WiFi - internet while RVing?

Check out Millenicom.com. They use Verizon. 20GB for $70 a month. No contract.

K Charles wrote:
Finding a place with no internet or phone is some peoples goal.

Agreed, it time to enjoy why you are there.

For cell/wifi service in rural USA, there's 2 things to consider. One is the signal grabbing capability of your phone. All phones are not created equal. Some phones will actually lose the signal by the way you hold the phone in your hand. Two, see if you have a CDMA phone or a GSM phone. CDMA has an extremely better footprint over the US map, especially the mountain and west coast States. However, and interesting to note, is that the list of the major 125 carriers in the USA is split 40% CDMA and 60% GSM. Verizon (for one), uses CDMA, while AT&T & T-Mobile (among others) uses GSM. If have AT&T, and your from the East visiting the West Coast, expect to have lots of dead zones in the canyons and valleys, even those in the cities. However, those with CDMA phones will not be able to reach out and touch someone while visiting Asia and Europe.

If you have cell service you are not true boondocking. :-)

caliguy35 wrote:
So lets suppose you're in your RV in the Colorado mountains forest land miles and miles and miles from the nearest human. One question - how do you get internet if you're that far from civilization?

If I'm in the Colorado mountains, miles from the nearest human, the last thing I'd think about is the internet!:)

No Verizon in the county in Indiana where we have property. ATT is king there and we had to get an ATT mifi for Internet for when we are there.

Out in the woods we can either make use of a Wifi hotspot or stay at a private campground that provides Wifi of some sort. A cell tower needs to be within 5 miles and be within your line of sight. We have gotten reception on top of a hill but not down in the valley where the campgrounds were located. This is where our little Mifi unit and a small laptop are great.

Last year we stayed at a USFS campground at Indian Creek Reservoir and we were able to connect and do email by hiking about 3/4 mile up a trail and gaining some elevation and line of sight for the tower.

For the camper a roof top antenna and an inside amplifier can double the signal strength and this can make all the difference in the world in establishing a connection.

Cell towers are placed along highways to serve motorists. The closer a camping spot is to these highways the better your reception is likely to be.

pigman1 wrote:
For those on major roads Verizon is OK, but get 30 miles of I-10 in west Texas, or off major routes in the Dakotas, Montana, Idaho, and MANY other places there's just nothing else. We go to Alaska every other year and 10 miles out of town up there you're usually out of everything.

Although it's possible to still find places where you can't get cell service, these days you have to go pretty far off the beaten track not to have at least some service. In the past year the only place we camped where there was no service at all was at the bottom of Death Valley. Everywhere else there was usable service, and quite often it was 4G. The cellular situation has improved dramatically over the past couple of years.

Check the service map for your provider. I just checked Verizon's...there's a lot of "white"/not covered areas once you get west of the foothills. Many of the ski resort towns will have service but once you cross a ridge, head deep into NF ground...you may be high and dry! The only way you'll know for sure is to try it.

You'll only find true WiFi at a business that offers it.

We also use Verizon MiFi. Not perfect but it is the best that we have found. Of course it only works where one gets a Verizon cell phone signal. We are able to use it in spots that surprise us.