Unless you’re a frequent business traveler and own an expensive wireless mobile broadband aircard with a two-year plan, there’s no way around a hotel’s $9.95 per day wireless fee. If you want to stay connected when you’re away, the resort’s got you over a barrel.
But a new company called Rovair promises to add another connectivity option. Instead of signing a contract with a wireless carrier or being bilked by a hotel, you can rent a mobile aircard by the day.
I don’t travel enough to own an aircard. (In fact, I really hate traveling — but that’s another story.)
If I wanted one, I’d have to pay $60 a month to Sprint, Verizon or AT&T. That’s way too much for someone who’s on the road every other week.
I tested Rovair, which costs as little as $5.95 a day according to its site, on a recent trip to New Orleans. It took about five minutes to order the card from the company’s site and it arrived by UPS the next morning. Installing the Spring SmartView application took another five minutes.
The Sierra Wireless AirCard plugged into one of my laptop’s USB ports without any trouble. The card is a little bulky, but after some fiddling I managed to lock it in the upright position, where it stayed out of my way.
In terms of performance, the card worked flawlessly every time and offered a lighting-fast connection. I Skyped my family using video, and there were no noticeable delays. One of the things I really liked about the card is that it worked anywhere — in the hotel, the cab to the airport, at the airport. Really, anywhere I could open my laptop, I could connect.
I would recommend Rovair for any occasional traveler with a need to connect.
Before signing up, do a little math. Price the Rovair card option against the daily connect fee at your property, and if you’re going to be a guest at the hotel for a longer amount of time, see if it can waive or reduce the connection charge. If the resort insists on billing you $9.95 a day, Rovair is a good bet.
Certainly, it’s a more flexible one.
Sign up for my 
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Yeah, but there are shipping fees and a three-day minimum, which make it more than the stated “as low as” $5.95 a day. Plus the hassle factor of ordering in advance.
I just plugged in a three-day scenario starting tomorrow and it quoted me $59.80.
Sounds like they still need to rethink this biz idea. If it works *anywhere* that’s important since you could conceivably avoid other fees while on the road.
FYI – wifi is now free at Starbucks. You just have to get a SBUX card to enable.
That is true. Which is why I mentioned that doing the math is really important. The hotel wireless connection may make more sense sometimes.
Rovair rocks!
I recently moved from NYC to Boca Raton, Fl. I purchased a Rovair card for the flight and it worked great. I continued using it in my new home while waiting over a week for Comcast to wire the house. The connection was always 100% throughtout the house, out by the pool, in the car etc. Well worth the cost and the whole world has to pay for shipping so no complaints on that end.
Customer service was very helpful throughout.
These guys are on to something!
I tried this service and it was great! I used my card in three different states. I hate dealing with the wireless companies and their “gotchya” fees.
Alternatively, if you have a blackberry – it can act like a bluetooth modem for your computer. Speeds are 400k or so – but then most hotel ‘broadband’ isn’t really much faster.
Maybe its just us Mac users who have this figured out, but when they want to charge you for internet – just ask – they’ll give it to you for free most times if you just ask nicely.
In airports and places with nickel and dime mentalites – I can check my email and do simple basic website with my bluetooth blackberry and laptop = for free [or at least I'm already paying for it].
Would this work, say, in the backwoods of Canada? Like, in the Northwest Territories for instance?
Update: After a quick call to the RovAir marketing department, I was informed that the service does not officially extend into Canada, but it is indeed possible to receive the signal outside of the U.S. They also told me the company are working on a bigger, international network, but for now, it will only work in domestic U.S. locations.
There go my dreams of blogging from the wilds of Yellowknife this summer.
I have not tried Rovair, but think it is a great idea. I pay for my internet service at my company and at home so I dont need to pay for it for 2 years a third time. I will definitely try RoVair on my next trip.
Rovair is great! I’ve used it two times and I’ll tell you why.. TYLER ABOVE LISTEN UP… it’s less expensive than connecting in the hotel AND it works EVERYWHERE. I was staying at the Fairmont in San Fran and the internet connection fee was $20/ day which included access in my room and in the lobby via WIFI. My 3 day package from Rovair was also $59.85 as noted above which included overnight shipping because I signed up the day before I left. Shipping is less if you plan ahead. The Rovair wireless card was waiting at the hotel when I checked in, easy. So you say – “what’s the difference?” if it’s 59 for Rovair and 60 for 3 days at the hotel” HERE is the difference, The wireless access card from Rovair worked in my hotel room the lobby, the airport, and all over San Fran. In fact, I didn’t find anywhere it didn’t work. Conclusion, Rovair is a much better value because of the ubiquitous connectivity. Regarding free WIFI at SBUX,… that may be fine for teenyboppers checking MySpace but it’s not a real solution for a business traveler. I don’t plan my day around trips to the coffee house. For the occasional traveler who doesn’t need wireless connectivity but a few times a Quarter, Rovair is the ideal solution. I will use this service again.
There’s not much of a chance of finding access as low as $9.95 a day these days. I’ve seen it as high as $20. When I have a choice, I’ll try to stay at a Fairfield Inn or Courtyard, where connectivity is free (these guys have it figured out). At conferences I don’t have that option, but usually the conference offers access.
I, too, rented a data card previously from Rovair. I currently run a home-based online business, so there is no such thing as a “paid vacation”. When on a family camping trip in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, I was still able to be productive and earn income, and still enjoy the scenic views and the toasty campfire! Needless to say, my clients were happy as they suffered no down time, and my wallet was happy as it didn’t incur a loss! I have recommended Rovair’s services to many of my friends and colleagues and will continue to do so.
I manage the expenses of a large sales team at IBM that travels frequently throughout the year. Currently I have about 10 of these cards sitting in my desk , all on 2-year contracts, when collectively the team may only use them for 6 or 7 weeks out of a year…I am definitely going to see what Rovair has to offer
I manage a field force of 10 and they travel 30% of time. The blackberry deal works fine for email but is horrible for project work. This makes sense as my folks still need to bang out reports and use other MS applications while on the road.
Lets face it, when you travel, on business, the actual time you are sitting in your hotel room with an internet connection (that you paid min of $9.95 for) is about 2hrs,..1hr in the early morning before meetings, and 1 hr after that business dinner (when your exhausted). Hotels offer so called 24hr access , which is really from check in (not until 3pm) to check out (by 11am) With the Rovair cards you can also get connected during the “down time” in your meeting schedule,..in cars, trains, customer lobbies etc,..and most importantly, without signing a 2yr contract,..Rovair is a great productivity tool for the business traveler…
In some hotels, you log onto the Internet in the lobby where there’s free wireless and stay connected while you return to your room, where you can sometimes (and I emphasize the sometimes) remain connected. It’s worth trying.
Beyond this, it always astonishes me that mid-range motels (chains and indies) generally offer free Internet access (and also free parking and free use of the pool or the little workout room or whatever), while arm-and-leg expensive hotels charge for such privileges. Do they figure it doesn’t matter because “the company” is paying?
Claire @ http://travel-babel.blogspot.com
James – the speeds with blackberry are the same as the speeds with Rovair = same essential technology. Same cell towers. You might need to tweak some of your blackberry and internet connection settings. Of course, you probably use windoze and I see up to 800k a second on my Mac but routinely 250k when booting the mac to windows – something in XP is messing with the throughput. 800k is virtually broadband when it comes to websites. Perhaps you have T1 at work for uploads but residential and small business is generally limited to under 500k upload speed to prevent hosting of websites on home computers.
Christopher, your article is definitely misleading. The Rovair card is only $5.95 per day if you purchase at least 30 days. Otherwise, it is almost $12 per day. Your ad is a bit like the airlines not including tax and fees in their ticket pricing ads. Only later do you find out that it isn’t such a good deal when the fees and taxes cost more than the actual offered fare. These are deceptive practices by the airlines that Congress is trying to get rid of. I’m disappointed that you would present this product to your loyal readers in the same deceptive manner.
I’m not debating the value of the product here. I just think that if you are going to mention the product’s cost as an advantage, you should be upfront and honest about the true cost and list all of the hidden costs and requirements. And, you don’t get off the hook by telling people to do the math.
Rovair is awesome. I have used it a few times and I have found it much more convenient and economical compared to Verizon or the hotel and airport services. I would highly suggest any traveler to try it.
great info! any thoughts on connection in st. petersburg, russia??? will be there this summer for a couple of weeks. thanks!
A comment about the use of wireless cards in today’s business enviornment…they are a most critical tool for the business traveler who needs more functionality then a Blackberry provides…
The company I work for provides most of it’s Outside Sales employees both the wireless card and a Blackberry. The cards are cost effective…and essential to organizations who maintain their data and customer or supplier presentations on Corporate VPN’s or Shared drives. The wireless cards allow users to be in front of customers…with live Corporate data at their fingertips.
While the Company I work for does not use Rovair…I think the people who developed this concept are spot on for the SoHo roadwarriors who need wireless connectivity on a as need basis.
Kudo’s to Rovair !
some companies like AT&T will give you a PC wireless data card if you have the unlimited data plan with your smart phone…
I have a 3G HTC smartphone and even used that as a wireless data device connected to my laptop.
I have not tried it with BlueTooth yet, but with the wired USB connection, it was a no-brainer.
Ed
web/gadget guru
Ed, I find it hard to believe that AT&T gives you anything for taking an unlimited plan, however, i do know that the current model of the iphone cannot tether to the computer or act as a modem. But even if it could, you still can’t talk on the phone at the same time while being on the internet. as someone who travels by Amtrak often, its critical for me to have both functions. The other thing with AT&T, advertised speeds are just over half that of Verizon and Sprint. I took all three for a test drive when deciding which one to purchase, and AT&T was a distance third (dial up speeds most of the time on hte train, painful!). Coverage is terrible as well.
Joe, speeds are not the same if you are only gettin 400k downloads (as stated in your first comment), i usually get close to 1mps with the card.
Geoff, quit your crying and start doing your homework, just about every business in America lures you in with best price advertising.
I am not sure whether Rovair can deliver on its promises, and pricing seems a bit high, but the alternative is a $1500 contract, not suree which is better for me, but i love the convenience of my Sprint card.
New Orleans is a wireless city–so you did not need it there. But it is a good idea for now. Not sure how much longer it will be relevant though with the big push for free access in most major cities. As others have said SBX is free, and Holiday Inn never charges. Heck even in my little town we have an almost city wide WAN
Tim, you’re an idiot. Just because every business in America lures you in with best price advertising, doesn’t make it right. You use the words but you don’t even see the problem with “luring someone in.”
I’m still waiting for someone to show me how this item makes sense financially. You can get a wireless card from AT&T or Verizon for about $60 a month. That’s about $2 a day. This Rovair card charges $12 a day plus shipping and handling, unless you buy 30 days or more, at which the price becomes about $6 a day. To use this card for a 3-day business trip will cost you about $60 when you include shipping. It might be a little less if you plan ahead. So, let’s say you get it for $55 or even $50. I’d still rather pay $60 and have a wireless card available to use every day in a month than pay $50 and be limited to 3 days of use. There’s always the possibility that I may need connection for more than the three days.
Let’s not even talk about buying the 30-day plan and paying more than $150 for that.
The only way I can see any justification for using this card is if you travel so infrequently, say once or twice a year, that you don’t want to incur a 12 month obligation with a wireless card. But, let’s just do some comparisons.
To use the AT&T(or Verizon) card for a year, you’d fork out about $720. You’re going to spend the same amount on Rovair over the course of a year if you take a three-day business trip once a month. That’s not very much travel. Let’s say you take a 5-day business trip, every other month. You’re still going to pay upwards of $600 for the Rovair card – and you’ve got 30 days of use out of it. I still think I’d rather pay $720 and have 365 days of use, than pay $600 and have 30 days of use.
Throw in any kind of scenario you want, it just doesn’t seem to make sense. Unless you’re a business traveller who travels only once or twice a year for only a few days at a time, the cost just doesn’t work out.
Can one of you who feel that Rovair is such a good deal, show me how this product makes financial sense, compared to just getting a monthly plan for a wireless card? Maybe you, Tim, since you think you have all of the answers.
Stephen H, obviously you and everyone else misunderstood what I was saying – you use the blackberry as a wireless bluetooth modem for your laptop = not use the basic blackberry apps inside the blackberry. Then, every app on your laptop works just as if you had Rovair.
The issue with ‘laptop cell cards’ is that fewer and fewer laptops come with PCMCIA cards these days. As laptops get smaller and lighter you all of a sudden need a USB version of these units – which is one more thing to lose.
When used this way, the blackberry works where ever it gets a signal and where ever you have data service and many business travelers ALREADY HAVE this device in their travel bag. And you are already paying for the data connection – and already are walking around with it.
Likewise, the latest Palm units with bluetooth can also be used this way. Before you spend more money you need to find out what you already have that accomplishes your purpose. Of course, configuring an XP or lord forbid Vista laptop to work with a bluetooth modem would probably take most of the day.
And Chris, yeah, did you get one of these for free to use on a trip – and it worked great and the company then told you it was $5.95 a day and you didn’t check their claims?
Can we get disclosure on how and why your recommended this product? We all need to be cynical of travel writer recommendations, right? ;-)
Thanks for the comments, everyone. To those of you who have brought up the pricing issues with Rovair, your point is taken. I thought that mentioning Rovair’s site says pricing starts at $5.95, and urging you to do the math before renting, was enough, but in hindsight, I could have been clearer. Anyone reading these comments will know that.
I think the circumstances are rare that RovAir is a good deal.
If the hotel charges $9.95/ day (most seem to charge this rate) then to get an average price below it, you’ve got to rent from RovAir for 18 days. If the hotel charges $20/day then you’re breaking even at the minimum of 3 days rental, plus as several people mentioned, you’re able to use it everywhere, more or less. Frankly, most of the hotels I stay in (Hiltons, Marriotts and Hyatts) only charge $9.95/day.
If you travel regularly for a week per month, then an air card at $60 month is a better deal than the hotel or RovAir.
I use an air card (express card style) from ATT. It works great and traveling about 7 days per month or more is the least expensive way to get the Internet while traveling. It has better coverage than Sprint, and by the end of the year, ATT 3G coverage is supposed to be more extensive than Verizon’s EVDO. We’ll see about that, but the ATT coverage is already extensive.
Geoff, no need for insults, we live in a free capitalistic society where people can make their decisions based on the information provided. This is not bait and switch, where they quote you one price and charge you another. you know what the price is before you pay for anything.
In answer to your pricing question, as I said I own a card, and love the convenience of connectivity. However, if a customer wants a one year contract, they pay $80 per month, so lets get your facts straight. That means its $960 for the year PLUS the cost of the card and taxes and you lose the rebates. the Two year contract is $60 which equates to $1,440, PLUS the cost of the card and taxes, not all of them are free. Now the $600 doesn’t sound so bad if you only need it once a month. So Geoff, who is misleading people now! what do you work for one of the carriers?
In terms of the 30 day plan, how about all those people that rent or have homes for extended periods of time in the summer.
What about people that travel in RVs for a month at a time once a year.
I agree with you in the scenarios provided, except for one problem the cost comes out of my pocket, not my company’s. I already pay for internet in my home and have it in my office. So now I have to pay for two connections. In Theory, i could eliminate my hard line, but I don’t get good cell reception in my home. If I stay in a hotel, and use the internet, I can charge it back to my company or client, which I could also do for the Data card rental, but not a two year contract
Joe, all carriers have USB cards now, so the PCMCIA thing is a non-issue, plus you can get htem built into your laptop. In answer to your claim about paying for your data connection already, you still have to pay additional to tether to your computer, and you still cannot talk on the phone at the same time. FYI, there are ways around this, but they are not legal! its like stealing cable. Only reason I know is because I called the carrier to find out! Not a chance I want to take.
I should also mention two things, so that i hav my facts straight, i just went on their site and shipping is not included so this does draw a bit on the economics.
And Finally on a patriotic note, we all live in a free capitalistic society, where competition is good. everyone can attached their own mark up on their product or service, and usually, its much higher than you even know. Take the cost of liquor, beer, or wine in a restaurant, they charge what the market will bear. Geoff, would you rather live in a sociiety of price fixing or a socialistic/communistic society. Sounds that way! If RovAir, or any other company for that matter, is not meeting the needs and demands of the market, then they will weed themselves out.
God Bless America!
Hello,
My name is Matt Walsh and I am the COO of RoVair.
I would like to thank everyone for their postings over the last several days.
We will use these comments in a constructive way to continue to find the most economical way to serve our customers and provide unparalleled wireless mobility for the business and leisure traveler.
We realize that RoVair is not for everyone. If it was, I assure you that I would be retired and living on a private island in the Caribbean!
We do not intend to mislead anyone regarding our rental prices or our shipping costs. We feel we have figured out the most economical way to provide access to wireless mobile broadband users while avoiding costly/long term contracts.
I assure you that our pricing will come down in the future as we are figuring out more efficient shipping methods.
Thank You,
Matt Walsh
As the FrugalFun guy, here’s something else to try. I’ve noticed a lot of hotels charge for wi-fi but not for wired Internet in your room. So just pack an Ethernet cable. Yeah, I know, it’s more fun to hang out in the lobby but…
Shel Horowitz, author of the 280-page ebook, The Penny-Pinching Hedonist: How to Live Like Royalty with a Peasant’s Pocketbook, available at frugalfun.com
Interesting product… in the executive search industry we are constantly travleing and always in need of connectivity. Plus, we are always scrutinized for expenses to our clients and/or back to our firm. I used the product on a three day trip and found it to be solid; in that i was always in touch in places that did not offer connectivity and avoided Hotel costs. Looking forward to see how this prodcut progresses…BK
Everyone,
I would just like to introduce myself… My name is Tom Dolan, I am the President and CEO of RovAir, we are small organization that is apparently creating a bit of a stir in the travel industry blogs over the last few days. To begin, I would like to come out and thank everyone for all the comments, we will use them to devise better ways to service our customers. As I sit here and write this, I am on an Amtrak Acela Express from Boston to Philadelphia, which by the way is not Wi-Fi enabled; although, my Sprint 595U works great. I would also like to start by adding that this is not going to be an advertisement for RovAir, I will present all options the best that I can.
A little background…The concept for RovAir was born while my family and I were vacationing last summer in Cape Cod, the house we rented did not have Wi-Fi. As an executive with a mid sized consulting firm, it was important for me to stay connected while away from my office in order to best service my clients. Knowing that my company was not going to reimburse the monthly cost, I struggled with whether I should pay the monthly fees. I ended up buying the card for $80 after the rebate (it is now $50 after rebate), but figured I had 30 days to return it, if I didn’t like. Anyone can do this, ONCE, and the return process is not a pleasurable one, I can assure you that as we tested it in our RovAir research.
Now, I cannot live without my data card even though it does not make financial sense for me to have one full time. I love like the convenience and security of knowing I can connect anytime anywhere. The idea of renting a data card came about when I was on that cape cod vacation and rented a stroller for my 1 year old. I thought to myself, why didn’t I just rent the card for the week? I researched it a bit while on vacation and found very few companies that rent the cards, the problem was their prices were very high. I thought we could do it for less, and provide a great service to those that wanted or needed it, and did not want to get the contract.
I preface, that we fully understand that our service is not for everyone, particularly the frugal traveler that would prefer to find a café or other location where they can get it for free. You can get free internet in just about any limited service (i.e. Hampton Inn, Fairfield Inn, Comfort Inn) or Select Service (i.e. Courtyard, Hilton Garden Inn, Residence Inn, Homewood Suites, etc.), it is a brand standard. There are 26,300 branded hotels in this country and 21,200 Independent hotels. Only about 1,600 of the branded hotels are full-service and required by the brand to charge for the internet, the majority of others offer free internet. You may prefer to pay for the “fixed” internet connection in your hotel room, and if so great. We are not trying to change your minds, we are just trying to give you another option to paying the hotel rates, a better, more “Mobile” option in our opinion.
Let me give you an everyday scenario as a business traveler… a typical hotel guest checks in between 3pm and 8pm, they get to their room and connect to the internet (for $9.95 – $19.99, or for free), they use it for a couple hours maybe, go to dinner, come back, read email, and go to bed. The next morning, the guest leaves the room, and does his/her business. The internet price rolls over at noon. So they have used the internet for a total of maybe four hours for whatever price they paid or didn’t pay. RovAir charges on a 24 hour basis, you can use it whenever. As far as reliability, both have their disadvantages. 92% of all hotels in the US were built prior to 2000, that means they were all retrofitted with internet solutions, which leads to problems. I was typically on with tech support about 10-20% of the time when connecting in hotels. Wireless Mobile broadband (WMB is based on cell networks, we all know about dropped calls. While wireless mobile broadband does experience dropped connections, it is less frequent than voice calls.
We are not looking to compete with the hotel market, but rather complement it. For example, some business travelers like to be connected from point A to point B, we make this happen. Often times, users pay for a connection in the airport or a cafe in a pinch.
Of course you can get a free connection just about anywhere as long as you know where to find it, but it is tough to find without internet access to begin with. In addition, there are numerous other “hotspot” services that may work for you as well, if you want to pay a monthly subscription. They advertising anywhere from 8,000 to 20,000 hotspots in the United States. With WMB, there are essentially millions of hotspots. I would recommend looking for the free internet connection rather than waste your money. I must also further this by saying that the security of Wi-Fi is much lower than with Wireless Mobile Broadband. An issue for government workers, but not for everyone.
Chris Elliott is a very respected journalist, and he simply made a recommendation to his users, and asked you to do the math. We are sorry that this caused confusion, or if anyone thought that it was misleading, certainly not our intention. Our goal is to dedliver the highest level of customer service combined with unparalleled mobility. Anyway, we decided to do the math for you, here it is…
Cost of Using Mobile Broadband Providers And Signing a 2 Year Contract
Monthly Fee Months One Year Total Length Total
$60 x 12 = $720 2yr. Contract = $1,440
* Plus the cost of the data card, taxes, and activation fee; note these vary from month to month
RovAir Breakeven Analysis for 3-6 day Rates
Shipping
Days Daily fee Length Total 24 times total
36 x $14.95 = $ 538 x 2 years = $1,076 + 360 = $1,436
*inlcudes the cost of the data card
This equates to roughly 12 three day rentals per year over the course of two years
RovAir Breakeven Analysis for 7 day Rates
Shipping
Days Daily fee Length Total 14 times total
48 x $12.95 = $ 622 x 2 years = $1,243 + 210 = $1,453
*inlcudes the cost of the data card and sales tax
This equates to roughly 7 one week rentals per year over the course of two years.
RovAir Breakeven Analysis for 14 day Rates
Shipping
Days Daily fee Length Total 9 times total
63 x $10.33 = $ 651 x 2 years = $1,302 + 135 = $1,437
*inlcudes the cost of the data card and sales tax
This equates to 4.5 two week rentals per year over the course of two years
RovAir Breakeven Analysis for 30+ day Rates
Shipping
Days Daily fee Length Total 8 times RovAir
112 x $5.95 = $ 666 x 2 years = $1,333 + 105 = $1,438
*inlcudes the cost of the data card and sales tax
This equates to roughly 3.7 months per year over the course of two years
Forgive me if there is an error its not intentional, but I think everyone sees the point. I should preface this by saying that as we move forward, we hope to streamline our distribution model so that the cards would be made available at numerous retail outlets thereby eliminating the shipping costs. Furthermore, if the user has their own card, we hope to “soon” be able to “light up” that card at will with our account, thereby lowering the over all cost to the consumer. If you would like to compare this to “paid” hotel internet access, there is no comparison based on the mobility that we are able to offer versus the hotel’s “fixed” connection. As far as free internet and subscription services, I encourage those users that don’t want to pay for internet to continue their search for the “free” hotspot. It is certainly better than all the options if you are able to find it. When compared to one year contracts the economics get even better as the equipment charges and activation fees go up.
Going forward, we will be practicing yield management techniques that you are all too familiar with in hotels, car rentals, and airlines, which means, as demand increases, prices will go up, as demand decreases prices will go down. But for now, they remain as stable!
My take on tethering… Tethering is an option for those individuals that have a 3G device, and the speeds are comparable. One downside to tethering, you cannot talk on the phone as the same time. Nevertheless this is an option in a pinch, IF you have paid for the service. I know with Verizon it is an extra $15 on top of your data plan. I think Sprint costs the same. We do not work with AT&T as coverage and download speeds are inferior. As for the famous generation one iphone user, tethering is not an option, it does not have the capability. Newer verions will have this option.
My comments on Citywide Wi-Fi… I am certainly not an expert in the “fixed” internet, however, I have stayed in a Holiday Inn Express… just a little hotel humor. My opinion, they are costly to the cities, and many of you mentioned the coverage can be sketchy. My understanding is that they will be phasing out as new and much better technologies enter the marketplace. Things such as Wimax, also deemed as the last mile internet. The leader in the technology is Sprint operating under an entitiy called Xohm (www.xohm.com). Verizon is coming out with their LTE technology, still unnamed, and AT&T with UMTS. These technologies are expected to be significantly faster than anything out therir today and will make citwide Wi-Fi obsolete. Xohm was supposed to have launched in Chicago and DC earlier this month, but to my understanding it has been delayed. To further the citywide wifi argument, it is not available in every city, and people want to stay connected everywhere they go, Point A to Point B!
The last thing I would like to say… the Service Providers costs are actually becoming more expensive, not less, as Verizon, in particular, has pulled back from their “unlimited” plan. They now limit you to 5GB per month, although a user would have to be streaming video to reach this limitation, still a price increase. I note that RovAir allows its users up to 1GB of download per week, prorated on a daily basis, and as long as we do not hit our 5GB limit with Verizon, we will not likely charge you.
Your comments have been extremely helpful, and we have heard all these arguments over the last 6-8 months as we researched our business model. The answer is… whatever is right for you! Just like when purchasing a hotel room, a car, a house, or anything else in this world.
As for Chris Elliott’s recommendation, we greatly appreciate his comments, and do not believe he should criticized for a service that “does” make economic sense for many travelers. As we move forward, we hope the economics get even better for the consumer. To be honest, you best option is to convince your employer to pay the monthly fees. Finally, I am happy to discuss or debate (depending on your position) this issue with anyone, I can be reached at my email address tdolan@rovair.com. Sorry for the lengthy reply, but I thought it all needed to be said.