Three Mobile MiFi Provides Free WiFi Hotspots As A Human Goes Round A City…A Human Hotspot?
Written by Christian Milsom on December 10, 2010 · Filed under Tech
Here’s my throw-away statement of the day: people are increasingly using the internet on the move, and the reasons for this are pretty obvious: it’s useful, versatile, convenient, productive and of course fun but of course it can sometimes be painfully difficult to get hold of and that is the premise behind Three’s latest publicity campaign called Human Hotspots.
The ultimate aim of this is for Three to promote their rather useful MiFi mobile internet access device which I’ll get onto later, but first I’ll explain exactly what the ‘Human Hotspots’ idea is; over the next couple of weekends in cities across the county large white men will be appearing that will allow people to connect to the internet when nearby.
Admittedly it is a bit of a shameless publicity attempt (and I suppose as I’m writing about it it’s working) but at least it gives us an excuse to talk about what is actually a genuinely cool gadget – the MiFi – which each of these plastic white men will be carrying.
These ‘Human Hotspots’ will allow up to five passers-by to connect to the internet via Wifi which of course will solve a problem for the thousands of Wi-Fi enabled devices out there that cannot find the Wi-Fi to function to their full potential; a problem which I find all the time with my non-3G enabled netbook.
What Is A MiFi?
That brings me nicely onto looking at how the MiFi actually works and that is by using 3G connectivity (through Three) to create a mini Wi-Fi hotspot from the comfort of your pocket without the need for any wires and, perhaps less obviously, installation or software which really means that it can offer instant access.
Three, the manufacturer of the MiFi, believe very much that this particular gadget resonates well with their ethos as Matthew Halfin their marketing director for Three’s mobile broadband explains:
Matthew Halfin, the marketing manager for Three’s mobile broadband propositions commented…
“People are now using mobile internet as part of their everyday lifestyle, and we think it’s important that we’re able to support our customers by providing them with reliable and fast connectivity for wherever they want to go online. Three’s 3G network was designed for the mobile internet, so we can give people the very best online experience with their mobile gadgets. This will be particularly important over the Christmas period as a third of people head online with their new mobile toys.”
Unfortunately it isn’t the cheapest thing in the world priced at £69.99 on PAYG (with 3GB of data) or £39.99 on contract (with £15 and 5GB data allowance/month) but with Christmas looming on the horizon I imagine that it could well prove popular for those with commuter dads who are always looking for the convenience of internet access on the move without having to seek out the nearest Starbucks for free WiFi access.
Where To Find A Human Hotspot
Moving back to the ‘Human Hotspots’ campaign you may want to go and have a look and maybe even see exactly how the MiFi works (especially if you were considering it as a present) then you will be able to find them in five of the country’s major cities over the pre-festive period. Unfortunately there aren’t many places and dates being covered, so if you were hoping to see it in London or some of the other cities listed below, you will have missed it – but you will be able to seek the Human Hotspot as shown below:
• Cardiff – Friday November 26th
• Bristol – Saturday November 27th
• Nottingham – Saturday December 4th
• Newcastle – Saturday December 11th
So if you are curious as to how the MiFi works, would like a bit of free internet access or simply would like to look at some plastic men positioned in the city centre feel free to go an search them out!
Do you already use a MiFi mobile WiFi hotspot device? What do you think to them? Great for providing your gadgets with internet-access while out and about? Or do you just use your Android mobile phone for internet tethering? Let us know what you think!
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