Stop and think for a moment: when was the last time you used your cell phone to actually make a call? Our phones are no longer just to make calls; they’re there to check email, review documents, peruse social media, share silly videos, and so much more. Even if you aren’t using your smartphone to call your family and friends every day, odds are good you’re using it to keep in touch in other ways. Yes, even sharing that entertaining video can count! If all you do with your cell phone is place calls, you’re in the distinct minority. Most Americans have made the shift to using our mobile phones more like a small, portable computer than we do actual telephones. With that shift comes a different connectivity need. Now, rather than a cell signal, more of what we do on our phones demands a wireless internet connection. When going from home to work or school, running errands, and back home, connecting to the internet isn’t usually an issue. Maybe it means a few minutes of using the phone’s data rather than a free WiFi connection, but it doesn’t generally get more complex than that. Traveling abroad, however, that’s a whole different can of worms.

Portable WiFi Options Overseas

Whether for work or for pleasure, nearly all of us need or crave an internet connection when traveling out of country. Sure, many hotels offer a high-speed internet connection—and an ethernet cable, if we’re lucky—but that option only works so far. If you need to take your tablet, laptop, or smartphone beyond the borders of that free WiFi bubble, or go further than the ethernet cable extends, you’re probably out of luck. After all, who really wants to pay the highway robbery that most cell service providers charge to provide a wireless signal while you’re traveling? Not us.

So, if you have to leave the hotel and their free internet behind, and you don’t want to pay through the nose for roaming or international fees to use your smartphone, how else can you get internet anywhere? Well, you could purchase an inexpensive burner phone and a pay-as-you-go phone plan, but that could be a hassle, especially if you’re visiting multiple countries. The other answer is relatively recent new technology: find yourself a wireless internet hotspot device.

Getting the Best Portable WiFi

Creating a mobile hotspot allows you to connect any internet-capable device that’s within range of the device. In the case of mobile internet hotspot devices, it means a device small enough to fit into a pocket or purse that provides a bubble of wireless internet connection wherever you go. The biggest trick is paying attention to the plans. That mobile internet hotspot device has to get the internet connection from somewhere, which often means that you will need to subscribe to some sort of data plan in order to actually get the internet. And this is where travelers most often run into trouble. If you get a mobile internet hotspot device in America, it will generally rely on service from one of the major cell service providers. Or, if you wait until you reach your destination, you could face roaming charges as you travel. For truly international WiFi hotspot creation without the roaming or international data fees, there are a couple of options.

International WiFi Hotspot Help

Turning your mobile internet hotspot device into an international internet option may require purchasing a new SIM card for each location you are traveling to. While this option is less costly than purchasing a new phone at each destination, the expenses still add up. It may not be fiscally worthwhile, especially if your trip is a one-time adventure, rather than a repeated travel location. Rather than racking up a collection of SIM cards for different countries, Sapphire Mobile Hotspot has developed a device designed to provide the best portable WiFi option wherever your travels take you.

Our international WiFi hotspot device, the Sapphire, comes with virtual SIM technology, which means our device will mimic the SIM of a local region. No need to get a different device or buy additional SIM cards, no matter where you travel. Instead, simply turn Sapphire on when you’re ready to go online, connect your phone, tablet, or laptop, and select the local internet plan that best fits your needs. Then you can enjoy internet anywhere at local rates. Our overseas WiFi router is designed to do away with the charges associated with international plans and roaming; instead, you can connect like a local wherever you go, which means you can enjoy your internet connection as long as you want without fear of outrageous overages.

Whether you’re planning a vacation that takes you across Europe, you travel for business, or you’re deploying soon, Sapphire Mobile Hotspot is the best portable WIFi option. Contact us to learn more, or grab yours from our online shop today!