The latest certified Wi-Fi service should make hooking up to public Wi-Fi hotspots considerably simpler, with an always-on, always-seeking mode for new Internet connections.

Telstra's national wi-fi network will be officially "switched on" this Tuesday. Now dubbed 'Air', the network uses hotspots in shopping centres, cafes, sporting stadiums, train stations and old payphones to deliver the largest Wi-Fi network in the country. Unfortunately, it will only be offered free to Telstra's home broadband customers, with mobile customers charged an access fee of up to $23.

Been enjoying the free pink Telstra Wi-Fi hotspots? You're about to be cut off.

A couple of years back, I visited Tokyo and was struck by the fact that there was a genuine dearth of "free" Wi-Fi options. I recently returned to Japan's capital city to see if things had improved.

Dear Lifehacker, I've seen people using mobile hotspots for internet access on the go, but I don't get it. Why would I ever buy a hotspot when I can just tether to my phone and use it instead? Is there a benefit to using another gadget that I'm missing?

Dear Lifehacker, I want to be able to access any website at my school, and proxy servers don't work well, so my idea was having a pocket Wi-Fi. I want to make money from this in the same way as a hotel, controlling who can use it and be able to disconnect people that haven't paid me. I would like to be able to monitor how much data people use and shut them off if they use too much. Is it possible to do this? Thanks, Hotspot Harry

Windows: Most people only have one internet connection at home, but what if you could merge your connection with the free Wi-Fi from the cafe down the street with your phone's 4G connection to create a super-pipe with lots of additional bandwidth? That's what Connectify Dispatch does, perfectly.

Optus has been selling its 4G hotspot to business customers since late July, but now everyone can get in on the action with consumer plans released for accessing Optus' high-speed LTE network using either a hotspot or a USB dongle. Optus has also set a launch date for 4G services in Melbourne: September 15.

Over at Gizmodo, Luke has tested the prepaid version of Telstra's 4G hotspot. It comes up looking good, apart from some niggles over battery life; hit the link for the full review.

Good news if you fancy 4G connection speeds but don't need travel broadband often enough to justify a Wi-Fi hotspot on a contract": Telstra is selling a prepaid version for $169 from tomorrow.

I'm a big fan of using a mobile hotspot for connectivity on the go, and they're a great thing to take on holidays. But hotspots don't have to be limited to only when you're on a long-distance trip for work or pleasure, as this top five shows.

Vodafone's mobile broadband gear gets discounted pretty regularly. If you're a hotspot fan, this is a good deal: Dick Smith has the prepaid Pocket Wifi 2 online for $39.50 including delivery, which is half the regular price.

Telstra already has a consumer hotspot using its Ultimate Next G network, but business users might find its limitations on number of devices connected a challenge. The Ultimate Gateway allows up to 16 users to connect via either Wi-Fi or Ethernet, making it potentially appealing for locations such as tradeshows or remote offices.

Dear LH, I'm planning a trip to the UK and I'm trying to sort out my data options for my phones, iPad and netbook. I know there is no way I'm going to use my own network's roaming so I was looking at TravelSIM or similar but I've just found out that the hire car company I'm using offers a Wi-Fi device for £9 a day with 1GB of data a day.

It doesn't seem to be a widespread issue -- so far I've heard of it happening on Telstra iPhone 4S units, but it may go further -- but it looks like the upgrade to iOS 5 may remove the personal hotspot feature entirely. Here's how to get it back.

Mobile broadband is a traveller’s best friend, but is it better packaged as a hotspot, a dongle, or something else entirely? Gizmodo and Lifehacker debate the issues.

Telstra's Next G network is generally held to be the fastest mobile option in Australia. However, my recent testing on the Ultimate high-speed option confirms what many people have been suspecting: as more people sign on, its performance is declining.

Internode has ditched its MiFi 2352 device and now sells the Huawei 8352 as its main Wi-Fi Hotspot hardware for sharing a 3G connection amongst multiple devices. The 8352 costs $149 outright, or $49 on a 24-month contract -- both a big saving on the $349 the previous device sold for.