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

you haven't tried them lately.

last time i was in oklahoma, the only place i got V signal was the 44 toll road. no signal in va or w. va. had to cross into PA before signal worked. V was hit and miss on the 40 in az and nm. but has greatly improved on the 80. between grand island and reno.
lately my V phone is having a hard time getting signal. it's a rareity to have full bars anymore. and although the phone may say 4 in pretty much everywhere i go. it's speed has been dial up speed. my sprint phone in 3g mode is running circles around my V phone in 4g.


sprint is supposed to have the bigger network when they get done building. so time will tell. in the meantime, i've knocked my v phone down to the minimum internet as sprint so far has impressed me. the savings with v is more then the bill with sprint. so i'm back to having unlimited EVERYTHING again. and saving myself a few dollars with 2 phones from what i was paying with 1 phone before.

it's highly unlikely i'll be all over the country anymore for a full rundown but so far, i've been impressed with sprint compared to when i first hit the road 3 1/2 years ago. i hope to be local again, soon. at which i'll be dumping v and their crappy equipment. yes, i can say that, as both my phones are the same model. the sprint model is knocking the V model in the dirt when it comes to quality.

 

If you have a grandfathered data plan, you should consider selling it while they still have value. Verizon will soon follow AT&T by throttling data after a few gigs.

 

I'll keep it till they do. I save a LOT more a month than I could sell it for.

 

And unless they throttle it to slower than 3G speeds, prolly still be worth keeping.

 

I have a Straighttalk phone that operates on the Verizon network. I have the unlimited talk, text & data plan. What do I need to add to have 24/7 internet access for my other toys (laptop, tablet)? How does the phone to laptop connection work? USB I am assuming?? Also, I have a Huawei Ascend Plus phone (http://www.shopstraighttalk.com/bpd...ction=view&productVariantExtensionId=22694317). Would I need to upgrade my phone? Straighttalk has several carriers they utilize and in order to insure I get Verizon the phone model number MUST end in a "C" so Iphones are out. TIA!

 

your phone has to be mobile hotspot capable. and you have to be subscribed to the mobile hotspot plan.

but if your tech savy, and have the proper smart phone. there are ways around playing for the plan. but you still have to have the capability.

 

I have 30 gigs for $160 with AT&T with the 2 phone family plan. Slower speed hot spot than Verizon but currently the highest allotment of data you can get at this price point with a good carrier with great coverage.

 

Those plans don't allow tethering or hot spot.

The unlimited data plans from Verizon or att from years ago that is.

 

I just upgraded my Xfinity package at home and according to them I now have access to over 500,000 hotspots. ŒAnyone have this service that can provide information & opinion?

 

Yes - they have created a giant WiFi network out of businesses (and more covertly, homes like yours and mine) with XFinity.

To see where they are in any given area use this link: http://hotspots.wifi.comcast.com/

Plus side: if you are one of their customers you now have a TON of high-speed hotspots all over the place to use. And the bandwidth is less likely to suffer like it does at a truck stop (free or paid) or many other "free public" spots.

Plus side: your home service should be running at around 60 Mb/sec now. I did their free modem "swap" thing 2 days ago and I went from 28 Mbs/sec and 45 ping to 60 Mbs/sec and 9 ping immediately. (for geek types those numbers will mean something.) So, speed-wise? Holy gigabytes Batman!

Minus side: it raises a large security concern for folks like me in the tech industry. Naturally, XFinity has declared that millions of dollars have been spent on firewalls and other network security. But ask Target and Home Depot how spending millions on security worked out for them, ya dig?

tip: to test your current bandwidth data rate (your connection) and your ping, go to the following link and click "Begin Test" when it comes up in the middle of the page. But be warned, there are LOTS of banners and links all around that page. All you want is the "Begin Test" in the middle. (link: http://www.speedtest.net/)