[delokaver] figured out how to use these 3G cards over USB instead ... but we’ve seen the reverse of this hack before, a Mini PCI-e to USB adapter used to add a 12-axis sensor to a laptop.

All of the adapters below are available as external USB modules as well as PCI or PCI Express (PCIe) cards that plug into an empty slot on the motherboard. See PCI and PCI Express. Cellular ...

Typically available as an external USB module, for desktop computers, the modem may also be available on a PCI ... card," "data card" or "broadband card." Generic terms are "broadband adapter ...