Community Forums

historyljc · 03-09-2012, 10:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by texnet

There are no options to give you cable speed while in motion or stopped except a cable connection or a local company that provides high speed wireless...

Basically the only option you have while in motion is a cellular modem and there are many providers out there including AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and Autonet who resales one of the major providers service.

I have used a AT&T USB modem plugged into a Cradlepoint router for years and am happy with the service.

+1 except Verison in place of AT&T.

07Retired · 03-10-2012, 08:40 AM

We use a Verizon 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot. Has 5G per month of data and connects our 2 computers as well as a Kindle Fire. Has proven to be very reliable and we love it. 4G LTE is very fast. Our wintering location does not have 4G service yet. 3G isn't as fast, but is adequate for our use. (We are on computers several times a day doing banking, checking email, Facebook, and even video chat with our kids several times a month.) We watch our data usage and have not exceeded our 5G limit. Video chat can get "choppy" and video downloads are choppy on 3G, but flawless on 4G LTE. We hope that by next winter 4G LTE will be available in our wintering location. It is secure, easy to use. size of a thick credit card...the charger takes up more space. We also are in an area with many obstructions and we still seem to get 5 signal bars on the wireless indicators on our devices.

Ralph A · 03-10-2012, 09:11 AM

We also use Verizon MiFi 4G and love it. If 4G is available that's what it will use, if not it'll use 3G. We are finding 4G available than we expected. Our plan gives us 5 Gig per month and if we exceed that (never have) it's $10 / gig. We have frequently used this underway with no problem. Cost is about $50 / month

Smitty77 · 03-10-2012, 09:21 AM

We too are prepping for longer runs, and want better WiFi and Internet and Phone coverage while doing so.

X2 on both the ATT and Verizon, as we travel with one of each on our Smart Phones (Apple 4S and Droid 2).

We have the WiFiRanger and Mobile boost kits, that covers both extended range pick up of WiFi, and boost of Mobile Signal. Cradle points, both MBR1000 and the newer one (forget the model). This more for a redundancy, as in reality the 3G speeds are about what you will get (at best) in non large city urban areas. And quite often, within urban areas too.

By having both, we can use which ever one has the best signal in that area. While we do find some over lap in the big city areas, we have had many times when only one provider could get us a signal.

As you are doing this for business needs, the write off capability of also having the satellite, may be a good idea for your coverage needs.

Bill Adams has a rep for being a straight shooter on satellites, never hurt to make contact and talk over your needs.

Mobile Satellite Internet

Best of luck, and enjoy the journey!
Smitty

wa8yxm · 03-10-2012, 09:26 AM

List of options
2-way Satellite internet: Slow, pricy, and the 1/2 second "lag time" for anything does becoming annoying. HOWEVER there are only a few fly specks on the map where it will nto work.

2: Cellular Wireless... This is the most popular choice at this time, Speeds vary from town to town, and no cellular provider has a solid color map (Color means coverage) all have some white space, All the different companies have different issues though, from "Download limits" to poor high speed coverage to high cost.. But this is the most popular choice.

Park wi-fi.. Many parks allow you to use their WI-Fi, same with rest stops, McDonalds, libraries, Lowes, Home Depot, Chick Fil-a, assorted restaurants and truck stops THOUGH some places (nearly all truck stops) including some RV parks, DO charge.

What I use: Virgin mobile + Park Wi-Fi

Virgin sells me something like half a gig for 20 bucks, I have a month to use it and I do NOT need to renew. (or I can get more for 50 bucks (Unlimited, something like 2.5Gig high speed then it slows down) or less (100 meg for 10 bucks, and a 1 week timer)

Plus Park Wi-Fi.

So just now I'm no park wi-fi, Next week.. Same. Week after that I'll be using what remains on my Virgin Mobilie account. Then back here for 2 weeks, then we hit the road for points north and assorted hosts. (I will likely use Virgin Mobile on the road and MOOSE lodges when I park.. Or I may use Flying J for 8 bucks since by timing it I can get two days for that price.. UNLIMITED (Afternoon/evening on day one, Morning on day 2) But Virgin is gettin better.

Virgin mobile is the only company I know that offers a "Buy when you want it " plan, all the others want a ongoing month after month and a 2 year contract.

pumper9x9 · 03-10-2012, 09:34 AM

go with Verizion MiFi. I've had very few places where it didn't work. Most of those were out west in the bottom of canyons. Most of the time it's ok speed, some of the time it's real slow, and some of the time it's blazing fast. Those speeds don't depend on being in cities. I was out in the Mohave Preserve ( see middle of nowhere) and had screaming speed. Generally speaking if you get any signal at all you will be able to get MiFi. The only place that I have had a problem was in Death Valley and there you had to buy into a service to get out (last year) that may have changed.

FlyingDiver · 03-10-2012, 10:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wa8yxm

Virgin mobile is the only company I know that offers a "Buy when you want it " plan, all the others want a ongoing month after month and a 2 year contract.

Millenicom's service is $60/mo for 20GB. No contract.

That's a way better deal than Virgin, if you're actually using a reasonable amount of data. Not as good if you want to turn it on and off a lot, as I think they do charge for activation each time.

joe

saydiver · 03-10-2012, 11:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Smitty77

We too are prepping for longer runs, and want better WiFi and Internet and Phone coverage while doing so.

X2 on both the ATT and Verizon, as we travel with one of each on our Smart Phones (Apple 4S and Droid 2).

We have the WiFiRanger and Mobile boost kits, that covers both extended range pick up of WiFi, and boost of Mobile Signal. Cradle points, both MBR1000 and the newer one (forget the model). This more for a redundancy, as in reality the 3G speeds are about what you will get (at best) in non large city urban areas. And quite often, within urban areas too.

By having both, we can use which ever one has the best signal in that area. While we do find some over lap in the big city areas, we have had many times when only one provider could get us a signal.

As you are doing this for business needs, the write off capability of also having the satellite, may be a good idea for your coverage needs.

Bill Adams has a rep for being a straight shooter on satellites, never hurt to make contact and talk over your needs.

Mobile Satellite Internet

Best of luck, and enjoy the journey!
Smitty

Bill is shutting down his business. He's now a full-time employee of Winegard.

Datastorm Users Forum: Wanted you to be the first to know.

Barbaraok · 03-10-2012, 11:59 AM

Check out Millenicom - company out of Portland, Oregon where you can purchase 10-20 GB/month for aircard coverage on Verizon or Sprint backbone at a reasonable price. We have a 20 GB 3G plan, which is more than adequate for what we do. Will probably upgrade to a 4G plan in another year or so when there is better 4G coverage throughout the country.

Would also suggest that you post this question in the Fulltimers section, as that is where you will get the best replies from people who are already out fulltiming.

Barb

jauguston · 03-10-2012, 02:47 PM

You are not going to find a service that will do what it sounds like what you want. It doesn't exist. Not the speed you want and not the amount of band width you sound like you want at a affordable price.

Jim

tnmblair · 03-10-2012, 03:28 PM

Thanks for the responses all. We certainly appreciate the wealth of info here

f14av8r · 03-10-2012, 03:49 PM

Buy a Droid smartphone and use the 4g mobile hotspot. The 4g hotspot on a phone is the same as a 4G MiFi it just is combined with your phone. Verizon will try and charge you about $30 extra a month to enable the hotspot function but you can work around this with a simple fix available free on the internet. Just google "droid hotspot free" for the fix.

The only downside is that your internet connection is tied to your phone. So, it goes where your phone goes. If you head out for a bit with the phone, anybody else left in the coach won't have access.

That limitation aside, this works very well for us. We can access the internet wirelessly with up to 5 devices and get reasonable speed even in a 3g area. 4G areas are just about as good as my home connection.

Grandpavan · 03-10-2012, 08:37 PM

Your response of using the smartphone as a hotspot is what I am considering for our travels this summer. But I recently had a friend tell me that you have to tether(wire connect) the smartphone to the computer. My understanding is the technology has now got to the level that the smartphone actually functions in place of the MiFi and tethering is no longer necessary. Am I correct?

FlyingDiver · 03-10-2012, 08:55 PM

Yes, you're correct. In the old days, a cable connection (USB) was used. Then you could connect the computer to the phone via BlueTooth. Now most smartphones have Wifi, and you create a Wifi network on the phone that the computer connects to.

joe