Hi, I’m John Ogren, and this is a podcast from SpeedConnect high speed wireless Internet. Mobile hotspots are mini portable devices with a tiny modem and router for Internet access you can take with you. Imagine taking the same technology used in your 2-story home or at Starbucks, and shrinking it down to personal size – a micro, mobile hot spot. The size of a credit card, each mobile hotspot device allows data access for up to five different users or devices. Nearly all portable devices are wifi enabled, from laptops to tablets, cell phones, e-readers and more, and all will work with mobile hotspot technology. Mobile hotspots are a great new technology that enables you to take a broadband 4G connection with you and at the same time connect various Wifi devices. It’s taking 4G wireless with a new twist. So first we had the hotspot, which I think we have all grown up with – to get a cup a coffee, we were taking our laptops to a coffee shop and enjoying their wifi hotspot to browse the internet and maybe send a few emails in the morning. Then came mobile hotspots which are great because you can create a small hotspot anywhere you go, when you travel with your business associates, or using them at home or you can use them in your car. But up to now, they have for the most part been offered by service providers on what we call a “post-paid” basis, which is what we are all used to. This is a normal subscription where you sign up with your 4G provider and pay the monthly bill. And now we’ve added a new twist: “prepaid hotspots,” kind of similar to prepaid mobile phones that we’re used to. Just as you can go to the local gas station or convenience store to recharge your prepaid phone, now comes prepaid mobile hotspots where you can to the local gas stations or kiosks and put more data on your hotspot, often selling for as little as $50 for a one time charge. With this technology you can go anywhere with many gigbytes of data and you can use that data anytime you want to, when you want to, and when it’s gone you simply recharge it. It’s a great new twist taking the availability of broadband to many people that maybe just a year before couldn’t get it, couldn’t afford it, maybe didn’t have a credit card, maybe didn’t want one or weren’t ready for a regular monthly bill but need broadband like everyone else. Now they can buy on a prepaid basis! Mobile hotspots offer one device/one bill and with a pre-paid option, it can be charged up quickly – with no monthly bill or credit prerequisite - and then easily re-charged as needed either online or in store. As we become an increasingly mobile society, the kind of technology that allows for mobility, including payment choices, will definitely be considered “hot.” |
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