sydbette Posted July 17, 2016 Report Share Posted July 17, 2016 I have been off the road for the last eight years. My circumstances have changed and I will be going full time again. I am 79 years young. I do not text and just got my first unlocked smart phone (Moto G4) yesterday. I also have an IPad and a IPad mini as well as Chromecast and Windows 10 mini computers. I have high speed internet with Comcast. I do not watch very much TV. I do watch a lot of YouTube and Netflix and Hulu. Not sure how many Gigs I will need. I have a Trac phone that I use for calls. I can buy a hot spot or use the new phone as a hot spot. Any suggestions on what plan I should get? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigTexRex Posted July 17, 2016 Report Share Posted July 17, 2016 Not sure if there is an affordable plan for the streaming you do. Streaming video will gobble up your data very fast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GR "Scott" Cundiff Posted July 17, 2016 Report Share Posted July 17, 2016 I agree with BigTexRex - you'll use a lot of data streaming videos. Netflix says streaming uses 1 gigabyte an hour if you use standard resolution and 3 gigabytes an hour using HD. At 3GB an hour you will burn through most monthly data plans in one evening! We use satellite for TV and use our data for lots of web surfing, etc. and end up using data in the 20's GB range. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpaceNorman Posted July 17, 2016 Report Share Posted July 17, 2016 We use satellite for TV and use our data for lots of web surfing, etc. and end up using data in the 20's GB range. Same here ... between data I burn for work, data used by the three cell phones on our plan along with our personal browsing via our laptops - we've found we can burn thru as much as 40GB in a month if we're not careful. ...and that's without streaming any audio and/or major video. (There are undoubtedly short video clips included in the cell phone and personal browsing ... so "major video" means feature length movies, etc.). An "unlimited" data plan would be nice - but few of the carriers offering "unlimited" plans have the coverage that we need. So, like many others who are on the road - we're Verizon customers - specifically because of the coverage their network provides. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Joyce Posted July 17, 2016 Report Share Posted July 17, 2016 T-Mobile does not have the coverage of Verizon and AT&T, but it does have unlimited streaming at 480p they call "Binge On". 480p is about DVD resolution and looks good enough when you are older. You might be able to "cast" the screen from your Moto G4 to your TV, but that is a whole other topic and specific to your phone and TV combination. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigTexRex Posted July 18, 2016 Report Share Posted July 18, 2016 With limited streaming, Redbox is your friend for movies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Technomadia Posted July 19, 2016 Report Share Posted July 19, 2016 As others have said, streaming video via Netflix, Hulu and YouTube are some of the most data intensive activities you can do on the internet. On most mainstream cellular data plans, you'll be spending a lot of money. Here are the two easiest options: T-Mobile does have unlimited video streaming (lower resolution, and you can't use it with your Chromecast) on their postpaid plans. Sprint has an unlimited smartphone plan that you could use to stream onto your phone with. Other than that, you're looking at reseller and grandfathered unlimited plans to get that kind of bandwidth affordably. A Verizon unlimited data plan is a great way to go, and has the largest nationwide network (great for us RVers). There are rental options, and ways to acquire an older grandfathered plan. Here's our listing of the unlimited data plan options we know of on all of the carriers, and the 'gotchas' of each: http://www.rvmobileinternet.com/unlimited For ideas on TV & movie viewing entertainment on the road, here's our article on the topic: TV & Movie Viewing Options for RVers - Cherie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zulu Posted July 25, 2016 Report Share Posted July 25, 2016 Here's our listing of the unlimited data plan options we know of on all of the carriers, and the 'gotchas' of each: http://www.rvmobileinternet.com/unlimited Your Verizon info needs to be updated. In your blog you say . . . And large data caps are ridiculously expensive (such as 50GB on Verizon for $350+ per month!) Verizon's 50GB plan is now $225 per month. Still expensive, but a lot less than $350+. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildmandmc Posted July 28, 2016 Report Share Posted July 28, 2016 Depending on your location look into metro pcs. an hot spot the phone. the have unlimited. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sydbette Posted August 18, 2016 Author Report Share Posted August 18, 2016 Took Technomadia's advice and got a Sprint unlimited with Imact-wireless. Had to show (create) a business. Also had to take an additional plan for moto g4. That plan is unlimited talk & text with 1 gig. Not a great deal but combined with my hot spot plan it's worth it. Each plan is forty plus dollars for a combined bill of 80 plus dollars a month. Don't know exact figure yet. Will update after first bill. Hot spot (Pocket Wifi) is better then I expected. Trying to find a signal booster for future use but nobody seems to make one that covers the 2500 MHz band. I'm not hitting the road till mid October. The hot spot is so good I'm canceling my Comcast high speed internet as of today. Thank you all for your advise. Syd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Signal Posted August 18, 2016 Report Share Posted August 18, 2016 Took Technomadia's advice and got a Sprint unlimited with Imact-wireless. Had to show (create) a business. Also had to take an additional plan for moto g4. That plan is unlimited talk & text with 1 gig. Not a great deal but combined with my hot spot plan it's worth it. Each plan is forty plus dollars for a combined bill of 80 plus dollars a month. Don't know exact figure yet. Will update after first bill. Hot spot (Pocket Wifi) is better then I expected. Trying to find a signal booster for future use but nobody seems to make one that covers the 2500 MHz band. I'm not hitting the road till mid October. The hot spot is so good I'm canceling my Comcast high speed internet as of today. Thank you all for your advise. Syd Currently you are not allowed to build an amplifier for 2500 mhz or 800 mhz. The government uses those frequencies and wants no interference or bad amplifiers on them . We applied for a waiver over a year ago and are still waiting . The government moves slow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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