park wifi woes

Bumpyroad wrote:

Dutch_12078 wrote:

rockhillmanor wrote:
Pretty sad that's it's come down to the fact that now a 'camping experience with the family' is so centered around having free perfect high speed internet access. What's the point of even going to a CG?

Stay at home and have all the family members in different rooms using your residential high speed internet, problem solved.

This is the "Full-time RVing" forum. Many of us are "home" when we're in a campground.

I have to pay for wifi at my sticks and bricks "home". why shouldn't full timers?
bumpy

I don't object to paying for good WiFi service. I do object to paying for the abysmal excuse for it though, that some campgrounds provide, regardless of whether it's included in my site rent or charged as an extra. There is no "free" WiFi at any campground I've ever been to.

Bumpyroad wrote:

Dutch_12078 wrote:

rockhillmanor wrote:
Pretty sad that's it's come down to the fact that now a 'camping experience with the family' is so centered around having free perfect high speed internet access. What's the point of even going to a CG?

Stay at home and have all the family members in different rooms using your residential high speed internet, problem solved.

This is the "Full-time RVing" forum. Many of us are "home" when we're in a campground.

I have to pay for wifi at my sticks and bricks "home". why shouldn't full timers?bumpy

X2.
The FREE wifi issue comes up a lot with 'new' full timers.

PAYING for a good mobile use internet provider should be one of the first things on the list before you sell you home. You need to be able to access your banking and bill paying and much more which the internet now affords. Free wifi is simply just NOT secure enough IMHO.

I have had to transfer money quickly while on the road and with a good secure internet provider it was done with a couple of clicks. A life saver for me. And the list goes on. Couldn't even fathom full timing without internet service 100% of the time.

I cringe every time I read a post of a new full timer who's plan is to find a coffee shop or McDonalds "in their RV" to use free wifi while living on the road. :R

I think the question asked by the OP has been fully answered. His finding is that even if parks advertize WiFi that the WiFi is poor at best and everyone agrees. We can debate whether or not we should expect broadband quality WiFi at our campsites or whether a person should want Internet access at all if we want, but the fact is that a person is naive if they expect to have reliable and fast campground provided internet everywhere they camp.

That leaves us with the original concern: what's the best way to provide your own internet access?

My thinking is that unless one is fortunate enough to have a grandfathered unlimited Verizon data plan and can use their cell phone as a hotspot that the next best thing is 20 Gigs of data for $70 from Millinicom. That's the solution suggested by several and I agree that it's a good one for fulltimers.

Dutch_12078 wrote:

rockhillmanor wrote:
Pretty sad that's it's come down to the fact that now a 'camping experience with the family' is so centered around having free perfect high speed internet access. What's the point of even going to a CG?

Stay at home and have all the family members in different rooms using your residential high speed internet, problem solved.

This is the "Full-time RVing" forum. Many of us are "home" when we're in a campground.

I have to pay for wifi at my sticks and bricks "home". why shouldn't full timers?
bumpy

For our 6 months/year the Verizon MiFi works well. However it doesn't work in Canada and it was a challenge to get internet access.

Dutch_12078 wrote:
This is the "Full-time RVing" forum. Many of us are "home" when we're in a campground.

I am a full timer also!

I did so to get away from the standard living in stick and bricks and vegetate. And along those same lines, IMHO, JMHO you make changes to accommodate full timing and BUY a reliable internet service.

Trying to rely on and complain about FREE wifi at CG's is just not conducive to full-time RV'ing.. You buy and pay for reliable internet service before you head out full time. Just saying.

rockhillmanor wrote:
Pretty sad that's it's come down to the fact that now a 'camping experience with the family' is so centered around having free perfect high speed internet access. What's the point of even going to a CG?

Stay at home and have all the family members in different rooms using your residential high speed internet, problem solved.

This is the "Full-time RVing" forum. Many of us are "home" when we're in a campground.

Pretty sad that's it's come down to the fact that now a 'camping experience with the family' is so centered around having free perfect high speed internet access. What's the point of even going to a CG?

Stay at home and have all the family members in different rooms using your residential high speed internet, problem solved.

paulcardoza wrote:
You certainly CAN do that, if you are willing and able to live with the data caps that come along with those plans. For many people, it's plenty good enough. For larger families or fulltimers who my do some sort of online work or business from their RV, it may not.

Bumpyroad wrote:
just curious but I have previously checked on firm's providing what I guess was my own wifi hot spot for about $60 a month. if one really needed/wanted wifi couldn't they just spring for one of those?
bumpy

So, the campgrounds should subsidize Internet access for large families or people running online businesses from their RVs?

If you absolutely need more data each month, you always have the option of paying for more. The plan I have for my aircard is 5GB per month. I always have the option of going over that limit and paying extra.

BTW, I really like the previous poster's pay phone analogy. Seems to be spot on. Before everyone carried their own cell phones, pay phones were a way of life. Now that everyone can carry their own hotspot, free wifi will begin to disappear.

Interesting thought. Can't say if that's the situation or not, but I'm guessing there was a significant investment made. No matter where I am in the CG, I can easily get 3 - 4 very strong wifi signals to choose from. Unfortunately, with Tengo as the provider, those connections do me little good.

PawPaw_n_Gram wrote:

paulcardoza wrote:
Our favorite CG has a terrific wifi infrastructure AND would have access to multiple boradband service options, YET they continue to offer only TengoInternet. They have already sunk the cost into the outdoor wifi equipment.

Normally in such a situation, TengoInternet provided the internet equipment / infrastructure - and the CG has minimal investment. There will be a contract setting a minimum time period that the CG has to offer only TengoInternet.