Review: AT&T's USBConnect 881 HSUPA Modem

Sierra Wireless USBConnect 881

Sierra Wireless USBConnect 881

Sierra Wireless USBConnect 881

Sierra Wireless USBConnect 881

While I have used and tested a number of 3G broadband access devices for laptop computers over the years, they have all worked on the EV-DO CDMA technologies used by companies like Verizon and Sprint. I've certainly used a number of UMTS/HSDPA phones as well, and have tethered a laptop or two to such a device a number of times, but I've never had a dedicated USB or PC card UMTS 3G modem to try. Until AT&T launched the new USBConnect 881 by Sierra Wireless, that is.

Specs and Design

My first impressions of the device were twofold: it is a fairly large, but has a nice physical design. For starters, I really like how the USB connector gets tucked away in the back of the modem, and how snaps into a number of different angled positions. But considering the fact that the entire 93mm x 39mm x 20mm (3.7" x 1.5" x .8") body of the modem sits outside of a laptop when in use, connected to a free USB port, it is easy to see some of the inherent advantages of a PC card solution. While the 881 is quite light, at 53g (2.1oz), it has to be unplugged and separately stowed before its host laptop can be safely tossed into a laptop case, something that isn't true of most PC card solutions. On the other hand, such a design as the USBConnect 881 has provides more room for engineers to include additional features.

For example, the 881 supports all four GSM/EDGE bands and the 850, 1900, and 2100MHz UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA bands for true world roaming. The 881 also has its own battery that can be used when an extra power boost is needed in weak signal areas. My favorite feature, though, is the built-in flash storage on the 881 that stores all of the needed drivers for a Windows based machine. Just plug the device into a free USB port, and the software gets installed automatically. A Mac driver is freely available from the Sierra Wireless website.