I am a big Verizon fan - and while I know they offer a thumb drive wireless internet device for around $50 per month to access their wireless internet network - Clear has proved for almost a year to be a reliable and cheaper alternative for my office as well as mobile internet needs.
(No, I am not advertising for them - I just get excited when I find a product or service that actually does what it is supposed to...)
Clear provides entirely wireless internet service through 4G Wimax towers. The wireless modem (basically radio antenna) needs to be near a window. Otherwise, you can then plug the antenna into your wireless router to share the connection with whatever you have hooked up to your router.
Here's the antenna I have for work which is about the size of a linksys modem on it's side:
Speeds have been decent - not blazing - but for $30/month it's not bad as Time Warner would charge me - $70! Speedtest.net rates me at about 4.5 mpbs, but with a 160+ms latency.
I have now purchased the thumb drive-sized antenna to use around town, in court, etc - total cost for unlimited use for both devices: $50. I have gotten good reception on the thumb device in most metropolitan areas - and even was able to get some spotty internet connection on a train ride from DC to Charlotte - but the reception would not be as universally available as a Verizon antenna, for instance. I was not able to get a signal at the federal courthouse in Statesvlle, NC. Still, I have found it to be a reliable and economical solution for mobile and home/office internet.
