Internet Help

[Oilslick]

Hey everyone!  My fiance and I are going to be purchasing our first RV next year and are planning a long exciting journey on the road.  We happened upon this forum and are learning more and more everyday and we wanted to say Thank You

Our challenge is that we are going to be working on the road.  For this we need constant internet everyday as I own a business in which everything is done online, 7 days a week unforatunately.  I have read different configurations people use and was wondering if anyone had any experience with this themselves?  Or any tips? 

We would like to get as remote as possible, however, we are limted to where we can get internet.  We can invest in a system that works so money is not as important as consistency.

Thoughts?

[sandsys]

59 minutes ago, Oilslick said:

Our challenge is that we are going to be working on the road.  For this we need constant internet everyday as I own a business in which everything is done online, 7 days a week Thoughts?

I recommend you check out https://www.rvmobileinternet.com. This couple lives in an RV (plus now a boat part time) and works online. Plus, they do amazing research into products then report on them. They've been doing it for years and they are very trustworthy. We regularly used several of their apps when we were on the road.

Linda Sand

[LindaH]

If you're planning on spending time in remote areas outside of cell service, you're only option for Internet access is satellite.  We used to use satellite Internet...the portable system on a tripod.  This was many years ago, so I don't know what the current situation is with satellite Internet for mobile use.  Hopefully, someone who is currently using it, can advise you.

[Bill Joyce]

http://www.mobileinternetsatellite.com/ to get portable satellite internet.  They train you on the newest Hughes satellites and are in Tucson Arizona.  http://www.hitchitch.com/links uses it for their internet.

[LFDR3116]

We have had internet many times that we did not have cell service.  There are separate coverage maps for these two things from any provider.  We were in the middle of nowhere in Alabama and had verizon internet, but cell phone did not work unless you drove a mile out to the main road.  This may not be true in all places, but in many it is.

[vermilye]

While satellite internet is about the only way to have 100% connectivity (even that generally requires a view of the south sky so you may have to be careful of your location), I travel all over the US, including rural areas, and carry a Verizon Jetpack & An AT&T Mobley.  Between the two, over the last 71 days, I have always had an internet connection.  I'm not saying you won't find some dead spots, but if you are using high volumes of data, satellite is going to cost you!

[LindaH]

Depends on how "out of the way" you are. 

Usually each year, we spend several days at the northern-most campground in Death Valley National Park.  There is NO cell service there...none, nada, zilch!  If fact, you have to drive quite a ways south before you get even one bar of 1X service.

We've also hit a few other areas in the West where there is no cell service.

[Al F]

In the western USA there are lots of places we get to that are way to far away from the nearest cell tower for any cell provider.  Also get behind a mountain or in a valley with the ridge line between you and the towers and oops there goes the cell signal. 

Like someone else replied, we to get to places where we can access a fairly slow, but usable internet though the jetpac, but can't use voice.  Text usually works though.

We also use an cell phone amplifier that sometimes takes us from 1X and one bar to a usable one or two bar 3G signal. 

[docj]

21 hours ago, LFDR3116 said:

We have had internet many times that we did not have cell service.  There are separate coverage maps for these two things from any provider.  We were in the middle of nowhere in Alabama and had verizon internet, but cell phone did not work unless you drove a mile out to the main road.  This may not be true in all places, but in many it is.

With all due respect it is very unusual to have cellular data service without having voice, also.  On older phones the voice signal was carried on the CDMA/3g band but most newer phones use VOiP and send the voice signal through the LTE system. It sounds as if you have (or had) a phone with a problem receiving CDMA voice.

[Second Chance]

55 minutes ago, docj said:

With all due respect it is very unusual to have cellular data service without having voice, also.  On older phones the voice signal was carried on the CDMA/3g band but most newer phones use VOiP and send the voice signal through the LTE system. It sounds as if you have (or had) a phone with a problem receiving CDMA voice.

It might be unusual, but we are in a situation right now where that is the case. We have 4G data (I'm using a laptop and our Verizon Mi-Fi to write this) and four signal bars, but no voice service and a message that states "Mobile network not available." This is with both a Droid Mini and a much newer Galaxy S6. According to the campground manager, the situation is the result of AT&T have just put in a new tower nearby and Verizon hasn't contracted to use it for voice, yet. 911 calls from any carrier's phones will go through, but we have to walk out to the road to pick up a weak signal from the next nearest Verizon tower. 

Rob

[Barbaraok]

Crescent Bar on the Columbia River.  Could get voice at the rest area up top (750 above the river).  Down at the river, no voice, but we could get data!

During Hurricane Katrina and Rita - voice went out, but texts got through

[RV_Fan44]

On 10/11/2017 at 11:44 PM, sandsys said:

I recommend you check out https://www.rvmobileinternet.com. This couple lives in an RV (plus now a boat part time) and works online. Plus, they do amazing research into products then report on them. They've been doing it for years and they are very trustworthy. We regularly used several of their apps when we were on the road.

Linda Sand

Thanks for this link, this is a great resource.

[sandsys]

3 hours ago, RV_Fan44 said:

Thanks for this link, this is a great resource.

You're welcome.

Linda

[docj]

On 10/14/2017 at 6:38 PM, Second Chance said:

It might be unusual, but we are in a situation right now where that is the case. We have 4G data (I'm using a laptop and our Verizon Mi-Fi to write this) and four signal bars, but no voice service and a message that states "Mobile network not available." This is with both a Droid Mini and a much newer Galaxy S6. According to the campground manager, the situation is the result of AT&T have just put in a new tower nearby and Verizon hasn't contracted to use it for voice, yet. 911 calls from any carrier's phones will go through, but we have to walk out to the road to pick up a weak signal from the next nearest Verizon tower. 

Rob

You might want to check to see if you have "Advanced Calling" activated on the S6.  It is capable of VoIP so it should be able to have a voice conversation on the 4G data network.  There should be no reason to have to use a separate tower for voice.

[trailertraveler]

On ‎10‎/‎11‎/‎2017 at 8:41 PM, Oilslick said:

...We would like to get as remote as possible, however, we are limted to where we can get internet.  We can invest in a system that works so money is not as important as consistency.

Thoughts?...

You do not necessarily have to be in remote boondocking areas to not have 4G or for that matter any cell service if you only have devices on one carrier. Last week we were in Cimarron, NM. Our Verizon devices showed a 60db signal but only 3G and 1X, no 4G. The car connect device in the truck which I believe is AT&T said it had a 4G LTE connection. At all of the state park campgrounds in Cimarron Canyon State Park, we had no cell service at all. We have experienced this in numerous places from West Virginia to Arizona and Utah. Often cell service is just around the bend or up the hill/mountain, but that does help if you really need a connection from the RV in your campsite.

How fast a connection you need may be another factor that may affect where you can stay. I am currently on a 4G connection from my Verizon phone tethered to a router with the computer connected to the router by Ethernet. The speed has been consistently around 2.3-2.5mbs. I have never seen the high speeds reported by some on this and other forums.

[Second Chance]

2 hours ago, docj said:

You might want to check to see if you have "Advanced Calling" activated on the S6.  It is capable of VoIP so it should be able to have a voice conversation on the 4G data network.  There should be no reason to have to use a separate tower for voice.

Yes - checked at the time and it was activated.

Rob

[Dutch_12078]

We have Google Voice and Phone Power VOIP apps on our Tracfone/Verizon phones that lets us use our AT&T Connected Car 4G/LTE hotspot plan for calls if there's no Verizon signal or we just want to save cell plan minutes.

[LFDR3116]

I should have specified that we were using Millenicom with a router, serviced by Verizon towers at the time we had data and no cell service in AL.  We have had the same situations using the Verizon jetpack - data service, no cell service with a phone.  We  now have the ATT Mobley and will see how that does.   We will reactivate our jetpack if needed.   

[docj]

9 hours ago, LFDR3116 said:

 

I should have specified that we were using Millenicom with a router, serviced by Verizon towers at the time we had data and no cell service in AL.

 

That probably explains your problem.  Millenicom was a Verizon "reseller" and many (most?) reseller agreements do not provide coverage in areas designated as "Verizon Extended".  In those locations Verizon's service is provided via other companies' towers and that coverage doesn't always flow through to the reseller's customers.

[rbertalotto]

I work out of my travel trailer and I've been from Massachusetts to Arizona and mostly on outback roads and boondock camping. Mountains of NM to AZ dessert.  I've never not had cell service.

I have three hotspots, Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile...one of the three ALWAYS works....I have a WeBoost cell booster and a 16' extension pole with a MiMo antenna or a long range YAGI, whatever works.

Using various apps to find cell tower locations, within ten minutes I'm up and running.

The AT&T Mobley SIM in a Netgear Unite Explore is $20 a month for 30g

The T-Mobile sim in another Unite Explore is $30 for 6g and unlimited DirecTV Now, Curiosity Strean,Netflicks and others

The Verizon is $70 a month for unlimited data

Not hard to be connected on the road, just takes some work sometimes.

 

[Dutch_12078]

Roy, you didn't get the $20/mo unlimited plan with your Mobley?

[rbertalotto]

On 10/17/2017 at 7:25 PM, Dutch_12078 said:

Roy, you didn't get the $20/mo unlimited plan with your Mobley?

Yes I did....moved the SIM to the Unite Explore

[Dutch_12078]

3 hours ago, rbertalotto said:

Yes I did....moved the SIM to the Unite Explore

That's the same thing I did, but my unlimited Connected Car data plan came along with it. I was curious that you mentioned only "30g" with your $20 plan.

[rbertalotto]

Actually, I think I misspoke. Isn’t the Mobley plan 22g and then possible throttled. Although I’ve used well over that without any degradation of service.

[Bill Joyce]

Throttling is very different than deprioritization.   With deprioritization, you might have occasional slowdowns, with throttling you will slow down a lot until the next billing cycle..  I know someone who has used 300GB in a month with a Mobley and really did not notice much slowing down.