September 10, 2010 10:59 AM
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Pay-As-You-Go Broadband Down to $40 Per Month From Virgin
(MoneyWatch) 
Regular BH readers know of my fondness for Virgin Mobile's Broadband2Go, the pay-as-you-go 3G service that requires no contracts. Well, I've got good news and bad news.
The good news: Virgin now charges just $40 per month for unlimited broadband, down from $60/month for 5GB. Sprint and Verizon still charge $60 and lock you into a two-year contract. (FYI, Virgin uses Sprint's network.) And that's honest-to-goodness unlimited, not read-the-fine-print, unlimited-is-actually-capped-at-5GB unlimited.
The bad news: if you don't want the $40 option, your only other choice is to pay $10, which buys you 100MB of data (good for about 5 hours of Web browsing). There's no longer anything in between; Virgin eliminated its 300MB and 1GB data plans.
That's not a major issue, but some kind of $20 or $25 plan would be nice for folks who need more than 100MB but don't need unlimited. Howzabout bringing back that 1GB option, guys?
Anyway, there's one last bit of exciting news: Virgin now has the MiFi! You remember that, right? It's the little external 3G modem card that serves as a Wi-Fi hotspot for up to five devices. Stay tuned for some hands-on coverage.
More on BNET:
Regular BH readers know of my fondness for Virgin Mobile's Broadband2Go, the pay-as-you-go 3G service that requires no contracts. Well, I've got good news and bad news.The good news: Virgin now charges just $40 per month for unlimited broadband, down from $60/month for 5GB. Sprint and Verizon still charge $60 and lock you into a two-year contract. (FYI, Virgin uses Sprint's network.) And that's honest-to-goodness unlimited, not read-the-fine-print, unlimited-is-actually-capped-at-5GB unlimited.
The bad news: if you don't want the $40 option, your only other choice is to pay $10, which buys you 100MB of data (good for about 5 hours of Web browsing). There's no longer anything in between; Virgin eliminated its 300MB and 1GB data plans.
That's not a major issue, but some kind of $20 or $25 plan would be nice for folks who need more than 100MB but don't need unlimited. Howzabout bringing back that 1GB option, guys?
Anyway, there's one last bit of exciting news: Virgin now has the MiFi! You remember that, right? It's the little external 3G modem card that serves as a Wi-Fi hotspot for up to five devices. Stay tuned for some hands-on coverage.
More on BNET:
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Rick Broida, a technology writer for more than 20 years, is the author of more than a dozen books. In addition to writing CNET's The Cheapskate blog, he contributes to CNET's iPhone Atlas. Rick is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CBS Interactive. Deals found on The Cheapskate are subject to availability, expiration, and other terms determined by sellers.
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