

Ask HN: Mobile Broadband sateside - ErrantX

Hopefully you can figure out a bit of a conundrum for me :)<p>Im coming to the mighty US for a holiday later this month. As it's 3 a week trip roaming new england etc. Im taking my Netbook so I can keep up with emails and book hotels etc.<p>Problem is that my mobile broadband costs a fortune there: it's a blooming monopoly. ALL UK providers are charging about <i>£6 per MB</i>. Fair enough I expected some premium.. but in the UK they charge that for about a GB!<p>So. What are my options.<p>Mostly I want to rely on free/cheap wifi - the mobile is just contingency.<p>How much cheap wifi is there kicking around over there? NY I assume wont be a problem but we are going round New England and inland a bit (Boston, Niagra, Chicago, Washington possibly).<p>Secondly what are the chances of me popping into a phone shop in NY when I land and picking up a cheap pasy as you go dongle? A traveller to the UK probably couldn't do it because they do credit checks and want you to be a resident etc.<p>Any ideas gratefully appreciated - staying online for the 3 weeks will make things soooo much easier :)<p>EDIT: I know this is a bit off topic for HN - but your about the biggest US community I hang out at :)
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brk
You'll find sporadic spots of unsecured wifi. There are many restaurants and
coffee shops that also have free wifi.

If you can handle being online at unpredictable times, it won't be much of an
issue.

If you want to be able to go online at a moments notice, that will be a little
tougher. You can get pay as you go cell phones, but I'm not sure about the
data plans. Some car rental places will rent you a mobile broadband hotspot,
but I seem to recall that when I've seen the pricing it was fairly outrageous.

