High speed intenet

[Addio]

We are planning to start full timing this coming August and we are planning to educate our children through cyber school.

We need to find a mobile high speed Internet service that can work while we are in motion. Does anyone have suggestions? I don't believe a cell phone mobile hot spot will be sufficient or if it will work we will probably exceed the data allotment. We currently have Verizon wireless.

I would appreciate any recommendations.

Thank you,

Addio

[GaryKD]

Hi Addio,
There are many choices for in motion Internet connection. Your problem will be the data limit for each month. I know of no plans that offer unlimited data.

I use Autonet. Go to Home > Autonet Mobile and read about it. My Autonet (full 3 WATT transmission power) router is cabled to an antenna mounted on the coach roof. The quality of service is excellent. The data limit may not meet your needs.

[jzick]

I am sure the technology exists - surely Air Force One has continuous high speed internet, but unless you have a government's budget, you are probably stuck with commercial technology. That leaves some kind of cellular data transmission. When traveling down the road cellular data transmission will fade in and out and speeds will vary from fast to agonizingly slow as tower locations change. As you go into a valley or leave a carrier's coverage area, data connections will be dead until you are back in a coverage zone.

DW works while we travel and relys on internet connection. We have capability to connect to three different carriers and sometimes as we travel she will have to switch from one to another. There will be times, also, when she will be forced to work offline as service is not available from any of our carriers. We sometimes will pull off into a parking lot in an area of good connectivity so that she can complete some work. We have not found high speed, continuous internet always available everywhere. Let us know if you find something.

[Abnmarine]

We had great success using our Verizon MIFI while travelling. The 5GB data plan was more than sufficient and had outstanding coverage while moving.

[PyrateSilly]

There is high speed available and depending on a few things it could cost anywhere from $50 on up to over $1000 a month. It all depends on speed and company. Here are several places to check out:
RV Internet Access
Datastorm Users
Communication
Mobile Satellite Internet
Mobile Satellite Systems, Internet, SNG, VSAT, TV South Salt Lake City, UT
FTLS - Staying Connected

Remember that the information can be out of date as soon as it comes out so research, research and research again. We are in the same boat and still deciding on which internet to go with. MiFi will not work for us because of the small amount of data you are allowed to use per month. So for us giving up the satellite tv to just pay for internet instead is not a big deal.

[paz]

Addio, The problem with most mobile internet is the data limit. I'm not familiar with cyber school, but if there is streaming video, it will eat up bandwidth in a hurry.

If you think you will usually be in areas where you will have Verizon Broadband coverage, you could go with Millenicom. Millenicom resells Verizon Broadband, although they aren't allowed to tell you that. They have several plans with a much higher data limit than Verizon. I think the 10 and 20GB plans are through Verizon. They also have an unlimited plan, but I think that one is through Sprint, which doesn't cover as wide an area as Verizon.

[jlyon69]

I have been using my unlimited data on my phone (Verizon) for "free" internet for our laptop, via an app called PDAnet.

This must be done via a tether, but works well for us and costs nothing.

DW just bought a Kindle, so we'll need wireless now too. Heading to FL in a fews days for 2 months, so will give Verizons MiFi a try this trip.

[wa8yxm]

Best coverage (Or so they advertise) is Verizon, You can use either an Air Card or a My-Fi unit (This is a combo Wireless Modem and Wi-Fi Router).

I took a look at the T-Mobile 4g map recently and .. Was surprised at the amount of coverage however I was only looking at Upstate SC.. NOTE: T-mobile voice coverage seems to be "not as good" as they say their 4G is.

I use Virgin Mobile. but there are other reasons for that (I only "BMOI" (Buy My Own Internet on occasion, Virgin Mobile allows that, Otheres I have to buy by the month)

ALL the cellular Wireless internet opitons work in motion, if they work at all, though they work BETTER when parked. And that, truth be told, is your only opiton.

Satellite interned does not work in motion AT THIS TIME (Though there is an in-motion receiver, it relies on cellular towers for sending data) Last I checked it was also $5K.

[HotMech]

It's out there if you can justify the expense.
K.
BGAN Service Rate Pricing from Ground Control

[Senior Chief]

Most likely, you will NOT be whizzing down the highway each and every day, so "in-motion" is probably less important than you think right now.

Many full-timers find that staying longer in one spot (days, weeks or months) and thoroughly exploring an area before moving on to the next is an economical and satisfying way to explore our country.

Remember, you won't be on vacation, this is your LIFE- no need to rush around and see everything on the planet in 3 weeks.

Go slowly, savor and learn with the kids.

And Millenicom will give you 20 gigs on the Verizon network with no contract.

[Frantz]

X2 for Millenicom

[mikelm48]

We use Sprint. There are some locations where the signal is not good, but most of the time it is usable. I have smartphone with an unlimited data plan and 4G (seldom available), but I can turn on a subscription to WiFi Hot Spot and use my phone as a WiFi Router. If you only need the router capability occasionally, you can turn it on and off and only get charged a prorated $1 per day. I have noticed lately that the Hot Spot selection says 5GB, but it is unlimited on the phone.

[jetiii]

Hi Addio,

We have traveled from coast to coast and from Baja to Alaska. We had a place in Baja for 11 years where we were a distributor for DirecPC Internet Satellite Receivers. The reason for the background is to let you know we have used many, many communications systems and have bought way too many that didn't work somewhere. The bottom line, the satellite is the only way you will get reception everywhere, and only from Southern Canada down. When you head north, you will need at minimum a 4' dish with a DirecPC or similar satellite antenna. The only solution that will give you reception about anywhere you can drive, is a Global Star phone which uses digital satellite and has a painfully slow internet connection. We did use ours when absolutely required ($5.95 Min) throughout Northern Canada and Mexico. You will have to check to see if they are still in business.

I am a Senior Computer Scientist, last at the Los Alamos Think Tank, my wife a former JPL/NASA Deep Space Engineer who was on the design team and the team that supervised building and installation of the three 70 meter dishes in California, Spain and Australia that bring us those pictures of the planets from the voyager probe and others. We still do consulting and projects while on the road and still have not found the perfect system, nor stopped arguing about it.

Here is what we have found out, especially as we are now on a budget. We seldom use our computers while driving. When we do, it is generally using VOIP on our iPhones. Many, many places now have public WiFi, including most RV parks we stay at, but we do check ahead for this. Both MiFi and WiFi devices are available and it depends on what you will need to do, that should determine what system is best for you.

We have a small blog site that we put together for our friends who are interested in using technology to save money and solve problems specific to them. To keep things in one place we started the website so we don't have to keep sending the same information out. There is a very detailed article on the site about MiFi, WiFi, cell phones and 3G/4G as well as many maps and tools to see where services are available. Bear in mind that any current 3G or 4G system uses the cellular network so when you don't have cellular access, you won't have internet access, unless you use a satellite, or stop at a location that has public WiFi.

The site is [moderator edit] and it should help you decide what is the best and the most affordable system for you. Please feel free to leave a comment or question and someone with a high-tech background (and old enough to relate to us, we're all over 50) will get back to you.

P.S. My wife, the SatNerd, just looked up GlobalStar for you and said $39.99 per month for unlimited voice and data service (9.6 kbps). We will do more research on this and she said she will write about it on our website.

Hope this helps,

jetiii

[jetiii]

Hi again Addio,

This is Jesse here. The article I promised you and a bunch of fellow RVers on a GlobalStar satellite Internet connection is finally up. Sorry to all that it took so long, but there was a considerable amount of background research we had to do, as they have really upgraded service and pricing since we bought our first sat-phone in 2002.

The really good news is that we found what we believe is a great solution. A new product that we call a "SatFi" connection. When combined with the savings and technology from the link I sent you on VOIP and MiFi, you can connect virtually anywhere in the globe for less than what most cellular providers charge.

I hope this helps you out in getting those kids to "school" everyday. Our website is new, see the article under the "Your RV, using technology on the road" section at [moderator edit].

Hope this helps, Jesse