Hot-Spot or Mobile Broadband

Pros

1. Wifi hotspots offer a very fast and more reliable connection than Mobile Broadband.
2. Wifi hotspots are normally located in the type of place where you are likely and able to sit down for a while and log on - e.g. coffee shops, pubs, McDonalds.  No need to perch on a park bench with the glare of the sunlight reflecting off your screen.
3. Because an individual WiFi hotspot serves a single, normally indoor, location you get access even when you are deep inside a building. Mobile Broadband often struggles to penetrate deep inside a building, through walls.
4. Many locations, many pubs and some independent coffee shops, offer free WiFi hotspot connections to entice you spend money with them.
5. If you rarely need to connect to the internet whilst out and about you can just sign up by the hour or day for wi-fi hotspot access. No need to sign up to an 18 or 24 month contract.
6. No need for a USB modem - virtually all modern laptops have WiFi built in to so you don’t have to spend £40 on a usb modem or deal with any compatibility issues.
7. WiFi hotpost access is far cheaper than mobile broadband if you want internet access whilst abroad.

Cons

1. Using WiFi hotspots can get very expensive compared to Mobile or Home Broadband.
   • Many providers charge £5 an hour’s access. If you just want to quickly log on and check your email that’s a high price to pay.
   • Signing up for a single month can cost as much as £20.  T-Mobile include WiFi hotspot access within their £15 Mobile Broadband tariff at no extra cost.
2. Unlike mobile phone networks, the WiFi hotspot coverage for an individual operator is very patchy, making it more difficult to sign-up to a monthly contract and be confident that you can actually find a hotspot wherever you are. e.g. T-Mobile hotspots exist in most Starbucks, but you can rarely get coverage with a rival hotspot provider whilst in a Starbucks.
3. Most WiFi hotspots are located in places where you need to buy something in order to sit at a table.
   • E.g. If you want to connect to T-Mobile WiFi hotspots in Starbucks you’ll have to pay the connection fee but also buy a coffee everytime you log on. Therefore a single month subscriptions at £20 will have cost you around £45 if you visit Starbucks 10 times to log on and buy a drink each time. But I suppose you do get a nice coffee!

T-Mobile hotspot access - read more on their website

The Cloud hotspot accesss - read more on their website

Read our Mobile Broadband Pros and Cons here.

Want to add more Pros or Cons to our list? Just add a comment below and I’ll update the bullets above.