Mobile hotspots: AT&T, Sprint and Verizon compete on price, features, speed

Which carrier's mobile hotspot packs the most punch?

Computerworld - You're sitting in your hotel room and you need to connect your laptop to the Internet to get some work done. But while many hotels offer free Internet access, you're staying in one that thinks of it as comparable to the room's minibar, charging you a small fortune to get online. 

"It's totally out of control, with a night's Wi-Fi potentially costing $30," says Allen Nogee, a senior analyst In-Stat, a Phoenix-based market analysis firm. "Some hotels are now charging extra for second and third [Wi-Fi-connected] devices, and others are adding in per-megabyte charges."
What's a frugal traveler to do?

Consider a mobile hotspot. About the size and weight of a wallet, these devices tap into your cellular provider's 3G or 4G wireless data service, delivering Internet data at broadband speeds via a built-in Wi-Fi router. They work anywhere your data service has a signal and can support as many as five devices at once.

Mobile hotspot pros and cons

Mobile hotspots can yield bandwidth that is on a par with, and in some cases superior to, a hotel's costly Internet service. Satisfying the need for speed, mobile hotspots can stream movies, download huge presentations and support videoconferences. The best can serve up data as fast as 15Mbps.

What's more, a single mobile hotspot can service a group of working businesspeople, such as several accountants auditing a company's books. Rather than logging on to the hotel's Wi-Fi service at night for $10 to $30 each, the workgroup can tap into a $100 mobile hotspot for all their data needs. (More details on mobile hotspot prices and data plans in a moment.) Some devices even have microSDHC card slots, allowing groups to share data.     More