As the world becomes smaller and business more virtual, laptop 3G cards have become indispensible to staying connected with what’s going on. A laptop 3G card is basically a wireless modem that allows your computer to access the web through a mobile phone company’s network.

Usually, when purchasing a 3G card, you will receive a data card that will allow you to connect to the internet plus a SIM card to link you to the mobile network, and some software/firmware to install.

Although 3G mobile internet service providers might make it seem like getting a laptop 3g card is the best investment you can make and that you cannot live without it, you really need to keep a few things in mind before buying.

Ideally, a 3G laptop card will give you access to 3G networks; however you will find yourself working on GPRS most of the time. Why is this? Although 3G networks are all the rage these days, they are still in development and depending on the country, aren’t very reliable at least for the time being. Service in most area will not be 3G, but GPRS, and the signal might be poor. So you need to know exactly what you are paying for, because the prices of 3G data packages can be very expensive. So, you must know that you might not actually be using 3G a lot of the time.

Also you need to assess whether the plan you are getting will suit your needs. If you intend to stream a lot of video, send a lot of emails with attachments, or download movies, then getting a 3G laptop card may not be for you. The reason is that the packages offered by mobile phone companies have strict data allowances of mostly a few gigabytes. This amount is fine if you mostly use email and engage in light internet activities in which case, why even get a 3G laptop card when you can access your emails through your regular cell phone?

The prices you pay can be over the top with overages being calculated by the MB depending on the phone company. Most of them won’t even warn you that you are going over the limit, only if you surpass by a few gigabytes, and your bill goes over a few hundred dollars. They will also be very mysterious when it comes to exposing their tariffs so you need to be persistent when trying to get the information you need. Keep in mind that even when a plan is announced to include “unlimited” access, if you read the fine print there is surely a ceiling of a few gigabytes written in there somewhere. Also, make sure to ask about how much you will pay for roaming if you are traveling because the prices might be very high, and you’ll end up paying through the nose. All of these overages on laptop 3G card devices are how the mobile phone companies are making most of their money nowadays. Be sure to be well-informed before committing and you won’t fall into this trap.