Community Forums

fansill · 05-18-2011, 07:28 PM

Good Evening,

I hope that someone can enlighten me on a possible mobile internet system. I currrently have Verizon land lines in my office and I have Comcast at home just for the DSL line. We use Sprint for our wireless phones. I am thinking that I would like to get something that would let me use my laptop when we are out in the RV and we cannot pick up a wi-fi signal at a campground or other hot-spot.

This is where I get confused...

I contacted Verizon and they told me I have to get a 4G modem for a purchase price of $49 or $99 along with a two year contract. Then I have to purchase a monthly plan. ranging from 1GB up to 10GB.

SInce I am used to a land based DSL that I pay one price for and can use the internet unlimited time...how do I know how much time 1GB or 10GB will give me???

And is there a way that if I have one of those modem sticks in my lap-top, can my hubby use his lap-top to surf the web at the same time?

Lastly, if I do have that modem stick in my lap-top, can I then use a GPS program to do route planning and turn by turn directions while we are traveling down the road?

Thanks for helping me to understand it all....

Faith

John Hilley · 05-18-2011, 07:42 PM

One of the devices available from both Verizon and Sprint is a MiFi router with a built in cellular modem. This will give Internet access to up to 5 devices. You can also use a 3G or 4G USB modem and a Cradlepoint of WiFi Ranger router. D-Link and Linksys also make routers for use with cellular USB modems. If you buy your own USB modem on eBay or some where else, you can get month to month access on Verizon or Millenicom with out a contract. My wife and I use the Internet several hours per day and we have never gone over 3.5GB. We don't download videos much or play games on the Internet. You can also purchase prepaid cellular routers or modems at Walmart. You can pre pay them for as little as 1 day.

Dadeaux · 05-18-2011, 07:43 PM

We use Verizon with two computers and both of us are pretty active on the net in the evenings and we have never exceeded 2.5 GB. Our unit is a Verizon MIFI which will accommodate up to 5 computers without a router and like a cell phone works very well everywhere we have been.

As for the contracts and purchase price go to E-Bay and purchase one for about $100, make sure it is not under contract, and then you can turn it on and off whenever you like.

Another thing that we have learned is to deal with an independent Verizon store they are much more accommodating.

TechWriter · 05-18-2011, 08:47 PM

Check out Jack Mayer's web site: Communication He hangs out at the Escapees forums: http://www.rvnetwork.com

I use a 3G U760 USB Verizon card from Millenicom: http://www.millenicom.com that is connected to a Cradlepoint MBR1000 router -- which creates a WiFi hotspot so multiple computers can share data from a single data card.

Millenicom "resells" Verizon and Sprint services, but is apparently prohibited from telling you that. Anyway, for $60/mon (no contract) I get 20GB monthly data alotment. However, Millenicom does not currently offer 4G.

4G sounds super, but I believe that current 4G sticks do NOT have antenna connections.

There are 3G sticks, like my U760, that do have an antenna port. Many folks, including myself, use Wilson or other amps to boost the 3G signal. Very handy in marginal reception areas.

Anyway, I'm sure you've had enough tech talk. Check out Jack's site.

BTW, 10GB on 4G could be used up very fast.

UFO Pilot · 05-18-2011, 09:02 PM

I had a Verizon USB 760 connected to a Cradlepoint 1000 router. I bought the USB 760 and had a no contract plan for $60 per month. At the FMCA Rally in January I upgraded to a 4G card for $50 per month. My 4G card does have antenna ports. Both plans are 5GB which we never come close to using.

At the same Rally our friends got a free 3G phone from Verizon that also is a router for up to 5 users. They pay $35 per month, it is also a 5GB per month plan.

bgsc · 05-19-2011, 06:22 PM

We are using the Virgin broadband with the MIFI 2200 in the USA and the Virgin broadband in Canada, they are different units each countries cellular carriers have to get their shot at your checkbook. The thing we like is there is no contracts so the time we spend in the US goes to them and when in Canada the Canadians get the money NO CONTRACTS and I do not have to pay for a service I cannot use

chrismw · 05-19-2011, 08:27 PM

You want to evaluate what you do on the net. If you are watching netflix or any video streaming you will use up the GBs really fast, consider a large data plan. If you use email, web browsing, facebook then you would be just fine with less than 3 GB a month. Go MiFi as opposed to USB. If you camp in remote areas you will not see 4G coverage, this is new and only in major cities. Most areas 3G will be standard.

chrismw · 05-19-2011, 08:33 PM

Regarding the GPS in theory you could but it would be based on cell towers, not GPS satelites so you might not get good directions if you have a weak cell signal. Plus Verizon will want you to pay an extra $10 a month for that capability. I would recommend a seperate GPS it would almost pay for itself in 1 year of the Verizon charges. Garmin makes good units that will talk to you as well.

docj · 05-19-2011, 08:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TechWriter

4G sounds super, but I believe that current 4G sticks do NOT have antenna connections.

BTW, 10GB on 4G could be used up very fast.

The Pantech UML290 is a Verizon 4G modem that does have antenna connections.

The fact that you CAN have more data per second on 4G doesn't mean you WILL download that data. It is a misconception that your monthly allotment will be quickly used up with 4G. The data for a website, a video, or whatever, doesn't change, it just gets there faster.

Our experience with Netflix is that we can watch about 2.5 hours of video for about 1GB of data. So our monthly 10 GB allowance is theoretically good for about 25 hours of video. If used this way it would permit us to watch about 10-12 movies a month.

We use our modem with a WiFi Ranger router. It permits us to run a network consisting of 2 laptops, a printer, a Blu-ray player, a DirecTV DVR, a web-enabled photo frame and a wifi capable smart phone all of which share the cellular connection.

Eric_H_E · 05-19-2011, 08:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrismw

Regarding the GPS in theory you could but it would be based on cell towers, not GPS satelites so you might not get good directions if you have a weak cell signal. Plus Verizon will want you to pay an extra $10 a month for that capability. I would recommend a seperate GPS it would almost pay for itself in 1 year of the Verizon charges. Garmin makes good units that will talk to you as well.

ms streets and trips can come with a gps recever for a laptop. I have one works well. Internet connection not required.

HotMech · 05-21-2011, 09:25 PM

Faith, what model phone do you have with Sprint?
It might pay to take a look at this site. www.tether.com
They have a software solution for users like me, anyway, who don't use it much and don't require a ton of speed. It works by making a connection via the phones interface, so verizon thinks you are just using the browser on your phone. I just like that I dont' have to pay verizon to tether my Blackberry to my Laptop. ...and I have the unlimited data plan too, go figure. You could get tether for both of your phones, then you could both be online at the same time.
Just a thought.
Kerry

dvmweb · 05-22-2011, 05:17 PM

We did away with our landline at home.

We have Verizon phones, 2. And, we have a Verizon wifi hotspot. We will probably drop this when we get new phones in November. We can tether our phones via PDAnet and/or use the wifi hotspot wirelessly. Each has 5 gigabytes available, which we never use up totally. So, in order to have internet we need a good 3G signal.

The new phones have wifi capability, which I believe Verizon will charge for of course.

Glassalley52 · 05-22-2011, 07:15 PM

I use my iPad and have yet to come close to using up the monthly 2GB just for web surfing. Don't do much streaming and the maps app is great to.

wa8yxm · 05-23-2011, 04:23 PM

If you want a "Mobile" internet system you basically have two chocies.

Cellular or 2-way Satellite

Cellular, all providers have a coverage map, NOT ONE of those maps his "Solid coverage" all of them have areas of "No Coverage" Verizon has one of the best maps.. Though AT&T/T-Mobile may well catch up soon.

Most all of them also have "Data lmitis" depending on the plan you pay for. I'm on 2.5 Gig of Unlimited this month with Virgin Mobile..After that I get throttled.

The advantage, when it works it ranges from DSL to far better, I'm getting T-1 speeds.

2-way Sat also, you can pay more and get more, or pay less and get less, Plans are competitive with cellular, However the coverage map is more like a coverage blanket. I mean there are a few fly specs of no coverage (usually simply a different site in the park fixes it) but that's about all. The issue here is speed and lag.. Speeds for the basic plan are low-end DSL at best.. and there is a 1/2 second minimum PING time for any remote site, that's 1/8 second from you to sat, another eighth back and then the return path.