[NFBCS] question about wifi hotspots

[Brian Buhrow]

	hello.  I may be coming to this conversation a bit late, but let me see if I can clarify
some of the marketing terms used for the kind of thing Elizabeth is asking about, as well as
making suggestions on what will work best for her.

	The feature we're talking about here is called "tethering".  That is, you  turn on the WiFi
Hot Spot access on your iPhone and "tether" your PC to it.  Some companies, like Verizen, allow
unrestricted access to this feature and simply add the data used when it is in use to your over
all data usage.  Other companies, like AT&T, consider it a special feature and they charge a
monthly fee just to enable it.  This fee is separate and unrelated to the amount of data you
have in your cell plan.  My partner, for example, pays $10/month for the Tethering capability
from AT&T.  Some premium plans include tethering, but no company, that I'm aware of, which
charges for tethering specifically, offers an unlimited tethering data plan.
If you want the tethering capability, but don't think you'll use it often, I suggest looking at
various plans from your cell provider and find one that either includes tethering in its
bundled feature list, or doesn't charge very much for it on a monthly basis.  Alternatively, if
you're willing to switch companies, switch to a company that doesn't charge extra for tethering
at all.  Keep in mind that most plans that include tethering as part of their bundled feature
set are premium plans, meaning you might not be paying for tethering specifically, but you are
paying more for the plan itself, so if it doesn't provide  other things you will use, it still
might not be the best choice.

	The wireless hot spot devices are completely inaccessible in that they require you be able
to read their little screens to tell you if they're on and what the name of the hot spot is.
So, I don't recommend them.

	There is, howevr, a third alternative, which is not advertised by the cell providers, but
which I think is worth considering.  There are USB cellular modems which you plug into your
PC's USB port and which provide cellular based Internet to your PC without the need to involve
your phone.  Verizen, for example, allows you to add one of these devices to your existing cell
plan for $10/month and its data use simply gets added to your monthly data allocation.  I like
it because it means I can set up my PC with Internet and I don't need to have my phone close by
to use it.  In addition, I'm not draining the battery on my iPhone while using the Internet on
my PC.  I don't know about you, but battery life is a precious resource on my phone and
anything I can do to extend its availibility between charges is greatly appreciated.  
Finally, I'm pretty sure you cannot use your phone to make a phone call when  it's providing
Internet to your PC, so if you need both Internet on your PC and to make a phone call on your
phone at the same time, tethering from your phone won't work for you.

	So, to summarize, wireless stand-alone hot spots are bad because they're almost entirely
inaccessible.  Tethering from your phone is good, but can be expensive, both in terms of
battery life and monthly cost.  
Stand alone USB modems that you can plug into your PC are convenient and easy to use, if you
have an available USB port on your PC and you're willing to carry around a small dongle about
the size of a large USB thumb drive with your PC.

Hope this helps.


-Brian