The Option GlobeTrotter GT Max LaptopConnect card, a name that in print is most likely longer than the data card itself, will ship next month. Although 3G and tri-band technology is not new, the single rate plan for international travel is.

According to Laura Johnson, senior director of Enterprise Solutions at Cingular, the carrier's competitors only offer a two-card solution and users must pay high roaming fees outside the United States.

"If you roam outside the United States you pay .0195 cents per kilobyte," Johnson said.

At those rates, 1MB of data would cost approximately US$20.

The Cingular flat rate is $109.99 for 100MB for calls within North America only, and $139.99 for 100MB for calls in North America and worldwide.