T-Mobile Total Internet

March 2009. Reviews recommend T-Mobile as a good budget choice for mobile broadband service, since its basic rate is lower than most. While initially offering a very low 1 GB monthly cap, it was eliminated after protests and the company now claims that there is no monthly cap at all. Free Wi-Fi at T-Mobile hotspots -- available at most airports and throughout many cities -- is another plus. Ratings for customer service are very good. One significant minus is that T-Mobile's 3G network is the smallest of all, though it is expected to grow considerably during 2009. Verizon (*est. $40 to $60 per month) also gets good grades for customer service and its 3G service is more widely available.

Thanks largely to a lack of a high-speed 3G broadband network until recently, T-Mobile gets far less coverage in reviews than some other carriers. Mobile-Broadband-Reviews.com rates T-Mobile on five different factors in comparison with four other providers, but lack of information about T-Mobile's 3G network makes some of what's here dated. At DSLReports.com, T-Mobile is compared with even more mobile broadband providers, based on users' reviews and ratings -- with rankings updated weekly. The big surveys at J. D. Power and Associates and Consumer Reports are based on many more users, but focus on voice plans rather than mobile broadband. TopTenReviews.com does focus explicitly on mobile broadband, but bases its rankings only on features, with no evidence of testing or use.