Just a quick post as I’m packing up for the Professional Association for SQL Server Summit 2015; this year, I’m carrying a mobile hotspot with me: my Karma Go. Just to state the obvious, yes, I am aware that the Washington State Conference Center has free wifi. I also know that wifi gets horribly overloaded in certain areas (like the keynote rooms) when thousands of device-carrying database people begin tweeting at once. I also know that most people have hotspots on their phone, but I don’t (corporate phone; unlimited data, no sharing).
So why the Go? Besides the fact that I want to stay connected with more than just my phone, I also like the fact that it offers a reward for sharing. You see, Karma’s data plan consists of two parts:
- Pay-as-you-go data. I filled up with a bunch of data (mostly to use when my home internet goes down), and I refill when I run out. No monthly subscription, so I’m not paying twice for unused Internet.
- Sharing earns data. If a new user connects to my hotspot, they get 100MB of free data, and I get 100MB of data added to my account. Easy-peasy (my SSID is “Free Karma By @codegumbo”) .
Checking the coverage maps (Karma runs on Sprint LTE), it looks like I’ll have great coverage. Let’s see if I can stay connected through the keynote this year 🙂