Verizon has launched the first mobile hotspot to offer data service in more than 200 countries, and will also provide 3G speed to 120 of these countries.
The Fivespot comes with a built-in SIM card, and can handle up to five Wi-Fi devices at a time. It links to GSM networks as well as Verizon’s own Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO) network. It also Supports standards include CDMA, WCDMA, HSDPA, HSUPA, GSM, GPRS and EDGE networks.
There are various different international price plans which are not very pocket friendly. The lowest-cost gives a 5GB allowance in the US and Canada plus 100MB in ‘select countries’, and costs US$129.99. There’s also a Global-Access Pay Per Use option for those who sign up for the company’s US$59.99 Mobile Broadband service plan in the US; data costs US$0.002 per KB in Canada, US$0.005 per KB in Mexico and US$0.02 per KB in more than 200 other destinations.
The Fivespot itself will be on sale for US$99.99 after a US$100 mail-in rebate with a new two-year customer agreement. Manufactured by ZTE, it measures about four inches by two by half an inch thick, and weighs less than three pounds.