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FMCA Verizon Group Program


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I'm not going to repeat what is available on many forums already. (IRV2's Forum under the Technology segment, has a thread going on this. As well as fellow Escapees RVMOBILEINTERNET (Technomadia), and of course the FMCA Forum too:)!

But for those of you who may not read too many other forums, here is some info:

FMCA/Verizon program includes a Novatel 7730L MiFi (A very current generation, with some future proofing features available for when Verizon rolls out updates to towers with newer technology.) device; 25GB (Vs 22GB for other Verizon UDP) before the potential of network de-prioritization, on towers that need that kind of management; No contract and not start up costs; Cancel, even after one month, and keep the 7730L device; Full network coverage; All of under $44 a month. 

IMO, this is a solid plan, with a good device. And may work well for someone who wants another Data source tool in their Connectivity Toolbox.

Worth taking a look at, and for sure OK if not needed:)!

Best to all,

Smitty

Be safe, have fun,

Smitty

04 CC Allure "RooII" - Our "E" ride for life!

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If you are not a FMCA member add $60 for the first year membership and with the Verizon plan total cost will be $48.99 a month.

Drops down the second year to $48.15 a month. :)

So far the AT&T Mobley is the best deal if it last.

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Biker56 - Concur that ATT Mobley is economically a better deal:)!

But only better - when and where ATT has coverage:)!

And the two of these combined, are still less then say the Verizon GF UDP plans cost per month. And they really increase the chances of obtaining a useable Download speed at a location. And again, the Verizon Novatel 7730L is a much more modern and advanced MiFi then the ZTE Mobley. With MIMO capability, even without additional antennas, it is capable of yielding dramatically faster Down/Up Load speeds. 

I do feel that it is an attractive price point, good device, and for many might make a good addition to their Data Communication arsenal. 

And note, I have on ATT their Unite Explore MiFi (MIMO) and it hands downs beats the ZTE Mobley we have too, on download speeds. But the Unite Explore is on a 20GB shared data plan. So in areas where the ZTE Mobley has a solid connection and adequate Mbps speeds I use it. 

On this trip thru Colorado over the last two months or so now. I've found that ATT has had better coverage then our Go To Verizon GF UDP via Samsung S6 on Hotspot - in all but two locations. Have had to use the Unite Explore (With roof top MIMO antenna feed.) in some of those locations, as the ZTE Mobley was not able to pull in useable Download speeds. 

And no worries. I shared it here as I had not seen it mentioned of RVNETWORK, and thought it was something that might be of interest to those that might be looking for a new data source. And 10-4 on the FMCA costs. But like my wife and I, many Escapees are FMCA members too:)! And I do agree that for those researching new gear, checking ATT Mobley is a solid and low cost move... 

Best to you, and all,

Smitty

 

 

Be safe, have fun,

Smitty

04 CC Allure "RooII" - Our "E" ride for life!

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From the FMCA Facebook page:

"FMCA recently sent out notifications to a limited group of members as part of a “soft launch” or “beta test” of a wireless data plan from Verizon. FMCA had plans to share this information with the entire membership after this test period. Online news outlets heard about the plan and released information before FMCA was ready to make the announcement to all members. Response during this test period has been overwhelming, and we have had to suspend entries to the program. Rest assured that once we are ready to release information about the benefit, all members will be given the opportunity to evaluate the program and enroll if they believe it will meet their needs. Stay tuned for additional information."

https://www.facebook.com/fmcafans

Dutch
2001 GBM Landau 34' Class A
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Dutch thanks for updating this here. I actually pushed away from the laptop long enough to  do some hiking and campground socializing yesterday afternoon and evening... 

I hope they can work out the kinks on this, as I maintain it's a good value:)!

Smitty

 

Be safe, have fun,

Smitty

04 CC Allure "RooII" - Our "E" ride for life!

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I agree, Smitty, it is a good deal. Our AT&T Mobley is getting the job done for us so far, but this would make a good alternative if the need arose.

Dutch
2001 GBM Landau 34' Class A
F-53 Chassis, Triton V10, TST TPMS
2011 Toyota RAV4 4WD/Remco pump
ReadyBrute Elite tow bar/brake system

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This plan is basically on "hold" as noted above. There is a lot of questions as to its long term viability. Meaning Verizon may kill it like they did with Omnilynk. This is a little different and they claim to have done their homework. I'm signed up in the first batch....we will see how long it lasts.

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28 minutes ago, Jack Mayer said:

,,,I'm signed up in the first batch...

I looked at the FMCA membership site and it appeared to still require that members own a motorhome. I know they opened up at least some of their events to trailer owners, have they now opened up the membership, or do they consider the HDT a motorhome if it is registered as an RV?

The one that dies with the most toys is still dead!

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The nice part about the plan as I understand it is the hot spot is yours to keep and there is no contract.  I can't see a downside to grabbing this and using it as long as it lasts.  If a year from now Verizon kills it, you still have a nice hot spot.  I think FMCA even points that out in their announcement.

And I'm honestly surprised it took a major RV group this long to work out a deal with a major carrier for a more RV/full time friendly data plan.  I wonder how long it will take Good Sam, Escapees, etc. to hammer out their own deals.  This time next year, we might have several option like this and maybe better options.

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Question? How soon will the Escapees "management team" have an offer for the members?

 

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Don't expect anything from Good Sam unless Lemonis can figure out a way to make a good profit and/or collect valuable data from it...

Dutch
2001 GBM Landau 34' Class A
F-53 Chassis, Triton V10, TST TPMS
2011 Toyota RAV4 4WD/Remco pump
ReadyBrute Elite tow bar/brake system

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Millenicom was good while it lasted....

Omni-Lynk was around for a while....

FMCA did not answer my email a while back when I asked them if they allowed pull trailers into their 'group'. At that time I was interested because of a thread about the deal on tires.

Anyone on here who has a pull trailer and has joined FMCA?

 

 

 

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FMCA is supposed to this year, vote on if they will extend membership to all RV'er's. One school of thought is to open an affiliated club for other units, due to the Family 'Motor Coach' Association's name. They would be full members as I understand it, and the combined collective of numbers does help on business dealings such as this one. But they'd have another name associated to this grouping. 

So it looks like things maybe changing from an FMCA perspective. (And with the increase in not just Fiver's, but also a whole new group that was not even around decades ago - the combo live/toy hauler group is an ever growing population - it makes since for them to adapt to new demographics of RV ownership:)!)

$.02:)! Best to all,

Smitty

 

Be safe, have fun,

Smitty

04 CC Allure "RooII" - Our "E" ride for life!

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This was posted on the FMCA website this afternoon:

ERIZON WIRELESS PLAN UPDATE
06/19/2017 3:48pm EST
As you may have heard, FMCA had been working with Verizon to offer a special rate on an unlimited wireless data plan. After the “soft launch” of this plan to a test group of FMCA members (before the planned launch to all members), Verizon called FMCA and told us to pull the offering. Verizon officials indicated that they will not be honoring any of the orders that had been entered during this test period. We are still working to see whether FMCA and Verizon can put together an advantageous plan for FMCA members, but at this point we are not certain what will result from discussions with Verizon officials.

Oh, well, it sounded too good to be true, and it was.  If FMCA had required proof of MH ownership this could have been a real benefit but failure to anticipate real-world situations resulted in this.

Sandie & Joel

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Just to confirm what Docj reported, I just received email from FMCA saying Verizon cancelled the plan and therefore my order was cancelled.   

Glad I still have my AT&T ZTE Mobely plan and have not changed my Verizon plan.

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FMCA no doubt sold Verizon on the fact that some fraction of its <100,000 members would be interested in this plan.  But when it was announced to the world FMCA didn't seem to realize that many people would find it attractive even if they had to pay $60/yr for FMCA membership on top of the monthly fee.  Furthermore, FMCA had no process in effect to verify that the people who were buying memberships actually owned motorhomes.

As a result, FMCA had, essentially, offered this plan to anyone who wanted it.  All of a sudden Verizon was confronted with a reseller, FMCA, offering a plan to anyone who wanted it that substantially underpriced Verizon's regular offerings.  Therefore, it's no surprise that Verizon pulled the plug.

What makes this rather sad is that, according to Technomadia, this deal has been in the works for many months.  The cellular carriers seem to be coming to the realization that there are some customers whose only broadband access is via cellular.  This Verizon plan would have been a good complement to AT&T's rural Homebase and maybe there are other similar plans out there also.  Now, the many months of work that it took to get this plan to the market have been wasted and who knows if Verizon will try again.  All because FMCA isn't competent to do much of anything.  JMO

Sandie & Joel

2000 40' Beaver Patriot Thunder Princeton--425 HP/1550 ft-lbs CAT C-12
2014 Honda CR-V AWD EX-L with ReadyBrute tow bar/brake system
WiFiRanger Ambassador
Follow our adventures on Facebook at Weiss Travels

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I'm sorry to see the plan pulled. If Verizon and FMCA had signed a contract, which I believe they must have before Verizon would have allowed the 'soft rollout (NOT!)' to proceed - then disappointed that Verizon would pull out of this so quickly. (Yes, I'm sure the contracts had wording tallow them to cancel or change the pricing.). 

And yes FMCA has an opportunity to learn from this. Especially on keeping it quiet it until it's a done deal. And then also having processes to handle the new program or offer, whatever it might be. 

I do still salute FMCA for trying, as it was going to be a good benefit for their members. (And who else from the RV'ing community had tried to do something like this?)

I hope Verizon realizes the bad PR will just add to those that are ready and willing to jump to other providers of Data (And this was all about Data, not voice or even text.) that are planning to be rolling out over the next 5 to 10 years. I posted on IRV2 about Western Union (Telegraph), which technology wise was the king of long distance communication for years... Technology evolving has away of changing the playing field. And Verizon as well as ATT are good examples of companies that do not really seem to value their customers... 

Oh well. Though I have not receive my email of cancelation - I'm thinking this ship has sailed. Keeping my eyes out for a another fine schooner to jump onto:)!

Best to all,

Smitty

 

Be safe, have fun,

Smitty

04 CC Allure "RooII" - Our "E" ride for life!

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I don't really blame Verizon in this.  They entered this with the idea of helping a small segment of society with special internet needs.  Then, when word got out about the plan, everybody and his brother is all of a sudden joining FMCA to take advantage of the offer whether they had a motorhome or even did RV'ing.

I liken this to the other plan rolled out by the school district in Alabama.  Verizon was trying to help out the students and parents of the district, who didn't have good alternatives for internet access.  Then, the school decides to capitalize on the plan and make some money by selling it to anyone who signed up.

JMO

 

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It's interesting to compare and contrast the responses of Verizon vs. AT&T when they had a low cost plan explode larger than the size they anticipated.

Verizon slams the door and shuts down the offending plan, they've done this several times as noted above to Milennicom, the school district and now FMCA.

AT&T, on the other hand seems to just go with the flow. They're now on at least the third re-order of the Mobley devices and they seem to be sucking themup as fast as ZTE can get them out the door.

And they're still gladly signing up folks at the $20 a month rate, which was originally supposed to be a limited time promotion.

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Lou, the announced expiration for the $20 Mobley plan was July 17th as I recall. Whether that's still the plan or not is something we'll have to wait and see. I do agree though, that AT&T has handled the Mobley unlimited plan demand much better than Verizon handled the FMCA plan, and the Omnilynx plan before it.

Dutch
2001 GBM Landau 34' Class A
F-53 Chassis, Triton V10, TST TPMS
2011 Toyota RAV4 4WD/Remco pump
ReadyBrute Elite tow bar/brake system

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AT&T reps have said yes, we will be grandfathered in to the unlimited plan. Although I suppose the usual "Prices subject to change." could apply. I think the fact that they're offering the Mobley plan with a 2-year contract bodes well for us, that they won't be dropping it completely anytime soon.

Dutch
2001 GBM Landau 34' Class A
F-53 Chassis, Triton V10, TST TPMS
2011 Toyota RAV4 4WD/Remco pump
ReadyBrute Elite tow bar/brake system

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