Wi Fi availability at RV Campgrounds

[hessey]

I am an "Aussie" that has traveled the US and Canada extensively in a fifth wheeler between 2003 - 2008. In those days WiFi was existent but not in all campgrounds and mostly the Rv'er had to pay for the use thereof.
Is WiFi prolific nowadays and is it free at RV Campgrounds?
I am planning a trip from LAX to Vancouver, Jasper Cannmore Yellowstone, Tetons and Colarado Rockies in May/June 2015.
Just cannot keep away from touring your country.

[wintersun]

I would not count on getting wifi at any campground. Half the private campgrounds have too weak a signal so whether it is free or for a fee is a moot point.

We use a service from Millenicom that costs $100 for a Verizon compatible Mifi device and then has a monthly charge for up to 20GB of data and no contract or cost to stop service. Verizon has by far the best coverage area in the United States so best chance of getting a signal. It also works while we are driving which is another benefit and it is private unlike any campground where the password is known to all the campers and seldom if ever changed.

[RobertRyan]

hessey wrote:
I am an "Aussie" that has traveled the US and Canada extensively in a fifth wheeler between 2003 - 2008. In those days WiFi was existent but not in all campgrounds and mostly the Rv'er had to pay for the use thereof.
Is WiFi prolific nowadays and is it free at RV Campgrounds?
I am planning a trip from LAX to Vancouver, Jasper Cannmore Yellowstone, Tetons and Colarado Rockies in May/June 2015.
Just cannot keep away from touring your country.

One Aussie innovation that is very popular worldwide. The CSIRO developed it and now is everywhere.
CSIRO and the invention of WiFi

[Bill_Satellite]

joebedford wrote:
I'm glad you like touring "our country". But I have to point out that it's TWO countries and the data solutions being proposed by some people will probably not work in both countries. Or if they do, the cost is prohibitive.

While services don't work in both Countries, there are plenty of part-time services available in the US that would allow anyone to get good cellular data (or voice or both) while traveling the US. Much like the Bell TV users who do not have that service available in the US. They can subscribe to Dish for as many months as necessary while traveling in the US.

[joebedford]

I'm glad you like touring "our country". But I have to point out that it's TWO countries and the data solutions being proposed by some people will probably not work in both countries. Or if they do, the cost is prohibitive.

I've traveled extensively in both Canada and USA and I do NOT have a data card. Rarely am I without WiFi even when "Walmarting". Sometimes I have to walk to the local McD's for a coffee but that's pretty rare.

Many RV parks charge for WiFi but it's usually not too costly, but don't expect too much bandwidth. Hey, stay on OZ time and you'll get good throughput when everyone else is sleeping.

[Gulfcoast]

Straight Talk (Walmart) data on Verizon Towers is $40 for 4GB.... so much cheaper that most others.

http://www.straighttalk.com/wps/portal/home/shop/serviceplans/hotspotserviceplans

[Bill_Satellite]

I travel full time and am usually at a different park every 1-2 weeks. I can tell you that the vast majority of RV parks do not provide "usable" wifi unless you are not wanting to do anything other than send and receive e-mail (and a few block the sending of e-mail unless you change your e-mail settings). We are at the KOA in Las Vegas and while they provide a coupon to sign into the their network, they also laugh and say "good luck with that". That's during the Summer when the park is busy, but less than 1/2 full.
Verizon XLTE has been deployed here and we are getting over 10MB up and down with our cell card and less than 1MB (when it does anything) with the park WiFi. Some of the campgrounds do have reasonable wifi but you usually have to pay a fee. $3-4/day or $10-15/week. There are monthly and yearly rates available as well.

[1492]

ChooChooMan74 wrote:
Most parks employ he use of WiFi repeaters. Every hop that you need to make between you and the source cuts your speed in half. Couple that to everyone trying to use it and you see where that ends up.

Depends on the router and setup to extend the signal. It can be done with a minimal, or barely noticeable drop in speed.

[Fastfwd75]

Get an ATT sim card. 60$ for 2.5GB and much faster than any RV park wifi.

[ChooChooMan74]

Most parks employ he use of WiFi repeaters. Every hop that you need to make between you and the source cuts your speed in half. Couple that to everyone trying to use it and you see where that ends up.

[BB_TX]

Most private RV parks advertise it. But at most it is barely useable for anything more than checking e-mail. And often not even that.

[knshook]

All I know is Verizon is the carrier of choice for cell and data plans when traveling.We were in most of the places you mentioned over past two months and while Verizon customers were able to use their smartphones and iPads we struggled to get service of any kind with ATT. It's also been our experience that although most private RV parks offer wifi it's often in name only. The service is usually weakest in the evening when everyone has returned from sightseeing -so it's tough to get connection.
Have a great time on your 2015 trip. America is a beautiful country and RVers,for the most part, are the nicest,friendliest people on earth!

[rwbradley]

From what I have seen I would assume (although there may be some exceptions):
1) most national, state and provincial parks- No
2) most KOA and many other private parks- Yes (but often slow in the evening)

The other option is many restaurant chains have WIFI in nearly every store in both US and Canada like McDonalds and Starbucks

About the only place you may have to pay these days is hotels.