Can My Phone’s Hotspot Be My Only Internet Connection?
Yes, there are places in this world where you can’t connect to the internet – and I’m not talking about remote tropical locations where it’s impossible to play Emoji Blitz while you’re on vacation. Many places in the US have either crappy or no internet at all, which requires you to be creative to get connected.
Creativity comes at a cost, however, as Lifehacker reader Tammy explains in this week’s Tech 911 question:
Q: My poor smartphone is my road to the Internet
I just moved to a new apartment. I am a virtual math tutor at a public college. We are now in between semesters, so I am working on a number of small personal business projects. These include only the most basic Internet tasks, such as searching Google, checking email on the Internet, and possibly watching an episodic YouTube video.
I used my Verizon prepaid mobile phone (new 4G) as a hotspot. So far, it works like a charm. However, next week we will have online training via Skype. And then on June 1st we will resume training and will also use WCOnline, Blackboard and Zoom. Do I have to subscribe to home (wireless) Internet (the only option I have is HughesNet) or will my cell phone hotspot suffice? Also, how much more data will be consumed in online training compared to what I am doing now? (I used roughly 5 GB of data over the last week for the previously mentioned tasks, and this was happening on the computer for an average of 5 hours a day.)
In short, I need the most economical, sufficient speed / data to get my job done. Please advise.
A: I would not use satellite internet if I had no other choice.
Firstly, I am very sorry that the internet service is so unreliable where you live. Satellite Internet – the solution you mentioned – is no less enjoyable than DSL, and is undoubtedly more expensive. Actually, let’s take a look at this right now, because that will be the bulk of my answer.
I entered a random Maryland address as this is what Hughesnet provides as an example when you go to look at prices for its plans and I found the following; you will have to pay at least this amount for these data restrictions:
- 10 GB: $ 60 per month
- 20 GB: $ 70 per month
- 30 GB: $ 100 per month
- 50 GB: $ 150 per month
As you probably guessed, this isn’t a lot of data at a fairly high monthly fee – even if you don’t take into account the $ 450 hardware you’ll have to purchase (or rent for $ 100 to set up plus $ 10 per month for an extra charge) just to get started. While Hughsnet gives you an extra 50 gigabytes each month that you can use for any activity between 2 am and 8 am, it’s only really useful for scheduled downloads. And if you go over the data limit, you won’t pay more, you just drop to 1-3 Mbps, which … not very good if you don’t play a lot of text MMOs with your friends.
However, you are tying your phone to the Internet, which is a smart move to save money if you really don’t use the Internet much or subscribe to the unlimited data plan that suits you.
I don’t have a good suggestion for how much extra data you will use each week with all the new activities you will be doing, but I’m not sure if that matters. If I were in your shoes, I would simply find the fastest unlimited data plan that I would be willing to pay for with my mobile operator. In my case, I’m using Verizon , so something like the Play More Unlimited plan – $ 70 a month for unlimited 4G LTE data for your phone and unlimited hotspot data – would be a good bet. The catch is that I would only get 25 GB and 15 GB of fast data, respectively, before I was downgraded to 600 Mbps. This is not very good, but still much better than satellite internet.
Of course, you can pay Verizon more to add more “premium data” to your mobile hotspot. And if you’re ready to change your carrier, you can find a better pricing plan. For instance:
- AT&T : Unlimited hotspot data starts at $ 75 per month, with 50GB of regular high-speed data and 15GB of hotspot data. (If you upgrade to a higher level, the speed will be reduced to 128Kbps.)
- T-Mobile : For $ 60 per month, you get unlimited 4G LTE data and unlimited 3G data for your hotspot. However, you probably want to raise the bar to $ 70 a month, which gives you 3GB of 4G data for your hotspot, before you go back to 3G speeds of 1 to 8 Mbps (yes).
- Sprint : The $ 70 a month plan gives you unlimited data for your phone and a whopping 50GB of LTE data for your hotspot. Move past that amount and you’re back to 3G speeds.
I never thought I’d say this, but if you have a good Sprint service in your area, you can research the carrier’s offerings – provided, of course, that all of this doesn’t change dramatically when T-Mobile takes over it. However, this can take years, so I will not emphasize yet. You can also try a cheaper MVNO or wireless carrier that connects to your existing network (like Visible with Verizon) to offer cheaper service with fewer features. In this case, you can get a cheap Visible plan that gives you unlimited, albeit slow, hotspot data (5 Mbps). It’s not great, but worth considering if you’re on a budget.
However, be sure to do your due diligence and research all internet alternatives. It even includes a crappy DSL; I hate it, but it will still be faster and cheaper than using your phone as a hotspot on whatever tariff plan you choose from your wireless carrier. Satellite Internet should be viewed as a last resort. If you have no other alternatives, it will work, but the experience will be much worse than anything else.
Out of curiosity, what are your new neighbors doing to access the Internet? You might want to talk to them too – perhaps they know about an amazing local solution that you don’t have.