Travellers can stay connected anywhere for low daily rates

Hertz Australia today introduced portable Wi-Fi units, enabling its customers to connect to the internet from anywhere in the country for a fraction of the cost of mobile roaming or hotel internet charges.

In a first for the Australian car rental industry, Hertz has introduced the pocket-sized 3G units for rent from its airport locations in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Darwin and Cairns.

The rechargeable Wi-Fi units offer secure high speed internet coverage for up to five hours and a generous daily data limit of 150 megabytes, enabling business and leisure travellers, both domestic and international, to stay connected throughout their journey in Australia.

For business travellers, the mobile Wi-Fi units provide email connections and ongoing contact with the office, customers or family at home, as well as enabling simultaneous connection of up to five devices including laptop computers, smart phones and tablets.

For leisure travellers, the Wi-Fi units make it easy to stay in touch, providing the ability to upload photos or videos to their devices or to converse via Skype, while also providing the opportunity for multiple users to connect at the same time – for example, a family checking emails, playing games or watching videos.  Units come with a USB cable for easy recharging.

Priced at just AUD$12.00 per day, plus GST, the new units can reduce global roaming data charges by up to 90 per cent, while cutting by up to half the daily charges which apply for internet access in hotel rooms.  

Telephone calling costs can be reduced significantly by using Skype through the mobile Wi-Fi connection, while social media or online news can be accessed easily without large data charges.

“Hertz is renowned internationally as a provider of high quality rental vehicles,” said Chris Rusden, Region Vice President and Managing Director of Hertz Australasia.

“Increasingly, we are also becoming a provider of innovative travel solutions, offering a growing range of products and services which help to ensure smooth journeys for our customers,” Mr Rusden said. 

“Now, not only do we keep our customers moving. With our mobile Wi-Fi devices, we also keep them connected.”

The launch builds on the success of the company’s mobile Wi-Fi program in New Zealand, the UK, Spain, Italy and the Canary Islands.

Hertz has partnered with technology company IDataRoam International Limited to provide the mobile Wi-Fi service, which is already being used successfully in New Zealand. Hertz customers can easily purchase additional data volume online from IDataRoam at www.idataroam.com if required.