Monday My Two Cents – International Internet Edition!
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Internet access while traveling abroad can be easier than just reaching into your back pocket!
Today’s post comes from Mexico! Yes, I actually took a vacation! Mind you, it was a working vacation. I was supposed to return on Saturday. But the Landon weather system postponed my return trip to today! The experience has given me the inspiration to provide you with some updated thoughts about international travel and travel in general when it comes to your tech!
Most lawyers I know are solo or small practitioners. We can rarely shut off the lights and leave our office in darkness (of course members of larger firms and in-house counsel can rarely just leave town without a lifeline to their clients and office). Deadlines, important communications from the courts, clerks, or judges, and filings sometimes need to be addressed immediately (I’ll post in the future a separate post about using tech to help set client expectations). But we need to maintain a connection, an internet connection, with our office. Things have changed over the years on internet accessibility and dependability.
When you travel abroad, you used to have to rely on Wi-Fi from an airport, a café, or a hotel. Their internet was/is not always reliable, and the internet speed at these public access points can be painstakingly slow. Not only are the upload/download speeds already labored in these locations, but you have to fight for bandwidth with many other users. My personal observations have been up/down speeds maxing out at 5mb/5mb. And if you are using any of these public hotspots, you must use an VPN. But there may be a better solution!
The four big U.S. carriers, AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and Sprint, have some form of international data deals. It used to be if you crossed country borders in the continental U.S. you’d have to pay extra. Now, the big four, in many of their plans, including not just the U.S. but all the countries in North America; this includes Mexico and Canada. So, I’m covered for this trip. This includes both voice and data. (Check your carrier and your plan before you start traveling! 😉)
Your cell phone or connected tablet may be able to get internet speeds more than 25 times that of your hotel wi-fi!
Don’t forget, your carrier’s data plan can be used as a hotspot for your internet access. I’ve been getting over 100mb/100mb! Even though you may not be getting 5G, this is at least 25 times the hotel wi-fi! The best part of using your phone as a hotspot (where the phone is providing the data input/output to the carrier’s towers) is you don’t need to use your VPN. (Note this is how I understand things today; one day there could always be an exploit. So be mindful of the news or keep watching your favorite The Tech-Savvy Lawyer.Page blog!).
AT&T and Verizon appear to have an unlimited data/voice plan (not necessarily 5G) for $10/day. Sprint and T-Mobile appear to have more Latin American countries, in addition to Mexico in their (U.S.) domestic plans for $5/day. Sprint and T-Mobile seem to run at slower speeds than AT&T and Verizon. Granted, there are particulars for each carrier and their respective plans. So read the fine print – as we lawyers tend to do – before you sign up! 😉
For better or worse, the office is not that far away regardless of the distance you travel for work!
