Hey Everyone,I started to post in the workcamping section and then though that I may find more relevant answers here.I am looking at taking an extended trip. Destination uncertain.I currently work a home based business that is not "portable" and want to go spend a year or two traveling. I have some residual income but will need to supplement it while traveling. I am looking for options.My past work has included designing, installing and supporting Guest WiFi systems in hotels, RV parks and marinas. During that time I worked with many guests resolving equipment and coverage issues. I developed extended range WiFi clients that improved guests level of service.I know that, with the evolution of cellular data service, folks don't rely on WiFi as much as they used to. I wonder if there is still a market for products and services that will improve the quality of WiFi service available to RV'ers? How about products/services that improve cellular service in low signal areas?I have the skillset and equipment to:- Improve wireless systems at RV parks.- Improve RV'ers wireless setup to provide better cellular and WiFi coverage.- I

Most RV parks could use such a service - are they willing to pay for it?Bill

Design and sell a range booster for individual RV owners. Totally plug and play and not requiring access to the source signal.

IMO, unless you can find a way to miraculously increase bandwidth so that streaming video is possible, CG wifi is a waste of time. The reality is that people have become used to high speed internet at home and via cellular, which allows them so stream at will. Such has become the norm, most everywhere except in CG wifi systems. The cost to run a huge "data pipe" to most rural CG's is obviously an issue. Our seasonal CG has an amazing wifi system with strong signals EVERYWHERE in the CG. Throughput, however, is marginal at best and terrible when the place is crowded. Can you fix that?? ;-)

Our over the winter trip taught us many things, and one of them is that park WiFi is a joke. Verizon hotspot and a 16gb data plan does it for us.Now, if you could replace the park system with a multi-point cellular system, you might have something. I think most RVers would pay an extra buck or 2 a day for decent internet. If you could get enough throughput to replace the park cable TV (another joke), that would be stellar.

Yes, many Rv parks could use your services.

Importance of WiFi and other tech while traveling?

Bill_Satellite
Explorer II
Sep 01, 2016
PNW_Steve wrote:
Bill.Satellite wrote:
PNW_Steve wrote:
Bill.Satellite wrote:
Due to limited bandwidth available to most campground owners (mostly due to remote locations) even an improved signal is not going to improve the experience to the end user. Limited capacity divided by all those RVers equals crappy service no matter how good the signal is.
You certainly might be of help to campground owners by setting up their systems to block ALL streaming type activities from You Tube to NetFlix (and all those Facebook videos) which will improve the ability for multiple users to access the most basic needs such as surfing, e-mail and bill pay. It will likely good over like a fart in Sunday School with the permanent residents but would be a great improvement for the daily/weekly RVers.

It certainly cost a few $$ but has paid for itself many times over.

How could that be possible for the average RV Park Owner. No one is going to pay extra to have a service they feel they are entitled to. A "few $$" is likely a huge exaggeration as just the fact that you said it cost a few $$ tells me it cost a whole bunch of money and the service then would need to be offered at no charge to the campers. Sounds to me like the old story about how someone was losing money on every sale but planned to make up the difference in volume!

I understand your being skeptical. You weren't there.

The folks here, and at two other locations, had a similar reluctance. So, I paid for the installation and operated the systems for two years before turning the systems over to the park owners.

It went kind of like this:

I pay for it and install it.
I share a % of the revenue with the park owners for two years.
I provide 800# 24/7 tech support for end users & staff.
Guest concerns & questions are directed to me or 800#, not park management.

After two years if the system proves viable the park owner has the option of reimbursing my capital investment and taking ownership of the system.

Many RV parks offer pay as you go internet. That makes more sense than what you seemed to try to be offering in your OP. I think you are going to find that pay to play internet services are going to be a bust as technology moves forward. I already have great internet service from my cellular connection and if I need more I can buy more for less than it would cost to buy paid Wi-Fi at a campground. Years ago this was not possible and I suspect that this might have been the time period where you were able to get folks to pay for services which are free today.
ramgunner
Explorer
Sep 01, 2016
westernrvparkowner wrote:

How much is "a few bucks"? Lucky for you there was a wholesale provider 20 miles away and you had the ability to install what the heck ever a two hop microwave backhaul is.
Frankly, I have had it up to my neck with Wifi. I cannot please everyone, that is a fact. No matter what system I have in place, no matter what management software is used, someone is going to be unhappy. Between the people who need to have multiple gigs available daily, to the streamers, to the people who can't figure out how to turn their computer on, much less enter a six digit password, to the people who have had their wifi connections configured by some relative who put in so many "safeguards" that the NSA couldn't connect to the computer, much less my wifi system, to the people who sit inside their armor plated RVs with a phone that has an antenna the size of a dime and a transmitter powered by a battery that won't run a hearing aid, someone isn't going to get satisfactory wifi.
I am tired of being the one who chooses who the happy and the unhappy people are. Why spend $10,000 upgrading to system that won't please everyone when the system I have in place will do that just fine.
Oh, one more thing. The people who complain the most and find that RV park wifi is unacceptable are the exact people who cause the problems. The ultra high bandwidth users and the people who cannot live without streaming. Unlike power or water, where if there is some deficiency everyone suffers, slow wifi only effects a select few. Everyone else just switches to their air cards, or checks their email and the weather and figure they will watch the latest episode of Game of Thrones another time.

Given how you feel about the things that come with running an RV Park, why do you do it? You don't sound like you like your customers, or enjoy what you do. Have you considered that you might be happier doing something else?

As full-timers, we have multiple solutions for our Internet needs. We have diverse systems from both Verizon and T-Mobile that we can plug into our router. We have both DOCSIS 3 cable and ADSL2+ modems for hardwired service. We also have a way to interface to an available WiFi if necessary/possible. If your rules say no streaming (hopefully you have backed that up with appropriate filtering/blocking technology), then that's great. If they don't, then it's only your fault.
westernrvparkow
Explorer
Sep 01, 2016
PNW_Steve wrote:
Bill.Satellite wrote:
PNW_Steve wrote:
Bill.Satellite wrote:
Due to limited bandwidth available to most campground owners (mostly due to remote locations) even an improved signal is not going to improve the experience to the end user. Limited capacity divided by all those RVers equals crappy service no matter how good the signal is.
You certainly might be of help to campground owners by setting up their systems to block ALL streaming type activities from You Tube to NetFlix (and all those Facebook videos) which will improve the ability for multiple users to access the most basic needs such as surfing, e-mail and bill pay. It will likely good over like a fart in Sunday School with the permanent residents but would be a great improvement for the daily/weekly RVers.

It certainly cost a few $$ but has paid for itself many times over.

How could that be possible for the average RV Park Owner. No one is going to pay extra to have a service they feel they are entitled to. A "few $$" is likely a huge exaggeration as just the fact that you said it cost a few $$ tells me it cost a whole bunch of money and the service then would need to be offered at no charge to the campers. Sounds to me like the old story about how someone was losing money on every sale but planned to make up the difference in volume!

I understand your being skeptical. You weren't there.

The folks here, and at two other locations, had a similar reluctance. So, I paid for the installation and operated the systems for two years before turning the systems over to the park owners.

It went kind of like this:

I pay for it and install it.
I share a % of the revenue with the park owners for two years.
I provide 800# 24/7 tech support for end users & staff.
Guest concerns & questions are directed to me or 800#, not park management.

After two years if the system proves viable the park owner has the option of reimbursing my capital investment and taking ownership of the system.
Sorry, but pay for use wifi is a non-starter for most parks. The guests would literally revolt. They want it free. As for 800 tech support and the like, someone who can't get wifi is mad. They are going to go to the first live human they can find, and that is the office. Regardless of whether or not there is an 800 number they will expect the park staff to fix their issues.
There isn't a person in America that doesn't HATE telephone tech support. If I could reach through the phone and choke the tech on the other end when they tell me to re-boot the access point, or take the battery out of my phone, or ask me if the cable box is plugged in, I would. Having a guest spend an hour on the phone to then be told to re-enter the password isn't going to make my customer satisfaction scores rise.
greenrvgreen
Explorer
Sep 01, 2016
I have to agree with Tuna, customers who are concerned about performance aren't going to rely on public wifi and typically have a cell solution that is much faster--that's for free wifi. If it's PAYG wifi then why would anybody try it if they have another option?

I'm sorry, but this idea sounds about ten years behind the times.
greenrvgreen
Explorer
Sep 01, 2016
If the OP is so sure of his business plan, what not get out there and start selling it? It would seem to me that the plan he's presenting would go better as a territory-based plan, local to wherever he is right now. Do day trips and overnighters to the parks in your area and talk to the decision-makers. Or have you done this already and gotten a bunch of no's?
pianotuna
Nomad III
Sep 01, 2016
Hi Steve,

If I had a choice of paying a daily fee or using my "already paid for" cell phone, I'd pick the cell phone every time.

If the fee is already rolled into the site rental then I would use the campground wifi.

PNW_Steve wrote:
I understand your being skeptical. You weren't there.

The folks here, and at two other locations, had a similar reluctance. So, I paid for the installation and operated the systems for two years before turning the systems over to the park owners.

It went kind of like this:

I pay for it and install it.
I share a % of the revenue with the park owners for two years.
I provide 800# 24/7 tech support for end users & staff.
Guest concerns & questions are directed to me or 800#, not park management.

After two years if the system proves viable the park owner has the option of reimbursing my capital investment and taking ownership of the system.
PNW_Steve
Explorer
Sep 01, 2016
Bill.Satellite wrote:
PNW_Steve wrote:
Bill.Satellite wrote:
Due to limited bandwidth available to most campground owners (mostly due to remote locations) even an improved signal is not going to improve the experience to the end user. Limited capacity divided by all those RVers equals crappy service no matter how good the signal is.
You certainly might be of help to campground owners by setting up their systems to block ALL streaming type activities from You Tube to NetFlix (and all those Facebook videos) which will improve the ability for multiple users to access the most basic needs such as surfing, e-mail and bill pay. It will likely good over like a fart in Sunday School with the permanent residents but would be a great improvement for the daily/weekly RVers.

It certainly cost a few $$ but has paid for itself many times over.

How could that be possible for the average RV Park Owner. No one is going to pay extra to have a service they feel they are entitled to. A "few $$" is likely a huge exaggeration as just the fact that you said it cost a few $$ tells me it cost a whole bunch of money and the service then would need to be offered at no charge to the campers. Sounds to me like the old story about how someone was losing money on every sale but planned to make up the difference in volume!

I understand your being skeptical. You weren't there.

The folks here, and at two other locations, had a similar reluctance. So, I paid for the installation and operated the systems for two years before turning the systems over to the park owners.

It went kind of like this:

I pay for it and install it.
I share a % of the revenue with the park owners for two years.
I provide 800# 24/7 tech support for end users & staff.
Guest concerns & questions are directed to me or 800#, not park management.

After two years if the system proves viable the park owner has the option of reimbursing my capital investment and taking ownership of the system.
dons2346
Explorer
Sep 01, 2016
Take a look at this article about campground internet. Although it is from 2013, it is still a source of contention. 6 Strikes Enforcement
Gene_Ginny
Explorer
Sep 01, 2016
Bill.Satellite wrote:
... You certainly might be of help to campground owners by setting up their systems to block ALL streaming type activities from You Tube to NetFlix (and all those Facebook videos) ...
One campground I have been to often does just that. Their WiFi is excellent. I can read mail, check weather, and follow RV.NET and other forums with fast loading pages. The campground rules do say that streaming video will be blocked.

After a campground pays for electricity, maintaining the grounds, maintaining the rest rooms, garbage collection, staff to keep the place clean and many other thngs I failed to mention, how much is left to pay for a wide bandwidth internet connection and WiFi? They DO have to make a profit to stay in business.
Bill_Satellite
Explorer II
Aug 31, 2016
PNW_Steve wrote:
Bill.Satellite wrote:
Due to limited bandwidth available to most campground owners (mostly due to remote locations) even an improved signal is not going to improve the experience to the end user. Limited capacity divided by all those RVers equals crappy service no matter how good the signal is.
You certainly might be of help to campground owners by setting up their systems to block ALL streaming type activities from You Tube to NetFlix (and all those Facebook videos) which will improve the ability for multiple users to access the most basic needs such as surfing, e-mail and bill pay. It will likely good over like a fart in Sunday School with the permanent residents but would be a great improvement for the daily/weekly RVers.

It certainly cost a few $$ but has paid for itself many times over.

How could that be possible for the average RV Park Owner. No one is going to pay extra to have a service they feel they are entitled to. A "few $$" is likely a huge exaggeration as just the fact that you said it cost a few $$ tells me it cost a whole bunch of money and the service then would need to be offered at no charge to the campers. Sounds to me like the old story about how someone was losing money on every sale but planned to make up the difference in volume!