Campus-Ready Wireless Data Cards

Wi-Fi networks abound on college (and even high-school) campuses these days, but they're not everywhere—and they're not always that reliable, either. Keep your favorite student connected with a wireless data card that plugs into his or her laptop.

All the big U.S. carriers offer wireless laptop cards that tap into their respective cellular data networks, which offer speeds that are competitive with DSL and even cable modems, in some cases. AT&T has its 3.5G HSDPA network, while Sprint and Verizon Wireless both have EV-DO networks that were recently upgraded to the speedier Rev. A specification. The exception among the big U.S. carriers is T-Mobile, which is still stuck in the pokey land of EDGE—faster than dial-up, but well short of DSL speed (then again, T-Mobile's data plan is considerably cheaper than its competition, and you get unlimited surfing at T-Mobile's Wi-Fi HotSpots in the bargain).

The data cards themselves run the gamut in terms of pricing, ranging anywhere from free to upwards of $180. There are three basic cards to choose from: standard PC Cards (or Type II PCMCIA cards), ExpressCards, and USB-compatible cards. USB cards will work on just about any laptop with a USB port, but they tend to be pricey. Standard PC Cards and ExpressCards are usually cheaper (especially PC Cards), but you'll need a laptop with a corresponding PC Card or ExpressCard slot; check the laptop itself (or, if you're not sure, check the user manual).

Once you've settled on the type of data card you want, you're ready to go shopping. AT&T, for example, offers all its data cards for $50 a piece, regardless of type (although its data plans are more expensive, as you'll see below). Sprint's cards range from $10 for a Rev. A-capable PC Card to $180 for an ExpressCard (its USB data dongle goes for $80), while T-Mobile's EDGE/Wi-FI combo card retails for a whopping $150. Finally, Verizon Wireless has a free Rev. A-ready PC Card (but with an annoying flip-out antenna), a USB dongle for $100, and a Rev. A ExpressCard for $130.

That's the hardware—now for the plans. The data card prices I quoted above all require a two-year data plan; anything less, and card prices rise north of $200. I'd also advise picking an unlimited data plan; you can save a little cash by going with, say, a 40MB-a-month plan, but if you stray above that data limit (which is easy to do), you'll pay dearly for it.

• AT&T: $80/month for unlimited data, or $100/month for unlimited data plus unlimited use of AT&T Wi-Fi access points; or $30/month for 10MB of data
• Sprint: $60/month for unlimited data, or $40/month for 40MB of data
• T-Mobile: $50/month for unlimited EDGE data (slower than the 3G speeds of the other big U.S. carriers) and unlimited use of T-Mobile HotSpots
• Verizon Wireless: $60/month for unlimited data

And one more thing: these "unlimited" data plans aren't really unlimited—that is, you'll be hearing from your carrier if you're downloading dozens of songs or running a server over the data card. Verizon Wireless, for instance, puts a 5GB cap on your monthly data usage, and makes a point of not calling its plan "unlimited." Read the fine print before you sign on the dotted line.