Wireless Internet Reviews

When shopping for a 3G mobile broadband package, consumers should expect two things: high prices, low caps. It’s not an ideal scenario, but it’s the situation we’re stuck with. That’s why we view the new DataJack mobile broadband plans with a twinge of skepticism. The company will launch the service at CES with an initial price of $39.99 per month, or about $20 less than the big carriers. While that by itself might be conceivable, the further details are not. There is no usage cap, and it doesn’t require a contract. So how is DataJack going to get away with this?

For starters, I imagine they’d have to use another company’s 3G network. Since they’re advertising GSM 3G and EDGE, it sounds like T-Mobile or AT&T. Since it’s 5.76Mbps to 7.2Mbps in speed, it sounds like T-Mobile — though I could be wrong. In any case, you can probably see the issue here. If T-Mobile is capping usage for its own customers, why would it allow a company renting its spectrum to allow unlimited usage to its customers?

We’ll see what comes of DataJack, but I’m not optimistic. As they say, when something looks too good to be true, chances are it is.