WiFi at the campground!

[trooperrat]

Finally made some progress on the WiFi (Internet) issue. As expected, the pricing is based on the plan, with the lowest plan being $600 a month, and provides 50mb up/down of speed. From what I'm told, this is adequate to stream 1080 video and normal Internet browsing for a campground the size of mine. But when you start to stream 4K movies, it's woefully inadequate.

The next plan up, which would support a campground of 4K streamers, is about $1,000 a month. So my question today is, how many of you stream 4K videos when you are camping?

This is an old post, but I'm replying anyway. I was facing over 7 grand for the local wired internet company to bring the overhead wiring into the campground. That didn't cover anything else about the setup IN the campground. I tried Starlink but they aren't available in my area yet. I looked up everything else and then tried a Verizon cube for business. It worked great but the price was ridiculous with cap limits and going over those limits - well that started to add up quickly . Then I saw the T Mobile ads for $50 unlimited data on a box that can handle up to 66 devices without slowing it down. I did that 2 months ago and have never been happier.

 

[Ranger Nick]

I recently installed Starlink at my campground and it has been great so far. We have approximately 50 campsites total so we are a small/medium size facility. I am on the "non-prioritized" plan but still get good upload & download speeds during peak times (7am~11pm). I have each log-on bandwidth limited to help preserve the systems bandwidth so all users can enjoy a connection. Although there is a "data cap" at 1TB, it does not effect me since I am non-prioritized in the first place.

Campers can stream Netflix and all the other providers at lower resolutions, and I have not had any complaints. Last month the campground went through 2.1TB's of data, so the campers are definitely using the internet.

 

[Ranger Nick]

Before Starlink, we had DSL which worked but was barely acceptable. For the campground office/owner residence it was OK. For the actual campground, for it (DSL) to be classified as "WiFi", I had to block all video streaming and even then a homing pigeon would have been faster. Campers here will jump off their data plan (if they have one) and onto anything labeled WiFi if it is FREE, even if it is slower than a turtle with three broken legs.

I have two Starlink systems, one for the main campground and one for the campground office/owner residence.

I never considered Hughes or Viasat due to their cost and low data caps. Tried Blazing Hog, which was a joke. Pigs would have flown faster...

The only other option was DSL. If anything, it was consistent > 10MB download and no data caps at all. Upload was pathetic at 900kBS, but again, it was consistent no matter what type of weather we had.

We are 1 mile down a dead end road and Spectrum runs along the main road but will not come down our road. I talked to Spectrum and they said they planned to expand but I'm not holding my breath. They called me back and proposed an offer to connect only the campground to their fiber... $150k. I said no thanks.

Starlink has been awesome and it is worth $300 a month for two systems.

 

[Jim]

I have each log-on bandwidth limited to help preserve the systems bandwidth so all users can enjoy a connection.

I have several "profiles" that I use to moderate usage. Curious as to what you are limiting bandwidth to?

 

[Ranger Nick]

I have several "profiles" that I use to moderate usage. Curious as to what you are limiting bandwidth to?

I ran several tests streaming video while setting up my MESH system on the campground and determined that 1.5MB download was sufficient to stream. Upload is unlimited which is nominally 5MB~15MB for Starlink in this area. Usually upload is 10MB.

I know 1.5MB seems very restricted, but it is working and no one has complained. I also have the main WiFi "open" so there is no password issues, which always seemed to be a problem with Apple devices sometimes. I have an alternate network that has a password for the camp host and it is unlimited up and down.

 

[Jim]

I know 1.5MB seems very restricted, but it is working and no one has complained.

Perhaps to those with lots of bandwidth, but I've got mine set at 2mbps and it's working well. Originally I set it at 5, and even 10. But those settings ended up using 20-25 GB in some cases. Set down to 2mbps and the same RV started using 10-15GB with no complaints coming from the occupants.

We only get 2TB of (Priority) data per month (Business plan) for $500 a month, so it's important for me to monitor the parks data usage carefully. If I have a lot of data left when we get close to the end of the billing period, I open up my default profile to 5 mbps, and sometimes more.

I'd rather my guests use it than to give it back to Starlink.

 

[Fueco]

You have a land line right ? 300 baud dial up modem should do just fine

I can hear this post.

 

[Ranger Nick]

Perhaps to those with lots of bandwidth, but I've got mine set at 2mbps and it's working well. Originally I set it at 5, and even 10. But those settings ended up using 20-25 GB in some cases. Set down to 2mbps and the same RV started using 10-15GB with no complaints coming from the occupants.

We only get 2TB of (Priority) data per month (Business plan) for $500 a month, so it's important for me to monitor the parks data usage carefully. If I have a lot of data left when we get close to the end of the billing period, I open up my default profile to 5 mbps, and sometimes more.

I'd rather my guests use it than to give it back to Starlink.

It seems we both have come to the same conclusion about the bandwidth needed by the campers. I was surprised by the speeds available not being on a priority plan. The speed does change throughout the day, but it (the speed) has never been so low that it did not satisfy the needs of the campground especially since we are limiting the user bandwidth. To save money, maybe consider non-priority service since you have a small number of guests at any given time.

 

[Jim]

It seems we both have come to the same conclusion about the bandwidth needed by the campers. I was surprised by the speeds available not being on a priority plan. The speed does change throughout the day, but it (the speed) has never been so low that it did not satisfy the needs of the campground especially since we are limiting the user bandwidth. To save money, maybe consider non-priority service since you have a small number of guests at any given time.

We have a free Internet option which allows them to browse FB, Pinterest, check emails, make wifi calls, etc. For those who need to stream movies, we have a paid version that allows all the above, and streaming ability as well.

As we have limited "priority" data, we charge $5.00 a day for the streaming version, which helps offset the extra we end up being billed by Starlink. It just about averages out, and everyone gets what they need.