Internet Access on the Go

Hey everyone!

Long time no see!;) I'm planning on hitting the road for a few months next year with my partner. We'll be travelling in a used RV (class C) through the U.S. and Canada and I'll be working from the road. My work involves a great deal of research on the Internet (it doesn't necessarily require a lot of bandwidth though) and I absolutely have to get a flawless connection. The thing is, we'll be on a budget and can't afford to pay for an RV satellite antenna.

I own an iPhone 3G and I already have a plan in Canada. I was thinking about getting a bigger plan and use my iPhone as a hotspot. That would be fine in Canada, but I want to spend some time in the US as well. International plans in Canada are pretty expensive so many suggested I buy another device in the US (Internet key or smart phone) and pay for a second plan in the US (I can have a billing address in both countries, so that is not a problem per se). I'd also like to have a working cell phone in the US, which is why I tend to prefer the smart phone option over the Internet key, but I was wondering if there are other cheap alternatives out there than I don't know about. Also, what would be the average cost of a 1 GB or 2 GB plan on a smart phone? Who are the cheapest smart phone providers?

My other concern is coverage. Are the 4G and/or 3G systems offer good coverage in North America? What about remote locations (i.e. desert regions of the South West, NWT, Yukon, Northern Manitoba, Newfoundland)? Is there a good paper resource to find hotspots (ex. directory).

Thanks for any helpful tips you might have!
Gen

Gen,

Nice to see you back here.

3G, 4G whatever G you want only works well in urban areas within 50 miles of their respective nodes. Internet access from a 1/2 watt phone in remote areas is still pretty much a pipe dream. Mike Booth, the resident long-haul truck correspondent for RTA has been experimenting with some newer plans and I'll see if I can't get some updates for you.

Mark

It's not often that I take exception with Mark, but my wife and I recently completed a trip to southern Utah during which our phones were completely off the grid but even so, her iPad, which has its own 4G connection, worked perfectly. Now that is a direct internal connection and not using a phone as a hub, but it wouldn't be the 4G that let you down in such a case, I don't think.

Also, the plan she got with her iPad allows her to turn her 4G on and off as she needs it (a month minimum), paying only for those times when we're traveling.

AZBuck

You should be able to buy an AT&T sim here for your iPhone as long as it's not locked to your Canadian carrier. However, I think a tethering plan is quite expensive.

Thank you all for your help and input. I've been researching quite a bit on web sites about all the possibilities, but I mostly ended up on advertisement websites and sales pitches that didn't convince me. :(

Gen, try this - it's not too hard to follow.

Thanks... I'm trying to get input from people who actually have experienced Internet on the go and who might have tried several of the options listed here, notably the cheapest solutions.

This is 2nd hand from my mom and dad. Until 9 months ago, they were avid RV-ers and had tried a number of different ways over the years to connect to the Internet while on the road. Looking at that site you linked, they had tried some of those.

Dial-up in the RV office was probably the most successful, though slow. More and more, though, the parks ARE starting to add wireless just like the hotels are. However, RV parks are more spread out than your average hotel, so not all sites have great wireless service.

Dad experimented for a time with a tether from the antenna port on his cell phone (increasingly hard to find) and using his cell that way. It was definitely the most successful thing he'd tried.

I had suggested that they try satellite service, as I had spent some time chatting with a couple that had a dish on their RV rooftop. They could get satellite Internet almost anywhere. It wasn't particularly secure though, at least the way this couple had theirs set up. I wouldn't have done any online banking or investment research using that particular set-up. (My son-in-law declares that these dishes can be set up to be secure and that this particular couple just didn't have it set up correctly.)

Hope this helps.



Donna

Thank you Donna. I forgot to mention the fact that we are planning on staying mostly in places outside of RV parks, so I guess the cell phone thing would be our best bet.

I don't know if you found it, but did you see the "mobile hotspots" on the AT&T site? It's a 3G/4G cellular modem and wireless router, it works standalone without the need to tether.

MiFi 2372

Elevate 4G

That article you just linked appears to be somewhat dated.

George,

That's a kind of a cool gadget.

Still harkens back to the high-gain analog set-up we used in the Phoenix One. It was a 3-watt analog transceiver that I tweaked to a higher performance level + coupled with a high-gain antenna -- but the network was decidedly 0.05G.... I built a splitter that worked pretty well...

The biggest issue I see with the MiFi 2372 is the lack of high-gain antenna and, of course, the lack of nodes out in the backroads. Mike Booth and I keep missing each other -- but truckers are at the forefront of internet access these days -- they require good web connections to assemble their loads. I'll try and connect with him today.

Mark

Either one of those is going to work just as well as, if not better than, a tethered iPhone or other handset. I wouldn't doubt that the other carriers have similar devices.

Mark, a bit off topic, but I do remember my first bag phone - and I was amazed that I could actually make phone calls in my car. I've read Megan's book so I know what you went through!

The first time I set up mobile Internet for someone was fun - it was for a customer with a yacht. I was in Burnham Harbor in Chicago and connected a cell phone to a laptop using a cable and PCMCIA card, and was amazed that we could actually get on AOHell - at a whopping 9600 baud!

Yeah, I had a 3-watt phone (installed -- 1 step beyond the bag phone) in my car before just about every one I knew. When we were on the road in the early days of RTA, we would have been thrilled with 9600 baud. 1200 was the best we could ever hope for in 1994!

And beyond that, of course, we used the "iguana" -- an accoustic coupler for pay phones. The number of people who threatened us with citizens arrest for what they thought was a theft of telephone signal was amazing... But I digress too.

Mark

Mike Booth has tried just about every combination of internet access devices you can buy over the last couple of decades. What he's found that works the best these days is:

1. A Virgin Mobile Hot Spot Card -- he purchased at Best Buy for about $150
2. Used on conjunction with the Sprint service which is about $50 per month for unlimited data service

Like the AT&T hot spot card -- you can operate multiple devices -- he uses his laptop and iPad

Advantages of the Sprint Service:
-- No service contract -- renewable when used
-- Seems to work every where Sprint cell service works
(Known poor reception in Wyoming, Montana, western Nebraska, North Dakota and parts of South Dakota).

Verizon's latest entry in this space are their 3G/4G phones that can operate like a hot spot card.

Mike reports that the Sprint service works just about as well the WiFi services at truck stops.

--Mark

That's cheaper than a no-contract AT&T device and AT&T doesn't have unlimited data.

Virgin Mobile offers voice service over Sprint too - including pay-as-you-go and throwaway phones.

Erm, sorry, but I'm a bit confused by all this new vocabulary. I'm not a tech geek at all. In fact, I'm pretty new at this kind of stuff (I bought my iPhone less than 4 months ago), and I am not familiar with the U.S. Internet/phone service providers. All I know is that I need a smart phone that works properly in most places the US so I can receive and send emails in real-time, answer phone calls, and also a way to have flawless Internet access for my laptop. The Hot Spot card sounds great, but does it mean I would have to buy another phone on top of that? I already have a plan in Canada with Telus, so do you reckon I could connect my actual Canadian iPhone wirelessly to this Hot Spot card (and configure my iPhone to work solely on that connection to avoid roaming charges) and carry it everywhere to get emails and calls? Could I make long distance calls to Canada? How can we calculate the cost of voice bandwidth?

Thanks a million for your precious help!:)
Gen the tech dummy

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All I know is that I need a smart phone that works properly in most places the US so I can receive and send emails in real-time, answer phone calls, and also a way to have flawless Internet access for my laptop. The Hot Spot card sounds great, but does it mean I would have to buy another phone on top of that?

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No, this is not a smart phone and you really don't need one for this application. The problem of getting a smart phone that functions as a hot spot device is that will perform in a half-**** capacity as both a phone and hot spot device. You should get the best performing phone you can afford and the best internet connecting device and not try and to use a one-size fits all solution.

Think of a hot spot card as a black box... you turn it on and it becomes a hot spot transmitter -- which you can use to connect your laptop and other devices. You still need a monthly data service -- but it's not a phone service. If you use Mike Booth's option, you'll have unlimited data services.

Mark

If I'm not mistaken, the only US networks that your Telus iPhone can be used on are AT&T and T-Mobile, those are the only 2 that are GSM and use sim cards. You would either be paying international roaming rates, or you would have to buy an AT&T or T-Mobile sim for it along with a voice and data plan. This would give it a US phone number when the sim is in it. I do NOT know whether AT&T and T-Mobile would allow tethering (connecting your laptop to it using a cable or wireless), and if they do, it will probably be considerably more expensive than just a data plan for the device.

If you buy the Virgin Mobile hotspot card, it can be used with your iPhone (and any other wi-fi device such as your laptop) using wi-fi for data only. This is your BEST bet here for handling data, but you will have to do something in addition in order to have a telephone. I would suggest a throwaway pay-as-you-go phone, but it WILL be expensive calling back to Canada.

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Originally Posted by glc

... but it WILL be expensive calling back to Canada.

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For calls back to Canada, have you thought of putting Skype on your laptop? Not sure what plans they have for Canada / US. With my Australia wide plan (approx $80 p.a.) I can call back to Oz for free, when I am in North America.

Lifey

It's not quite free for me -- but I use Skype exclusively for business calls (where I'm not using my cellular phone) Long distance calls cost 2.3 cents per minute anywhere in North America.

Mark

Thanks guys.

I checked with a couple of providers in the U.S. and I'm really surprised by the lack of reasonable international voice and data plans in the US. I'm not surprised by the non-existence of such plans in Canada because there isn't enough competition in terms of providers and the costs of cell phone services have been sky-rocketing from the beginning... I really thought they would have cheaper options in the US:(. Maybe I didn't look up the right providers though.

Yes, I'm familiar with Skype, but I need to have a mobile phone so I can answer calls even when I'm out of the RV. I will look into that SIM card option to see if it is doable and if I can get a no contract voice and data plan that isn't too expensive. The MiFi looks awesome, but it would definitely be too expensive for me: $300 for the device (that I might use only for a 3-4 months period) + a no-contract plan for the MiFi + a phone (or a new SIM Card) + a US phone plan + my existing $55 plan in Canada.

Thank you all for the leads:)
Gen

I'm not referring to the MiFi, I'm referring to the Virgin Mobile Hotspot device.

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Originally Posted by glc

I'm not referring to the MiFi, I'm referring to the Virgin Mobile Hotspot device.

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Sorry, I thought you were referring to the MiFi 2220 (I mixed up both MiFi devices in my above mentioned calculations - it would be $150 instead of $300). I spent hours online researching Wi-Fi devices and options, and I guess I'm a bit overwhelmed by the amount of information I gathered... not to mention I'm not a tech geek nor a native English speaker and it's all written in English.:P Thanks

I don't have experience in Canada, but for the US Verizon has had the best coverage in all the places that we've visited and we've traveled from Coast to Coast and a lot in the South West. There will be places that you won't be able to get any service from any provider.

For the last couple of years I had a Verizon Air Card but had to upgrade to a Verizon Hot spot when I got my new computer. On my last trip I had issues with the Hot Spot and was able to get a free upgrade to a MiFi 4510L 4G. (cough..cough...which had it's own issues and had to replace it within a month with a new one....hopefully the last updates took care the other issues.)

If you check around online I've seen refurbished ones for pretty cheap but I'm not sure if you would need a contract for service. Mine is $50 per month but it works for both our laptops and my Verizon i-Phone.

Utahtea

I can second that on the Virgin Mobile hotspot. Used it at home for about a year. Costed $70 for the USB and $40 per month for internet. It's safe to assume that it will get coverage as good as any cell phone.

I was over at Walmart today - they now have no-contract prepaid broadband from Verizon and Virgin Mobile. Virgin uses the Sprint network. The hardware comes 2 different ways - a simple USB key for your laptop, or a little mobile hotspot. This would take care of your Internet access, but you still have to figure out what to do about a voice phone. The cheapest prepaid phones there are Net 10.

Jon Vermilye, a long-time RTA contributor wrote a WiFi report in 2004 that addressed your concerns, but the world has changed a bit since then. We're going to publish a new article, but in the meantime, here is the initial report....

Updated Field Report on Internet Access

by Jon Vermilye

A number of years ago (2004 to be exact) I authored a "Field Report" on access to WiFi while traveling. The report can be found here, and is very much outdated.

After a long (111 day) trip across the US & Canada pulling a travel trailer on secondary roads when ever possible & staying in state & national parks, I would like to provide an update on internet connectivity. During the trip I updated a daily web page that was often graphics intensive, and managed to keep up with the many photographic websites I read. For the trip I used an AT&T iPhone & a Verizon based cell modem & WiFi Ranger router located in my travel trailer. Since the router was DC powered I could use which ever service was available, even from the tow vehicle while driving.

WiFi has become available almost anywhere. Most libraries, fast food outlets, hotels & motels and interstate rest stops provide free WiFi. If you camp, many campgrounds provide free or inexpensive WiFi (although the quality at some is questionable). For the most part it is now possible to find free or low cost daily connections to the internet through WiFi.

While WiFi is still a viable method of connecting to the internet, the use of cell data has become a useful alternative. Depending on the type of service provided by the carrier, it can be faster than many WiFi sources, and is usually available while driving & in areas where there is no WiFi. While there are parts of the country, particularly rural areas where cell coverage is not available, I have found good connections in many remote areas.

The first decision is to choose a cellular provider. While there are many providers, for nationwide access the major providers are Verizon, AT&T & Sprint. Each has advantages & disadvantages, however it is well worth spending some time with coverage maps when choosing. If you have an iPhone, Coverage? is a handy app that includes a map showing AT&T, Verizon, Sprint & T-Mobile coverage down to street levels. You can turn on & off overlays for each carrier, and show Roaming, 2G, 3G & 4G coverage.

Each carrier also has on-line coverage maps, and there are websites like this one provided by CellReception.com, that can be useful. I have traveled across much of the US using both AT&T & Verizon, and found that Verizon provides better coverage, however there are many places where only AT&T was available. Again, coverage maps will help you make your choice of carriers.

Very few providers offer unlimited access to the internet. Even those that do usually slow down your connection if you use more than a predetermined amount of data. It is probably a good idea to determine how much data you use per month prior to choosing a data plan.

You will probably use less data on the road than at home (particularly if you have a high speed connection at home & a lower speed connection while traveling). Determining your data usage ahead of time will save you money. Most carriers offer packages based on the number of Gigabytes per month, typically in units of 5GB, 10GB, 20GB for data modems, and 200MB, 2GB, 4GB for smart phones. If you go over that amount they will either slow your connection to a crawl or charge you additional fees, typically $10.00 per GB, although sometimes at a much higher rate.

Most providers offer multiple methods of providing data service. Smart cell phones can often provide access through a wired connection (usually a USB cable), Bluetooth, or by providing a "Hot Spot" (a WiFi connection for your computer or other data devices).

Many will also provide non phone access through a "Hot Spot" device that usually allows up to 5 connected devices, or a cell modem (usually a USB device) that can be plugged into your computer. The "Hot Spot" devices such as Verizon's MiFi 4510L have self contained batteries and are the size of a smart phone.

If you have more than 5 devices you wish to connect or want a stronger WiFi signal for your equipment, there are routers available that can be used with cellular modems. Cradlepoint as well as some other companies makes a number of routers that can be used with cellular modems. Most provide both hard wired connections as well as a local WiFi signal.

Another possibility is to use a router that can work with multiple inputs. Routers such as the WiFi Ranger as well as at least one model from Cradlepoint can be connected to the internet through a USB cell modem or pick up a local WiFi network & rebroadcast it on your own network. You can choose either source, depending on availability & quality of connection. This is also useful when traveling outside the US when using a US based cell carrier. The rates for using a US carrier to provide cell based data in Canada & Mexico is prohibitively expensive. Using the WiFi Ranger system I could pull in to a campground or fast food restaurant & connect to their WiFi service. When using these specialized routers you only have to change one connection (at the router) rather than changing all your devices when moving from a cell based connection to WiFi.

If you know you will be in areas of weak coverage, there are amplifiers & external antennas available for both smart phones & cellular modems. I used a Wilson Sleek for my iPhone & a Wilson Vehicle Booster Kit for the trailer based USB modem. Both proved valuable in many parts of the country.

Most of the data providers are offering fast 4G service, however is currently is very limited in locations. If all you plan to do is read mail or view web sites with limited graphics, the slower connections will be fine, however if you work with large graphic files, 4G is a definite advantage. Within the next few years, most of the carriers will build out their 4G coverage to cover most of their network. Again, for now, check the provider's coverage map to determine whether the additional cost of 4G service is available at the locations you plan to use it.

All in all, access to the internet has improved remarkably since 2004. Not only is it faster, but is is available almost everywhere, even when on the move.

Jon

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Mark

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Originally Posted by AZBuck

It's not often that I take exception with Mark, but my wife and I recently completed a trip to southern Utah during which our phones were completely off the grid but even so, her iPad, which has its own 4G connection, worked perfectly. Now that is a direct internal connection and not using a phone as a hub, but it wouldn't be the 4G that let you down in such a case, I don't think.

Also, the plan she got with her iPad allows her to turn her 4G on and off as she needs it (a month minimum), paying only for those times when we're traveling.

AZBuck

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You might want to check that iPad - Apple currently (as of 1/9/12) does not make any 4G devices. Hopefully, they will add 4G to the iPad 3 that is expected this March, but as of now all iPads are 3G with WiFi or WiFi only.

I looked at some of the zip codes I work in on the Cell Reception site (provided in Jon's article above). Mostly the comments are from whinny users -- so I ignore them -- but the lists of how many cell towers there are in a given area was very interesting. Jon has provided some really useful resource links in this post.

Jon, thanks for the update on the iPad and 4G versus 3G issues (AzBuck should feel under no restraint about taking exception with me... Just about everyone else does....)

Mark

I wanted to drop in this article about data mining and how advertisers like Google are using the techniques. This is even more important for folks planning or on a road trip.

If you use any of the Google services -- search, gmail, U-Tube, etc -- you need to know that they are creating a profile on you -- with your actual name, telephone numbers, address, location, buying preferences, credit card information, etc.

Mark

Have anyone tried satellite internet connections? How well they might work? I am planning to make a road trip across several countries, 3G and 4G isn't option, because I think I should get a new sim on almost every country where I go. It is quite expensive to transfer data on other countries. I just wonder can I use satellite internet while driving or should I always stop the car and aim satellite responder? If I can't use satellite while driving, it is also quite useless, because it would be cheaper just to wait until I am at hotel and use internet there.

I can't tell you much anything about how well SAT phones work. They've always been far too expensive for me to consider using, and I have to think that the cost of using one is going to greatly exceed the cost of switching sim cards, or even the cost of getting a GSM cell phone with an international calling plan.

Again, not an expert on the topic, but I'm pretty sure the main reason people go through the trouble of getting new sim cards in new countries is that it is typically cheaper than trying to use their home provider and getting international roaming charges, not because their phones can't work on the network.

i'll also point out that many states have banned or are moving to ban the use of cell phones while driving, so you might want to consider that as well.

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Originally Posted by Midwest Michael

i'll also point out that many states have banned or are moving to ban the use of cell phones while driving, so you might want to consider that as well.

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As have many countries!

Lifey

I don't think that price is a issue. These doesn't cost much more than normal internet connection but I just don't know does they work allover the world. At least satellites will go around the world, so in theory they could work everywhere. I don't want to make any phone calls, I just want to have internet connection so I can update my facebook-status while driving.

In the trip that I have been planning I will keep up a blog, so what I really need would be internet connection so I could upload pictures and videos while driving or my friend could drive and I could write my blog. I just don't know is it possible to use satellite internet while driving or should that satellite antenna be still so it could get a connection to satellite.

The link you provided was for satellite based internet providers, not for sat based telephones, so if that's your basis for pricing, then you really need to think again.

Texting/Internet browsing is generally considered more dangerous that talking while driving, and at this point has been banned the in vast majority of states (even those that still allow talking on a cell phone while driving.)

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Originally Posted by Midwest Michael

The link you provided was for satellite based internet providers, not for sat based telephones, so if that's your basis for pricing, then you really need to think again.

Texting/Internet browsing is generally considered more dangerous that talking while driving, and at this point has been banned the in vast majority of states (even those that still allow talking on a cell phone while driving.)

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I think that shouldn't think again, what I should do is learn more English. It's not my primary language so it is too easy to misunderstood me or maybe I just haven't understood how satellite based intenet works. I am not looking a way to make phone calls. I am looking a way to connect to internet. I still wonder is it possible to use internet via satellite if my friend is driving? I would also use that internet connection to upload pictures and videos, so it doesn't matter is it legal or illegal to use internet while driving, all that matter is it possible, because when I upload things only my computer would use internet, not me or my friend.

Satellite based internet is completely different from Satellite based phones. What you were looking at requires a fixed satellite dish, just like you would need for satellite TV. It simply is not mobile technology.

There are satellite based phones where you can access the internet like you would through a cell phone, but that is what I was talking about when I said it was extremely expensive, and really not cost-effective for what you want to do.

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Originally Posted by Midwest Michael

Satellite based internet is completely different from Satellite based phones. What you were looking at requires a fixed satellite dish, just like you would need for satellite TV. It simply is not mobile technology.

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Actually, satellite mobile communication equipment has been around for nearly 20 years. Just about every professional sports team bus and many other similar vehicles have always-on internet connections via satellite.

It is expensive, when I was beta testing such devices in the early 90's the installed cost was about $15000 -- I'm late for a meeting, but when I return I'll provide some links for current pricing.

Using hand-held satellite phones as modems generally doesn't work well, for a whole host of reasons I can mention later.

Mark

Well, yes there's that too. He was specifically referring to companies like Hughes-net, and other sat based ISP's designed mostly for home/business use.

I'm going to guess that the kind of Sat based mobile communications you are talking about aren't going to be very practical for to include on a couple month trip with rental cars.

Yeah, you really can't simply add such a system to a rental car. This was the state of the art in 2004 And, unless you're a government agency, it's still pretty much what's available.

Using the HughesNet HN7000S modem the optimal connection speeds are average upload speeds of 100-150K and download speeds of 600 - 1000K.

As you can see from these photos -- these are not hand-held units.

In recent weeks, I have seen a couple of satellite systems that I first wrote about in 2001 on private cars -- I really liked the technology -- but I've been unable to find any company currently selling these systems.