If you own a hotspot enabled device, then you are probably wondering how to boost your internet speed. Unfortunately many home and business users fail to realise that there are different hotspot networks and some are much better than others. A hotspot is usually an area where several wireless devices are located (think of the kitchen sink in a public library) and a connection speed is enhanced by the network of these devices. If you want to increase your internet speed then there are steps you can take.
First, your Internet Service Provider may have different caps on the amount of bandwidth allowed for each month. The most common capped amount is 15 GB per month, although this can vary per ISP. Increasing your monthly bandwidth allotment can drastically improve your web surfing experience. An option to increasing your bandwidth allotment would be to use streaming media such as videos or music with your hotspot. While this does not technically affect your data usage, it does limit the amount of overall web browsing you can do.
Second, try disabling all other devices that are tied to your hotspot connection (e.g. laptop, mobile etc.). Doing this will prevent all those other devices from automatically connecting to your hotspot network and using up your bandwidth.
Third, use a browser that supports Internet Explorer v6 or higher. This browsers is particularly important if you use the Microsoft Internet Explorer to browse the internet and use hotspot plans such as T-Mobile, AT&T or Verizon. If you use any other browsers, such as FireFox, Opera or Safari, then your device probably won't be able to connect to the hotspot network. To check if your browser can support IE v6, just go to the About window, click the button "Is Internet Explorer supported" and click "Yes" or "Performance Test". If this is the case then your browser is properly supported and you can continue surfing the internet.
Now here comes the part where I usually come out ahead in a hotspot plan: I've got a locked phone number on my hotspot account. You see, there's only one reason why your device can't connect to the network: that particular number is assigned to you by the network operator, and is only accessible to them. They can change your hotspot password quite often, so you won't even know it's there! What's more, if they want to give you a new one, they have to change it with the telecom company. How inconvenient! But what can I do?
My solution to this problem was finding some good online services that offer hotspot data plans for people like me. Since I live in New York, I have plenty of access to Verizon's cellular network. It's relatively cheap for most people to have unlimited hot spot data plans in New York City because we live in the biggest city in the country and therefore have access to pretty much every service available. With the right plan, I can get as much as a hundred and twenty-five minutes of high speed internet access each month. That's about a third of an hour a day I can use on my laptop, right in bed!
To find good mobile hotspot unlimited plans in New York, all I had to do was look up some comparison sites. The results were pretty impressive. There are three different providers of mobile hotspots in New York: Verizon, AT&T, and local mobile hotspot service in the area I live in.
The best one had the least expensive unlimited plans and also had no hard data caps. I've signed up for that one now. It's a great deal, and I think I'll stick with it even though I'm getting a bit older now and will probably go with a different kind of plan in the future.
