I’m traveling this week, which has given me a chance to try Cingular’s Broadband Connect service.
So far, so good. I’ve had reliable service in every location where I tried it, including some where my mobile phone could barely get a signal.
The best use so far? This past weekend we drove from New Mexico to Arizona on I-40, into what the National Weather Service described as a “severe winter storm.” I checked the forecasts and satellite images before leaving home, but things can change during an eight-hour drive. We were prepared to stop halfway and spend the night if necessary. Instead, I was able to monitor the weather ahead in real time (from the passenger’s seat, of course) and determine that we could safely press on.
For the next few days, I’ll get a chance to try the service in airports, hotels, and office buildings.
Ed Bott 
Make sure that you:
1) Use the Sierra Wireless Software. It’s much more reliable than Cingular’s
2) Make sure you upgrade to the recently released firmware. I did this and get much faster attach times to the network.
I remain extremely impressed with the performance of both Cingular’s EDGE network connected via Bluetooth to my cell phone and the Sierra Wireless card for BroadbandConnect. The true broadband access is still pretty limited, but the EDGE network is rock solid most places. The big trick with the slower EDGE network speeds is to make sure you can get as many bars as possible. RDC is very usable with full bars but useless at lower speeds created by poor network signal strength.
And I firmly second the Sierra Wirelss software as a must have replacement for the stuff that Cingular officially provides, along with a handful of other tips for the millions of places BroadbandConnect speeds aren’t available.
I was able to use the service in an area where there was no cell phone service in Central Texas. You had to drive 10 miles in order to get cell phone service. The Cingular broadband service connected with three bars! Unfortunately nobody there had a Cingular cell phone to check if phone service would work.
Have you continued to use the Cingular wireless. I am looking for wireless broadband in Waco and 20 miles below outside of Chilton.