[Discuss] Low Cost Internet?

[sronan at panix.com (Stephen Ronan)]

On Fri, 7 Jun 2013, Michael Webb wrote:
> Did you look at this http://www.freedompop.com/

Yes, actually I use that and find it excellent for having 
Internet access while mobile using a Nexus tablet... I would 
indeed recommend it for those similarly situated who have 
another home Internet service, want to use it for a limited 
amount of additional mobile service.

They quite aggressively try to upsell and I'd be cautious about 
recommending it to someone who didn't clearly have the capacity 
to evaluate the multiple options they offer and make sensible 
decisions. For example, I wouldn't casually suggest it to 
families with youngsters that might rack up unexpected bills. At 
one point I was told they were going to bill me a small amount 
for insufficient usage the prior month; I didn't recall seeing 
that provision in their fine print.

I see that they have these current offerings:

$14.99    3Mbps speed
10GB data usage
7 cents per each additional 10 MB

$9.99 / month
1.5 Mbps speed
5 GB data usage
7 cents per each additional 10 MB

$0 / month
no particular speed advertised
1 GB data usage
1 cent per each additional MB

Seems like when I signed up for their $0/month plan (had to buy 
the hotspot device for about $100), it was only 500MB rather than 
1GB. In any event, they do seem worth keeping in mind when 
recommending inexpensive service.

    - Stephen