AT&T Wireless Modem Gets the Job Done

Its standard USBConnect 881 wireless modem, for example, is available as a refurb for free -- that's right, nothing, with a plan, which runs at the industry standard of $60 for 5GB of access a month. AT&T has several stepped-down usage plans starting at $20.

I have spent the past few months with the 881 to get a feel for how AT&T compares with other providers. My verdict? AT&T is as decent a choice as there is for staying connected on the road, but far from a perfect one.

The USBConnect card I tested installed easily on two Lenovo laptops, one running Microsoft Windows XP and the other Windows Vista. AT&T requires the use of a wireless management tool called AT&T Communications Manager. I am not a big fan of these third-party installation tools, since they can cause conflicts with some computers; but most operators have them now. So we must deal.

Once running, the AT&T 881 provides reasonable Web access for e-mail and Web surfing, but far from true broadband access you get from a landed connection. And coverage was what you would expect from today's hobbled American cell network. Yes, I got reasonable performance in and around New York City, Kansas City, Detroit, Upper Michigan and Maine. But there were drops in service. And for dedicated Web sessions where I had to get at my online project-management software -- say, in a hotel or remote location -- I found connectivity just too slow. I broke down and bought local in-room Wi-Fi access for about $10 a day, which over the course of a business trip could really add up.