Recommend the cheapest way of getting data on holiday in the USA?

[Terencek]

Can anyone recommend the best way of getting (3G) data while on a month-long holiday in the USA? Prepaid data used to be a problem in many countries, but things have certainly improved in that respect in, for example, the UK. Is it now easier to set up (buying a prepaid SIM plus data) in the US? And if so, any recommendations? Thx!

[Chevron]

Why don't you ask people that are in the US?

[werny]

Just buy a prepaid sim there, when I was in Detroit all they asked is my drivers license and proof of home address, I gave then my SA license and told them I'm living with other people.

Got the sim (virgin mobile usa) for like +-R500? and downloaded over 20GB in a month, the 3G cap is 5GB and on 4G the data is 10GB and after that you get throttled, but not to badly like here in SA.

http://www.virginmobileusa.com/mobil...adband2go.html

[Mr.CookieMonster]

Doesn't america have a lot of free public Wi-Fi hotspots and supper affordable Wi-Fi??

[Terencek]

Yes America does have plenty of free WiFi, but I still want the independence of being able to get online without having to find a specific location to do it from (e.g. when in a campground).

Thanks for the Virgin tip, which I will investigate. Apparently according to American surveys T-Mobile has the most comprehensive 3G network. On my last trip I often found it far more difficult to get a usable signal when on the road than back here in South Africa!

[Terencek]

Update: coincidentally, the Sunday Times yesterday provided one possible answer. For anyone else interested, www.flyconnected.com offers an interesting deal, a preconfigured SIM (from T-Mobile) allowing a month's unlimited data, calls and texts (more or less) plus some international calling, for R699. Appears to have a good track record, according to the Sunday Times reference.

[DrYes]

Just make sure you remove your sim just before the plane takes off.