Need Suggestions for Wireless Internet

[CG Snipe]

Hello all, wanted to see if anyone has any viable solutions for getting a decent internet speed without a land connection. We are full time RVers and my wife is out of work now because of the virus. She has found many work from home jobs available but our internet speeds do not meet the requirements of being able to support these businesses programs. We are T-mobile customers and have used our phone hotspots to provide internet for our other devices, which has worked perfectly fine. We even use it to watch movies with the Amazon Fire Stick. But it will not satisfy the connection speed or reliability for her to work from home. We normally transit a lot around the southeastern US so I would rather not have to connect to a local internet provider every time we move. Satellite internet just seems to be ridiculously expensive. It looks like T-mobile is working on a wireless internet service but is not up and running in many areas. Has anyone found a way to get the speed and reliability needed for work from home jobs with other companies or equipment?

[okcnewbie]

I haven't been able to keep up with what's current but this site has some interesting info;
https://www.rvmobileinternet.com/news/

[CG Snipe]

Originally Posted by okcnewbie

I haven't been able to keep up with what's current but this site has some interesting info;
https://www.rvmobileinternet.com/news/

Wow! Lots of good info already, and I’ve just glanced over the site. Thanks!

[docj]

Originally Posted by CG Snipe

Wow! Lots of good info already, and I’ve just glanced over the site. Thanks!

That site is excellent and there is even more available if you wish to become a "member." I'm not associated with them, just commenting that some of the more esoteric articles are behind the "paywall".

As for getting high enough speeds to facilitate working from home there are several approaches you might wish to employ. Many of us have multiple contracts with several internet providers; at any particular location one may have a significantly better speed capability than the others.

In addition, there is the subject of prepaid plans vs postpaid ones. As a general rule postpaid plans have higher network priority and, as a result, provide faster download speeds, but most postpaid plans have data limits on the monthly 4G/LTE data used by hotspots. However, because of the current crisis some carriers are relaxing those restrictions, at least temporarily. As an example, Verizon is currently permitting my wife and me to have 30GB/mo of hotspot data on each of our phones.

Lastly, if you consider using higher-end routers there are a number of devices that can perform Load Balancing across multiple internet connections and some that can even perform connection bonding, although that feature is complex and can be costly. Discussion of these sorts of features is provided in the member section of the RV Mobile Internet Resource website.

Hopefully, you will be able to configure something that meets your needs.

Joel (AKA docj)

[RRR]

Wish you would have asked several months ago.

Are you okay with AT&T?

I bought a SIM card for unlimited data of of e-Bay in Sept '18. Since AT&T changed things around it appears the low cost plan is gone.

The seller I bought from is still selling but prices are way up. If it is something you would be interested in send me a PM and I'll give you the sellers name.

I am not connected with him and I don't get a kickback from him, but he did treat me right.

[oneknight]

Our WiFi ranger core router can "blend" two internet sources. Our hotspot speed plus park WiFi usually adds up to "pretty good".

[Spdracr39]

Depends on your usage requirements. Right know I am lucky to have a grandfathered business unlimited Att hotspot plan for $40 dollars a month but I don't know how much longer it will last. I also have a Verizon unlimited phone plan for $50.00 a month that I am using in a MOFI 4500 sim 7. Att plan through a Netgear Nighthawk gets me 35 mbps connection and the Verizon plan gets me 20. The same Mofi4500 sim7 works on an Att phone sim card with around 25-30 mbps speed. All of those speeds are very usable but I have only tested in the central Arkansas area.

[docj]

Originally Posted by oneknight

Our WiFi ranger core router can "blend" two internet sources. Our hotspot speed plus park WiFi usually adds up to "pretty good".

That ability to "blend" connections we call Load Balancing. On a moment by moment basis the router can switch back and forth between multiple connections depending on their relative speeds.

Currently, because of the overall slowdown of the cellular network because of so many people being home, I am using my WiFiRanger router to Load Balance across 3 cellular connections plus our park's WiFi.

FWIW the Core is a fine product but it is more than a generation behind WiFiRanger's current product line. The ability to do something like Load Balance four connections requires more processing power than the Core has.

Take a look at our new Converge line of indoor and outdoor routers at wifiranger.com

Joel (AKA docj)