Every work-at-home mom dreams about owning a laptop.

This prize is sought after by anyone who needs to get in as many hours on the computer as she can while juggling the many other duties whirling around her. In my quest for the right laptop I discovered that I need to find a wireless Internet service provider as well.

This is something I hadn’t considered during my many daydreams of working on my new laptop while my daughter played in our yard. Actually, I had no idea that a wireless Internet service provider even existed until I toyed with purchasing a laptop of my own. I wasn’t even sure how to define what this Internet provider would do.

In order to figure out exactly how this worked, I decided to consult the World Wide Web for some answers.

I discovered that a wireless Internet service provider will install a network of services in homes as well as businesses and public buildings like airports. Hotels are commonly equipped with a network installed by a wireless Internet service provider. The technology is just about everywhere.

The great thing about the wireless Internet service providers is that they create what is known as “hot spots”.

These areas are useful for anyone who owns a laptop because the portable computer can be used in these places. I love the idea of typing away while my daughter is a swim practice. I can work and show my support all at the same time.

Here is where my daydream turned into a fog.

For some reason, I had difficulty understanding how I could take my laptop to these hot spots and use it if I were away from my own wireless Internet service provider at home. This kind of thought can give me a headache but I do like to try and understand how things work.

It is important for me to know how a wireless Internet service provider functions because I am making an investment in the laptop. I hate to own something that is a complete mystery to me. From what I understand, I just subscribe to the service and the company takes it from there.

You may wonder why there is so little to tell about my research.

Actually, wireless Internet service providers are quite new. The technology is still in a relatively early stage of development. So for now, I only know that I want a laptop and I know I can use it at home as well as in some hot spots in the community and I’m pretty satisfied with that.