Virgin Mobile will be teaming up with retail giant Wal-Mart to bring mobile data to masses. The companies will unveil tomorrow a Broadband2Go plan which will cost $20 a month for 1 GB of data.
Users will be able to get this new Broadband2Go plan exclusively from Wal-Mart or its online store and it will only work with the company’s MiFi 2200 device or the Ovation MC760 USB dongle. As is par for the course for Virgin Mobile, you don’t have to sign up for a long-term contract with this new tier of Broadband2Go.
We broke the story of Virgin Mobile changing its Broadband2Go plans, as the Sprint-owned carrier now offers an unlimited plan for $40 a month or a $10 plan for 100 MB. This new offering from Wal-Mart is designed to give customers a good middle ground and I think 1 GB of data for $20 is a solid deal.
I’ve used the prepaid Novatell MiFi on Virgin Mobile before and the speeds are fairly good in the San Francisco Bay Area. The company uses Sprint’s EV-DO network to deliver service, so you should be good to go if you’re in a strong Sprint coverage area.
The Virgin Mobile Wal-Mart Broadband2Go deal is solid but it’s not quite a world beater when you look at some of the other mobile data plans that are being offered by the competition. Verizon also has a plan that delivers 1 GB of data for $20 a month but that’s only if you buy the iPad/MiFi bundle and sign on for a contract.
Let’s not discount the impact Wal-Mart could have on this offering, as the nation’s largest retail chain has a way to move units and get products in front of people who wouldn’t have considered it before. Let us know what you think about this new plan and what your experiences have been with Broadband2Go.