Novatel recently acquired the MiFi trademark and it’s becoming more and more of “hot” item to have, especially at locations that lack wireless internet.
In fact, even at conferences I’ve seen the popup more, which makes sense considering how quickly a network can get swamped.
But what about using it for your ministry, church, and/or team?
Perhaps getting a MiFi for a startup or church plant might make a lot of sense before locking into a contract with a local provider.
I can see MiFi’s especially valuable for IT/Web Teams who might find themselves in “barren” locations.
I personally am looking into them for my own use but I’m having a hard time deciding on one and whether or not it’s really worth it. I see Verizon’s got one, Novatel obviously, and Sprint is using a branded version of Novatel… any others?
What are your thoughts about MiFi in general? Worth it?
Kevin Cooper says
I’ve thought about this myself. The MiFi would be great to pair with my iPad. I didn’t get the 3G iPad version because with the iPhone I don’t need the 3G all the time. But the few times I might be traveling, e.g. conferences, it would be nice to have the MiFi for that. Problem is though, the device without contract is $250ish. I don’t want the contract. I’d use the daily rate or pay-as-you-go plan when I’m traveling etc. But right now, the device alone doesn’t off set the difference compared to if I would have purchased the 3G iPad instead of the WiFi version.
If you find a good solution for this–pass it along.
John Saddington says
definitely.
Bubba says
I’ve been using a mifi for the better part of a year. I had it through my job’s Verizon contract. We typically had a team of 4 people offsite that shared the device.
High points – connectivity just about anywhere, ability to “give” connectivity to others, mobility
Low points – bandwidth can get squeezed fast with more than 1 connection, price tag for service
The typical Verizon price tag (on a 2 year contract) was $60/month. That gives you 5GB of transfer each month before you pay overage fees. We went over 8GB one month and the bill topped $200 I believe.
The math comes out to $1,440 in monthly fees over the 2 year contract. That can be expensive for some. If you don’t need the mobility, you might be better served with other options. If you need mobility for a small team, this is probably your best bet.
Just my thoughts,
Bubba
John Saddington says
the price and the usage cap kills me…… biggest thing stopping me……..!
Stephen Bateman says
we don’t have one, but it would be helpful when we’re out at lunch and everyone is wondering what that song was. Maybe still to expensive at this point…But I love the concept.
Malcolm says
I really like the MiFi’s and see a lot of potential for them in a number of circumstances. For instance, I was a missionary in Southern West Virginia. If we were out doing an outreach… we could use this to help us stay in contact with the office, etc. We did that through Skype. The challenge there is though the lack of 3G service in the rural areas.
I know of some of my friends that have decided to get rid of their ugly, expensive HughesNet dishes for MiFis from Verizon. They use it for their home & work Internet connections.
My main problem with MiFis is that they only have a 5GB data package for the month. Would be hard for a church to do any kind of streaming to Livestream or Ustream or other Internet video setup.
With only 5GB of data usage… it would be hard to do much in regards to moving large files… I see that as the biggest limitation.
In addition, if you are at a conference… the mobile phone & Internet coverage is going to be overwhelmed already from all the smartphones and the MiFi would probably end up useless because the networks will be overloaded either way.
John Saddington says
yes. the data cap sucks.!
PhillipGibb says
Mi what? I had to read the story to find out what it was.
Interesting.
I can see the team getting together at the local coffee hang out using one of these.
Looks like something that can be easily packed away.
Wonder is you could pair a 2.5″ drive to it as a mobile TimeMachine?