Novatel ships three millionth MiFi hotspot

Novatel Wireless has announced that it is celebrating a milestone this week. Novatel is celebrating the fact that it has shipped three million of the MiFi portable intelligent hotspots so far. The device was introduced in 2009. It is a small box that allows the 3G or 4G connection it has to be shared among multiple devices using WiFi connectivity.

The MiFi was the first of that sort of product and there are others on the market today that jumped on the mobile hotspot train. Novatel does hold some important patents that have to do with the tech needed for the MiFi to operate. The MiFi is in use on 25 different carrier networks around the world.

In June of this year, Novatel added DLNA to the MiFi to give the hotspot even more capability. Before that DLNA feature, the MiFi also offered the ability to share storage on a microSD card placed into the memory card slot on some models. We can expect to see more features added over time since Novatel is known to update the devices regularly.

"Three years ago we introduced the MiFi Intelligent Mobile Hotspot and revolutionized the way people access the Internet, from anywhere, anytime," says Peter Leparulo, CEO of Novatel Wireless. "The MiFi system architecture brought a new user-experience to mobile broadband consumers, with one click connect and no software to install. It also allows carriers to reach a wider, more diverse subscriber base with innovative service opportunities. We are very pleased to have achieved this milestone — illustrating our significant market and product leadership for mobile hotspots."