Canadian Needs internet in US while in parks and on the road

[Janie_Ryan]

I'm sure our problem is not unique and seasoned snowbirds should have advice for us. We run a business in Canada and are going to be south for 3 months this year and need to stay connected to the internet. We find the wifi signal in the parks not great. Is there a solution? Should we get a wifi booster for the signal? Can we get local internet at the RV Parks? Are there temporary plans for the US that would keep us connected (not to our phones). Any and all solutions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[pianotuna]

Hi Janie,

That depends on the company you are with. For example, I know that T-Mobile will work in Saskatchewan. But since Sasktel has dropped support for 2G devices, Verizon 2 G won't work.

Janie Ryan wrote:
One more question. Does anybody know if the mobile hot spots can be used anywhere? USA, Canada, Rural areas, Urban areas?
Thanks.

[almcc]

A hot spot is like a cell phone in that it uses the cell technology, there will be areas with no service if you are off the beaten track in places. Verizon and AT&T probably have the best coverage.

I went with AT&T as they have GSM service which is the same as the majors in Canada and I could buy a Canadian SIM card from a Canadian provider if I wanted to use it at home, I can't speak about a US plan in Canada although it would probably be expensive as a US carrier would have to twin with a Canadian supplier. I stayed away with Verizon as they have a mix of GSM and CDMA service, not sure what service their hot spots are on. GSM is the world standard so a GSM hot spot could be used worldwide.

[Janie_Ryan]

One more question. Does anybody know if the mobile hot spots can be used anywhere? USA, Canada, Rural areas, Urban areas?
Thanks.

[owenssailor]

One additional thought. With monthly plans such as Verizon if you use your data allowance before the end of the month you likely have to wait until the next month to get more without large penalty.

With Straighttalk you can have a refill card with you and add the additional data when you run out by calling the number on the card.

[Janie_Ryan]

Thanks for all your advice!

[moisheh]

Roger's has a Roam like Home plan that may work for the OP. The problem is that the roaming carrier can change from one region to another. I was driving long haul this past summer and in most states it worked well. But in some states ( CO) it went to some useless M and Pa service. Most times I was on ATT. Very good coverage. Max. monthly fee is $50. Fast speeds. T mobile has improved but I never had good luck with their service. Doesn't Verizon have a 4 G pay as you go service?

Moisheh

[naturist]

The OP did not say whether they were going to travel the entire time or land somewhere for the duration. If the latter, some parks have cable TV available, and you might be able to get internet via that TV connection. Not helpful unless you are staying put, though.

There are a couple details missing from the discussion of Verizon Mifi hotspots. The first is that Verizon offers two different plan systems. One is a prepaid card system, the other a "permanent" account system. They've told me that the device from one is not usable on the other, so you have to decide which way to go before you buy the device. The second is that they recently changed the deal on the permanent system. It used to be that you could turn the usage on and off at will, and there was no charge when it was off. Now there is a $10 a month charge when it is off, but still $50 a month (minimum data, 5 GB limit) when on.

The other thing you need to know about the Verizon Mifi is that it will work in Canada as well as in the US, but there are substantial roaming charges when used that way. This can get you some nasty surprise bills if you happen to be near the Canadian border when the device decides that it can get a better signal from a Canadian tower. To prevent that, you have to change a setting on the Mifi from using global signals to using only LTE/US signals.

I was gifted a permanent Verizon Mifi device a couple years ago and used it a lot while traveling. It worked fairly well most places, and I found that those places it didn't work were usually only a few miles away from a place it would work. But I can't claim to have checked everywhere.

[pianotuna]

If you are going to be where T-mobile offers service in USA, their unlimited data plan also works in Canada anywhere that Bell services.

[owenssailor]

For the last 3 years we have been using StraigtTalk. We bought the hotspot at Walmart and buy refill cards there. You can buy various amounts on a card.. The 5 Gb card is 50$ and is good for 2 months. We have found coverage to be very good all through the southwest. It is what I'm using now since we are boondocking on a beach along the Gulf.

[FULLTIMEWANABE]

Janie, we've just done extensive research on the various options as a "near Calgary" resident for travelling longer times throughout the USA. T-Mobile was very very appealing with the potential binge on option. I know someone is trying out roam mobility this year for their snow birding from BC down to the USA and I am keen to hear how they find it.

Hubby and I just got back from Fla using a "travel add on" from Bell, where they didn't use Verizon no matter how much I begged them to based on reviews I'd read, but would only allow us to roam on T-Mobile = it was awful, atrocious service in the Sarsota/Tampa area, to the point it dropped calls as well couldn't connect to send/receive just emails on my iPhone. They are in the process of giving us a huge credit for several mistakes they made on our add on and the bad service we had for 2 months add on.

From what we've gathered from many: It appears that Verizon is still king for most areas, and those that need to have maximum coverage "within reason", may also have a small AT&T back up as well. A lot of the Canadian snowbird friends we have whilst they find it a little expensive like the Verizon MIFI for the most part on prepaid. It seems other reseller companies have come and gone at a little cheaper deal but, "come and go" is the main problem here for us.

We have just purchased a Verizon Elipsis 4G LTE MIFI on sale from Best Buy at $19.99 versus usually $49.99, that upon returning next to the USA we will try with the lowest 60 day valid size initially to see how it all pans out for us.

Many comments about the data getting eaten up, but we have spoken to a lot of other folks who have advised that it is the devices that are connecting the way they are set up for auto updates and so forth that are the issues not the MIFI.

Just saying FWIW and YMMV.

Will be keen to read what route you go and where you travel and how things performed.

Happy Travels.

FTW.

[almcc]

Yes, in some areas there isn't good service. We tried T-mobile 2 years ago and it was a disaster, we transit the US from Toronto to southern California each winter and T-mobile had no service more often than service.

If you know where you plan to go, check the coverage maps and choose the best supplier. AT&T works for us in our travels.

[TrailerTravele1]

Be careful - you don't say where you're traveling. We have Verizon wifi/mifi BUT there are many many times where there's no cell phone signal, so the wifi/mifi is useless - particularly true "out west". So if you plan on using it for work, you may be disappointed and headed to some remote town to find a "real" wifi signal. We were disappointed the last two years on how often we could get a signal with Verizon. Good luck!

[almcc]

The expiry of 1 year isn't for the refill cards, it's for the "phone number" for the hot spot itself. You can (as I did) let the hotspot sit inactive (with no monthly $$ put in) over the period you are not in the US and just buy a card when you return the next winter season as long as it isn't over a year.

I tried to find this detail in my documentation but couldn't. I would call AT&T to confirm. I called them 866-707-5550 (that's the activation number for the hotspot) to get the info.

On edit, I found the info on the website about halfway down the page on the right:

link

[quartzster]

almcc wrote:
As a fellow Canadian I have a couple of possibilities for you. I agree that the park wifi systems don't cut it, overused and temperamental.A wifi booster won't help, it's not the signal strength but the system itself.

Over the years we have used different systems. We carry a tripod satellite internet system (with a Hughes service provided through Galaxy Broadband in Ontario), it's reliable (signal can be gotten anywhere including Alaska, the NWT and Mexico) but slow and we will retire it when the contract expires next year.

We currently use an AT&T wifi hotspot (around $50 for the hotspot and $50 per month for 5 gigs/month), it's pay as you go and I pause it when back home, if you use it within a year it remains active. You can refill monthly on-line or get refill cards at WalMart. The unit is handy when on the road moving from park to park or on the road.

Depending on the RV park, you may be able to sign up for internet service, the park we are in has cable TV and the supplier will set campers up with cable internet with wireless modem for about $60/month, it's even cheaper if you split teh cost with your neighbour, the wireless signal reaches both campers.

all of the refills I see for AT&T show expiry dates of 30 to 90 days max...don't see any on Walmart that expire in a year?