Telava 3G Broadband Bullet kills mobile broadband contracts dead
By Tim Stevens 
posted February 25th 2010 7:54AM
posted February 25th 2010 7:54AM
3G anywhere is great, but locking yourself into a two (plus) year contract to get access to it is decidedly less-so. Enter Telava, a prepaid wireless company that is launching its so-called Broadband Bullet. It's a simple USB modem that you can pop into your port-having device and get online at typical 3G speeds, the interesting thing being here that your $50 a month for 5GB ($60 for unlimited) comes without a contract. You can pay for one month, take a month off, then pay for the next two, switch between 5GB and unlimited, and generally do whatever you like without getting hit with an ETF. What you will get hit with is a $100 up-front security deposit, or you can pay $200 if for some crazy reason you want to keep the thing. Telava promises "nationwide coverage everywhere," and Update: As a few of you have pointed out in comments, this appears to be T-Mo's network it's piggy-backing on.
Hmm, this sounds pretty exciting. Much better than Virgin Mobile if you want to use a lot of data.
@MRCUR But it uses T-Mobile. For as much as people blast ATT, T-mobile is infinitely worse. Why don't people complain about their 3g coverage?
@JonS Because AT&T had years to build a 3G network that didn't suck, and failed at it. T-Mobile's is just going on 1.5 years from their initial deployment, with upgraded towers and speeds. The places that have 3G coverage have a very reliable 3G signal (some devices nonwithstanding), and yeah, it sucks when you don't have it, but they've made some good progress in that year and a half.
Plus the fact that Tmo doesn't charge nearly as much as AT&T for that network.
@JonS - When I posted my comment I didn't yet know T-Mo was the carrier behind the network... This isn't an option to me anymore as T-Mo doesn't have 3G where I live.
I'll stick with my Virgin Mobile card and my Bold 9700 (on AT&T) if I need mobile data.
I have been using a very similar device for 6+ months now from thedatajack.com. It's basically the same deal, pay a high upfront cost for the hardware (an Option 3G USB sitck) , then use T-mo's signals for data. Sure the speed is relatively slow and T-mo's coverage is not stellar (you can switch down to GPRS when no 3G can be picked up), but it works and is unlimited (I've used on average 5-10gb a month) for $40 a month. $20 cheaper than the 5gb plans from the major carriers. Plus it's completely prepaid, a huge bonus over the 2-year contract.
I don't know why this company doesn't self promote itself more, they have a good deal going.
P.S. - I'm not a company shill :P
$700 a year to access 3G for 12 months? That's daylight robbery. Who made this device, Dick Turpin?
Ok this would be fine if you only needed it for one or two months, but most people would end up using it all year round.
It's beyond me why people who have mobile Internet contracts don't just get a 3G enabled phone, like the iPhone.
@Xpoc Lack of being able to tether, difference in how the carriers define "unlimited / fair use" with mobile broadband vs Smartphone internet packages, lack of a good enough browsing experience on the handset itself ... shall I go on?
@bbalex Problems with tethering are core of the problem. Here in Europe you can run JoikuSpot on your Nokia, to turn it into a wifi hotspot, so you can stretch your 3G to a number of devices. By WiFi you can tether your Nokia not only to a laptop, but to an N800 MID, iPod Touch or whatever else.
@stoffer That's cool, but I neither have or want a Nokia :) My Pre can do tethering over BlueTooth but O2 disallow it. My point was there's a marketplace for mobile broadband over 3G even if you have a nice smartphone in your pocket, and the market is mainly created by the carriers wanting you to buy two connections (contract or not).
@stoffer
Isn't it funny? Over in europe they SHIP handsets OUT OF THE BOX with tethering software like JoikuSpot and WindowsMobileWifiRouter -- here they either don't allow it at all, or they want you to pay 10$ a month extra for it and use their software, not public software. Greed is disgusting.
@DoctarPeppar Are you implying that European companies are less greedy than Americans?
i think the real factor in differences is expected behavior. American vs. European customers...
@Xpoc I always thought that the US was much ahead of us(india) in terms of broadband. Right now i am using a very similar modem as the one mentioned above and am paying around 20$ for 120hrs/month(3.1Mbps). The modem itself is a huawei modem that cost me around 60$ and thats it!!
The provider is TATA Indicom. You might know them as the guys who bought Jaguar & Land Rover!
@Xpoc
Great comment................until the iPhone mention
Is Pay-As-You-Go Mobile Broadband a new thing in the States then? In the UK you can typically pay about £25 one-off fee for a USB stick with SIM card, and then about £15 per month for 3 / 5 GB allowance depending on carrier, without a contract.
The only thing really lacking on the PayG market in the UK is a contract-free "unlimited" option, but there's a way of getting round it with some carriers.
@bbalex
In the UK it also gets better still (at least for occasional users)
Vodafone sell a £15 dongle and then sell you 1GB of credit at £15 which does not expire.
this is IDEAL for the occasional user. sure it's more expensive if you use a lot of data, but for somone that wants a 3g card in their bag for the occasional coffee shop surf it's brilliant.
1GB works out at about 10 hours surfing for me.
@bbalex
Yeah, I'm actually quite surprised to read about a 2 year contract requirement as well..
@bbalex Yeah pretty much, the best was verizon with unlimited for $15/day but its now something crap, i think $15/day with a 75MB cap or so. Virgin offers prepaid but the prices are horrible and it expires when after a month.
@Acuum Coffee shop surf in the US is over wifi. I am jealous though because we do not have that option for prepaid data, which would be handy when out of wifi range which is rare here in New York.
@bbalex
Your being ripped off badly, I pay £15 ($25) a month for unlimited mobile broadband in the UK on pay as you go
I averagely do 45GB a month
@OCEAN CLAK Cool, what provider? I'm not using anyone at the mo I've just been researching for when I move house, sounds awesome
@OCEAN CLAK
And that T-Mobiles Network
@OCEAN CLAK T-Mobile? Got a link? Sounds like a bargain
@bbalex
T-mobiles Network
its really £15 a month for 3GB except they dont charge or stop the connection when it runs out, so you can do 50GB+ a month for the same price, so unlimited internet
@bbalex
Here
http://www.t-mobile.co.uk/shop/mobile-broadband/mbbpayperday/
@OCEAN CLAK Great, many thanks. Are Skype, FTP, SMTP allowed? It only mentions Skype on their "pay monthly" plan but I'd only be interested if they weren't doing arbitrary port blocking as I'm a freelance coder
@bbalex
yeah all of them
Skype, MSN, BBC iPlayer, Youtube, Downloads
@bbalex
USA is still in the dark ages in terms of pay as you go pricing. T-mobile (the network this thing is piggybacking off of) doesn't even offer pre-pay data plans for phones. If you come visit the states and want to use a phone for a couple of weeks you'd need to buy a 2 year contract or else just be content with voice. Any kind of advances in pre-pay services are huge in the States, so this is a really big deal. What I fear is if it finally starts to look like we'll be able to get companies to offer the kind of pre-paid plans available everywhere in Europe, our Government will step in and ban them under the guise of "fighting terrorism".
@Tim - I think there are some important details missing. I just chatted with their support:
- To get your $100 back you must cancel the service within 30 days. Keep it longer than 30 and you get charged another $100.
- If your usage pattern doesn't require contiguous service you can indeed pay/return-for-refund/repeat, however it's $30 for each activation.
- Even though the service is month to month, *each* time you activate the device it's a $30 charge. So if you buy the device for $200, it's $30 to activate upon purchase. If you use it and then drop service, it's another $30 to reactivate - each time you do so. So unless your usage is truly just a few blocks of time per year, it's a disincentive against dropping service.
- Matt
There is no 2-year contract required with Verizon or Sprint if you purchase the hardware outright. I walked into a store, plopped down $150 for the USB dongle, and signed up for month-to-month unlimited at $60. Canceled two months later when I came back to the states.
Only thing is you have to go through Verizon's whole "we want to keep you!" campaign which is really quite annoying.
@jcontonio So you paid $135/month for 2 months for mobile data, man that sounds like a steal.
@KAL326 I paid $120 for two months of unlimited data yes, just the same that you'd pay with this device. Yes it sucks, but when you're traveling the country for two months what other options do you have?
My comment was merely to point out that this device is no different than buying one from Verizon and not signing a contract. $100 setup fee and $60/mo unlimited? Same thing.
@jcontonio
I am sorry but I don't see an UNLIMITED mobile broadband plan on Verizon's site. Yes, there's a $59/mo plan but it is capped at 5GB.
@jcontonio True, but I was pointing out the fixed cost implications of what you did. Assuming you never used said $150 USB wireless modem again and didn't sell to somebody else then you in effect paid $135 a month of wireless. Your $120 for two months of service would be the same as buying a car oversees and saying that it only cost you what you paid in gas to drive around for two months.
@KAL326 Yeah good point. It is ridiculous. I plan on using this device again and again though, just randomly. Ideally all laptops would have this built in and the price would be similar to the iPad subscription model.
This is T-Mobile's network they are MVNO'ing off of. If you go to their site and google their disclaimer under the network coverage map, the first hit is t-m because they just copy/pasted it into their own site, and the green map color scheme is identical.
@Fred S
The company's name is "telava". So their mobile internet business is "Telava Mobile". But that's not the same as "T-Mobile". Just look at the 3g coverage map.
@nedflandersMom It's Sprint. All the way, they covereage maps line up AND their website talks about it's Wi-Max network. It's Sprint.
@Fred S Your right, it is t-mo. Look at the legal page:
When you use, download, or install Content or Apps that you purchase from T-Mobile, the Content or App is licensed to you by T-Mobile and may be subject to additional license terms between you and the creator/owner of the Content or App. Whether purchased from T-Mobile or a third party seller, any Content or App you purchase is licensed for personal, lawful, non-commercial use on your device only.
@link12245 I stand corrected... These guys should just clear the whole thing up and have 1 coverage map...
Here's what I think more people would be interested in: paying for what you use. If that $50 bought me 5gigs that I could use until they were used up, then billed again, I could maybe see that. Maybe if the iPhone worked more like that then Ralph de la Vega wouldn't be hating on his customers so much.
Did a quick comparison between their coverage map and the maps of some of the other carriers and it looks like they use Verizon for data services.
@nedflandersMom It's T-mobile man. I saw this within a second of seeing their map and I provided proof. Damn Engadget I was getting all excited for nothing.
@jdog25 They are using a couple of different maps to show coverage. One looks like a Verizon map they turned blue to match their logo, the other is a direct copy of the t-mobile map. http://www.telavamobile.com/Information/Coveragemap.aspx and http://www.telavamobile.com/Shop/shop2Plans_bullet.aspx.
I went to the website and tried to order and I found out it's T-mobile's map that they show.
T-mobile's Map: http://www.t-mobile.com/coverage/pcc.aspx?WT.z_unav=mst_global_cvg
Telava's Map: http://www.telavamobile.com/Shop/shop2Plans_bullet.aspx
They are identical.
@jdog25 Interesting. These guys are using several different maps to show their coverage: this one looks a lot like Verizon's map: http://www.telavamobile.com/Information/Coveragemap.aspx.
@nedflandersMom Ok now thats weird thanks for bringing that to my attention.
Cricket has 3G data for $40 a month and its no contract. Modem is $50 if ordered online. Supposedly not the fastest connections nor the widest coverage, but if its in your area its hard to beat the price.
Americans are rich, I only pay £15 ($25) a month for unlimited mobile broadband in the UK
@OCEAN CLAK Through which provider?
@OCEAN CLAK
Same in Austria. I pay 24€ ($30) for an unlimited plan. You have to consider though that their mobile providers have to cover far bigger areas.