Things have stabilized in the Pepwave world...

[Neal]

When I started with my first Pepwave in 2018 things seemed to be changing I'd guess annually, for me at least! Changing Pepwave's or antennas, etc. I think it's been about 3 years with the BR1 Pro 5G now (and parsec husky antenna) and I still am as pleased as the day I got them. I think the CAT 20 modem (4x4 MIMO) and 5G have proven to be a stable combination. No need or desire to change them so it seems, to me, we're at a stable point in the cellular era with these devices and the Wi-Fi 6 (and later) is a great setup for our Internet needs.

 

[sheridany]

I keep asking myself why do I need Starlink when I have a perfectly good 5g cellular modem with AT&T and T mobile. I don’t have cellular modem antennas on the roof yet but it would be a lot cheaper to put the that antenna up on the roof for improved speed and connectivity and wait out the starlink option. I am confident I don’t need both.

 

[Neal]

Since 2018 I've NEVER been without Internet (all cellular). My last trip I did not active Starlink and I had no issues. I will only activate Starlink when needed. Now keep in mind, I have AT&T Mobley and Verizon's unlimited 65/mo plan so I have plans that support my use. If I did not have these then Starlink is the answer.

Will Starlink drive cellular companies to move to unlimited plans again? I don't know that their customer base is really affected, yet. But it may.

I still recommend having Starlink, it is good, it is worth having, just activate it when needed like I did with DISH. But it depends on where you RV and your use. If you are typically in sight of civilization, you're probably fine cellular only.

 

[Jim]

If you are typically in sight of civilization, you're probably fine cellular only.

lol, not in my world. . .

 

[Jim]

I keep asking myself why do I need Starlink when I have a perfectly good 5g cellular modem with AT&T and T mobile. I don’t have cellular modem antennas on the roof yet but it would be a lot cheaper to put the that antenna up on the roof for improved speed and connectivity and wait out the starlink option. I am confident I don’t need both.

As reliable cell service is something that I seldom seem to find, I don't know much about pricing. What does it cost to keep a cellular plan for both AT&T, T mobile, and/or Verizon?

 

[Neal]

I forgot to mention that obviously you need an array of carriers, at least two. I have AT&T and Verizon. You may have service on one and not the other. You can also manage this with spouses on different carriers etc. I also have plenty of bandwidth if I need to tether my phone.

With Starlink as long as you don’t have obstructions it should work.

 

[sheridany]

What does it cost to keep a cellular plan for both AT&T, T mobile, and/or Verizon?

Typically $50 per month per carrier with each allowing 100gb of “high speed” access per month. It slows down noticeably once you use 100 gb. I have AT&T and T mobile. I had Verizon but they cancelled my plan and said my 5g modem was no longer compatible on their network.

One other id like to mention @CaptainGizmo has experience and good results with the home WiFi device in his coach and says it works really well. All the carriers offer it. So far it doesn’t appear to be tracked geographically so you can move it accordingly. The price is right at $35/mo if you are an existing customer.

 

[Jim]

In my situation(s), I don't find reliable cell service through any one provider, and sometimes none of them provide enough to be a good source. But Starlink has never failed me, yet! The cost of Starlink is $150 a month, so it's comparable to having 2 carriers. And my cell phones/devices work wonderfully over Starlink. Actually, often much better than using cell signal.

Here at the park in Silver Springs, Verizon offers an unlimited plan for $75.00, but it doesn't work for anything except data. So I would still have to maintain my phones cell plan on top of the data plan. So yeah, at this juncture, Starlink seems to be running away with the program.

 

[Neal]

Typically $50 per month per carrier with each allowing 100gb of “high speed” access per month. It slows down noticeably once you use 100 gb. I have AT&T and T mobile. I had Verizon but they cancelled my plan and said my 5g modem was no longer compatible on their network.

One other id like to mention @CaptainGizmo has experience and good results with the home WiFi device in his coach and says it works really well. All the carriers offer it. So far it doesn’t appear to be tracked geographically so you can move it accordingly. The price is right at $35/mo if you are an existing customer.

That's uncharted territory for me so I'm all ears on how that works out.

 

[Joe Hogan]

New Starlink available in BigBox stores now.

 

[sheridany]

my worry with starlink is what will Elon do next. Raise prices to an unheard of price point. He’s unpredictable as we have seen how he reduced Twitter to a shell of its former self.


Last month, the Wall Street Journal dropped a bombshell investigation into SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk's alleged use of illegal drugs including cocaine and MDMA.
Now it's back with a doozy of a followup, including the explosive claim that people close to Musk became so concerned around the winter of 2022 that some of them asked the billionaire to go to rehab.

The newspaper's sources say that one close associate, Oracle cofounder and former Tesla board member Larry Ellison, even asked Musk to come to his Hawaiian island to "dry out from the drugs."

It's not clear from the WSJ's reporting whether Musk took any of those people up on the requests; his erratic behavior, if anything, has escalated since then. But the story is certain to be a headache for all his ventures, ranging from Tesla to the social network he renamed X from Twitter — and perhaps especially SpaceX, which is reliant on billions of dollars in contracts from the United States federal government, which strongly disapproves of illegal drugs.

 

[Jim]

which is reliant on billions of dollars in contracts from the United States federal government, which selectively strongly disapproves of illegal drugs.

You misspelled "selectively".

 

[Joe Hogan]

Considering moving the Balance 20X to the RV unless I get a Starlink Gen 3 router