Connected Everywhere, and FAST! Verizon Wireless does the job
Like many of you, I travel a lot. Way too much. And it seems that these days, next to arriving safely and relatively on time, being connected once you get there is the next most important factor. Yes, most hotels now have high-speed connections (and just say no to those that don't), but it seriously irks me to pay $10 (or more) per day for the privilege of using their pokey DSL connection. About four years ago, my pal Tom Howe introduced me to Sprint Wireless service that allowed for nearly full coverage within the US, with speeds up to (ostensibly) 100K for downloads. I used it for several years, paying $99US per month for the service. Earlier this year, Verizon Wireless expanded their EVDO NationalAccess/BroadbandAccess service, with connection speeds averaging 500K, into 30 major markets for only $79 per month with unlimited use. Trying it here at home, in south Florida, I routinely get at least 500K downloads, and once I even saw a connection speed of over 1000K! The trick is that the BroadbandAccess service (available in those 30 markets) provides the high speed. If you're outside those markets, you get the standard NationalAccess service, which operates at the same speed as the Sprint Wireless service. So, even when you're not in a "blessed" city, you get decent throughput (better than dialup).
I've found the BroadbandAccess service to be faster than most hotel connections, and I use it often. You have to pay for the modem (Verizon Wireless PC 5220), but once you've crossed that hurdle, the rest is just, well, fast. Even at its worst, this service is better than any of the current GSM-based data services. Of course, these things change fast--I wouldn't sign up for a two-year contract, no matter how much it saves you. A year from now, you're likely to want the latest and fastest service, and this might not be it. For now, though, this one is the fastest I've found, and it's served me well.