4G Wireless For Traveling Freelancers
4G wireless has been promised for some time, but now it’s finally being delivered as Sprint and other companies roll out the faster connection speeds and new gadgets to handle those speeds.
There’s been an ongoing shift towards mobile connectivity, but now with mobile router/wi-fi hotspot devices such as the Sprint Overdrive and the Verizon MiFi, the game has really changed in favor of the mobile freelancer. Will you even bother with a hardwired home Internet connection after checking out these 4G mobile products?
You might in some cases–at press time, Verizon’s data plan for the MiFi included transfer limits of 250MB a month for the $40 monthly plan and 5GB for the $60 plan. That’s bad news for anyone who wants to download media, send photos or other media on a regular basis. Sure, 5GB is a lot, but so is a $60 a month data plan on top of your cell phone bill and home Internet connection. The Sprint plan promises to be more generous–Wired.com reports Sprint will offer unlimited 4G data transfer and 5GB of transfer on the 3G network for $60 a month.
That’s all well and good, but don’t forget that companies like CradlePoint have third-party gear that can take your existing cell phone 3G signal and turn it into a wi-fi hotspot, too.
The bottom line for these new gadgets is mobility–you can take your office with you anywhere and support up to five wireless devices at a time with the Sprint and Verizion models.
The rub is that if you’re in an area that has poor reception on your Sprint or Verizon network, you’re cut off from the ‘net. If you’re complaining about spotty reception now, consider that before investing in one of these. Otherwise, your freelance experience may have gotten a lot more flexible. It’s definitely time to cut the Cat 5 cable if you haven’t already.
–Joe Wallace
