If you need something more than the free 200 MB here is a rundown of the other available plans that start as low as $9.95.

• 500 MB of data transfer for $9.95.
• 1 GB of data transfer for $19.95.
• 2 GB of data transfer for $34.95.
• 4 GB of data transfer for $49.95.

If you are a light user of mobile broadband then the 200 MB, 500 MB and 1 GB plans might be a fairly good deal for you. Once you get into the higher amounts of 2 GB and 4 GB you might want to start shopping with whoever your cell phone carrier is at the moment. This is because you can usually go on a month-to-month contract as long as you pay full boat for your USB modem stick or hotspot device. Once you get to the 4 GB level the major carriers start to look better, since they generally offer 5GB for the same price.

As a point of information when you check the coverage areas you’ll be presented with a map that looks very similar to the Clearwire coverage map. So with that said I’m guessing that Netzero is acquiring their coverage by way of Clearwire/Sprint. If you happen to find that your area is not covered, then consider whether the areas you will travel in are, after all it is mobile broadband.

One word of caution though and I am quoting here from the rules listed on Netzero’s plans and pricing page.

“All data plans, including the free plan, require the purchase of a Netzero 4G mobile broadband device. Access to the free plan from a specific device expires (and may not be renewed) twelve (12) months from the date of initial registration or upon upgrading to a paid plan.”

Check out the Netzero 4G plans and see if one of them fits into your budget and lifestyle.

When I came across this story I said “ It figures we haven’t even finished getting a true 4G implemented and now it’s 5G!” Well during the last week in February in Geneva, Switzerland the ITU (International Telecommunications Union) gave their acceptance to specifications for IMT (International Mobile Telecommunications)-Advanced Technology. IMT when implemented could mean mobile data rates 10 times faster than what we laughingly call 4G today.

The secretary general of the ITU made an interesting statement about IMT and in that statement he said “Access to the internet, streaming videos and data transfers anytime, anywhere will better than most desktop connections today.” A pretty tall order at best I must say. Now the last specification this organization approved was the one that defined 3G, so I guess technically this set of specs would be for 4G. Kinda begs the question of how the major carriers can sell anything as 4G when there was no accepted definition of what it was.

This newly accepted specification also finds that only two current technologies meet the IMT’s criteria and that’s LTE – Advanced and WiMax. Sorry T-Mobile, but HSPA+ just isn’t going to cut it as far as the ITU is concerned. It’s to Bad too because T-Mobile has been and is going to continue to do some spectacular things with HSPA+ as far as speed.

So just what can we expect to get from this new specification once it’s implemented? As of today LTE has a theoretical top capacity of 100 Mbit/s and Wimax 128 Mbit/s. Now when IMT is fully implemented the nominal data rate will be 100 Mbit/s even while in a speeding car, trains and yes even planes (if they let you use it). Here’s where it gets stellar, when you’re not moving the theoretical maximum will be 1 Gbit/s, pretty amazing.

Speed isn’t the only thing IMT is offering. IMT also offers the promise of dynamic network sharing and global roaming among other things. Another thing IMT could to is possibly eliminate those pesky data caps since the increased amount of bandwidth will not require them. This of course will be up to the individual carrier and since I’m sure the data caps are a cash cow for them they won’t go away quickly.

The big question on your mind probably is WHEN? Well as usual it is always easier to specify than to build and the specifications are also not binding. Implementation details will have to be worked out so a best case scenario for seeing this tech hitting the streets will probably be a couple of years at best.

Here is another question for you. For years now companies like Verizon and Sprint have been selling us 4G. When the real 4G starts hitting the streets do you think they can resist the urge to call it 5G? Personally I think not and it will only take one of them to get the ball rolling.

It may not surprise you to learn that the government is going to take more money from you when you pay your cell phone bill. The FCC is now proposing that an extra $25 million in fees be added to your cell phone bill in order to give low-cost broadband service to the poor. Now $25 million may not sound like much in this era of multi-trillion dollar deficits, but it is worth noting how we have gotten here.

Originally we were told that every home should have a dial tone in their so they can call for help in case of emergency. This was all well and good since everybody should have access to emergency services, but from there it went to everyone should have basic phone service. Then the latest innovation came along that everyone should have basic cell phone service and yes you are paying for cell phones for the poor. Now the FCC is telling us that basic broadband service is becoming a right as well.

Another fact that you will not find hard to believe is that this program in 2008 cost about $772 million to operate, but by 2011 it had swelled to $1.6 billion. The fund provides the money for these services is also open-ended, which means that no matter how large it grows all the fees are passed on to you. Adding to this misery is an additional fact and that is that the program is notoriously easy to defraud.

As an example the number of so-called Lifeline receivers in Louisiana grew to 626,000 in 2011, which is a massive jump from the just 38,000 recipients in 2008. The problem is that depending on the state, anywhere from 12% to 50% of the recipients are not eligible for the program in the first place. The penalty right now for being caught gaming the system by having both a home line and a cell phone results in little more than a letter from the program asking you whether you want to keep your home service or your cell phone service.

Of course the FCC is implementing a new database that is said to be going to save $2 billion a year by detecting duplicate accounts. Geez I wonder how much we would’ve saved if we hadn’t allowed it to get this far in the first place.

Oh and at 25 million mentioned earlier that will be added to your cell phone bill, that’s just for testing. Can you imagine what this amount will grow to once people figure out they can get free broadband in their home?

Just thought you would like to know what you’re actually paying for in that cell phone and aircard bill.

AT&T and T-Mobile | Well it looks like AT&T has called off its merger with T-Mobile.  Although this is not big news to a lot of us since trying to fight the Department of Justice is probably a no win deal and best.  The real story here though is what has occurred in the wake of the failed $39 billion dollar merger.

It’s always been known that if the merger failed T-Mobile would get three billion dollars in payments from AT&T.  Now in addition to that though it’s been learned that T-Mobile will get additional spectrum from AT&T as well, something AT&T claims it needs desperately.  This additional spectrum is in 128 cellular markets with 12 of those cellular markets being in the top 20 in the country. AT&T has also signed a seven year agreement with T-Mobile covering 3G UMTS roaming that will increase T-Mobile possible potential customers from 230 million to 280 million.

It Gets More Interesting With AT&T and T-Mobile

The information above is interesting in and of itself but then another little piece information became available, that made it even more interesting.  The Department of Justice recently OK’d a deal for AT&T to buy spectrum from Qualcomm.  This new spectrum is in the lower 700 MHz D and E blocks and will help AT&T greatly in their efforts to build out their 4G services.  What the DOJ giveth with one hand, it taketh away with the other.

Or could there be something else at work here?  Why would AT&T be so accommodating in inking new agreements with T-Mobile?  Maybe, just maybe, this isn’t all over yet and AT&T is betting on a change in its political fortunes this election year, which in my opinion is a pretty good bet.  Don’t be surprised to see this deal resurface after a new president is sworn in January 2013.

Stay tuned this can get very interesting come 2013.

AT&T filed suit against the FCC late last week (12-9-2011) over changes the FCC has made to the Connect America Fund.  AT&T charges that the FCC exceeded its authority and is acting contrary to the Communications Act of 1934 as amended by the Telecommunications Act of 1996.  AT&T is requesting that the court hold unlawful the order issued by the FCC that made changes to the Connect America Fund.

The Connect America Fund is to be used to provide broadband service to 18,000,000 people that now lack it.  It appears that the FCC made changes to the fund that capped it at $4.5 billion and required carriers to negotiate compensation rate policies with Voip (Voice Over IP) companies.

It now appears that AT&T not only has a trial with the Department of Justice over the T-Mobile merger beginning in February, it’s also going after the FCC on other grounds as well.  The Department of Justice though has announced it has plans to either withdrawal or to seek a delay in the T-mobile case.  On the face of it is very interesting that the Department of Justice would seek to withdraw from the case or is there more here than meets the eye here?

Stay tuned because things will probably even get more interesting, especially when you’re dealing with this particular Department of Justice.

Verizon 4G |Verizon the largest purveyor of 4G LTE in the United States is once again expanding its footprint.  Verizon is currently in 179 markets across the US and plans it had 16 new towns and cities during the week November 21, 2012.  They are also expanding their footprint in cities where they had already deployed 4G services.

The new towns that will now be able to enjoy Verizon’s 4G service are as follows.

New Verizon 4G Cities

• Littlerock, Arkansas
• Oshkosh, Wisconsin
• Des Moines, Iowa
• Cedar Rapids, Iowa
• Kansas City, Missouri
• Branson, Missouri
• Springfield, Missouri
• Savanna, Georgia
• Lincoln, Nebraska
• Greater Providence, Rhode Island
• Orange County, New York
• Lexington, Kentucky
• Rapid City, South Dakota
• Roanoke, Virginia
• Appleton, Wisconsin
• Starkville, Mississippi

For those of you who live in the new cities congratulations for now being part of the Verizon 4G network.  For those of you who live in the areas that are being expanded, such as Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota, Grand Rapids, Michigan, Louisville, Kentucky and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania now might be a good time to check and see if you’re now part of the 4G family.

Sprint Mobile Data Plans | Sprint is trying to one up their competition on mobile data plans.  Sprint recently launched 3G/4G data plans that provide more data usage for the same price.  Currently most mobile data plans out there will provide you with 5 GB of usage for around $50.00 and 10 GB of data for around $80.00.  Sprint has gone one and two better on the competition by transforming that 5 GB of data into a 6 GB and the 10 into 12.

In addition sprint has also decided to offer plans geared specifically towards tablets, dedicated mobile hotspots and notebooks/USB cards.  These plans break down as follows.

Sprint Mobile Data Plans

• The tablet plans are available in 1, 3, 6 and 12 gigabyte data increments with prices ranging from $19.99 up to $79.99.

• Dedicate mobile hotspot plans are available in 3, 6 and 12 gigabyte increments with prices ranging from $34.99 up to $79.99.

• Notebooks/USB cards data plans are only available as 6 and 12 GB mobile data plans with 6 GB going for $49.99 and 12 GB selling for $79.99.

These new mobile data plans will replace all existing mobile data plans and are now available to new and existing customers.  So if you find yourself bumping up against your data limit every month then this might be a viable option for you to consider.

A word of the wise though Sprint does charge overage fees if you exceed your data limit.  The fees are 5¢ a megabyte if you’re overages are on network and 25¢ a megabyte if you’re off network.  So plan your mobile data plan carefully.

Well it looks like Clearwire’s financial problems are beginning to take front and center stage again.  Clearwire has now announced that it plans to miss a $237,000,000 loan payment that is due in December.  The reason for this they say is that they want to conserve cash by putting off the payment till the end of their 30 day grace period, which would be January 1, 2012.

This may be bad news for Clearwire, but more to the point is how nervous it will make Sprint.  The reason for this is that Sprint is one of Clearwire’s major investors and in 2008 they turned over large block of spectrum to Clearwire for their 4G build out, which Sprint would share in.  Without this large block of spectrum Sprint will have a very hard time dumping WiMax and transferring to 4G LTE on its own.

The reason this should make Sprint nervous is that the block the spectrum they signed over is now part of Clearwire’s assets and if Clearwire should declare bankruptcy that spectrum could go up for auction and the lost to Sprint for good.  That would not be a good day for Sprint.

Now if I was a betting man I would say that this announcement is as much a ploy to get Sprint to ante up more money to keep Clearwire going as it is to achieve the stated purpose of conserving cash.  Any way you look at it though it does not make Clearwire or Sprint look any better in the eyes of the marketplace, which will make acquiring any future cash infusions even more difficult to come by.

Stay tuned I’m sure this will become more and more interesting as time goes by.

Have you ever wondered how much data you actually go through in a day on your smart phone, laptop or tablet?  Well according to one study the average user chugs through about 15 MB every day of the week.  As more and more folks buy new smart phones and tablets that number is slated to soar, heck smart phones alone use 24 times more data than an ordinary cell phone. Can you say data congestion ahead?

It’s projected that by the year 2020 that 15 MB is going to soar to an astronomical 1 GB of data daily.  Think about that for a minute.  Right now your mobile data plan probably supplies you with between one and 10 GB of data per month and after that you are either paying overages or having your Internet speed slowed down to a crawl.  What’s driving this increasing data usage?  One word, video.

I think you can see the problem here before even point it out.  The problem is that if Data plans remain the same you’ll be looking at using up your entire plan within the first 10 days of the month.  Now I don’t want to see negative, but that could put a lot of people in a world of hurt.

So how we handle this 1000% increase in traffic in the next eight years?  Right now it doesn’t look like there’ll be any one technology that will be a magic pill.  Moreover it will probably be a combination of items such as pooling resources, intelligent content delivery, femtocells and beaming coverage that will help to handle this massive traffic jam that is on the way.  Keep in mind though that most of this traffic problem is going exist inside cities and it remains to be seen whether it will creep into the outlying areas. 

Stay tuned!

Portable WiFi 3G Mobile Hotspot | As our society becomes more and more mobile air cards for laptops will become more more popular.  The problem with the older generation of air cards is that they are required to be tethered to the laptop.  Most of the wireless internet cards resemble an oversize flash drive and present just one more appendage sticking off of your computer.

The more popular mobile computing becomes the more folks are going to not want those appendages especially with tablets.  This is where portable WiFi or a 3G mobile hotspot comes into the picture.  A 3G mobile hotspot makes it possible for you to perform the same functions as the older generation of USB air card, but it also allows for the elimination of tethering.  Simply turn on your 3G Mobile hotspot and your laptop or tablet will be able to access the Internet through the hot spot via its WiFi connection.

Once the Internet connection is made just put the hotspot in your pocket or briefcase and you’re on your way.  The really good news is that these portable WiFi devices come in unlocked versions, which means you will not be tethered as well to a two year contract with a data contract provider.  You simply go month to month until you find the next great deal on a data contract and then switch.

Here are few highly rated 3G Mobile hotspot devices with some of their specifications.

Huawei E585 3G Mobile Hotspot.

• This 3G Mobile hotspot comes unlocked from the factory and can connect up to five WiFi enabled devices at once.

• Speeds up to 7.2 megabits download and 5.7 megabits uploads are possible over HSPA / UMTS – 2100/1900/900 MHz EDGE / GPRS / GSM – 1900/1800/900/850 MHzNetworks.
• A high-capacity integrated microSDHC slot has been provided.
• Comes with a rechargeable battery that will allow you 5 hours of surfing time or 100 hours of standby time.

Zoom We3G 4520 3G Mobile Hotspot.

• The Zoom We3G will provide up to 4 hours of use on a single charge, is lighter than most cell phones and fits easily into a pocket.
• Enables you to connect up a five WiFi compatible devices at a single time through the hot spot.
• Operates at up to 7.2 Mbps download speeds and 5.76 Mbps upload speeds in UMTS/HSPA: 850/1900/2100 MHz and GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz.
• The portable WiFi hotspot incorporates a MicroSDHC slot for expansion and measures only 3.75″ X 2″ X .6”.

ZTE MF60 3G Mobile Hotspot

• This portable 3.5G WiFi unit has a small lightweight design and incorporates a mini USB Port as well as a built-in OLED display.
• Has a HSPA peak speed of 21.6 mbits and can support up to eight users for Internet access.
• Functions in HSDPA/HSUPAUMTS 850/1900/2100 MHz. GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 MHz.
• The MF60 also supports data and SMS Services as well as incorporating a 32 GB microSD card slot.
• The rechargeable battery is capable of providing 4 hours of surfing time and 100 hours of standby time.
• Its WiFi capabilities offer 802.11b/g/n for increased performance and reliability.

All the cards mentioned here are unlocked 3G or 3.5G compatible mobile hotspots.  Unlocked 4G cards have not yet made it the mainstream, but unless you’re doing heavy video downloads or working with large graphic files 3 or 3.5G should more than suit your needs.  The money these 3G Mobile hotspot units will save you when shopping for a data plan as well as the decreased cost of the cards themselves will go a long way towards taking a bite out of not having 4G capabilities. At least until those cards go mainstream.

ZTE MF60 3G Mobile Hotspot Video