There are now more ways than ever to connect to the Internet and collect emails, wherever you find yourself around the UK or abroad. Hotels, restaurants, airports and even whole city centres now offer an array of WiFi hotspots, broadband connections, and in the more remote regions, there's still dial-up. Road warriors can now equip their laptops with 3G modems and get online using mobile phone networks.
The downside is that today's mobile worker faces a bewildering array of services, tariffs and authentication procedures to get online. A typical day on the move might involve signing up for a 24-hour broadband connection before breakfast at your hotel, subscribing to a half-day WiFi pass at a city centre café after lunch, and then relying on a 3G modem to check emails from a remote location at the end of the day.
WiFi software client
Complexity, uncertainty, and varying tariffs are occupational hazards for someone on the move. RemoteConnect is a new software application from THUS, which provides a simple, consistent way to connect to the Internet, no matter which device is being used or access method. One of the advantages is that pricing is the same, irrespective of how you connect.
"RemoteConnect software installed on your laptop can automatically identify the best way to connect to the Internet. It identifies the best WiFi hotspot connection, if one is available, or if you want to connect using broadband or local dial-up, including ISDN, it presents the same simple authentication process," says Mark Charlesworth, Head of Messaging Mobility and Applications at THUS.
RemoteConnect offers simple pricing schedules, based on anticipated usage, which makes it easy to control costs. "Someone who uses up to 100 minutes per month can expect to pay around £30 per month, and the monthly tariff for a heavier user might be around £75 per month," says Charlesworth. "Remote Connect offers a simpler, cheaper and more predictable alternative to taking your chances and trying to get online on an ad hoc basis."
The RemoteConnect software client also includes an automatically updating address book, which displays the location of WiFi hot spots, and even provides reservation number information to make a room booking, should your hotspot of choice be in a hotel.
RemoteConnect can even be used abroad. A pull-down menu enables you to select the country you're in, and the connectivity options for your location are accordingly presented.
3G Broadband
If users need to use 3G, the recently launched hardware sister service, Demon 3G Broadband, provides connection to both 3G and GPRS networks. "You plug your 3G modem into your laptop, and the same software client authenticates your connection to the mobile network behind the scenes," says Charlesworth. The service, which includes a free 3G/GPRS modem (in either a PC card or USB dongle format), is compatible with both Macs and PCs.
Remote working is becoming an accepted practice within organisations and with the added pressures of working while on the move, these are driving the development of different types of connectivity methods.
It's essential that workers are able to connect to the Internet, simply and painlessly, by using a range of connectivity methods, depending on their location. What is being addressed now, with solutions such as Remote Connect, is the ability to pay one monthly fee instead of having to subscribe to and pay multiple WiFi providers.*
*Dependent on WiFi and 3G availability.