Thanks all for the replies. very, very helpful. I tend to over think things and sounds like that's the case here. My plan is 2 hotspots one ATT and one VZ, and sit on a booster or external antenna and make that decision later whether I think it's worth the investment. I almost forgot that alternative work sites like Starbucks could serve in a pinch if we land somewhere and my setup doesn't provide a signal. And I totally disregarded CG wifi - sounds like I should make it a habit to test that as well.
I do recall when we toured the East Coast of the US years ago armed only with a VZ jetpack, I can't remember anywhere we didn't have a signal. Those were vacations so I wasn't working during those trips, and we didn't stream TV at the time, but my wife was on the laptop daily and never had any issues.
