Free Yourself from free broadband wires at hotels (10/03/2006)

Want to pack something that will make your next business trip more pleasant?

Many inexpensive hotels now advertise free broadband Internet access. Travelers who use email in business regularly often make sure every hotel they stay at offers broadband Internet. But folks enthusiasm can be significantly reduced when they found out that the free broadband is wired, not the 802.11 wireless used in the office and at home.

Now wired Internet works fine, but the physical access can be a pain. For example, in some hotels, the Ethernet port is between the beds in the room, while the desk is on the other side of the room. In others, the Ethernet port is right beside the blasting air conditioner. And in almost ever case, the hotel provides cables that are only about six feet long.

The solution: pack a portable wireless router such as the NETGEAR Travel Router (WGR101) and work wherever you want. With a wireless router handling the Internet connection you can work at the desk in the room or even out on the balcony or patio. And with a single-user mode, encryption, and a built-in firewall, you don't have to worry quite so much about what type of security the hotel puts on its Internet connection. And best of all, you can get out of the draft coming out of that blasted air conditioner.

Today's wireless routers aren't much larger than a pack of playing cards. Don't leave home without one.