Prepay 3G SIM for data in the US?

I have a Samsung Galaxy S and I need to get hold of a SIM which will give me 3G (or GPRS) data access in the US. I'll be in Washington State, Oregon and California for three weeks in the summer and Orange are charging £8/Mb for roaming data!!! Not particularly bothered about making or receiving calls but I do need data access.

Regards,
TH.

Unless you are just going on holiday, can the people you are visiting get one for you?

In reply to a post by Sandgrounder:

Unless you are just going on holiday, can the people you are visiting get one for you?

We're meeting up with friends, but they're coming down from deepest darkest Alaska where their only mobile option is satellite phones.

I'm finding plenty of pre-pay SIM option, but all for talk and SMS.

Regards,
TH.

AT&T Wireless do a prepay data service. Get yourself one of their prepay sims and look out for "Prepaid DataConnect Pass Plans".

You connect to their 3G service (provided your dongle can use the frequency in the area you're in which may be 850Mhz, and maybe either 1900 or 2100Mhz depending on area?

The rates on that plan are:
$15 for 1 days use of up to 100MB
$30 for 7 days use of up to 300MB
$50 for 30 days use of up to 1GB

Hope that is of some use. Do check coverage in the area you're visiting, of course. Best of luck.

jayteedc

Just to let you know that T-Mobile USA do the same kind of prepay data bolt ons too.

Their charges are:
$10/week (7 days) for 100 MB data
$30/month (30 days) for 300 MB data
$50/month (30 days) for 1 GB data

These data bolt ons for prepay seem a recent development as data options on prepay in the USA have been terrible until the last 6-12 months or so.

jayteedc

In reply to a post by Trojan_Hussar:

I have a Samsung Galaxy S and I need to get hold of a SIM which will give me 3G (or GPRS) data access in the US.

The Galaxy S supports quad band 2G (850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900) and tri band 3G (900 / 1900 / 2100).

This limits you to GPRS/EDGE on T-mobile USA or GPRS/EDGE and 3G on AT&T. (The US T-mobile uses 1700 for their 3G, a unique to them frequency).

EDGE is the enhanced GPRS upto theoretically about 200kbps, whereas GPRS is 50kbps.

Don't forget the handset needs to be unlocked.