Turning Your Car Into A Wi-Fi Hotspot
Here is a new product that might take off.
This is the Buzzard, from mobile Operator EE. It turns your car into a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot.
The idea is to provide connectivity for all passengers at once, especially the kids in the back, on a journey. It works by providing a 4G connection to EE’s network and sharing that between the handheld devices in the car, which would connect to it by Wi-Fi.
All it needs is a 12 volt supply, via an in-car USB port or a cigarette lighter dock.
Naturally, there is no point in taking a ride on a Buzzard with a smartphone that already runs at 4G.
Nevertheless, it can give airtime whilst on the road to Wi-Fi only tablets and also a burst of extra speed to 3G-only devices. Although 4G coverage is still patchy, EE has committed to have it serve ‘98% of the UK population by the end of 2014.’ Where Buzzard cannot pick up 4G it will revert to 3G instead. In practice, it will probably have reasonable connectivity by next year, but stretches in poorly populated areas, especially those like Bodmin to Newquay across the moorland or Perth to Fort William through the Highlands, will still give rise to discontent and cries of ‘Are we there yet?’ from the rear seats.
Mobile data is not inexpensive, but for families who get restless in the car on the shortest trips, £15 per month for a 3Gb bundle and the Buzzard for free, on a 24 month contract, might just be tempting. In other words, this Buzzard may not be a turkey!
