Walmart and TruConnect Mobile have announced a partnership to provide a prepaid mobile broadband service. Meant for casual users, Internet on the Go will offer blocks of data for set rates without a monthly commitment. Rates start as low as $10 for 100MB of data, while $25 gets you 500MB and you'll pay $45 for 1GB. Online automatic refills are also available with pricing set at $20 for 450MB of data.
Those prices aren't particularly awesome, but Internet on the Go could easily work in the favor in limited usage scenarios as the prepaid data doesn't expire. If you pay for 1GB of data, you nibble on it forever, as long as you use the service at least once a year. The press release cites research that suggests 90% of all tablets in the US last year used Wi-Fi because they didn't want to pony up for a cellular contract.
"In today's world of high connectivity, we want to make connecting to the Internet more accessible and affordable for our customers," said Walmart. "Mobile users deserve fairness and honesty when it comes to the mobile Internet, and with Internet on the Go, users get exactly what they pay for and can use their purchased megabytes whenever they want to with no other hidden conditions or fees," TruConnect added.
To use one of the plans, you'll have to buy a Novatel Wireless MiFi 2200 Intelligent Mobile Hotspot, then purchase Internet on the Go data from Walmart. The service uses Sprint's CDMA EV-DO network (coverage map here) and should work fine for up to five Wi-Fi devices, including those running Windows, OS X, iOS and Android. Neither the announcement nor the service's site mention pricing for the MiFi 2200.