Working from the road

[Olddawgsrule]

Hoping this is the right place to post this..

I will be working from the road for a couple days a week and will have to plan my stays accordingly and internet service.

To anyone that relies on internet, How do you fair?

My assumption is the campgrounds with WIFI are probably slow, possibly too slow for my needs. But, I don't know..

Hey, that's why your here! So I can ask and learn.

[jplante4]

This site has a lot of real world info on camping with WiFi.

[Olddawgsrule]

One heck of a lot of info here folks. Thank you all!

Let's see how I absorbed this..

I can hotspot my phone (actually did that while in Newfoundland and worked great) to D/L, U/L and stream to my laptop. From there I can Airplay (ya, I'm an apple guy) to the TV if I wish.
I will look into something different than my Fire Stick to see if I can go direct (never tried that..) to the TV.

So with the phone plan (unlimited), I can probably only run a couple devices at most. Since I can take calls on my Laptop, that does bother me quite so much (yet..).

Now the MIFI. This seems very nice if I need to have several devices available. Reality, I probably will. Thinking of only me, I'm cool with the phone hotspot ting, but Wifey may wish to do something else while I work, i.e. watch a movie.

Question with the MIFI is if you still have cellular use. That I'm not grasping.

I like that we each have a phone, yet part of 'downsizing' may include a cell phone (with cellular service) the other just running data (which means she could still text).

Much to think about. Thank you all for the info!

Am I close here?

[DallasSteve]

I don't like T-Mobile's website. It looks like the unlimited plan is for phone data. If you want a hotspot their plans go up to 22 GB; I don't see them unlimited. The 22GB plan is $95 per month. Verizon seems like a better deal.

[Olddawgsrule]

I'm on Verizon now and believe the T-Mobile deal beats them. TM claims no throttling, at all if you do the $70 plan. Also, and this is important to me, they consider Canada home turf. Verizon charges me $10 a day now (used to be $5). I go often, so this means something to me.

Anyone with T-Mobile experience?

[Olddawgsrule]

Looking like I can be anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour for a download (400mb / 1gb) of course depending..

That sound about right?

I've heard that hitting the town library as a spot to do large transfers is the way to go.. Anyone doing that??

[ependydad]

I work a 9-5 job where I have to be online during that time.

See if these help:
http://learntorv.com/mobile-internet-on-the-road/

http://learntorv.com/cellular-wifi-and-networks-oh-my/

[DallasSteve]

Looking at Verizon's website I see their unlimited plan listed at $80 per month, but then I suppose there are taxes added on to that. Their terms say after 22GB per month they may reduce your speed if there is network congestion. 22GB sounds like a lot if you can control what you are doing. But then there's another gotcha: it says mobile hotspot is reduced after 10GB per month. I don't know if that would apply to the Mobile Hotspot app described in an earlier post.

[Matt_Colie]

Olddawgsrule wrote:
Looks like I'm about to learn about MIFI as well now.. New term to me.

Fret Not....

It is basically a simple operation.
You can buy a Jet-Pack or equivalent, or use just about any smartphone.

Word of Warning:
What ever you are using, if it is making a hotspot (personal WiFi), it has to have good power to it or the battery will die very quickly.

If you go with Verizon, be sure to get the entire low-down on the plans. If you don't need a lot, don't buy a lot of data. Their plans can be increased on the road and unused can roll over. But get it in writing and make sure you understand.

Even after BHO torpedoed my business, I can still burn 3gig a month on the road.

Matt

[coolmom42]

If you have a reasonably new Android smart phone, you can run the Mobile Hotspot app on it. No need to purchase a separate device, unless you need to talk on the phone and be online at the same time. I assume there is a comparable app for Iphones.

Generally RV parks/campgrounds near major highways will have decent service. But call the RV park and ask.

[Olddawgsrule]

Looks like I'm about to learn about MIFI as well now.. New term to me.

[Olddawgsrule]

Thanks folks! Man you folks are active!!

I will have files in the 400mb range (normal size) but do have 2gb at times. I've not even tried D/L'ing anything that large through my phone before..
Well, first time for everything, right?

How's At&T in Canada? I have Verizon and works well (Quebec and East anyway).

[rav]

we also work on the road and use AT T go phones for our hot spot. we each have 8 gigs and that is more that enough for what we do

we also need the hot spot because it is a secure connection.
most campground wifis are not all that good or reliable.

we also hve a wilson electronics cell booster that helps boost our signal

[sdianel_-acct_c]

not only are campground wi-fi systems not reliable they are not secure. We use Verizon Mi-Fi Jetpack. Works well all over the US. Be careful with what plan you use. Their new "unlimited" plan throttles the speed. I switched to their "unlimited" plan and switched back because it was too slow. Also not cheap.

[md_procouple]

Along with everyone else we rely on a "mobile hotspot", and use ATT there has been only one location where we had that area no service and that was Hillsville Va. Verizon has that area sown up. Had to go down the interstate to get service. Good Luck and Happy Camping !!