Most places I go to I have access to Wi-Fi which is great however there are some places (like my job) where I don't. I use Karma Go because they have a pay as you go plan where you only pay for what you use and in my opinion they are reasonably priced.
I usually use my phone as a hotspot when I need one (though that isn't often, as I'm usually surrounded by WiFi). Also, paid hotspots around public spaces isn't a thing in Norway, so that's not really an option for me.
If that hotspot you are saying is what we call the pocket wifi then I am using it when there is no available wifi. Unlike in other countries, the wifi here in public places have a password particularly the wifi in commercial establishment. You can only use it if you are a customer. Even in the airport, you can be given the password if you send your cellphone number. That's why I resort to my pocket wifi so I can have internet at my convenience. However, the internet access on my pocket wifi sometimes is very low that the browser would abandon the site. Some areas here are blind spots that signals are weak which causes to the pocket wifi to falter.