Q:

I have two homes and travel frequently. I would like to use a smartphone’s hot-spot capabilities to totally replace the two Internet services I have to buy for my two homes and to also have when I travel. What are the options?

A:

Many phones that use Google’s Android operating system, as well as Apple’s latest iPhones, can be used as a hot spot to take in the Internet connection from a cellular data service and then pump it out to personal computers and other devices as a Wi-Fi network.

However, in most cases, speeds are slower than home Internet connections and this service usually requires an extra monthly payment to the cellular carrier and data consumption may be limited.

If you want the greatest speed, I would advise using a device on Verizon’s new 4G network, called LTE, if it is available where you live and travel. So far, it’s only offered in one phone, the HTC Thunderbolt. But Verizon also sells dedicated 4G mobile hot-spot devices.

You can find Mossberg’s Mailbox and my other columns at the All Things Digital website, http://walt.allthingsd.com. Email mossberg@wsj.com

We heard earlier that AT&T was making calls to Japan free until between March 11 and March 31, in the wake of the devasting earthquake and tsunami in the region. Verizon is also joining in this effort and will be making calls to Japan free for most wireless and residential customers through April 10.

According to the release, all Verizon Wireless post-paid customers will receive free calling to Japan from March 11 through April 10 and will receive free text and multimedia messaging to Japan for the same time period. And Verizon Prepaid Phone Card charges for all long-distance calls placed to Japan from the United States will also be waived from March 11 until April 10. Verizon will also be providing FiOS TV customers who are not subscribed to the channel free access to TV Japan through March 17.

While we’re still likely a few months away from seeing the first Chrome OS devices, work continues to move forward on getting the OS ready to go. And some recent discussions on the Chromium OS (the open source version that Chrome OS will be based on) Google Code page suggest that not only is wireless connectivity going to be a part of some of these devices, but that Verizon may be a partner.

As you can see in a few of discussions on the Google Code pages for the projects, a lot of work is being done to figure out the UI for network connectivity. For example, they’re thinking about how will the OS will alert users when they’re running low on data they’ve purchased. The interesting part is that the latest mockups for these UI changes are in a folder called “Verizon”.