Engadget Labs: The best mobile data carrier in America

Full report at http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/26/engadget-labs-the-best-mobile-broadband-carrier-in-america/
by Darren Murph, posted May 26th 2009 at 4:41PM

Some findings:

• Every major plan runs right at $60 per month for 5GB of throughput.
• Sprint is the only carrier that avoids dinging you with an activation fee.
• AT&T and T-Mobile are the only two with true worldwide roaming support (GSM bands).
• International data roaming is absurdly expensive; you're infinitely better off just buying a prepaid data card in the country you travel to.
• AT&T offers the most data card options; T-Mobile offers the least (just one).
• Even domestic overage charges are pricey; don't buy a data card to act as your primary ISP -- this stuff is for backup / traveling only.
• Sprint will cut you a $9.99 discount if you bundle a data card in with a phone in a Simply Everything package.

Sadly for consumers, we can't compare these options on monthly throughput allowance or monthly rate plans. In a fashion that only a colluder could love, the big four here in America all have matching monthly rate plans with matching monthly caps (5GB). So much for choice, right? In our view, it's also somewhat frivolous to compare the offerings on international compatibility considering that you're always better off just picking up a prepaid option from a local operator upon your arrival overseas.
So, what are we left with? Raw speed figures and coverage, really. Based on coverage alone, we'd select Verizon first (from a national standpoint) and AT&T second. Naturally, you'll need to visit those links in the 'Coverage' section to see which carrier is superior in your neck of the woods. Unfortunately, Verizon was the slowest of the bunch (albeit not by much), and AT&T was the victor by a country mile in terms of Kbps. If it's speed you're after (and really, who's not after speed?), we can't help but recommend AT&T -- if you're within one of the carrier's limited 3G areas. The other caveat here is that for whatever reason, AT&T's reliability -- particularly in densely populated areas -- has been disreputably suspect. If you're an existing AT&T user and can't seem to get a solid 3G signal on your smartphone where you're at, don't expect a LaptopConnect card to act any differently. Frankly, that goes for all carriers. Aside from T-Mobile, which just doesn't have the coverage to compete right now, you can hardly go wrong with any of these options. But as our speed tests have shown, you'd need a darn good excuse to avoid AT&T if the coverage and reliability is right.