Ups and downs of international broadband card rentals?

June 22, 2009 9:35 AM

How good are international broadband rental places like wifirents.com?

Friend is going to Mexico to do some missionary work, doesn't have a broadband card for his laptop, and doesn't want to get locked into a contract, as he's planning to switch carriers when his current cell plan runs out and get a new smartphone. Meantime, he'd like to have broadband access while he's out of the country.

I'm trying to find him a decent solution, and unfortunately so far can't find anyone in the US that sells mobile broadband cards with international access on a month to month or pre-paid basis. I found wifirents, which sounds like it could work, but have never heard of it and don't want to accidentally rope this friend into a bunch of hidden charges or dodgy service. He's a minister and doing this out of pocket, so he's very much on a budget here.

Has anyone here had experiences with services like this that they'd recommend, or another solution?

posted by middleclasstool to Computers & Internet (1 answer total)

I have rented broadband cards in UK and Ireland--I found them less than satisfactory because because of limits and associated charges on the volume of downloads. They can get very very expensive unless used with extreme prudence. I soon abandoned them and used internet cafes and wifi hot spots. I will be surprised if you can find a plan that meets his needs and budget. there are some MB calculators on the web--here is a one provided by Vodafone. Having used a rental card you will be surprised how quickly you go through web pages, open emails etc.
posted by rmhsinc at 1:16 PM on June 22, 2009