Virgin Mobile USA Marks Return Of $20, Contract-Free WWAN Plan

by Ray Willington
from  http://hothardware.com/

  It's back! No, not the McRib, Virgin Mobile USA's $20 no-contract broadband plan! The company has just announced a new expansion to their Broadband2Go offerings, with the triumphant return of the $20 plan leading the charge. This joins the current $10 and $50 plans, and provides 500MB with one month expiration for $20, offering another option for flexible internet access especially for the occasional user or traveler. Virgin Mobile’s no contract Broadband2Go plans feature 3G speeds and start at just $10 for 10 days/100MB of access. For heavy users the $50 plan offers unlimited data access with 3G speeds up to 2.5GB each month.

For clarity, all of these devices operate on Sprint's network, so you'll need to double-check Sprint coverage near you before buying in. You'll also get a number of device options, all spelled out below. In a world of tie-me-downs, hearing this news feels really refreshing.

Virgin Mobile USA Bolsters Broadband2Go Portfolio with Addition of $20 Monthly No Contract Mobile Plan

WARREN, N.J. – May 19, 2011 – Virgin Mobile USA continues to enhance its affordable, No Contract offerings for mobile broadband with the addition of a $20 plan to its Broadband2Go portfolio. Now available online and at participating retailers, the new plan, an addition to the current $10 and $50 plans, provides 500MB of data with a one-month expiration, offering another option for flexible Internet access, especially for the occasional user or traveler.

“From business travelers to virtual workers to students, consumers use Broadband2Go in different ways,” said Sean Yelle, product manager, Virgin Mobile USA. “We found there are a substantial number of customers who want a monthly plan, but don’t need unlimited data. The addition of our new $20/500MB plan, paired with no annual contracts, provides customers an affordable option for broadband access, allowing them to pay only for the service they need, when they need it.”

Virgin Mobile’s No Contract Broadband2Go plans feature 3G speeds and start at just $10 for 10 days/100MB of access. For heavy users the $50 plan offers unlimited data access with 3G speeds up to 2.5GB each month. Additionally, Walmart customers will still be offered the $20 plan for 1GB of monthly access.

Virgin Mobile offers three different mobile broadband devices, operating on the Sprint Nationwide Network, as part of the Broadband2Go device portfolio:

    * The Ovation™ MC760 USB device, developed in conjunction with Novatel® Wireless (Nasdaq: NVTL), connects to a single personal computer or laptop and is available at retail for $79.99
    * The MiFi® 2200, an Intelligent Mobile Hotspot developed in conjunction with Novatel Wireless, is priced at $149.99 and allows up to five users at a time to connect using a variety of Wi-Fi enabled devices; and,
    * The ZTE PEELTM 3200, a first-of-its-kind device that connects to your iPod Touch® (second and third generations) for access to the Internet, email, music and more –for $99.99. The exclusive broadband plan for the PEEL 3200 offers users 500MB of data for $20/month.

Best Party Trick Ever: Multi-Device Wireless Broadband from Sprint MiFi

Written by Jolie O'Dell

It's the length and width of a credit card. It's the thickness of a couple nickels. It'll let you and a few friends get an Internet connection just about anywhere with no wires whatsoever.

It's a MiFi, Sprint's new wireless broadband device, and it's geek gadget magic that'll realistically fit in your wallet. Disclosure! Sprint gave us a MiFi device to test. We tested it for a couple weeks and sent it back. We were sad to see it go.

We first tested the device with three laptops at a Facebook Vanity URL-Grabbing party. The host's WiFi connection was getting bogged down with traffic from about 20 other devices, so three of us picked a spot and huddled around the warmth of our own connection.

Sweetly simple and functional, the device easily accommodated the three users' surfing around. Multimedia uploads were as zippy as on a normal connection during the time we were test-driving the device.

Another test involved a crowded WiFi situation at a local coffee shop. Two laptops were connected to the device with the same lightning-fast results.

We even had time to literally road-test the MiFi; there's still something man-on-the-moon-ish about accessing the Internet from a moving car. We built a website during the course of a two-hour mini-road trip.

The battery held a charge for a good couple hours between charging, and the connection worked at ranges of 10-20 feet. We did notice a bit of trouble when using the device for long periods of time with just one device; every now and then, the card seemed to overheat and would drop the connection. A rest and reboot period solved the problem, but it would've been painful/disastrous had we not had access to a backup WiFi network in the meantime.

Still, the device is pretty amazing. We highly recommend seeing it in action:

Slight correction: The Sprint website states the device can support up to five devices.

Now, as previously disclosed, we received the free-as-in-beer, no-strings-attached version of the MiFi. We were not required to go through the new account/line activation process, any rebate loopholes, contract renegotiations, or other factors that make mobile services companies so uniquely pleasant (and by "pleasant," we mean "exquisitely tortuous in the BDSM sense"). The MiFi is advertised now at $99.99 per device, based on several conditions that seemed to require scientific calculators and gave us headaches. We recommend calling Sprint if you're interested in the device and finding out exactly how much the price would be for you. We're also aware of a similar Verizon device but have not yet been exposed to it, ourselves.