what is the best and cheapest internet access solution for a laptop while traveling?

I'm looking at millenicom too, but to actually get started up costs so much. $165 plus the prorated first bill just to get started.

My experience with the truck stop wifi has been that the smaller the truck stop, the faster the wifi. I normally use love's and pilot/ flying j wifi. Other than that, I use the 5 gigs for hotspot with sprint and most places I go, from midwest to east/ southeast, I get decent speed.

 

I just reactivated my sprint note2. no out of pocket expense. went with the $60 unlimited plan. zero credit check. but you can buy a refurbished phone for the no credit check.

they've rebuilding their network and supposed to be bigger then verizon when everything done.

 

Sprint backed WiMax initially, but switched over to LTE. The problem is that they had to build out LTE in the areas that already had WiMax, so they effectively had to rebuild their entire network.

That said, Sprint has some really good deals on data, provided you run in an area they cover.

 

I have VZ 4g phone with unlimited data and it is rooted so no $30/mo hotspot fee for me. I have a VZ 3g 'air card' w/unlimited data for $60/mo. I download a lot of stuff and my usage is tyically 15-20gb on phone and 30 to 50 on 3g device. These numbers would be much higher if I did not supplement my bandwidth use with the TA wifi to which I have annual subscription to. Their network has vastly improved in general over the last year or so, though it is on the slow side tonight here in London, OH.

If you need constant access while driving then $5/mo to be able to use your phones access is not bad. If you need more gb a month than you plan allows, then experiment with a few of the truck stop systems then possible consider an annual subscription. I personally prefer TA/Petro because they do not (so far) monitor what I access and deny any thing I use (no porno is NOT what I am referring to).

 

I have an IPhone with AT&T, Mobile Share 10gig plan Cost is $135 a month, if I don't go over my 10gig, which is easy to do, if you like to download free movies, just 1 can take up a gig! I too fuel at TA primarily and had enough points to just buy their wifi for a year, using my points. I get reception, usable reception 80% of the time so that is good for me. You just have to make sure you get there early so you can get up close to the building with the Antenna. At night is the when you will get terrible reception but day time is much better.

 

sprint just had a commercial. 20 gigs $100 family share plan. up to 10 lines i think.

 

I had Sprint for a few years and the coverage is hit or miss.

As for 4G and Phone coverage in the US and Canada,.. this is how it breaks down.

Verizon - #1 hands down. Very few places with no signal,.. Unless your in a national park you pretty much have a signal,. and 95% of the time if you have a signal, you also have 4G LTE.
AT&T - Good signal when you have it. But in remote regions, particularly in the north east like Montana, Idaho etc forget it. I went 2 hours on I90 with no signal. Not acceptable. But to their credit,.. I had a better signal in more places than Sprint or T-Mobile combined. And like Verizon, if I had a signal, most of the time it was 4G LTE.

Sprint and T-Mobile are about the same. Great signals as long as your in a metro area. Work well in the North east, Chicago, Dallas and parts of California. But get into a rural area,.. get out in Moab, Green River, Anywhere in Colorado not near Denver. Soon as you leave the city limits of Spokane its 1g until you get near Seattle, then the same until you hit Tacoma. Their signal sucks, and their hotspot signal is typically a weak 3g, T-mobile has better 4G LTE signal (When you can get it), and Up until about a year ago, Sprint had almost no 4G LTE spots, Strictly 4G. The original 4G and 4G LTE are not compatible signals. What Sprint did was up the bandwidth on 3G to compensate,.. because the newer 4G LTE phones were not 4G compatible, they would revert to 3G.

I've been using Verizon with 40 gb data for hot spot so I can do Netflix, faxes, print permits, Skype with my wife, down load illegal MP3's, post here on TTR, you name it. Its a bit more expensive. My wife handles the bill, but IIRC our bill is something like $220-$235 month for 4 phones. Expensive yes,.. but in my opinion well worth the extra cost as I almost never have a problem with the signal and I have a bad habit of falling a sleep watching Netflix LOL.

Hurst

 

Yes, but what good is it when their coverage is spotty?

Hurst

 

Find a grandfathered verizon unlimited plan and assume it. If you watch you can find a reasonable one. My Verizon bill is under 100$ for unlimited data.