Internet Service

[Dave&Ginny]

Has anyone tried "Hughs Net" or some other type of satellite internet service? We currently use an "air card" from Verizon and I'd like to find something more reliable.

I was talking with a company last summer that I can't seem to find now that sold "Motostatt" antennas but they were 5K. I've been told they're out of business now.

[Tobys Home]

Dave you're right. Version has hammered my business for years. Weak service and mucho $$$$. We use a hotspot for multiple devices on the road and it's costly. At home we just use the high speed internet and much cheaper. Hope someone comes up with a good reliable mobil alternative.

[Tobys Home]

That would be Verizon

[Beechguyjim]

I have a iPhone 5 with unlimited data on Att that's jail broke and I can use my laptop thru it or use my ipad 3 on Verizon as a hot spot it works better than my Verizon card ever did that way I'm covered almost anywhere and at around $250 a month it's cheap

[par]

Internet access is a 'must' for me since I will be working on the road. I have looked at various alternatives in terms of speed, reliability and most importantcost. The best alternative for me is a smartphone with dataplan. For $60 a month I get unlimited airtime, unlimited long distance, unlimited messagingand1 GB of data,albeit only in Canada, but that works for me. Extra data is charged at $10 for each extraGB. I can communicate with my clients for about $70 to $80 a month. Compared to land lines and wired internet I consider that to be pretty reasonable. The huge disadvantage with respect to satellite is that I must be within earshot of a cell tower. I did purchase a cell phone signal amplifier to try and deal with weak signals.

[COLJDM]

I use verizon "hotspot". $50 per month for 5GB data. Have traveled all over the country and have received good service.

[0nTheRoad]

I haventpurchased it yet, but plan to use the Millenicom 3G/4G Hotspothttps://members.millenicom.com/members/order.php?step=1&productGroup=23&product=1 15

You purchase the MiFi Hotspot device for $99.99 and the monthly service fee is $69.99 for 20G. There is no contract and you can cancel whenever you choose to do so.

[Bill Wright]

We also use the verizon MIFI 5gb for 50.00 prior to that we used a t-mobile data card and then a verizon data card. I would certainly say that Verizon covers more of the country than any other mobile carrier/per square mile, and the cost is affordable.

Bill

[TNTBaker]

Bumping this again, since its been a while... Anyone have anything good going on with internet access these days? I mean, is anyone actually content with their solution? This is a tough one. Thanks.

[Blue Dogs]

Originally Posted by TNTBaker

Bumping this again, since its been a while... Anyone have anything good going on with internet access these days? I mean, is anyone actually content with their solution? This is a tough one. Thanks.

Which cell service do you have? What we do (works very well for us) is buy a data plan on our cell service and set our phone up to be a hot spot. You can then run laptops, tablets or anything else through the phone as a wifi connection using the data of yourvcell plan. We use it a lot with very good results. We have AT&T.

[Dave&Ginny]

I just got back from a long over due trip and again we had almost no internet with out Verizon hot spot or our I-phones.

Verizon just came out with a antenna that mounts to the top of a brick and stick home that's supposed to increase the signal. Not sure if it's going to work or be all fluff. I have negotiated a deal with them where they'd install it on the Redwood if I go that route.

[almcc]

Hi Dave:

In answer to your question on Hughes, we use them with a tripod set up. The advantage is that we get on-line everywhere (except when we are in the trees and can't get a clear shot to the satellite!), the disadvantages are the daily download limits (for our plan 425 MB, but they do have an unlimited time period overnight) and relative slowness compared to 3G or 4G cell service. Our plan is just under $70 per month.

I've been playing with tethering on my new smartphone for use next winter in the US, here in Canada the cell service is non existent if you get off the beaten track outside populated areas so I still have the sat internet. Our sat internet provider will let us suspend our service, I may try that next winter when we are in the US.

[0nTheRoad]

We use Millenicom, have for over a year. Their plan uses the Verizon 4G/LTE/3G network [same as Verizon's data plans] with 20G per month, the cost is increasing on May 1 from $69 to $89 but it's still MUCH less than Verizon's plans. You do need to purchase a MiFi hotspot with the plan, it cost $100 and a one time setup fee of $50.

It's cellular so it does have it's limitations but it's the best deal I've found.

[hoosierguy]

Originally Posted by TNTBaker

Bumping this again, since its been a while... Anyone have anything good going on with internet access these days? I mean, is anyone actually content with their solution? This is a tough one. Thanks.

We use a Verizon Jetpack which has given us good service from Colorado to Florida to the U.P. of Michigan. We also use it as a wireless router between our laptop and printer. We have always been able to access the internet.

[rcflame]

We also use the Verizon mifi. Have had good luck with it. One nice thing about it is I can slip it in my shirt pocket, take it with me, and use the tablet anywhere I want and it is secure over the public hotspots.

[Dave&Ginny]

Originally Posted by almcc

Hi Dave:

In answer to your question on Hughes, we use them with a tripod set up. The advantage is that we get on-line everywhere (except when we are in the trees and can't get a clear shot to the satellite!), the disadvantages are the daily download limits (for our plan 425 MB, but they do have an unlimited time period overnight) and relative slowness compared to 3G or 4G cell service. Our plan is just under $70 per month.

I've been playing with tethering on my new smartphone for use next winter in the US, here in Canada the cell service is non existent if you get off the beaten track outside populated areas so I still have the sat internet. Our sat internet provider will let us suspend our service, I may try that next winter when we are in the US.

Thanks....I'll have to look into it but the slow speed doesn't excite me

[Adamsvr]

Originally Posted by Dave&Ginny

Thanks....I'll have to look into it but the slow speed doesn't excite me

I would recommend you stay away from any saellite based internet. There is considerable lag time for the signal to go up to the satellite orbiting at 22,500 miles and then back down to you. The lag time, speed, amount of bandwith, and cost are not compatible to terrestrial based systems.

[almcc]

Originally Posted by Adamsvr

I would recommend you stay away from any saellite based internet. There is considerable lag time for the signal to go up to the satellite orbiting at 22,500 miles and then back down to you. The lag time, speed, amount of bandwith, and cost are not compatible to terrestrial based systems.

Yes, you are correct, the lag time (better than one second) gives some applications difficulties and prevents stuff like VOIP from running and if you steam videos it's a non-starter unless you stream and record overnight. However, if you take that 425 daily MB allowance and calculate the monthly allowance it doesn't start to look too bad. For what we use it for (E-mail, banking and browsing) it works well

As indicated, it's great to have when you are beyond the range of cell service (we used it throughout Alaska and the northern Canadian territories) and better still it gets us by the frustration of wifi in RV parks that generally never work well.

A number of folks in north America that are beyond cable, DSL and cell coverage areas are using it

[5th_Time]

It's surprising how lame campgrounds are about their Wi-Fi offerings. It seems like most made an initial investment solely for the advertising value, but have never actually checked that their Access Points cover their entire campground, or can handle the number of connections required. Remember, if you arrive with your multiple smartphones, tablets and laptops, you might take up 10 connections on the Access Point yourself. I'm sure that many campground owners fear that guests will be streaming movies and absorb all the bandwidth (the more capacity I add, the more they will use), but internet access is hardly optional these days.

I'm all for getting away from it all - and leaving my office behind. In fact, we just got home from Myrtle Beach after staying for a week at a major campground there. They had multiple networks and multiple access points. None of them could hold a signal for more that a minute or two - and Verizon was surprisingly weak near the shore. If you have ever been there, you know that this isn't exactly the "boonies".

Even now, years after starting to offer access, if you unexpectedly need an internet connection to remotely access your office or research a medical condition, get directions, or make a reservation somewhere, most of the time you're in for a long, exasperating experience - if you can log-in at all.

When checking in at any campground, I generally ignore the "Free Wi-Fi" sign and look down at my Verizon phone. If it has 3 stars or less, I know it's going to be a rough week.

[Dan]

We use Millenicom also and are very happy with the performace