Originally made available a year ago, PocketWiFi offers travelling executives their own personal, secure connection to the internet, allowing them to work wherever and whenever, while eliminating data roaming costs.

“We have saved our customers more than R10-million in the past year alone,” says Craig Lowe, founder at execMobile.

“The technology behind the PocketWiFi has undergone a metamorphosis based on 14 months of customer feedback. The key, however, for our customers is not the disruptive technology we have employed, but simply that our service is now more convenient than ever before and offers superior benefits,” he adds.

The primary benefits are increased coverage (127 countries, up from 110), decreased daily rates (R199 per day, down from R349), improved internet connection quality, longer battery life and the ability to use the device in South Africa at local rates.

In the near future, customers will also be able to profile their internet connection and apply company policies, limiting or preventing access to certain websites, on a per-device basis. execMobile is also working with Cape Town-based company, Flickswitch, to add bespoke destinations which are not included in the 127 country list.

For South African companies looking to expand into Africa, the coverage already includes 21 African and Middle East destinations, including Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Tanzania, DRC, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and many others.

The disruptive roaming data coverage and pricing has been made possible by execMobile’s partnership with Webbing, an Israeli technology company. The standard ZTE MF60 wireless router has been modified to no longer utilise multiple IMSI (international mobile subscriber identity) technology on a single roaming SIM, but rather multiple SIMs and machine-to-machine connections.

“The PocketWiFi is monitored and managed by a control SIM, which automatically selects the most appropriate and efficient mobile network in the destination country to connect to. The beauty for the user, however, is that the device retains its incredibly simple WiFi interface and requires no setup from the user; simply switch it on and it’s ready to connect,” Lowe points out.

Research by execMobile shows that the average data usage rate per individual was 146 megabytes (MB) per day when using the Unlimited service. Based on this research and predicted future trends, execMobile’s new Webbing PocketWiFi service is available from R199 per day, which includes a 300MB data bundle. This means that users can now connect up to five WiFi-enabled devices simultaneously from as little as 66c per MB when roaming.

“When travelling overseas, the need to remain connected is becoming increasingly important. This is especially true for business travellers whose companies support a mobile workforce or have moved their services into the cloud. This is really where PocketWiFi comes into its own, allowing travellers to better manage their data connectivity and charges effortlessly while abroad,” he says.