Tep Wireless, which has traditionally offered rental phones and local Wi-Fi hotspots for tourists traveling abroad, has announced a new system for travelers heading across Europe. The new plan lets travelers rent a wireless hotspot that will work in 38 European countries, avoiding high international roaming charges or the per-country costs added by competitor Xcom Global. Tep has long offered hotspots, but they've been geared mostly for use in a single country. Depending on how long the rental is, costs range from around $5 a day to $10 or $11. Unfortunately, while the price shifts to accommodate longer stays, the amount of data you're granted doesn't: it's a flat 1GB, with the option to add 1.4GB more for $55 or 4GB more for $95. After using up the allotted data, the hotspot appears to shut off. This is still a better price than you'd get while roaming with most American carriers, but it means you're more likely to want to use Tep's hotspot for the occasional email than full-fledged web browsing on extended visits.

Update: Xcom wants to note that it's removed its per-country costs in Europe, making the choice between it and Tep a bit more of a toss-up for low-data users.