The World Wide Web influences all spheres of people’s lives and makes many professionals dependent on fast and reliable connection anywhere.
Copywriters, designers, market researchers, sales representatives, real estate agents, independent consultants, and other professionals face a difficult question of what device to choose to enjoy the best portable internet.
This guide will help you compare the available portable internet devices and successfully answer this question.
Modems, Hotspots and Routers: What are They?
If you are a freelancer, an obsessed traveler, a business person, or a team leader, who wants to organize comfortable, cutting-edge working conditions for the colleagues, you should think about the possibility of connecting to the high-speed trusted network anytime and anywhere.
Worldwide spread of Covid-19 made this need even more acute, teaching everyone to be more flexible and leverage distant work. Unfortunately, many have found themselves wasting time and nerves troubleshooting wifi or risking the private and corporate data connecting to public networks.
Three types of devices may help you meet your needs:
1) Portable routers: devices similar to home routers that use dedicated SIM cards instead of connecting to the phone cables;
2) Hotspots: dedicated hardware devices or your own smartphone that shares the cellular data thus serving as a wireless internet access point;
3) Portable modems: portable internet devices that, unlike the first two options, connect to your tablet or PC with a cord, which increases the speed of connection. In this case, your PC may turn into a hotspot that will further distribute Wifi signal to other devices.
Choosing a Suitable Device for Portable Internet
To understand what kind of device you need, compare the options in view of the following factors:
Connection speed
The speed of connection will first of all depend on the mobile technology the device supports. 4th-generation communications stand for two standards: Wimax and Long Term Evolution (LTE). The first technology appeared earlier, but now it is less demandable because it works on the basis of its own less efficient equipment. LTE is gradually replacing Wimax: based on it, GSM and UMTS stations are deployed. HSPA+ is the second LTE competitor in 4G technology.
Today’s LTE is often called 4G LTE or Advanced 4G. 5G is not in wide use now (only in the USA and some parts of Asia); nevertheless, it has already created lots of buzz and is predicted to transform entire industries boosting mobile and VR development.
As it has been mentioned, modems provide faster and more reliable internet compared to portable routers and hotspots, as wireless wifi signals are always weaker than wired connection.
For travellers, the speed may depend not only on the device characteristics but also on the local 4G signal and local providers.
Internet plan
The Internet plan is another key print to consider as it can ultimately become a burdening responsibility. Portable routers and hotspots normally lock you into one provider’s internet plan. nect MODEM that has just entered the market tries to challenge this inflexibility offering to choose between the provider’s plan and any other plan of the user’s choice. In any case, the advantage is that you are still on the portable internet providers’ plan when travelling abroad and do not have to bear more expensive roaming charges.
Here, it is also worth mentioning that using a smartphone for sharing wifi connection is not the least expensive option. You will most likely need to have a very good internet plan to compete with portable internet devices.
Security
Whether working from home, office, or a cafe, it’s important to protect confidential information from cyber intruders and minimize the probability of security issues. Be sure to see how the portable internet device you consider helps you do this. For example:
– establishes a firewall blocking certain web or IPs addresses, or even
– has a built-in VPN.
While many users do not know how VPN works and associate it only with faking one’s location and viewing websites with restricted regional access, using VPN is considered the best practice for cyber security. VPN establishes a virtual bridge between the user and the server encrypting all the shared data with a strong cipher. Intercepting the encrypted data doesn’t make much sense for hackers as it can be neither read nor modified.
Global Performance
Simply put – what countries you can travel to with your hotspot, portable modem or router without switching to roaming and the ability to provide signal in deserted areas. If you are a digital nomad or a frequent traveller, it might be one of the most important consideration points.
Providers of portable internet devices need to have active contracts with local mobile networks for you to get quality internet at your plan without having to purchase local SIM cards. Look through the list of countries the provider discloses. Even the most extensive list might not satisfy you if the country to travel too most often is missing.
The Design
Fast web is the prominent factor, but it is important not to neglect the design. Since you are going to carry the device with you all the time, think about how heavy it is and even how much it matches your style.
Needless to day, batteries that make the device work longer without charging will be more heavy – a comparison with power banks is suitable here. Are you ok with the need to take additional cords and look for plugs for the sake of making you bag less heavy? Will you skip taking the router with you each time because of its weight? These are definitely good questions to frankly answer before making a purchase decision.
Portable modems that are attached with the cord use the power of your computer and do not have a heavy battery inside, which makes the device and the choice easier. Still, here you need to make sure the device and its cords are compatible with your devices.
Conclusion
Public demand has urged businesses to bring various portable internet solutions to the market. With the increase in offer, the choice may seem more complicated. Still, if you choose what type of portable internet device you prefer and assess it against the recommended consideration points, you’ll be able to end up with the most suitable solution.
