unlimited streaming......

[upsidedown_Char]

I had no idea how complicated it is. After almost changing cellular carriers twice, I found the company I think I need. Here is what I have learned. There is no unlimited data plan that at some point does not throttle your speed. You can pay a lot and get a big plan but at some point you will over run your allotment and they slow the connection.

A company called Unlimitedville seems to offer what I want. They offer unlimited data at speeds that will stream video. There are 4 plans available. There is a set up fee on the hot spot device that is the same as the monthly access fee. So if you buy the hundred dollar a month plan you get a device set up fee of a hundred bucks. Set up us once per device.

Plan 1 is $200 for the first month to cover set up and then $100 per month thereafter. This is for Sprint

Plan 2 is T Mobile and costs $150 per month with the one time set up of $150

Plan 3 is ATT at $200 per month plus $200 set up

plan 3 is Verizon at $250 per month plus set up.

I have read the reviews and believe the company is valid. The reason the prices vary is based on the size of their coverage area. If anybody uses this service and finds my description off, please correct. I did do a forum search and he threads were old and out of date.

I have questions.....Obviously I like the Sprint price. The U-ville websight says Sprint will provide well along interstates and urban areas. On the maps that compare coverage area it's really obvious that Verizon is Goliath and Sprint is David's tiny son.

We are new motor home owners and will likely stay in parks near the interstate or along the coast.

Does anyone have anything to say about Sprint or T Mobile? We just won't spend more than a hundred and fifty to stream.

Is there any other option in the hundred dollar a month range that will let us stream TV ?

Thanks all. Great forum but it's massive. If the post neds to be moved, just leave me a trail.

[upsidedown_Char]

We decided to stream video at home and in the occasional park that permits. We'll even pay a fee if we want to stream that night. So the plan is to just fill our DVRs from Direct and watch TV off the traveler. We bought a Verizon hot spot that has unlimited data but throttles after a certain amount of use. That we will use to read papers, send email and hunt cool places on the phones.

The suggestions here helped us to figure out what is best for us and won't break the bank. It's awful to say but I just need to look at a paper or two in the morning.....even while having fun camping. I am grateful to all of you for taking the time to help.

[upsidedown_Char]

Someone on this forum mentioned it. I think I saw it here.

http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/29066312.cfm


EDIT: I did a search and found this. It's the latest on the subject. Most of the other articles I saw were 10 years old. My apologies for pulling a Facebook.

http://blog.solidsignal.com/content.php/4264-RUMOR-DIRECTV-dropping-all-SD-programming-in-2016-NOT-TRUE

[moisheh]

upsidedown Charlie: You mentioned no more SD Direct TV within a year. Where did you get that info?

Moisheh

[upsidedown_Char]

I appreciate all of the answers. The Ebay deals have pretty strong wording to the effect that these plans aren't guaranteed renewal. Unlimitedville doesn't even offer contracts and I gather it's for that reason.

I think we're going to take a good while to look at all of this but we have Direct so streaming will just have to happen at home only for now. We may get a hotspot to read newspaper and email but I can't navigate papers well on a phone.

Breathe and grow Charlie. Thank you guys.

[pyoung47]

We have the old ATT unlimited data plan. It is expensive, though. For two I-Phones, it costs about $165 per month. My wife streams movies/netflix almost every waking hour. So far, we have been warned a few times about data throttle, but it is rare that it has been applied. Where we have been wintering, however, the streaming rate has not always accommodated movie streaming. At home, we have a desktop, two I-Pads, and our cell phones. I would say that 95 percent of our surfing/streaming is done with our phones -- they are just so convenient. The ATT plan does not offer tethering, but this doesn't affect us much. I also have a plug/cord that allows me to attach my I-Phone to my HD TV and stream anything that I see on the phone to the television. This allows us to watch Netflix/Amazon etc. from any location that offers a data signal (just about anywhere).

When our phones give out though, ATT is no longer offering an phone upgrade plan with the unlimited data. You have to go directly to Apple (or wherever) to obtain a phone.

Oh, by the way, this plan isn't available any more.

[jcpainter]

The plan that offers unlimited (within reason) data with no restrictions on tethering and never throttles is a grandfathered UDP (Unlimited Data Plan) from Verizon.

These grandfathered plans can be purchased or rented from vendors on eBay. The upfront purchase price can be high, but the monthly cost of the purchased plans can be very reasonable.

Up until a few months ago, these plans were considered the Holy Grail for RVers. A few months ago Verizon notified some plan owners that they were being dropped. The dropped accounts were using more than 500GB per month and were out of contract.

Learning everything you need to know to make wise and prudent decisions takes time and due diligence. There are a lot of choices our there and some are much better than others.

You might be well advised to locate an eBay vendor that will rent you a Verizon unlimited data plan while you do your due diligence. You should be able to get these for about $125-$150 a month.

This will give you immediate service for a reasonable fee with no contract while you ask your questions and do your homework.

upsidedown Charlie wrote:
As far as I can tell U-ville is the only teather option. We have a Traveler Dish for Direct. The more time we spend on the road the more options I want.

We lived on a 43 foot boat and kept it in a dozen different marinas and even back as far as 10 years ago, wifi was everywhere in bigger marinas. I'm kind of surprised that it's not more readily available in RV parks. I am aware that wifi strength is dependent on tower proximity.

We just have a money line we won't cross. The Borg, Time Warner used to offer an unlimited no throttle hot spot but you had to be a customer. I got one on my mom's cable account at her nursing home and paid the bill. Lost it when mom moved. It was 4G unlimited and sweet. For some reason this part of wireless technology has gotten less available over the years.

I've had my Verizon UDP for over a year and it is wonderful not to have to worry about how much data you're using.

And 5 G is just around the corner. Right.

[pianotuna]

Unfortunate, the chart in the article has not been updated, so the T-mobile and MS numbers are incorrect.

jcpainter wrote:
Here's a detailed overview of unlimited data plans

[JiminDenver]

I have some service on all four carriers including a unlimited Cricket phone. It has no hotspot but we mirrorcast the screen to a firestick on a TV for viewing. Cricket is already throttled to 8 Mbps and I have heard of people using many gigs a month without throttling,

I also have a 5 gig hotspot on a T-Mobile reseller. It's only $15 a month but allows for unlimited streaming of the services on their Binge on and Music freedom. I stream a lot of netflix, Crackle and you tube, some months have been 60 gigs or more.

Sprint is great IF you are within the range of a hot tower running band 41 or better yet multiple bands at once. Otherwise it's lucky if you get a signal strong enough to stream.

Grandfathered Verison accounts are sweet but pricy. Add in that they recently dropped anyone that had at one point in time had gone over a 100 gigs in a month....

I have the different devices to stay connected. A portable dish satellite is much cheaper, truly unlimited, stunning picture, etc.

[Chris_Bryant]

There is always Calyx-

Calyx Institute wrote:
For legal reasons, we can't call it unlimited data service, but..... We are supposed to refer to it as 30 GB+.. however when you pass the 30GB mark during the month, the Internet service does not slow down (throttle), or cut you off, and there are NO overage charges.

The plan only works in the USA in Sprint's 4G/LTE service area (see instructions to check the map below). It does not include off-network roaming, and it is subject to any standard network management that Sprint may apply to commercial broadband data-only account users.

[ramgunner]

This might help to clarify WiFi for RVing. http://rvgunner.com/rvintnet.htm

There are a lot of options.

[upsidedown_Char]

Jcpainter, I looked at the site. I saw it from another link yesterday. WIFI for RVing is complicated to say the least. When I get a bit less overwhelmed with the entirety of what we've just started, I will join. I think it may be useful to ask around in the first few RV parks too.

We spent the first night on the new RV last weekend. There were 3 TV stations over the air and the phones and PC were bricks. I was ready to go back the next morning. We had some minor things that were inop so we made our list and took it back. We came really close to buying a Direct antenna that would only receive in SD. I am amazed such a thing even exists since SD is going away in a year. I would have had another brick in the form of the antenna.I got good advice here and bought the Traveler dish for Direct which will pick up HD.

The punch list should be complete tomorrow and we are taking it out for 4 days. But it has to go back again so that a few body blemishes, door alignments and a bumper crack can be fixed. The body shop can do one RV at a time and we're 3rd in line.

I do not know what constitutes good after sale service but every boat brand we ever bought was better than this. It may be that I have a learning curve on dealing with the dealer's system. Everybody wears a given hat and if you don't ask the right hat you go in circles. If I had not made the GM note the body damage the service tecc I showed it to upon return told me it was an insurance claim whether or not it was done before w took it. GM overrode that but just because I pointed it out first. Like I said, learning curve.

Thanks all for the info.

[jcpainter]

Here's a detailed overview of unlimited data plans

[Gulfcoast]

.

[pianotuna]

There are folks who resell unlimited plans on Ebay.

You may wish to check this link for more information:

https://www.facebook.com/cherie.veard