You need connectivity and you need it wherever you are. In the office, no problem. But what if you need to pick up your office and take it to another location at a moment's notice? What if you need to conduct business on the road or on the waves. Yes, that’s right. What if you need to connect from your boat? Are you set for that? OK, how about overseas?
Your Smartphone as a HotspotThere’s a lot of business we can do right from our cellphones. Certainly, voice conversations. Text and short email messaging work great. You can access sites on the Internet using a browser or apps. Maps are great for find your way around.
When it gets a little more complicated you want to use your tablet or laptop. Then you have a decent size screen and you can upload or down load files or easily work on documents and images. Oh, no. The other devices you want to use don’t have any connectivity except WiFi. There’s no WiFi nearby.
Actually, there is. You just need to turn on the hotspot feature in your phone. You log-in using the passcode your phone provides and your other device now shares the broadband on your phone.
Business Grade Portable and Mobile Hotspots
A smartphone hotspot can be a lifesaver in a pinch. But it has limitations. A dedicated portable or mobile hotspot designed for business has a lot more capability. A good example is the Surf & Turf Router from Infinite Wireless. This device is equipped with two external antenna rods and can pull in 4G LTE from over 20 miles away. That’s important when you’re on the boat well away from shore. It supports up to 16 simultaneous devices on WiFi. Instead of a SIM card this one uses vSIM to support multiple carriers and will select the carrier with the strongest signal. It also works in 135 countries.
Other business oriented hotspots are may support one or more carriers and are designed to let you get connected quickly for pop-up stores or on-site business, such as construction work. When your work is only scheduled for the short term, there is no reason to pay for and wait for a fixed line installation. You can choose to access via WiFi or set up a wired Ethernet network on-site.
Wireless is the New Wired Internet
It may not be long before you access the Internet in one of two ways: Fiber optic broadband or wireless broadband. Cable is still a hybrid fiber/copper system, but will likely move more and more to fiber, especially as other fiber network competitors build-out in cable areas. The cellular wireless companies, such as T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T are now pushing hard for fixed location broadband service using hotspot boxes that are easily installed and moved by customers, as needed. Service gaps are being filled-in by geosynchronous or LEO satellite constellations.
What are your business needs? Do you require extreme bandwidth for a fixed location network? Do you need quick connectivity for mobile or temporary locations? How about Internet of Things applications that may be installed anywhere but need to attach to the Internet? There are great solutions to all of these situations, and more. Find out what bandwidth solutions are available for your size business and budget.
