MiFi questions

I just got an unlocked Novatel MiFi 2372 for a decent price (50 USD) with dreams of being able to browse the Web anywhere. Then I found out some things that woke me up quickly. First, the voice/data SIM card from my phone won't work in it. I contacted my cellular carrier (AT&T), which advised me that I need a different data plan with a different SIM card to use the MiFi even though I currently have an unlimited data plan.

The news gets worse. I found out there are no truly unlimited data plans by any carriers for MiFi users any more. Those that are "unlimited" drop 3G speed and implement a snail's pace (usually about 200 kbps) after 5 GB of data in the billing month. My guess is it wouldn't take long to get to the 5 GB limit with one device connected at a time, let alone five. And if I cancel my phone's unlimited data to save on the monthly bill, I can't get it back later if I want cuz it's no longer offered - only "grandfathered" to those who already have it.

So now I'm considering my options. My phone's 3G card will still work in my Sierra Wireless 860 PCMCIA adapter, but that limits me to my older CE 4.x devices with PCMCIA slots (like my Netbook Pro), and it seems a bit slow that way. My phone is Bluetooth and IR-enabled, so Bluetooth remains an option with the phone, but how does the speed using the phone as modem compare to MiFi? (I've also been unable to figure out thus far how to set up the Bluetooth connection for Web browsing. Remember, folks, I'm still a techno-idiot.) Anyway, I really like the idea of having the ability to browse with more than one device through the portable hotspot - like if my girlfriend and I are on the road together and want to browse at the same time on our own computers, or if I want to do some file sharing on the road.

I know at least a few other members here have used MiFi at some point. Can some of you shed some light?

Well, I've used Mifi on AT&T with my roaming plan when I went to the United States last August. That didn't have the limit, but it cost me $10 per day. (I only stayed for 7 days, but kinda hurt my wallet)

5GB cap is actually not that bad I think, if you browse mobile sites from tablets and such. I tried 300Kbps with a Japanese MVNO called b-mobile, it's not too bad on a smartphone. b-mobile offered compression by the carrier, and also, browsers such as Opera has turbo mode (compression) by the Opera server so that will speed things up quite a bit.

So my advice, use compression mode on Opera or if provided by the carrier, enable it.

One of my objectives was of course to be able to use my CE netbooks with it, so that thought has crossed my mind.

Well, it won't work with your MiFi because it is CDMA, but Sprint actually has a truly unlimited plan if you buy their MiFi. One of my friends who is a data hog uses Sprint and can confirm that they don't slow down your data at 5GB.

Sprint's truly unlimited plan appears to be for 4G from what I've read. Sprint has the same 5 GB limit for 3G. I'm not ruling out a separate data-only plan with Sprint, but I've also read better reviews about AT&T's 3G performance.