Best Option for Internet Access Traveling Cross Country?

Advise is as good as the area that a person has traveled in. We have traveled in 32 states in the last 5 years and 183 campgrounds - only not had Verizon a few times i.e. Big Bend national park and badlands national park.

Once you get west of the Mississippi you will find Verizon is the only one dependable

davidshq wrote:
Thanks again everyone for the feedback! Sounds like Verizon MiFi is the dominant choice, though I'm also glad to hear Straight Talk is offering hotspots and I'd be interested if anyone has experience using both Verizon and Straight Talk?

My understanding is that Straight Talk is operating on the same cell networks used by Verizon, AT&T, etc. - so I would think coverage should be similar? I'm also wondering about speed?

I had the Verizon service through Millenicom for $70/Month for 20GB of data. Great speeds...many times over 20Mbps. When they went to $90/Month I started to looking for alternatives. I cancelled the Millenicom service before they went out of business. I checked with Verizon about reactivating my Millenicom MiFi but they wanted $100 + fees/taxes for 20GB of data per month. I now have the Straight Talk 3G service and it is a pay as you go system. I buy either the 4GB or 5GB data since it is $10/GB. It is only 3G service and the speeds range from 2Mbps to 3Mbps down. It operates on the Verizon system. Straight Talk does now have a 4G LTE device that uses the same data cards like the 3G system. It has been reported that the system operates on either the Verizon or AT&T towers and it has also been reported that it is throttled to 3Mpbs down. I contacted Straight Talk through chat and the guy danced all around my question. Finally he said they do not sell it on their web site so I would have to call customer service for the answer.

owenssailor wrote:
We just bought a StraightTalk hotspot. So far it is working great. Pricing is good. we connect 2 devices at a time. Supposed to be able to connect up to 5.

Did you get the 3G or the 4G LTE model? I have read that the 4G model is throttled. If you bought the 4G LTE odel what are you average download speeds? TIA

We have a Sprint / Sierra Wireless hotspot with unlimited data for $49/month. Works great just about everywhere. Check the Sprint coverage map for details. However, I will say that nothing worked at the Hatteras KOA. Drove the DW nuts.

Hi David,

Unfortunately it is not quite that simple. Some devices will roam and use "partner" towers. Others only use "native" towers.

Verizon has the best coverage--but it is by no means 100%, either.

Speed is somewhat related to signal strength. A booster, such as the Wilson Sleek, may help with increased range.

Total bandwidth allotment for the month may be an issue. If there is any overage the cost per byte really really bites the pocket book.

davidshq wrote:
My understanding is that Straight Talk is operating on the same cell networks used by Verizon, AT&T, etc. - so I would think coverage should be similar? I'm also wondering about speed?

Thanks again everyone for the feedback! Sounds like Verizon MiFi is the dominant choice, though I'm also glad to hear Straight Talk is offering hotspots and I'd be interested if anyone has experience using both Verizon and Straight Talk?

My understanding is that Straight Talk is operating on the same cell networks used by Verizon, AT&T, etc. - so I would think coverage should be similar? I'm also wondering about speed?

Like most others we use a Verizon MiFi. We have 2 computers, an I-pad, and two I-phones. Our shared Verizon plan is not the cheapest around, but their coverage throughout the U.S. is very good compared to all other companies.

We were not going to try to save $40 or $50 a month and be in bad service areas all the time while traveling. The last two years visiting over 25 different states we only found one spot where we could not get good Verizon signal.

owenssailor wrote:
We just bought a StraightTalk hotspot. So far it is working great. Pricing is good. we connect 2 devices at a time. Supposed to be able to connect up to 5.

If I might ask, what is that pricing. We have Rogers cellular here at home, which we take with us in the trailer....works well all across Canada (wouldnt want to price roaming in US). We pay $90/month for 20 gig of data......Wondering if we can do better than that?

Mandalay Parr wrote:
Use a smart phone as a hot spot.
Mine works great.

Same here. I use an AT&T Go phone package.