Taking Your Home Office Outside Your Home
Today’s guest post is by Joe Pawlikowski of Wireless Internet Reviews. He is going to talk to us about how to get out of the house, something every work at home mom needs to do, while still being productive.
When asked what aspect of working at home they enjoy most, many will say the freedom. The freedom to start work at any time. The freedom to work at one’s own individual pace. The freedom to take a walk to the coffee shop and not feel bad about talking to the barista for 10 minutes. The freedom of not having a boss looking over your shoulder all day. Yes, freedom plays a big part in a telecommuter’s life. Yet, are we as free as we can be?
No, there’s no boss leering, no constant time constraints. However, we’re still confined to our offices. While that’s not necessarily a bad thing — it might keep people productive — we need not be sedentary workers all the time. Thanks to new advancements in cellular technology, we can roam freely, toting our laptops to parks, beaches, and other little nooks which don’t offer Wi-Fi access. Mobile broadband services can provide that kind of freedom.
Quick lesson in mobile broadband
Mobile broadband is Internet access typically offered through cellular carriers on their third-generation (3G) networks. Users can sign up for mobile broadband access just as they would normal cellular service. It requires a modem, which usually hooks up through your laptop’s USB port. Once you’ve signed up for the service and have set up the modem, you’re ready to access the Internet anywhere you get 3G cellular reception.
Theoretically, mobile broadband speeds can reach a level near DSL. However, in practice this hasn’t proven true. Practically peaking, mobile broadband at its best can range between 1000 and 1500 Kbps, though speeds will vary by provider and location. While these speeds are sufficient for everyday Web browsing, they are not suitable for the usage levels of an average telecommuter.
How can mobile broadband help the at-home worker?
Mobile broadband can take the freedom of a telecommuter to the next level. It can take a normally stationary work station on the road. It can allow you to enjoy of the things you love while still getting your work done. It affords you the ability to work wherever you want, whenever you want.
Imagine this scenario. Your child has a soccer game in the evening, but you have so much work to finish up that you just can’t go. It’s a shame, but these are the realities of the work at home life. If, however, you had a broadband modem, you could go to the game and continue doing your work. Sure, no one wants to have their nose in their laptops while their child runs up and down the soccer field. After all, you might miss something big. The operative word there is “might.” Had you stayed home to finish work, you would have certainly missed it.
Or take this anecdote. I live in New York. My girlfriend lives in New Jersey. Our relationship consists of constant train rides. While I’m on the train I usually read, and then finish up my work for the day when I get out there. Once I got mobile broadband, though, I could work while riding the train, so I could spend all that time with my girlfriend, rather than making her wait for me to finish working.
There are plenty of other scenarios. Visiting a relative who doesn’t have Internet access? Like to get out of the house and set up shop at a coffee house? Riding shotgun for a long car ride? There are plenty of scenarios where mobile broadband can be a boon to telecommuters.
Mobile broadband is not for everyone
This article isn’t a total shill for mobile broadband. In fact, there are many people who simply will not benefit by it. If your work habits are just fine and you get all of your work done right at your office, well, there’s no reason to fix a system that isn’t broken. You might also be the type who can put down work to go to your child’s soccer game, with the commitment to come back and burn the midnight oil to finish up.
There are two main factors that turn people away from mobile broadband plans: pricing and usage. The biggest one in most consumers’ minds, of course, is pricing. The typical mobile broadband plan costs $60 per month, and that’s on top of your at-home Internet cost. That’s a hefty addition to a monthly cellular bill. If you already have a mobile device like a BlackBerry, it might only be a nominal fee to upgrade to broadband access. Even so, that’s yet another cost, at a time when most people are looking to cut them.
Usage is an often missed factor that plays heavily into whether you should get mobile broadband or not. The four major carriers — AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, and T-Mobile — have 5GB monthly caps. Go over and you’ll pay a hefty overage rate, or worse, have the company terminate your contract. For many, 5GB just doesn’t cut it. With downloading images and videos, uploading, and other routine Web worker activities, there’s always the risk of running over. And that can be costly.
It’s also a reason why mobile broadband can never replace your at-home connection. Perhaps when, and if, WiMax blankets markets throughout the country, there will be a viable alternative. But until then, mobile broadband is no substitute for broadband to the home.
Freedom and mobility
At this point we can conclude that mobile broadband is a luxury of the highest order. It affords telecommuters incredible freedom and mobility. However, for those looking to keep costs in check, it’s not the best solution. That’s a lot of money to lay out for a service you already essentially have in your home broadband connection.
Still, for those looking for that extra little bit, that factor that allows them a greater level of productivity, mobile broadband can definitely supply it. If you can determine how much your time is worth to you, you can figure out if the $60 monthly fee is worth it.
Pretty soon we’ll all be mobile. But for now, it can be a distinct advantage. Expensive, sure, but advantageous even more so.
Joe Pawlikowski is the editor of Wireless Internet Reviews, a site which provides new and reviews of the all forms of wireless Internet.
Great article – I wish I had seen this before as I had to learn the hard way!
Seriously its SO overpriced for what it is, and the limits they put on are stupid,
they either need to lower the price or take off the limits
seriously its so expensive for what it is, they need to make it cheaper or take away the limits, its very unbalanced
I was using AT&T for a while and paying about $60 a month. For me the service wasn’t reliable enough to warrant the expense.
We have wireless broadband, because where we live we couldn’t get any other sort. It was either dial-up or wireless. So we’re paying $80 a month for 7Gb, and that’s both uploads and downloads. For all of you in the US who are going to say that’s expensive, it’s actually half the normal price because we were able to pick up a promotional deal. Normally 7Gb of wireless would cost around $150 a month here (Australia)
Fortunately, in the last month we’ve been able to get high speed adsl, so as soon as our contract on the wireless runs out we’ll be getting that.
I really do like the convenience of wireless though. I spend a lot of time sitting around at school and at meetings. It’s great to be able to take my laptop with me and get work done in what would be wasted time.
I recently used the Sprint mobile broadband card while vacationing, and the speed was terrific. I would definitely recommend their service to anyone thinking of a provider.
is the price to pay to be connected to the world, hopefully with the advanced of technologies that price will be less
Hello friend,
If we are free also at home, But we can’t start our business for free of cost.. That has to need some investment..
Especially for women, If we allowed her to start the business also Who will do marketing for her product..
If it is Internet related business also we must spend some time to teach her.
Any how you have given a good idea for woman’s to starting business.
Keep up your good work.. And update us to every new article..
Thanks
Phil
Jeeze!! You guys are paying way too much for wireless. Here in Vancouver BC a friend was telling me she pays $25 per month for the portable USB wireless stick. That includes her home usage too of course.
One of the advantages of living up North I guess
Damon, please do NOT get me started on the ridiculous cost of internet, let alone wireless internet, in Australia. We’re the most expensive country in the world for it. And there are still area’s that have access to nothing more than dial-up.