WYFI and Data Questions

[sldersham]

Hi all,
We like to take off on extended trips and can be away from home base for several weeks or longer. It seems that in a lot of the areas that we travel we seem to get very limited cell phone and data services. I purchased a jet pack by Verizon to enhance our cell and data connections but that dose not seem to be enough signal strength, the signal is still weak and iffy in areas anyone have a better idea or option.

[JRTJH]

Cell service seems to vary from location to location and service provider to provider. In our area, Verizon seems to offer the best coverage, but when we go out west or to the Midwest, not so much. Sprint is "non-existent" here, but our friends in Wichita have great Sprint coverage while we "fuss with Verizon". AT&T, well they seem to be pretty much "OK" but not great both places (outside major metropolitan areas).

So, depending on where you're going, with data service, the provider means as much as the device and no one company seems to "have it all in all places." We're satisfied with our 3G Verizon MiFi (as much an antique as it is) while around here, but find it pretty much "useless" the further west we go. Sprint seems to get "better and better" the further west we go. So far, I haven't found a "cell provider" that has reliable and consistent wifi service nationwide. Cell phone service seems to be much "broader based" with the co-sharing of towers, but wifi just doesn't do as well.

[arturob]

I have a verizon jetpack but my phone allows me to connect via T-mobile. So far my journeys have taken me from Idaho to Arizona and Caliornia and I have to say Verizon has been MUCH better in terms of coverage. I was really lucky and managed to buy into Millenicom just before they were taken over by Verizon so I get 20GB for $100. Still starvation diet compared to when I was on cable but it is do-able. I also use a Wilson 4G cell signal booster but a lot of the time I dont need it - currently we are camped on Ogilby Road about 20 miles W of Yuma and about 6 miles N of the hiway and have great cell signal.

[Essness]

I travel the country for work and have had Sprint, Verizon, and At&t for voice and data over the last 10 years. Verizon is by far the best option for coverage from coast to coast. Sprint is just plain bad and in my opinion at&t is the worst because when you look at their coverage map, they tell you and sell you on having service in areas where they just don't And they change service areas regularly. So, if you have service in a place you spend time today, you may not the next time you go there. When you call them on it they will tell you "we not required to provide service in all areas".

[wahoonc]

I use Verizon pretty much nationwide with very few issues. Every now and again I may hit an area with no coverage. If I have to spend more than a day in that area I will get a cheap pay as you go phone.

I also use a Verizon Jetpack. It uses the same towers as the cellphone, if they don't work it won't work. The Wilson booster products seem to work well and many people use them. I haven't needed to... yet. I have used just about all of the various other companies at one time or another and ended up with Verizon for the past 12 years. They aren't the only game in town, but they are the one with the best overall coverage.

Aaron

[WaltBennett]

We used an AT&T hot spot as a supplemental on our trip from VA to IN, then MO, OK, TX and a big loop through NM and AZ last fall - nine weeks total. Interestingly, the only places we didn't have AT&T coverage, we had good campground wifi. A couple of them were Passport America and very inexpensive too. Since both my wife and I bring computers along, but aren't interested in spending tons of $$, we've got a 10GB plan and try using public hot spots when we can. Worked fine last fall and should be good for our trip to CA this year.

[denverpilot]

Been in telco and tech for a living for quite some time. Quick notes because I can't stay long tonight:

- Verizon is #1 in raw spectrum allocation. AT&T is second. The others are also-rans at this point.

- All carriers focus on subscribers. That means they're going to build out and maintain cities before rural areas. Population density is King in all telecom.

- Highways are next for coverage to continue the illusion that the network is available everywhere.

- If you like getting off the beaten path the network simply isn't there. VZ and T cover best in rural becaus they still have the original A & B spectrum for the most part from the original analog cellular days. And towers out there.

Now let's talk tech.

- If someone sold you on the concept that the JetPack would increase signal or otherwise change your coverage, they lied to you. Or you misunderstood.

- The equipment inside the JetPack is the exact same thing as is inside your Verizon phone. It's s a cellular phone without voice capabilities, that also has a WiFi hotspot. That's all it is.

- What you described, was that you are in areas with weak coverage and low speed data. In some cases, if and only if, the local tower has enough "backhaul" to do faster speeds, but you are out on the fringe coverage of the tower, stronger signal, especially on the higher frequencies, may make speed differences.

- If you are in an area of lowest to no coverage almost nothing will provide high speeds. Simple emails will be possible. Surfing anything with high graphics content or worse, video, will be an exercise in extreme patience.

Here's some recommendations:

- Getting multiple carriers won't help unless you just happen to be in an area where VZ doesn't cover at all and AT&T does. That's pretty rare.

- What may be significantly helpful is this... A signal booster and external antenna on the coach/trailer. Why? The signal is attenuated by the walls of the coach. Putting an antenna outside and up high enough to clear local obstacles and then get a good signal booster to amplify what's received to inside the coach will help both the phones and the JetPack. Wilson makes decent units. It will need to be carefully installed with the inside antenna not aimed at the outside to get best results. Wilson provides instructions for this.

- Additionally another "poor man's" way to go that works well is to simply put the JetPack outside in a weatherproof container. The wifi will easily penetrate the coach and getting the JetPack outside can help it receive better.

- A third option is to get a router that has the ability to accept a USB stick or other data device from VZ and preferably get one that can accept an external high gain antenna. Again we're trying to get a better signal to the "cell phone on a stick" that's really inside the USB, or the card if a card is used. One can even put the USB dongle outside via a USB extension cable and the router safely tucked away inside. Or, if a card is used that has an external antenna port, simply run cable outside to a nice gain antenna.

Those are some of the ways you can make the best of cellular data. In general, cellular data when it's available will offer the best speeds and somewhat reasonable data usage caps, but it can get spendy fast if you're downloading video or other high bandwidth uses.

Some practical notes:

If you're full timing, remember that most computers and devices update their software regularly. One program I use has to do an update of over 6GB of data every 45 days or so. You do NOT want to pay for this on cellular data unless money is no object. You'll want to use RV park or other "free" WiFI when it's available, unless you have some sort of unlimited data plan. Most carriers simply don't offer unlimited data anymore and plans that have it are grandfathered from long ago.

(An exception here. T-Mobile is doing unlimited data on devices but their coverage is very very limited to high population areas. If you have a need like mine for a mass download and you can take the device into a city area and let it munch up the data only when you tell it to, a TMo subscription for that device might be worth it. Knowing that device won't have data in lots and lots of other places. TMo does NOT do unlimited on tethering so you have to have the SIM card in the device itself. Tethering is limited to 5GB/month on unlimited plans. Changing the SIM card is also "doable" but there's a whole post necessary about how to do that. The devices must be carrier-unlocked to swap SIM cards and some carriers play nice and some don't. Law is changing around this as we speak so I won't go into it.)

Okay that's cellular.

Other options: There are satellite based data services. Most are slow and have significant data caps on them at high cost. Cellular when it's good will whip the pants off of it. Cellular when poor will tie it, speed wise. It's really only useful if you're going to be where zero cellular exists. The satellite carriers also know about all these big updates and typically have a window very late at night where their network is a free for all. Speeds will slow down for everyone but all can download for a number of hours without touching the main monthly limit. There's usually secondary limits on this overnight data.

Campground and other free WiFi is often overloaded also and fed with a single upstream internet connection the size that usually feeds a household or two. And however many mobile households are parked there that night, are sharing it instead. But... It's also cheap if it's included and usually cheap even if you pay.

A way to leverage campground WiFi better is to do the same thing as cellular. Put up an outside antenna and repeat the signal inside.

Where this breaks down is that most campground wifi requires you to log into their hotspot and re-login daily or whatever. Your repeater can't do that. Well some say they can and have different levels of success. The setup of these isn't always straightforward but there are some systems that try to make this simple. They're out ther. It'd take another post to talk about those.

There are some starters for conversation for "mobile data on the road". Folks can add to this from their own experiences.

Best bang for the buck in any mobile data system using cellular or wifi sources: High gain antenna outside the RV.

If I get some time I'll post some equipment ideas and links. Others may get to that before I. Lots of options.

[jrp]

in fringe areas where a signal exists but is weak, add a Wilson Sleek Booster and antenna to amplify the signal.
I use my Verizon Jet Pack all over the western US and find very few places where I cant get a signal using an external antenna and amplifier. The Sleek is the basic low power, low price amp, but there are now other more powerful and more expensive amps on the market. just depends on where you travel, how much you're willing to spend, and how important having a daily connection is. I can go a couple days without internet out in the boonies as long as I get back to a signal in a few days.

Originally Posted by sldersham

Hi all,
We like to take off on extended trips and can be away from home base for several weeks or longer. It seems that in a lot of the areas that we travel we seem to get very limited cell phone and data services. I purchased a jet pack by Verizon to enhance our cell and data connections but that dose not seem to be enough signal strength, the signal is still weak and iffy in areas anyone have a better idea or option.