A laptop AirCard® is a wireless modem manufactured by Sierra® Wireless, designed to fit into the ExpressCard or PC Card slot of a notebook computer. The AirCard provides broadband Internet access by communicating with cellular phone towers verses telephone lines, cable, or WiFi® networks. To use a laptop AirCard® one must first subscribe to a service plan by a cellular provider. This might be the same company that provides your cell phone service, or a different company.

There is one big advantage to using a laptop AirCard® over any other form of online service: you can connect to the Internet anywhere there is cellular service. You don’t have to rely on spotty wireless hotspots from hotels, café’s or municipals when away from the home or office. Just plug in the laptop AirCard and get connected from a parking lot, construction site, town car or taxi.

Sierra Wireless makes several types of AirCards branded for different cellular carriers. Each carrier uses proprietary protocols, so you’ll need to choose the carrier before buying an AirCard.

An unlimited plan is the most cost-effective option if you’ll be using the service frequently. This can be a good choice for business executives who require access on the go. Unlimited access might also be a good choice for someone who does not have Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) or cable access available, but does have cell service in the area. In this case cellular broadband services can be used at home and on the go. Unlimited plans range in price with a ballpark figure of about $80 US Dollars (USD) per month.

In some cases a laptop AirCard® might only be required in emergencies when other forms of online access aren’t available. For situations like this, you can purchase a 24-hour pass for about $15 USD, though prices vary. This is the smallest increment of time sold, and expires when 24 hours is up, regardless of how many minutes were actually spent online during the 24-hour period.

Conveniently, you can use a laptop AirCard® on a business trip or vacation, buying a block of time that aligns with the travel period. This could be a week, two weeks, or a month, for example. The AirCard would guarantee online access 24/7 regardless of accommodations or geographic location, assuming cellular service is available.

Along these lines, when shopping for a cellular broadband plan be sure the coverage area suits your needs. In some cases roaming technology covers extra regions. Roaming is an agreement between carriers to share cellular towers as a way to broaden reach. If your call gets handed off to a tower owned by a competitor with a roaming contact, you might be charged extra for the minutes used on those towers. If you’ll require access in regions governed by roaming contracts, find out if the plan under consideration includes roaming charges or not.

Once you find a carrier with the right coverage at the right cost, choose a laptop AirCard® for that carrier that supports the cellular technologies you’ll require. Cellular architecture is evolving and cellular AirCards, like cellular phones, can support various frequency bands. If you’ll be traveling internationally, choose a card that supports international technologies or tri-band and quad-band frequencies. If you’ll only be using the AirCard locally, make sure it supports the fastest technologies available.

Before using a laptop AirCard®, read the terms of service contract carefully. In many cases carriers impose a download bandwidth limit to protect customers from slowed service due to bandwidth hogs. Each megabyte downloaded over the limit will incur an extra hefty charge. If you plan to download extremely large files amounting to several gigabytes, read the fine print first.