Mobile Internet Access

[Peto]

Hello, what's everyone using to be able to stream movies for the girlfriend while boondocking. Not interested in a full blown star link set up but just a small router and a month to month plan that can be turned off and on as needed.

Laugh and tell me it's a pipe dream but looking for info as available. This is my first step in researching. My cell provider wants 60/month for a plan add... not happening.

Any advice is appreciated.

 

[Lee-KEY]

Hi,
You mentioned that you are not interested in Starlink but, .... you state ..."a month to month plan that can be turned off and on as needed." That is exactly what the Starlink "Roam" plan is.

We boondock 99% of the time in places with no cell reception. A few months ago we purchased the Starlink mini and the month-to-month roam plan. We are VERY happy with it. While boondocking, you will have to either run a small generator (we have a Honda 1kw) or run the unit off your batteries... which will need to be re-charged.

If you have cell service, you could hot-spot your phone and stream.

 

[JRTJH]

We just went through the northern Michigan ice storm where we lost all power for 16 days and internet (overhead distribution lines) for 42 days. During that time, we had practically no infrastructure other than natural gas. Fortunately we do have a standby generator so we could power the house for heat and water.

We use an old (Did I mention ANCIENT) Verizon MiFi for the trailer. Cost on our "phone plan" is $20 monthly for 50 GB of download monthly. I pulled out the MiFi and we were able to stay connected to the internet, although nothing even close to fiberoptic speeds. We were able to do limited streaming ON OCCASION and pay our bills, shopping on Amazon and connect to Facebook/forums to stay connected to family and friends.

While not an option for everyone, if you have a ATT, Verizon, Sprint or other carrier phone plan, you might consider checking with them to see if they have a similar program for internet service. Realize though, that not all "remote campgrounds" have adequate cell service that will support streaming. In those situations, Starlink may be the only "logical choice for fast internet" even though it doesn't meet your "cheap to buy" standard.

 

[jxnbbl]

Due to info in this forum, we switched from Verizon cell to Visible (owned by Verizon). We just returned from a 5 week trip from NH to Florida (Disney) stopping at Harvest Hosts and campgrounds. We exclusively used one cell phone tethered to our Winegard Osprey setup for TV streaming and work. Occasionally I would hotspot to my cell directly if the connection would be slow for my wife as I worked.

It certainly is slower than at home and with satellite but seems to work fine. You just have to know that when you hit 'skip 30 seconds' on some recorded program it might take 3-4 seconds for it to actually happen!

I should mention that we use DirecTV streaming at home and the programming remains the same when we travel.

 

[NH_Bulldog]

We travel a lot in the summer when our daughter is out of school and I need to stay connected for work. For the most part, my Verizon MiFi (provided by my business) does okay, but I have to be mindful of running up the data or else the bean counters get testy with me. My wife and I both have existing AT&T iPhones with unlimited talk, text and data, as well as 50GB mobile hotspot on each phone and that typically gives us everything we need, but we are limited in rural and/or mountainous areas with limited cell coverage.

On our most recent long trip a couple of weeks ago, while at an RV park in Virginia I got to talking with a couple from Texas because they had a Starlink Mini clamped to the top of their roof ladder. They have the 50GB Roam plan ($50/mo) with automatic add-on GB ala carte if they exceed that limit. They said that they spend months on the road each year and do stream a lot of TV and work on the road, but have only exceeded their 50 GB plan cap once. You can pause/restart the service as needed. I like the mini because it is self-contained, you don't need a separate router and it only requires a simple power cord to be plugged into an outside outlet (no wires to run inside the camper). While there are limitations like upfront cost and needing a clear view of the sky (tree cover degrades performance), it is something that I am seriously considering as an option for when we get out on the road for the summer. Through my business, I can get a Starlink Mini for $350 upfront plus $50/mo. for service. This is actually less than the upfront cost of a Winegard Gateway with with separate data plan, so it seems like a winner to me.

 

[sourdough]

We also have Visible (a subsidiary of Verizon) and a small cheap router - they work great for us. We no longer boondock and maybe we're lucky but haven't been anywhere we don't have cell service yet. At times it might be a tiny bit slow but having grown up when there was no such thing as "streaming" and a fuzzy black and white picture, while someone was turning the antenna, was the best you could do.....we're happy.

 

[Peto]

Thanks for the input guys!

 

[jxnbbl]

We also have Visible (a subsidiary of Verizon) and a small cheap router - they work great for us. We no longer boondock and maybe we're lucky but haven't been anywhere we don't have cell service yet. At times it might be a tiny bit slow but having grown up when there was no such thing as "streaming" and a fuzzy black and white picture, while someone was turning the antenna, was the best you could do.....we're happy.

As a followup the cost of Visible is $20/phone with unlimited (but throttled/reduced bandwidth after so many Gigs). However over the last couple of years our watches are now cellular so you can add the watch and the phone on the same account for something like $10/month extra. BUT the best part is that their teathering/hotspot on the account is increased to their "plus" option with no limits.

 

[sourdough]

As a followup the cost of Visible is $20/phone with unlimited (but throttled/reduced bandwidth after so many Gigs). However over the last couple of years our watches are now cellular so you can add the watch and the phone on the same account for something like $10/month extra. BUT the best part is that their teathering/hotspot on the account is increased to their "plus" option with no limits.

I would have to double check with Visible but we have never had throttling. Initially they didn't offer 1080 or 4k but they do now. We started with their $40mo. plan and it continues....suppose it's their Visible + Pro plan and grandfathered. We went with Visible BECAUSE of the throttling every other provider required and Visible did not. Now Verizon throttles, ATT, TMobile etc. but not Visible in our experience...but I'm going to double check since it's been a while and it just auto pays and I use it.

 

[NH_Bulldog]

AT&T doesn’t throttle mine: Unlimited talk, text, & high-speed data that can’t slow down based on how much you use

 

[jsb5717]

Visible here as well. We also have a TMobile hotspot just in case. However, both require cell connectivity. Boondocking might put you in places where that’s pretty limited. There are always trade offs and none of them work 100% of the time.

 

[JRTJH]

AT&T doesn’t throttle mine: Unlimited talk, text, & high-speed data that can’t slow down based on how much you use

Our Verizon plan is the same as your ATT plan. Unlimited talk, text and download. There is no "throttling" for going over any data usage. That said, Verizon does state that they can "throttle all data usage on a tower or a distribution network if usage is above the capacity. They "throttle data" first, then voice, then finally texts. During the recent ice storm here, with towers damaged, no "commercial internet" with overhead lines (wire or fiberoptic) the cell towers were the only means of communication, so they were stretched far beyond capacity. During some peak use times, our internet with the MiFi was at a standstill, but then later in the evening or at certain times, it was "as fast as it normally is"... Apparently Verizon was throttling data usage during those peak times. I just talked to DW about this and neither of us can remember a time in the past when the MiFi slowed at the house. We have had some slowing when traveling, but that was from lack of a good cell signal, not from throttling or from the towers being at capacity.

 

[wiredgeorge]

Interesting side note... Amazon's Jeff Bezos is going to start up in the satellite business to compete with Musk's Starlink from what I read in the article. Hopefully competition will benefit folks from reduced costs and other options.

 

[jxnbbl]

I would have to double check with Visible but we have never had throttling. Initially they didn't offer 1080 or 4k but they do now. We started with their $40mo. plan and it continues....suppose it's their Visible + Pro plan and grandfathered. We went with Visible BECAUSE of the throttling every other provider required and Visible did not. Now Verizon throttles, ATT, TMobile etc. but not Visible in our experience...but I'm going to double check since it's been a while and it just auto pays and I use it.

I went back and did mis-speak. They don't throttle. However the original plan was capped "Mobile hotspot at up to 5 Mbps". The original price model was to charge $40 with a $15 discount. The current "plus plans" (there are two versions) end up with 15Mbps. For myself when you compare the original plan + cellular watch vs newer +cellular watch it is the same monthly charge.