The Fastest Networks
Figuring out which service offers the best value is like piecing together a fascinating puzzle of options and contracts. Clear and Sprint offer the best deal by far for next generation data connections. Those two companies offer slightly different options on the same network service. If you must have the fastest network around, Verizon Wireless offers a good deal for its LTE service. But even Verizon Wireless' fast LTE network doesn't offer a deal as remarkable as Sprint and Clear. Finally, AT&T offers the worst bang for your buck of all the major carriers.
If you buy your device from Sprint or Clear, you get unlimited service on the 4G WiMAX network. If you find yourself in an area without 4G, you're still covered, but you only get 5GB of 3G data. Even if you don't count the unlimited 4G, Sprint still gives you as much data as the two slower carriers offer on their best plan, so with the unlimited 4G option, Sprint and Clear are offering a great deal.
On Clear, that deal will run you $55 per month. You don't have to sign a contract on Clear, though you do have to sign away 2 years of your life on Sprint. If you do sign a long-term agreement with Clear, the company will waive the $35 activation fee and give you the first month of service for free. Whether or not you sign a contract, Clear will sell you the Sierra Wireless modem I tested for $115. Sprint, on the other hand, requires the contract but also gives you its own 4G USB modem for free. Sprint doesn't charge an activation fee, but it won't give you a free month, either.
Personally, I'm not a fan of long-term commitments if I can avoid them, so the Clear deal sounds great for being contract-free. Even paying a total of $150 for the modem and activation, that's still less than you'll pay for a modem without a contract on the other 3 carriers. If you plan on using the device for 2 years, though, and you don't mind the commitment, Sprint's deal is better, since the activation and first month on Clear only add up to $90, while Sprint gives you free activation and a free USB modem. In either case, though, the real steal is the unlimited data, which is unheard of on every other carrier.
If you don't have WiMAX in your area, Verizon Wireless still offers a good deal. It isn't quite as cheap as T-Mobile's offering, but it is much faster, and the price per GB is comparable if you're going to spring for the 10GB plan on Verizon. Of course, Verizon makes you pay $100 for the USB modem, or $250 if you want to avoid the contract agreement. The device is free on T-Mobile, or $200 if you don't want a 2-year commitment.
If speed isn't a concern, T-Mobile sweetens the deal with an interesting data overage plan. If you exceed your 5GB limit on T-Mobile, the carrier does not cut you off or start charging exorbitant fees per Megabyte. They simply throttle down your speed. So, you could theoretically use all the data you like on T-Mo, but the carrier can hit the brakes until you're chugging along at an undisclosed, but presumably quite slow speed.
AT&T offers the worst deal of the bunch. The price per GB of data is more expensive than any other carrier, running $60 for 5GB. Like Sprint and T-Mobile, AT&T offers the USB modem for free with a new contract, but if you want to pay month-by-month, the modem will cost you $250, which is more than any other device except for Verizon's LTE kit.
If you run over your data cap on AT&T, you'll pay $0.05 per MB in overage fees. Sprint and Clear also both charge $0.05 per MB for overage. So, for all of those networks, you'll pay $50 per GB in fees if you're a real data hog. For comparison, Verizon Wireless only charges $10 per GB if you run over, and Verizon offers a larger cap in its $80, 10GB plan. But as I said, T-Mobile doesn't charge any overage fees at all.
So, if you are a data hog, choose Sprint or Clear, which offer unlimited data on 4G and a high limit on 3G for the best price per GB. If you're a speed fanatic, choose Verizon Wireless, which offers the best speeds around for a good price. If you're a bargain hunter, go with T-Mobile, where you won't be hit with huge feeds for exceeding your monthly limit. If you're a masochist, choose AT&T.
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