Chuck in Bethesda, MD asks:
“I was at a mobile device store puchasing a new blackberry and noticed a wireless gadget that allows 5 computers to be hooked up to it at the same time for the purpose of accessing wifi. I saw it again in use at a conference I attended last week. Is this a product you would recommend us using at my company?”
Answer: This is something that I am familiar with and I have seen it work well for the mobile office worker (someone who is often traveling for work). It seems to work best when the cell phone is used to provide wireless access for 1-2 laptops max in place of having a separate Wi-Fi or hotspot device/contract in addition to a cell phone.
The downside here is 1) the ability to use this service is 100% dependent on the cell signal in the particular location where you are at the time when you need it, and 2) depending on the carrier and the plan that you elect, you may have a limit of data and then you are billed for overages like cell minutes and 3) the speeds are nowhere near what you will find from Comcast, T1 or FIOS (it is also not adequate to power your Avaya VoIP phone). Therefore, I would not recommend this to you as a primary source of internet, but think it is a great option for someone like you who travels and could benefit from having internet access available when you are on the go.
On a side note, if you are looking at this specifically for yourself and others for travel purposes, I think it would be beneficial to also consider using a tablet, depending on what you all need access to. Check out this blog article that overviews a few of them to learn more: “Which Tablet would the IT Doctor Prescribe For You?”
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