Laptop-toting road warriors who don’t want to commit to a long-term mobile broadband data plan might be interested in a new offering from Verizon Wireless. On Thursday, the wireless carrier rolled out three new mobile data plans as part of the company’s prepaid portfolio.
The plans let customers tap into the mobile broadband speed they need on Verizon’s 3G network with daily, weekly or monthly pay-as-you-go access. The plans will be available beginning Nov. 15.
“As more and more people begin to use these devices in different ways, all of a sudden it’s not just the device. The network and the ability to connect to the network becomes very important,” said Michael Gartenberg, a vice president at Interpret. “Verizon has a very strong reputation for their coverage and connectivity. Prepaid mobile broadband is going to be more important going forward, particularly for people who don’t need it on a daily basis and don’t necessarily want to pay a monthly fee.”
Choosing a Prepaid Plan
Verizon is billing the new options as ideal for customers who need Internet access for occasional or seasonal use on vacation, while enjoying a weekend getaway, or for students away at school. Customers who want to tap this option, however, have to purchase a Verizon USB760 modem for $129.99.
The USB760 comes with a high-performance internal antenna, removable memory of up to 8GB, and support for Windows 2000, XP and Vista; Mac OS X; and Linux. Daily users will pay $15 for 75MB of data. Weekly users will pay $30 for 250MB, and monthly users will pay $50 for 500MB.
To help customers decide which package meets their needs, Verizon offers a chart that indicates how much data usage various Internet functions demand. Users could send about 25,000 text-only e-mails, view 500 web pages, and 150 low-resolution digital photos on the…