Mobile internet is no longer a whim, but is becoming another bastion of maintaining a constant connection to the network – after traditional wired connections and using the internet on your phone. 🕸️ What can you use wireless internet for, how many gigabytes of data do you need, and how to choose the best option from a sea of offers?
Mobile Internet – The Marvelous Child of Wired Connections and Phone Internet
In the beginning, there was the cable. 🔌 Just two decades ago, a wired connection was the only way to get online, and not everyone could afford it at home. Today, no one remembers internet cafes anymore; instead, we all carry internet access in our pockets – in the form of a smartphone.
Wireless internet combines the advantages of both these solutions. Fast mobile internet doesn't lag behind average speeds achieved by wired connections in tests, and large data packages allow you to use the internet as you do at home: watching movies, sending or receiving large files, or playing games. However, you're not limited by cable length or the range of your home router. You have internet wherever you can get your operator's signal. 🤙
Who is this type of connection for?
The simplest answer is: for everyone. Mobile internet – especially prepaid – will be an ideal choice for holiday trips or business travel. 🧳 Especially today, when we've learned to work remotely and no longer feel the need to sit in one office five days a week.
Prudent individuals decide to choose a mobile internet offer so as not to lose connection in case of a wired connection failure or overload (oh, the whole family on home office…). 💔 In such a situation, you can be back online in minutes. Considering the current quality of mobile connections, these types of offers can be serious competition for traditional fixed-line providers, which are not available to everyone (even in large cities!).
How to Use Wireless Internet?
- Insert it into your smartphone or tablet and use the connection on the device or turn on the personal portable hotspot option, which, if needed, will allow other devices to connect to the internet via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or USB. 📱
- Purchase a portable router, which will work great during travel, sharing internet with all your devices. The router is inexpensive, and on a single charge, it will last much longer than a phone used for creating a hotspot. 📡
- Get an LTE modem, which speeds up data transfer and will allow you to use the internet on your laptop even more comfortably. You connect the device to your computer via USB and you're good to go! 💻
Choosing Mobile Internet – What to Look For?
Operators are competing for the title of the best mobile internet offer – but the truth is that the cheapest wireless internet isn't necessarily the best. 💎 When browsing proposals, besides the price of the package, it's worth paying attention to a few important aspects.
Wireless Internet: Prepaid or Contract?
That is the question. Contract offers are still the everyday choice in operator proposals – after signing an agreement (usually for 12 or 24 months), you receive a specific internet package for a monthly fee, and often you get a device, such as a modem or router, included. However, a contract is only a seeming convenience. If you value flexibility, choosing a prepaid mobile internet offer will be a better solution. 🃏 Why?
- You won't be tied down by a long-term contract, the termination of which incurs significant penalties. 🔒
- You can use prepaid wireless internet only when you need it – whether regularly every day or from time to time. 🗓️
- A prepaid offer doesn't necessarily mean you have to remember monthly top-ups. By choosing Internet Packs from Mobile Vikings, you can use the auto-top-up option, thanks to which your GB package will renew automatically. 🤖
- The absence of a predetermined amount, renewal frequency, and package size means you can switch between GB loads depending on your needs, and even top up your account more than once a month. 💸
Unlimited Mobile Internet – Ideal or Myth?
Unlimited wireless internet… sounds ideal, right? This – it seems – Holy Grail appears in contract offers from several Polish operators, but this lack of limits is only apparent. In reality, unlimited offers provide maximum connection speed only up to a certain GB usage level. After exceeding the limit, for example, 100 GB, a "funnel" is activated, which will limit the transfer speed. 🤏 It will usually be 1 MB/s – this means the internet will slow down significantly and in practice will make it impossible to enjoy many activities you engage in online. Before signing this type of contract, it's worth studying its terms carefully!
How Many GB of Mobile Internet Do You Need?
Fortunately, you probably don't need a no-limit offer for mobile internet to fully meet your needs. To choose the most suitable package, it's worth estimating your monthly data usage level. 🤔 Here's a little guide to help you do it:
- Browsing Facebook or Instagram will use about 120-140 MB of your data per hour (the exact amount depends on the content you browse – videos weigh more than text posts) 🤳
- An hour of video chat on Zoom costs about 250 MB/hour, Skype and other tools will use slightly more data – it all depends on the quality of the connection. 📹
- If you're a fan of watching movies, series, or streams, you need to be prepared for significant data depletion. An hour of watching video in HD quality is about 3 GB, while the same material in 4K will use an average of 7-10 GB. Netflix seems to consume slightly less data than YouTube in this case. 🎞️
- Music lovers have it better (as long as they listen to music via a dedicated platform like Spotify) – immersing yourself in high-quality sound of your favorite music costs about 120 MB/hour. 🎹
- Let's not forget about gamers! Here, everything depends on the title you're playing. Simple games like Hearthstone will only use about 3 MB of data per hour. Slightly more, at 40-45 MB, will be used by LoL or Minecraft. Fortnite will cost about 100 MB per hour, and heavy hitters like CS: Global Offensive can consume up to 250 MB in that time! 🎮
Add a few more GB/month for small things like sending emails or texting on Messenger, and for browsing websites. Then, quick math, a little column addition, and you'll know everything! 💡 All that's left is to choose an offer – maybe you'll be tempted by our Internet Packs with 100 GB, 150 GB, and 250 GB loads, which you can get cheaply and on demand without the hassle of contracts and formalities? The Vikings invite you aboard!
