Wifi hotspot

I live in a rural part of Indiana and Verizon Wireless is my ONLY option for internet connection, except satellite dish, which has it's own set of problems. I pay over $200/month for 10 GB data and two "smart phones" and use every bit of it most months. Last month when I used over 90% of my plan data, Verizon texted me to add 5 more GB free. I phoned to verify the offer and it was legitimate. No extra cost for permanent 15 GB data each month. Maybe they felt guilty for charging me $2500/year?
A typical movie will eat up 2 to 3 GB of data, I am told.
We sometimes use RedBox while on the road.

Go get an AT&T Unite from Ebay for less than $100.00. You will own it outright so no contract. Works great.

Streamign NETFLIX is gong to cost you bandwidth

Verizon has long had the best coverage map.. But if you exceed your data limits CHA CHING!!!!!!

AT&T is advertising that they have greatly improved their 4G map,, I took a look at it recently and it is very nearly the same as Verizon's.. I am not familure with AT&T plans so can not tell you about costs or limits or what happens when you exceed the limit.

T-mobile has a "unlimited" plan but the 4-G amount is limited, plus you can bank up to 10 Gigs for later use (So I can burn 17 Gig in a month before they throttle me between my 7 Gig plan and 10 Gig bank).

Sprint/Nextel has very good prices,,, On the face,,, but almost no coverage (RECOMMEND YOU AVOID).

Many other companies... Resell one of the above usually at a discount.

I would try to find an UNLIMITED plan using either AT&T or Verizon.. For reasons that have nothing to do with cell service I am NOT a fan of Verizon.

One neat product Verizon offers (I do not know if the others do yet) is a plug in that connects to the OBD-II port on your Motor home (or car) it provides many services...

Vehicle location (reported to the web)
HOT SPOT
OBD-II to Computer interface (Both via Wi-Fi and Web I think).

Could be useful if your motor home ever takes off without you.

Why do I have to JUSTIFY it? I want it, so I spend the money. If the day comes where I can't afford it, I'll re-think then.

rockhillmanor wrote:
A little ot but,

Just curious how RV families justify spending up to 90 bucks a month and many times contracts just to have internet to watch movies in the RV:?

davpratt wrote:
Are there any good ones that don't invove Verizon? We have Verizon cell phones and in many state parks reception is spotty or zero. Brazos bend State park used to have pretty good Verizon service, on our last visit, at the end of January, the reception was much worse, very spotty. At Garner State Park, Verizon has ZERO service. I have complained,but got zero response.One of our favorite parks, South Llano River State Park, has spotty reception at best.

Most likely service has not changed, but demand has increased 10x
And the tower being accessed can not handle the load

davpratt wrote:
Are there any good ones that don't invove Verizon? We have Verizon cell phones and in many state parks reception is spotty or zero. Brazos bend State park used to have pretty good Verizon service, on our last visit, at the end of January, the reception was much worse, very spotty. At Garner State Park, Verizon has ZERO service. I have complained,but got zero response.One of our favorite parks, South Llano River State Park, has spotty reception at best.

I've traveled all around the US, staying in state & national parks when ever possible, and found that Verizon has the best coverage. I carry an AT&T iPhone, and use a Verizon Hotspot. While I found a few locations (Eastern Maine, for example) where the AT&T coverage was better than Verizon, with few exceptions, the hotspot was more likely to find a signal. I do use a Wilson Sleek amplifier & external antenna for both, which will help in rural areas.

There are always going to be "dead" areas, but I believe you will find more of them with any of the other carriers than Verizon.

A little ot but,

Just curious how RV families justify spending up to 90 bucks a month and many times contracts just to have internet to watch movies in the RV:?

You can pick up movies at Walmart for around 5.00 cheaper if they are not current ones. And the latest ones can be rented at those red box vendor for a couple of bucks. And the players are just about being given away now so there is no big investment there.

When I went full time I found that when you stop at a truck stop station to fuel up if you go around to the truckers area where their parts are sold they have their very own big box of movies for sale and half the price of what is sold upfront.

Every time I stopped for gas I would pick up a couple of 2.00 movies. I now have a whole storage tub full of movies I can watch when the weather prohibits me from going outside. And I end up trading them with fellow campers. :W

We use the T-Mobile hotspot when we travel. It has worked fine for us. The 30-day plan for 7Gb is $50. We use it for Facebook and general surfing but no way we could stream videos and stay within that data limit.

Hi,

Coverage in rural areas is a problem. The satelite connection gets around that but expect to have latency problems and narrow bandwidth (read no netflix). Data caps will be stringent.

Are there any good ones that don't invove Verizon? We have Verizon cell phones and in many state parks reception is spotty or zero. Brazos bend State park used to have pretty good Verizon service, on our last visit, at the end of January, the reception was much worse, very spotty. At Garner State Park, Verizon has ZERO service. I have complained,but got zero response.One of our favorite parks, South Llano River State Park, has spotty reception at best.