The Daily Internet Access Dance

[DKRITTER]

The Daily Internet Access Dance



So, here’s the question……… Is there a better way to do this?



Everyday I go thru this dance using various pieces of equipment to get internet access and it’s a grind.

Park WiFi

WiFi Camp Pro 2

SureCall Fusion2Go 3.0 RV Cell Phone Signal Booster

Verizon MiFi

Verizon 20GB plan with roll over



I’m self employed and most of my business is internet based and I use 100-150 GB a month. Thankfully most is land based usage. When traveling it’s Park wifi or Verizon data

The Camp Pro is connected to the park wifi but is always much, much slower than connecting directly so I only keep a couple of things hooked up to it like the garmin, Hopper2 and so on. Wife’s phone and tablet are also setup this way and when it’s not working she’ll just turn off wifi and use data.

I usually get up pretty early and connect directly to the park wifi and have a good connection until a little after 7am then it goes away with folks getting up. I switch to the V MiFi, it usually works great but we use this as little as possible to keep costs down. Then as the day goes on I’ll check the park wifi to see how it is. Late afternoon it’s always useless and then settles out midevening. I know the answer is get a huge data plan but that’s not cost effective in my opinion. I'll burn thru 20+ GB a week of data w/o park wifi.

We rarely use the cell phone booster, it’s counterproductive to the dual antenna MiFi.

So I switch back and forth from park wifi to V mifi. Like I said, is there a simpler, better way that isn’t cost prohibitive?



9:00 AM Speedtest

V MiFI Down 35

Park WiFi Down 12 (7:30 this morning no internet access)

Camp Pro Down 1.9

 

["EZ"]

Are you a member of the FMCA? We got a Verizon MiFi with unlimited data for $50/mo. It works great! Only downside is they throttle back the speed at 25G so you can't watch TV on it but for internet??? It does great! Even when throttled you can surf the net and do emails all day long. FMCA also has a deal with Sprint for a hot spot for $50/mo. I've been told by 2 different people on this forum that they don't throttle their back at all!! I may switch. Hope this helps!

 

[Neal]

I used to spend the first hour at the CG figuring out Internet just as you described. I may test CG wifi from my phone just to get a speed test but that's the extent of it before I go into my Pepwave to change anything. As you know I have a Pepwave BR1 MAX setup that combines WiFi and 2 x cellular sim slots so that everything in the coach connects to it, I just tell the Pepwave where to get the outside Internet (WAN) from. I'm fortunate to have the AT&T connected car setup and also a Verizon Prepaid unlimited which is slightly better than useless most of the time. Therefore 99% of the time I just use my cellular setup and both are in "Priority 1" slot so the Pepwave decides who's best. I'll do speed checks at times just to see who's better but my CG Internet arrival is minimal now and sanity is in the inverse.

Pepwave or Cradlepoint and any desired antennas has an upfront cost but in the end it's a great setup. I don't care for the Verizon MiFi units, battery swelling and their own sets of issues.

 

[VTPete]

I had similar experiences using MiFI units until i got a Pepwave router (Max Transit Cat18) combined with my ATT Nighthawk on the WAN port. So i can load balance and failover between 2 ATT SIMS and 1 x Verizon. My Poynting 7-1 antenna didn't hurt eithier. I think the key was ATT does not seem to throttle my data, and I believe it's because we're customers for over 10 years with 6 lines. That's my guess anyway. Verizon is unusable once i hit the 25GB or so cap... they just aren't as friendly. so i rely on my 2 x ATT and use Verizon where I need coverage. I probably used about 150GB /mon on ATT when traveling. It ain't cheap but having 2-3 data plans/SIMs for your travels are the table stakes I'd say.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

hey @DKRITTER , I understand keeping costs as low as I can. But there is a time that the cost/ frustration equation says Pay what it costs, and accept it as a cost of doing business. High speed service is worth the cost when it is how you make your living.

I look at the fuel bill as the electric bill. I look at cell service as communication bill... I know this is not an answer in what way to go. Just how I come to grips with some of the costs associated with being portable. All in all I am a happy camper by accepting the cost as a cost of freedom.

 

[MapNerd]

I agree with everyone else but I’d also add that there may be ways to alter your workflow to reduce data needs.

 

[DKRITTER]

I agree with everyone else but I’d also add that there may be ways to alter your workflow to reduce data needs.

I agree but, almost all is necessary to the best of my knowledge.

 

[DKRITTER]

It looks like I need to either bite the bullet or endure this further.

 

[DKRITTER]

Are you a member of the FMCA? We got a Verizon MiFi with unlimited data for $50/mo. It works great! Only downside is they throttle back the speed at 25G so you can't watch TV on it but for internet??? It does great! Even when throttled you can surf the net and do emails all day long. FMCA also has a deal with Sprint for a hot spot for $50/mo. I've been told by 2 different people on this forum that they don't throttle their back at all!! I may switch. Hope this helps!

I looked at the fine print this morning and being throttled to "200kbps up/down" after 25G is a deal breaker for me.

 

[DKRITTER]

Looking at Mobile Must Have website and this looks promising.