Virgin Mobile to offer pay-as-you-go broadband

Virgin Mobile USA is launching a new pay-as-you-go mobile broadband service called Broadband2Go.

Novatel USB broadband modem

(Credit: Virgin Mobile USA )

The service uses Sprint's EV-DO Rev. A network. It will not require a monthly subscription nor will it require an activation fee. To use the service, people need to buy a Novatel USB broadband modem that costs about $149 from Best Buy.

The device and service will be available in late June, the company said. The service is sold in megabyte and gigabyte packages. For $10 a month, users can get 100MB of data usage for 10 days. For $20 they can get 250MB of data, and for $40 they get 600MB. The most expensive pack costs $60 and provides 1GB of data usage. These buckets of data usage are available for 30 days before they expire.

Users will be able to monitor their data usage when they connect to the wireless network, and they'll be reminded to top up their account as they near their data limit. And users can add more data to their account as often as they'd like by using a credit card or a Virgin Mobile Top-Up card.

Prepaid services for cell phones have long been popular in Europe and other parts of the world, but in the U.S. these services have traditionally served only niche markets. With the economy in a deep recession, however, prepaid is gaining steam in the United States. Consumers of all stripes are looking for good deals with no service contracts.

Regional prepaid provider Cricket, which is a subsidiary of Leap Wireless, also offers a pay-as-you-go wireless broadband service. Like the Virgin Mobile wireless broadband service, Cricket's service also doesn't require a contract. And users can get unlimited wireless broadband for $40 a month using the company's 3G wireless network.

The big nationwide wireless carriers, such as AT&T, Verizon Wireless, and Sprint Nextel, have traditionally gone after business users with their broadband wireless services. As a result, the pricing of their service is usually pretty high--around $60 to $65 a month for an unlimited plan that typically offers up to 5GB of data per month.

But the wireless data services offered with pay-as-you-go plans and no contract seem to be geared more toward consumers.

"We have seen a big opportunity to provide this service to our consumer customers who can't afford a similar service from Verizon and AT&T," said Greg Lund, senior manager of corporate communications for Cricket Communications. "A lot of these customers were on dial-up, who want broadband service. And because they're very mobile, the wireless broadband service is good fit for them."

Corrected on June 12 at 7:24 a.m. PDT: Virgin Mobile USA's 100MB data plan costs $10 and expires after 10 days. The company's 600MB offering, which expires after 30 days, costs $40. A previous version of this story misstated the expiration time of the 100MB plan and the amount of the 600MB plan.

[bobmarleypeople]

Wow...That's awful. The prices are pretty steep (and I live in the UK where everything is more expensive). Also, considering all mobile providers in the UK have had a pay as you go mobile broadband service for quite a while, I'm surprised the US took so long to get one!

[Grifter02]

"But now with the economy in a deep recession, prepaid is gaining steam in the U.S. And consumers of all stripes looking for good deals with no service contracts."

How does $60/month for 600MB resemble anything you could describe as a "deal"? I pay $56/month for 60GB! And I already feel like I should get more for my money.

What a rip this Virgin service is!

[sek-oz]

What you have to keep in mind is that this is not intended to be your "main line" connection. It's a mobile broadband unit intended to give you access to your email and light web browsing on a portable platform. The pricing on these plans aren't really out of line with what other US carriers charge, from what I can tell.

[Grifter02]

It's still outrageously priced especially considering the deep recession quoted in the article.

[BarwinkIes]

Verizon's prepaid broadband is even more expensive. They charge $30 for 250 megabytes.

[nachurboy]

Wow, this article needs some serious editing.

"$60 they get 600 MB. The most expensive pack costs $60 and provides 1 GB of data usage."

I'd rather pay $60 and get 1 GB vs 600 MB.

"As a result the pricing of their service is usually pretty high, around $60 to $65 a month for an unlimited plan that typically offers up to 5GB of data per month."

First of all, which is it? "Unlimited" or "5GB per month"? And for $60 to $65 for 5 GB per month, that's not "usually pretty high" if the Virgin plan is $60/mo for 1 GB (or is it 600 MB?).

[clynx]

Rip off. What a load of garbage. The person who invented this should be tared and feathered, for wasting my time to find out about this.

[nophototoday]

$10 for 10 DAYS or 100 MB. Your story has misinformation. The $10 fee is not good for 30 days. You failed to check your facts! All the higher fees are good for 30 days.

[nophototoday]

Your story also has even more errors about the fees. I suggest you do a re-edit and re-publish with corrections. Nothing worse then misinformation about an over-priced data service.

[clynx]

I give up on mobile or any broadband. I am off to buy some stamps and cancelling my paperless statements policies. Back to the stone age for me. Dialup here I come. Start cutting those trees down for all the paper I will need, it's more affordable than the internet is becoming.

[k2dave]

Broadband data usage plans really have a problems if measured by the mb or gb. One the user has no control over what is sent to them, nor does the user have control over web pages that stream content and updates to av and OS and the like. Another issue is some services such as streaming video can quickly eat up mb's for very little actual usage.

I understand the bandwidth issue faced by carriers but there should be a way to balance out the 2 better then a direct mb measurement. A person should not have their entire mb allowance used up because Windows decided to do a update to service pack 4 during a wireless session.

[docstrange7]

Will we be able to this service in Yosemite National Park, CA ?
We have the worst service any where.
[e-mail]

[jammyb1983]

What an absolute ripoff. I still get UNLIMITED MB's for $3.75 / mo using my 6700 as a tethered modem. I've went over 5GB plenty of times, and roam too. WOO!!!

[Comresrch]

I wonder when Verizon Wireless the dinosaur will flow pursuit. I guarantee you that their prepaid data plan for laptop and netbooks will be quite expensive. Their prepaid cellular unlimited plan is only $ 3.99 per day ( $ 120. 00 ) per month. Virgin Mobile ( Sprint Network) and Boost Mobile (Sprint/Nextel Network) only charge $ 50.00 for totally unlimited calling. I will be one of the first to sign up for this new Virgin Mobile prepaid broadband service for occasional on the go usage. Virgin Mobile has been a leader in the wireless industry !

[BarwinkIes]

Yup, Verizon decided to give Virgin Mobile some competition...kind of. They are charging $30 for 250 megabytes versus Virgin Mobile's $20 for 250 megabytes. Typical Verizon. I bought this and it's worked out great!

[trentZ2]

I have a LG Flare from VM that (as a phone) performs just as well as my (formally owned) Blackberry and miles ahead of any phone I had with Sprint. And only 50 bux a month. Resession, smeshen.

[PrepaidWirelessGuy]

The pricing actually isn't too bad, especially considering the competition, as well as the ability to avoid a contract. You can compare plans here: http://www.prepaid-wireless-guide.com/prepaid-wireless-broadband-plans.html

This pricing seems really steep: compared to the UK, the modem is 3x the price and the data is about 5x the price. Check out what's on offer in the UK:

http://mobile.broadbandgenie.co.uk/3g-broadband/pay-as-you-go

[luv2shop_9]

I feel like people are missing the point of this service. I agree that the price seems quite high, but as someone already mentioned, I don't think the intent is to replace existing, more affordable services that people have referred to thus far in other posts. My parents vacation at the beach for a month every summer. They have DSL at home and have nothing when they go to the beach. While they don't need a ton of MB/GB, they do wish to be able to access things that they feel they aren't able to access via their internet on their cell phones. I see this as a great option for someone in their position. They don't want to agree to a monthly contract with Sprint or another carrier because ti's not something they'll use all 12 months of the year. This way they have the initial cost of the USB and then are able to only pay for as much MB/GB as they need when they are away.

[CNWayne]

I'm a US citizen and have been traveling the world for over 14 years. The US is way, way, way behind the rest of the world. Presently I'm in Malaysia. I pay (USD) $ 26 per month to Celcom for 3G. I get 24 hour connection service, unlimited amount of downloads/uploads, the first 5 Gb is unlimited speed, after that the speed is limited to 15KB/sec The service is Postpaid , use - then pay. Payment can be made at any Celcom office, bank or ATM. The US Government have allowed Communication companies to limit the consumers choice. This not only applies to wireless, but also to many other services in the USA such as health care. Americans need to wake up and contact your government representatives.
Let them know you're tired of being ripped off!
Cliff

[madkahta]

Why should I pay $60 per month for broadband cellular internet? I already have landline/WIFI at home, landline/WIFI at the office, and Free WIFI at 95% of the places where I would want to sit down and use a computer. For the other 2% of the time (i.e. visiting parents with no internet) that I actually need cellular broadband, pay as you go seems to be the MUCH cheaper option. Over the course of a decade, that "cheap" $60 per month Verizon connection is going to cost you $7200 whereas the few times per year that I actually need this * $10 would be vastly cheaper.

[r904]

Here is the info I found on Virgin Mobile website.

"$10 10 Days 100 MB 5 hrs Web Browsing Or 25 minutes
Video Or 10,000 Emails

$20 30 Days 250 MB 12 hrs Web Browsing Or 1 hour Video
Or 25,000 Emails

$40 30 Days 600 MB 30 hrs Web Browsing Or 2 1/2 hours
Video Or 60,000 Emails

$60 30 Days 1 GB 50 hrs Web Browsing Or 4 hours Video
Or 100,000 Emails"

I'm considering of buying the Broadband2go device but still not sure. Any feedback from current users will be greatly appreciated. Please post them here

[Alphaman63]

My folks are currently paying $20 a month for their ISP plus $20 a month for a second phone line for dialup. If they were online 2 hours a day, and downloaded continuously at 3KB/sec (typical performance for their dialup), they'd download 600MB a month. For the same $40 a month, they could have broadband speed, and probably a much more reliable connection than their current dialup line over copper! And if one month they exhaust their $40 prepaid card, they can just buy another $20 or $40 and start another 30 day period.

One problem with Verizon, Sprint, and other contract plans is that once you reach their "unlimited" limit of 5GB within their fixed 30 day period, you're then paying 5¢ per MB, or $50 per GB! ("Unlimited" my shiny metal ass...) And whether you chose the $40/mos or $60/mos plan, you've got to decide and stick with it for 24 months per the contract.

Yes, if my folks use over 1GB per month, then a contract would be cheaper. But I think the Virgin Mobile solution might be just what the doctor ordered, and even if it's not an exact fit, it's an easy way to get started.

[KatieFloyd]

I think a lot of folks are missing the point of this device. It is not intended to be your main source for an internet connection. It is also not intended for folks who travel regularly and are needing to use a mobile internet device every month. For those folks this device makes no sense as you can get a much better price per GB and better technology with a regular contract plan.

This device is for folks, like me, who have a handful of occasions in a year where they need to get connected remotely and have no other access. I would rather pay $20 six times a year for access when I need it than $60 a month and go months where I never use the device. The price per GB becomes less important when you're looking at the overall price for access any given year.

The only thing that's troubling about this to me is that it uses the Sprint network which is far less superior when compared to Verizon. Unfortunately, when you look purely at the price use, Verizon's pay as you go option is significantly more expensive with a minimum investment of $15 for one day of access.