http://www.adaptivemodules.co.uk/index. ... uct_ID/720
apologies for the length of time this question has gone unanswered satisfactorily, but it's so hard to find this kind of kit that i thought it best to post and make people aware that yes, there exists an actual product which does 3G in Mini-PCI (type III).
for £130 (qty 1) you get an H24 (3G, HSDPA) Telit modem already on-board. photo clearly shows a SIM card slot. my guess is that it's nothing more complex than a USB-to-PCI (or maybe RS232-to-PCI) bridge IC on the circuit board.
i've not asked about the volume pricing yet.
l.