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neergn's avatar
neergn
Explorer
Aug 24, 2016

Best Internet

I will be working from our 5th wheel this winter and am looking for information on internet connectivity. I know how to use my phone as a hotspot, but I am afraid of going over my data limit.

Plus I would like to stream movies and I know that takes a lot of data.

I also know that most campgrounds have less than wondrous wireless.

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
neergn
  • My VZ hotspot died and because of the give a hoot attitude on VZ I went with a TMobile device and am totally happy with it. You can stream movies, watch uTube and it doesn't count against data. Plus you don't get charged roaming while in Mexico or Canada
  • There is no best, just what's best for you. How do you watch your movies? Netflix, Crackle and others are on the Binge on list for T-Mobile and don't count against you data. I've never used the 5 gigs of data I have on a T-Mobile hotspot and I stream daily.

    I have Cricket and 4GHS has started selling a Cricket like unlimited hotspot service with the cost varying depending on the speed you need. It runs on the native AT&T network, no roaming.

    Cricket itself has unlimited for $65 but there is no hotspot just like it's parent AT&T's unlimited plan.

    As a business there are Sprint options for unlimited for under $50. Like with any carrier you have to make sure you have the coverage and Sprints is suppose to be the most limited. Have good coverage and it is fast and getting faster. Unfortunately that's usually somewhere near a large city.

    Verizon is king of coverage and it proved itself when my Verizon hotspot stayed connected in the mountains while the other came and went. Unlimited Verizon high speed cost the bucks.

    I have bits of data on each network because of where we camp. I'm just hoping for a signal for email, forums, and weather. Rather than depend getting a signal strong enough to stream, we use a tailgater portable satellite. It gets a great signal even at 10,000 ft, the picture is always HD and it never ever buffers.
  • I lease a grandfathered unlimited Verizon SIM card off Ebay. It's in someone else's name, they pay probably $60/mo for it and get all their money back, then enough for another one. You never really know who you are ordering from when you get them, but mine happens to be through a local cell phone company out in California. It's still far cheaper than paying Verizon directly. You can find them for $120-$200/mo. Ours runs $120/mo and we do 80GB+/mo on it. We purchased our own Jetpack to put it in, around $80 for that. They are typically month to month, so they should work well for you. My parents do the same for their home Internet (no other high speed options in their area) and watch a few hours of Netflix a day on a leased AT&T SIM.

    For areas that have weak signal, we also have a Weboost Drive 4G-X which tends to help.
  • The couple at Technomadia have a lot of good information on this.

    Technomadia

    When we hit the road, we gave up broadband cable (TV/internet/phone) with unlimited data for a Verizon 20GB plan with hotspot and "Dish For My RV" for TV. With a discount for being retired military, the 20GB of data costs us about %80 a month - but it's not enough to stream NetFlix or anything like that. We rent from RedBox if they have something we want to see.

    Rob
  • If you'll be moving around, then Verizon has the best 4G coverage, followed by AT&T. If you're in one place and the coverage is equal between all the carriers, pick the cheapest plan.
  • shop around, buy a hotspot, pay for the data
    not moving much, wintering in the west or south ?
    find whats best locally
    claim the expense, as business expense on your tax returns

    $100 - $200 a month what ever
    its either a business expense or a life style expense, for being away from the snow & cold
  • Are you going to be traveling or stationary? If you stay in one spot maybe you can sign on with a local internet service provider. If you are traveling, you only options are to pay for what you go over or accept what wifi is available at the parks where you are staying.
    It has been hashed, rehashed and then hashed again who or what is at fault for the internet service at campgrounds. Regardless of whether it is just plain greedy campground owners, incredibly stupid campground owners, evil campground owners or even the remote, outlandish possibility that unlimited speed and bandwidth isn't available everywhere, the fact is campground wifi isn't likely to do what you are describing. You will almost assuredly have to provide your own service if you need to stream movies and use the internet for business.

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