For the past week I was tooling around Los Angeles and southern California for work, and although I got stuck in plenty of traffic jams (okay, many were just slowdowns), I didn't get stuck surfing the Web. That's because I was using Virgin Mobile's Broadband2Go wireless internet access for my netbook. I didn't have to mess with hotel Internet charges or finding a wireless signal.

I've already done a full review of the service, but Virgin Mobile just keeps making it better. Virgin Mobile just increased the amount of MBs or GBs you receive when you sign up for Virgin Mobile Broadband2Go.

The $10 price plan stays the same (100 MB), but all the rest now come with more MBs or GBs. For $20 you now get 300 MB (instead of 250), for $40 you get 1 GB (instead of 600 MB), and the real steal is the $60 plan, which gives you 5 GB now, instead of just 1 GB!

I've been looking for good ad-hoc (read: not locked into a long-term/2 year data plan) mobile Internet access solutions for my laptop for years. Virgin Mobile not only leads the pack with pay-as-you-go wireless internet access, but with their new plans, they've just raised the bar a whole lot higher!

Ever search for that word that's on the tip of your tongue but you just can't seem to find it? Imagine what it's like when you're trying to communicate in foreign country or with someone speaks a different language and you can't locate the right word? It's certainly a lot harder to get "unstuck" in those situations. Maybe you're in Japan for a week and need help reading the signs, or perhaps you're just trying to communicate an important part of a potential deal to a business client. Either way, being at a loss for words can cause big problems.

But now, if you're an iPhone user, there's help on the line. Literally. Language Line Mobile is a new iPhone application that connects users with a live interpreter 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, anywhere in the world. The service costs $2.99 per minute, and allows business travelers to talk with professional interpreters in 10 languages, including Spanish, Chinese, Arabic and Russian. It's a small price to pay for having the confidence to know your communicating a business deal correctly, or even reading the departure signs in an international airport correctly.

Just what business travelers need. Another negative thing that might affect their travel plans. This week's bad business travel news is the 4 month closing of the main runway at New York City's JFK International Airport. Starting today, the longest runway at JFK will be closed for changes. They're converting it from asphalt to concrete. Unfortunately, that means that the planes that would typically use it are being diverted to the airport's other, smaller runways. It also means that carriers such as JetBlue and American are cutting their schedules slightly for a while until the project's done.

According to the New York Times, the runway's closure is expected to have a ripple effect in other other airports, such as Orlando, LA and San Francisco, when delays at JFK happen. And as any frequent JFK flier already knows, JFK already ranks up near the bottom for major airports for on-time performance.

Okay, okay, so traveling by bus for business isn't that cool, but if you're watching your bottom line it can be a lot cheaper than either the train or plane. I usually travel by air or car for business trips, but recently I tried an alternative--Bolt Bus. My review of Bolt Bus provides the details, but the overview is that Bolt Bus offers a viable option for business travelers who want to save money.

In the northeast corridor between Washington D.C. and Boston, Bolt Bus is a great alternative for business travelers who need to move between Washington, Philadelphia, New Jersey, New York or Boston. Bolt Bus generally has clean, new buses, free WiFi, good leg room, and reserved seating. And, oh, it's got amazing prices--like $15 for a one-way ticket between New York City and Boston.