Best way to get connectivity on the road for a Windows laptop WITHOUT a smartphone?

[hunter]

17. All the pay-as-you-go mobile services are expensive.

A 90 day WalMart "Straight Talk" plan is $130 for 25 gigabytes of data. You can add additional data, 2 gigabytes at a time, for $15. A Straight Talk mobile hot spot is $49.

That's pretty typical for these plans. I'm just using WalMart as an example.

It's easy to rip through 25 gigabytes of data, especially if you don't tell Windows that you are using a limited connection and to block any upgrades that are not absolutely essential for security.

You'll also need to practice extreme ad-blocking and restrict video streaming services to 480p or less, if you stream at all.

My flip phone can work as a hot spot but I'd only use that for emergencies. My provider charges $10 a gigabyte.

I figure if your work expects you to use a mobile service they should pay for it and hand you whatever equipment you need, all set up and ready to go.