Buy a MiFi and maximize your mobile data plan

Starhub recently revamped their broadband plans such that everyone gets faster download speeds. I was on their MaxOnline Premium Plus plan which originally gave me up to 12Mbps download speeds as well as a 1Mbps mobile broadband subscription. Since June, for the same price, I now get 30Mbps download speeds at home whereas the mobile portion remains status quo.

Still, I felt that the mobile broadband plan wasn’t fully utilized. I used to have an iPad Wifi (before I traded it up for an iPad with Wifi + 3G) and I wasn’t able to plug the USB Mobile Broadband stick to the iPad because, well, the silly thing doesn’t have a USB port. This made me heavily reliant on Wireless@SG hotspots and some places like the National Library HQ at Bugis has spotty connection at best.

At this point in time, I recalled an episode at Macbreak Weekly hosted by the legendary Leo Laporte (pardon the alliteration) wherein Andy Ihnatko had a friend who had sewn a DIY case for his iPad with a pocket for this thing called a MiFi by Novatel. It’s a device that generates a bubble of mobile hotspot for up to 5 devices - on demand. It’s how Andy avoids the need to get a 3G iPad and consequently relieves himself of an additional monthly data plan with AT&T.

This is something Singaporeans are mostly oblivious to. A trip to Sim Lim Square reveals this. No one carries this device. Not even its Huawei counterpart . This post is definitely not a review of the two devices. It’s about how to make full use of that data plan you have with the telco, be it a mobile broadband subscription that came with your primary home broadband plan, or a data plan that comes with your mobile phone.

Here’s the plan: get the MiFi (I got mine from Amazon) and then insert a SIM card into the device and that’s it. (The setup is pretty straightforward).

Where does one get the SIM card? For those with the USB sticks, you just need to strip it of their SIM card and insert it into the MiFi. Or, do you feel that the 12GB data that comes with your iPhone subscription is underutilized? Pay an additional $5 per month and subscribe to a MultiSIM, and then use that with the MiFi.

Immediately, when you’re out and about, you get about 4hours of internet connectivity through the mobile hotspot. You can hook up your netbook, iPad, iPod Touch, whatever. Heck, for a time I even thought of just using the MiFi as an alternative to home broadband. (I gave up after 3 days. I’m too hooked on fast connection speeds.)

Well then, that’s how I thought I put my mobile data plan to way better use. Of course, the MiFi 2352 (this is the model that works with GSM networks in Europe and Asia) will set you back by about US$280 including shipping but for the advantages it brings, I think it’s totally worth it.