AT&T has announced new DataConnect Pass plans that offer passes allowing the user to access the AT&T 3G mobile broadband network without a contract or monthly fee. The DataConnect day pass offers 75MB of data over 24 hours for $15. The week pass gives 7 days to use 250MB of data for $30, and the month pass is good for the entire month with 500MB of data for $50.

Those data allotments are not that great and those using bandwidth consuming service may run out before their time is over. If that happens, users would need to purchase a new pass. Perhaps the biggest issue with the new passes is that there appears to be no modem available to take advantage of the service.

AT&T reports that users will need a previously un-activated AT&T SIM card that can be purchased at any AT&T store and a compatible AT&T-certified notebook or netbook. Many netbooks and notebooks will not work with the new offerings. To activate the service the user has to be connected to the Internet via Wi-Fi or an Ethernet connection.

"This is about choice and flexibility -- giving our customers more ways to match their own data needs, on their own time and with their own budget," said Mark Collins, senior vice president-Voice and Data Products, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. "We want our network to be open, accessible and useful in a way that accommodates unique customer needs. DataConnect Pass(SM) is another way consumers can customize the AT&T experience."