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Using mobile hotspot or a pocket wifi for internet connection at home might sound like a cost-effective solution for many of us. Many modern mobile phones now offer the mobile hotspot sharing feature, while pocket wifis are becoming less expensive. These are the usual go-to alternatives to connect your PC or notebook to the internet. Before choosing this alternative completely over the usual home internet installation, let’s explore some of the pros and cons as well as other key factors that can help you make better decisions. 

Your location and what connection is available in the area matters
Many mobile phone service operators have 5G and 4G coverage. 5G can give you as much as 1 Gbps of internet speed, which is a pretty good speed for many of the everyday online activities such as watching YouTube, playing games, or streaming live TV. However, not all areas in Thailand have 5G services. You should check and test to see if your area has 5G services before cutting the cord, otherwise home internet is still the best option as it provides services in wider areas especially in the rural provinces. If your area only has 4G services, it may not be enough for the heavy data usage of today and you might experience some lagging. 

Living alone Vs. Living with others in a big family 
If you have 5G in your home area and would like to rely on your mobile phone 5G connection to share hotspots for the entire home, another key factor to consider is your family size. You will need to assess how much internet is needed for all your family members. It might be possible to rely solely on your mobile phone hotspot if you’re the only one using it, but living with a family of 3 to 4 members means more internet consumption. You might also need to subscribe for the unlimited 5G package rather than packages that have caps on data (when you have used a certain amount of data, the speed of 5G will drop to a lower speed). 

If you have a larger household and plan on using the internet frequently at home, it might be more worth it to have a reliable high-speed home internet connection for sharing with others. 

For more explanation about how much internet is needed for your home, check out “How fast is 300 Mbps? Is it fast enough for your home?”. 

In summary, the pros and cons of using mobile phone hotspot 

Pros: 

1. Easy setup. You just need to have a mobile phone/pocket wifi and can share the internet to another device right away. There’s no installation required.

2. Cost-effective. Since you’re using your own mobile phone, you don’t have to buy extra equipment like a router or subscribe to a home internet package.

Cons: 

1. Data limits. Your mobile phone carrier that provides 5G may offer different internet packages. If there is a cap on data, it means that once you’ve reached the cap, your internet speed will be reduced. This is not an ideal choice if you’re planning on using it for the entire home with many family members.

2. Battery drainage on mobile phone. 

There are bundled packages that offer both home internet plus mobile phone SIMs with data at a very good value like the Gigatex Pro package. This kind of package will give you a worry-free experience for connecting on the go and at home. This way you will never be disconnected. For as low as 599 baht, you can get 500/500 Mbps home internet and 10GB of 5G/4G SIMs.