On Wednesday TruConnect announced a partnership with Walmart to deliver a pre-paid mobile broadband service to the latter company's retail outlets nationwide. Called Internet on the Go, the service will be sold exclusively at Walmart and powered by Novatel's MiFi 2200 Intelligent Mobile Hotspot. Best of all, unused data will never expire unlike similar services offered by contract-loving wireless carriers.
"In today’s world of high connectivity, we want to make connecting to the Internet more accessible and affordable for our customers," said Seong Ohm, senior vice president and general merchandise manager for entertainment, Walmart U.S. "By providing an assortment of mobile broadband products at a low price our customers can now choose to connect to the Internet when they want, where they want."
To get Internet on the Go, customers purchase a MiFi 2200 Intelligent Mobile Hotspot by Novatel Wireless, Inc., purchase the Internet on the Go service, register online and turn on the device. Customers can buy Internet on the Go service with refill, credit or debit cards in increments of $10 for 100 MB, $25 for 500 MB or $45 for 1 GB. Online automatic refills are also available for $20 for 450 MB.
Because it's pre-paid, the data will not expire. There's also no contract to sign, no activation fees, no monthly bills, no bundled data plans and no overage charges. User can connect up to five Wi-Fi capable devices using Windows, Mac OSX, Apple iOS and Google Android operating systems.
Worried about TruConnect's coverage? Internet on the Go services are provided on the nationwide Sprint Network, which covers 97-percent of the U.S. The MiFi 2200 Intelligent Mobile Hotspot by Novatel Wireless generally costs $99 USD, so expect to shell out around $144 USD for a 1 GB hotspot connection at the start.
TruConnect and Walmart did not provide an actual launch date or the MiFi 2200's actual price, so stay tuned.
