Wi-Fi on the Go

Our wireless world continues to expand with Wi-Fi hotspots easy to find most anywhere you travel, but there are still times when you are on the go—staying at an old hotel, in a park, camping or traveling in your car—and can find no Wi-Fi.  It can be frustrating not to stay connected and be able to do all those things you need do on the web. 

Just the other day I got a call from a relative who was going to be out of town on business and needed to access materials online using his iPad.  His iPad does not have 4G internet access (many don’t as this feature costs extra).  For him and you there are some options that you might consider.

If you have a smartphone, either iPhone or Android, you can often set up the phone to serve as a Wi-Fi wireless router.  It depends on the model of the phone and, more importantly, your carrier.  Most carriers have restrictions to prevent you from sharing your mobile data and require a monthly extra fee to do so.  Also, you need to be careful as it is very easy, when connected to the Wi-Fi, to use up your monthly data allowance, which will result in extra data fees.

Many carriers like Verizon, Sprint and AT&T also sell stand-alone devices that connect to the 4G network and provide Wi-Fi service to as many as 10 devices.  Many teachers use these devices when conducting class lectures in the field, since it allows a small group of students to all be connected.  Again, these devices have monthly data fees.  I have used the Clearwire version offered by Sprint and it works very well.  Depending on the network coverage, these devices can even be used in a moving car.  Once you are out of a metropolitan area, however, the coverage can be a bit sparse.

Finally, you may have seen commercials touting Chevrolet’s new in-car Wi-Fi.  The new offering provides up to 20 simultaneous internet connections to passengers.  Chevrolet has yet to offer a solution for how to fit 19 people in your back seat.

This new service does open the door for many internet based applications like Pandora, iTunes and other entertainment services.  Also, allowing passengers to use laptops and tablets might make a long trip seem shorter.

Chevy’s new service has an annual price of about $200 upfront and a monthly minimum data fee of about 30 bucks.  The coverage map is impressive, but it is still too early to get actual reports from users. 

For sure the Wi-Fi enabled car is going to be common with others joining Chevrolet’s lead. Ford, VW, BMV and many others already have internet-connected cars; internal Wi-Fi capability is a simple addition.

Two things to remember: When using Wi-Fi in the car, make sure it is the passenger doing the internet browsing.  When using any of these 4G devices, be careful not to rack up a bank-breaking data bill at the end of the month.  Otherwise, the YouTube cat video you viewed while driving over the river to grandma’s house may be the most expensive video you ever watched.