Internet wherever you travel
Internet in your pocket
Do you pay enormous amounts for Internet access when you can easily have the Internet in your pocket when traveling abroad? In the Netherlands (where I live) you have easy access within the EU due to the June 2017 Roam Like at Home regulation, where you can use your data anywhere in the EU - but if I go outside these boundaries, the roaming costs can shoot up.
When I went to Taiwan with work for a week I wanted to use the internet (and data) on my phone like at home, but was fully aware of the potential cost this would be. After some research online I realised I could buy a SIM card that would work in Taiwan with unlimited 4G internet access for as little as 15p euro for 10 days. This is all fine as a SIM card in my own mobile phone but I also want to use my phone for calls and hot spotting my mobile drains the battery quickly.
I needed another solution that would allow me to access the internet and allow me to work anywhere, without an impact on the use of my phone. The solution was simple - I needed a portable WiFI device that could work with the 4G signal in Taiwan. This is known as a MiFi which is quite simply short for ‘Mobile WiFi’.
How does MiFi solve the issue?
To solve my issue around my lack of WiFi on the move, I took with me one of our LTE devices and bought a SIM card at the Taipei Airport. Now armed with a LTE MiFi and my sim card I instantly I had 10 days of unlimited access to Internet wherever and whenever I wanted. I must say, this was the first time I used a MiFi device – but it worked perfectly. Now not only did I have internet, but also my European coworkers could also use it as well – and all at once.
It surprises me sometimes how much data I use on the go, and especially on a business trip. At the end of my trip I looked to see how much data my collegaues and I has used. It was nearly 7Gb of data in only 6 days - just imagine the bill I would have had if I did this with roaming on my standard mobile phone contract and just used it as a hotspot.
So, in conclusion, the next time you are going to a country which is outside of your roaming bundle and want to ensure you have full use of your phone - get a MiFi solution – you will not regret it.
Happy travels!
