If you’re not familiar with Karma, it’s basically a tiny Wi-Fi device (called the Karma Go) that turns a cellular signal into your own personal hotspot, along with a selection of flexible payment options; Pulse is the pay monthly option with 5 GB, 10 GB and 20 GB data tiers, and Refuel is the pay-as-you-go option with a GB costing around $14. If you’re a frequent traveller to the USA, it’s the kind of device that makes it easy to hook up all your mobile devices without signing up to one of the mobile operators.
Karma Go itself supports network speeds of between 6 to 8 Mbps with a peak of around 25 Mbps, depending on which mobile carrier it’s using at any particular time.
As Karma states, their original mission was to get all your devices online in the most seamless way possible by offering data that never expires. That’s great for the majority of people who might be visiting the US occasionally or just for a one-off trip, but the subscription-based tiers may also be suitable to UK travellers who regularly travel across the pond.
You could of course sign up to Pulse for a month or two if you’re on an extended stateside visit and cancel afterwards via the smartphone app or web dashboard (you can cancel any time, remaining subscribed until the end of the billing period paid for, after which you’ll be switched to the no-commitment Refuel option automatically).
As far as Pulse goes, all you need to do is choose a plan and receive a fixed amount of data each month. Karma says users can add an additional GB of data for just $15, and can upgrade or downgrade the plan at any time. A rather nice perk is that anyone who connects to your Karma box will receive 100 MB of free data, and you will receive $1 of credit to your account.
If you sign up for Karma Go and one month of Pulse 5 GB before the end of Friday 8th April, you will also receive free credits so the second month is free.
Happy surfing!
