WiFi Woes . . . .

Alright, time for a little non-industry related rant.  The fact is, I need WiFi.  For business use, for personal use . . . I’m always online doing something.  I have DSL at home and a few years ago I bought an iPhone which only fueled the addiction – now I’m always online in one form or another.  While my iPhone is great, sometimes I find myself in a remote location needing online access for my MacBook Pro. . .   Enter the new MiFi hotspot from Verizon and Sprint.

Very cool concept – it’s not much bigger than my iPhone but provides WiFi access for up to 5 computers simultaneously by using Verizon or Sprints 3G network.  The reviews I’ve seen show DL speeds of up to 1.5Mb/s which isn’t bad (obviously speeds decrease as more people share the connection).  Pretty cool right?  Here’s where I start to lose it.

I have AT&T DSL at home – 6Mb/s for around $30.00 per month

I have AT&T Cellular which runs $30.00 for my mandatory iPhone data plan

AT&T doesn’t even offer a MiFi hotspot and if I want their USB wireless adapter it’s $99.00 to buy then $24.00 per mo. for 250MB or $60.00 for 5GB.

If I go to Verizon or Sprint it’s $99.00 for the MiFi and then the same $24.00 for 250MB and $60.00 for 5GB.

So if I want WiFi wherever I go, I need the $30.00 for home DSL, $30.00 for my iPhone data plan and now $60.00 for my MiFi hotspot AND I have to deal with 3 separate bills with 2 separate carriers all the while paying $120.00 bucks a month.  WTH?!

Now there may very well be a good solution out there as I type this but I couldn’t find one that allows me to use all three on one plan.  I would venture to say the first carrier who can provide me home high-speed internet, data for my mobile phone, a mobile hotspot like MiFi AND put it all under one plan on a single bill . . . . will turn some heads.  I wouldn’t mind paying $99.00 a month to have WiFi wherever I go and have one company to deal with.

It’s 2010 for crying out loud – is this too much to ask?!

tb