If you are using primarily a laptop and want to keep things as portable as possible (meaning away from home sometimes), seriously consider sprint's evdo boardband setup. It is $ 75 / month, which is high, but it works everywhere I have been on business in the US - so far. Actual experienced speed is comparable to my sbc dsl + wifi - (basic plan rate). (yes, I have both). Upload speed is faster.
If you go that path, get the Sierra wireless USB card - not an internally included card - for better reception. BTW - I don't use sprint for my cell phone service, but their data card performance / reception is far ahead of the cingular / att cell data system for my use.
Our SBC DSL has been ok, but I would not give them a "great experience" comment either. In the afternoon, it slows way down, and it goes down hard at least every 6 months. By down hard, I mean it takes me a lot of time on the phone with India, then finally to a level 2 tech who actually can diagnose the problem. Somehow, the level 2 techs can rebuild the circuit and / or put our account back on the server all remote control. Once I get to the L2 techs, life is good, it just takes several hours to get there.