right now I am at 21.6K) or subscribing to a cellular service. My phone lines are so lousy that I sometimes have to switch between my wife's business line and my home line just to connect at all. I am in a somewhat rural area.

My question is what is the absolutest cheapest cellular service I can get that is somewhat reliable? I would need unlimited service (not pay by the minute).

I doubt this is going to happen as I really do not think that this is going to be an affordable option.

If someone could suggest a set-up that includes bumping the speed of my desktop, I might be more inclined, but most cellular services seem to be geared towards laptops.

Comments

  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited December 2008
    We need to know where you live.
  • kryystkryyst Ontario, Canada
    edited December 2008
    One other option would be satellite internet.
  • vanagon40vanagon40 Indiana Member
    edited December 2008
    Live just south of Indianapolis, IN
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited December 2008
    One last question; I want to explore the possibilities specific to your area, do you have a zipcode?
  • vanagon40vanagon40 Indiana Member
    edited December 2008
    46143
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited December 2008
    Okay, your area is covered by several providers:

    Verizon:
    • CDMA (EV-DO) 3G wireless broadband
    • Adapter price varies w/ 2-yr contract
    • $59.99/month (BroadbandAccess plan)
    • 5GB bandwidth cap
    • $00.05 per MB over the cap

    AT&T:
    • GSM (UMTS) 3G wireless broadband
    • Adapter price varies w/ 2-yr contract
    • $60/month (DataConnect plan)
    • 5GB bandwidth cap
    • $00.05 per MB over the cap

    Sprint:
    • GSM (UMTS) 3G wireless broadband
    • Adapter price varies w/ 2-yr contract
    • $60/month (Mobile Broadband plan)
    • 5GB bandwidth cap
    • $00.05 per MB over the cap

    With these data plans you would use a mobile broadband router ( Sprint / AT&T / Verizon ) to push the signal to your home to give the semblance of broadband.

    Broadband options:

    You actually have several options for broadband in your area. Comcast is your primary choice, and they offer 16Mbps connects for $52.95 a month for the entire city of Greenwood. They cap out at 250GB of monthly bandwidth.

    Verizon FiOS, AT&T Midwest and Brighthouse Communications are also reported to offer service in your city.

    Satellite options:
    WildBlue and HughesNet (Direcway) both offer satellite service to a majority of the United States. It's not as fast as broadband, but it's faster than 3G broadband, and it's unlimited anyhow.

    Hope this helps.
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