WiFi goes MiFi, aka My WiFi

BANGALORE, INDIA: Ever thought of the WiFi hotspots following you wherever you go? Who doesn't, right? Everybody hates sitting rooted at one spot.

Here comes MiFi, a mobile hotspot device capable of creating a personal WiFi hotspot on the move for a wider range of connectivity. Though it has hot the US and European market, there is no idea as to when it would touch the Indian skies.

MiFi is a WiFi enabled router from Novatel Wireless, Inc., a US-based player in design and development of innovative wireless broadband access solutions based on 3G and 4G WCDMA (HSPA & UMTS), CDMA and GSM technologies.

My WiFi, aka MiFi
MiFi is a small wireless modem that serves as a WiFi enabled 3G router that keeps up to five different users connected simultaneously. The sleek-looking device will let users select access to EVDO or HSPA high-speed data networks.

There are two ranges of MiFi, explain sources from Novatel Wireless: MiFi 2352 and MiFi 2200.

“Both the forms (MiFi 2352 for Europe and MiFi 2200 for the US) are very small, similar to the size of a few stacked credit cards. MiFi 2352 is slightly larger than it's US counterpart, in order to accommodate the micro SD card slot, on-board memory and Linux operating system, but is still small enough to fit comfortably in a shirt pocket.”

Unlike a normal wireless routers that require an external broadband modem and serve only to provide connectivity, “MiFi creates a WiFi cloud (an area) that is capable of connecting up to five WiFi-enabled devices, including laptops, smartphones, gaming devices, Skype phones, etc within 10 yards,” says a source from Novatel Wireless.

Yes, you read it right,“Any Wi-Fi capable device within 10 yards will detect the MiFi cloud and the device also features an internal battery providing over forty hours standby and up to four hours of active use on a single charge,” the sources add further.

“There is the potential to make applications specific to MiFi but we have not made any announcements as to if and when there will be an open API,” the source said.

No plans for India
India has roughly seven million broadband users. Though this represents only a tiny portion of the country's over 400 million mobile subscriber base, telecom industry experts agree that with the advent of 3G more and more and more people will start accessing Internet via mobile.

Thus the need for continuous connectivity will rise. WiFi mobile hotspots is all set to drive a new ecosystem of broadband connectivity. US telecommunication carriers Sprint, Verizon and Spain's leading telecommunications company Telefonica Espana have already taken the device to their broadband users.

There is no doubt that MiFi will have takers in India. However, it is yet to be seen how soon will it enter into Indian wireless broadband space, since the company sources say that there are no plans yet to take it to the third largest mobile subscriber base in the world. For the time being Indian mobile netizens will have to give a go, but not for very long.