This could be great news for the swath of business travellers that sits between "goes to annual company meetup" and "is constantly in the air" — Virgin Mobile launched a pay-as-you-go Broadband2Go service, providing mobile 3G data connectivity using Sprint's EV-DO Rev. A network, without the pain of having to sign a 2-year contract with a cell carrier. Unfortunately, the news comes with a couple of caveats, and they are doozies.

For one, the prices aren't that great. The $150 for the Novatel Ovation MC760 USB dongle without carrier subsidy is fine, but to use the service you buy "top-up cards" in size increments of 100, 250, 500 MB and 1 GB for $10, $20, $40, and $60 respectively. Beyond the fact that as compared to regular broadband prices it feels like having your wallet ripped straight through your body (even Time Warner's much-hated proposed cap pricing would have been better value), it actually gets worse — you have to use up the amount of data you paid for within 30 days (or more egregiously, 10 days in the case of the smallest 100 MB increment).

Wait, what? Why, Virgin Mobile, why?! Why introduce such a sweet service that tempts the class of travellers not willing to sign an "I promise to pay you $1500 over 2 years" contract for mobile broadband and then make it so artificially crippled? If I'm paying you for that data usage, what difference does it make if I use half now and half in September? Will Sprint's cell towers crumble into dust if all that "potential data usage" is floating around out there waiting to be cashed in... (cue suspenseful organ stab)... at any time?

Still, even with the Greedy Bastard Tax attached to Broadband2Go it nevertheless provides a valuable option for the occasional traveller who wants to be connected in the go without shelling out $10 at every (infrequent) wireless hotspot and $15 per diem typical hotel rates. Having recently cancelled my Verizon EV-DO plan I'll likely be trying out Virgin's new service next time I travel. And when I return home, if there's any data usage left, I plan to leave it on P2P and use every last morsel.

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