Internet on the road

[mikeypj]

Reliable cheap internet seems to be a big issue if you plan on being online and on the road. Ive researched many ways of doing it. Its not cheap. My phone is with sprint and today i just solved my internet issue. Sprint has ipads with unlimited everything plan for $25 plus the cost of the pad..i onow sprints coverage area is Eh but this solved my problem perfectly. One thing down 9999990 more to go!

You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to

 

[AlleyCat67]

If they have a Wifi hotspot you can enable then that would be a good deal. I do my stuff on a laptop so I would have to have a solution that would let me connect it to the service.

 

[mikeypj]

They have a new plan that is unlimited plus 5g hotspot. I guess its a new thing.

You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to

 

[mikeypj]

Im not Endorsing sprint, but am stoked that one issue has been resolved. Put a signal booster on the rig and im set.

You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to

 

[Tango-SKO]

We need Cadillac to weigh in on this. He's the only hard core, on-the-road techie here that I am aware of.

That said...as I recall, Dred was also very happy with Sprint while traveling.

 

[mikeypj]

Im just happy i no longer have to deal with this issue, plus i got a free ipad! Lol

You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to

 

[DoubleO7]

everything plan for $25 plus the cost of the pad..

So did you have to buy the pad or not buy the pad?

 

[cadillackid]

one of the things that seems to use the most Data is TV / Movie streaming, however a new trend amongst wireless carriers is not charging their customers to stream certain TV channels / Movies..

for instance ATT just released DirecTVnow.. which for $35 / month (if you sign up now its forever for 100+ channels.. $10 / month to add HBO / Cinemax).. bundle it with an ATT mobile data plan and you will bot get charged Data to stream your TV shows...

which all of the sudden takes a huge chunk out of most people's issues with Internet on the road..

I have 8 GB of ATT data on my hotspot.. and rarely use it all up doing all of my work over it and streaming music while driving...

Tmobile is offering some streaming data-use-free also..

for football fans, verizon offers free NFL streaming.. (thats really all i watch for the most part)..

I think we see this trend to expand as competition ramps up..

I carry Verizon,ATT, and Tmobile Hotspots.. all the Latest REVs to support the LTE Advanced bands on all carriers...

I travel mainly the eastern 1/2 - 2/3 of the country north to south all over.. occasionally I fly to the west coast cities.. but I dont run the buses over the rockies

Verizon by far has the MOST coverage in rural areas like the appalachains, smokies, adirondacks.. its good in all but the most dense east coast cities.. it slows down in YC, Philly, and esp up north Boston.. in florida its pretty good all over

ATT has decent coverage but not nearly the rural coverage of verizon.. stray too far from the 4-lane highways and your coverage may vary.. you'll usually have service but may very well be slower or 3G. ATT is solid in the dense cities...

Tmobile.. Tmobile is Love / Hate.. where it works it is by far the Fastest of all 3... but their High speed LTE advanced coverage seems to be limited to major metro areas.. and at times I go down to 2G in more rural areas.. I carry it because alot of my time is spent in cities and burbs.. Tmobile gives me Fast service in these areas..

-Christopher

 

[mikeypj]

I like being in touch and all but you my friend are connected! My gf and i plus the ipad have 5g hot spot also. So if we decide to get a laptop we will have 15g for it..

You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to

 

[cadillackid]

I like being in touch and all but you my friend are connected! My gf and i plus the ipad have 5g hot spot also. So if we decide to get a laptop we will have 15g for it..

You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to

I tend to be an 'On-the-grid' type.. my career is telecom / network / hardware / software ... engineering all of the above.. the DEV bus has a fully working Cloud-premise-based Hybrid VoIP switch.. similar to what id put in my customer sites.. surprisingly VoIP over LTE is pretty good.. we use LTE in our customer sites as backup to their main internet pipe for their Phone systems should the main service go defunct..

I use the road and Bus as a way to test alot of failover / disaster recovery situations.. the bus is also inspiration and creative-energy for what my next pieces of code and hardware may be..

some people have paid a ton to recover old unlimited data plans that were grandfathered in... but I think the day is coming soon where those may not be as necessary unless your data usage is more along the lines of gaming / downloading files, etc.. that isnt covered under the media plans of the carriers..

whats interesting is that many here carry sprint... the only one I dont carry... I may have to go get one just to try it out as well..

being that I dont full-time in the bus, I do have the luxury that Server updates / OS updates, and large file downloads can be done on the ground.. (usually on my columbus ohio 300 Mbps service)..

now if i could just get my hands on a Google Pixel XL... darn things are sold out till january..


-Christopher

 

[TAOLIK]

edit: My opinion seems to be more expensive on a slower network then this subject in discussion. However I am stating it regardless.

I have an opinion here. Though I have yet to try it out myself.

Here's an article with a better summary of what I'm about to say

If you donate $500 to Calyx you'll get a hotspot box, and a simcard which will allow unlimited access to the 4G/LITE sprint network. Every subsequent year after will cost $400 they say. These payments are also apparently a tax deductible donation. Lastly they apparently support privacy, which suggests they may not sell out our personal data. But I take that with a grain of salt.

Anyway donate here if you want to get on this bandwagon, I'm definitely hopping on once I get close to fulltime.

 

[cadillackid]

interesting way for me to try sprint..

the device itself... no 3G fallback and it appears to be lacking a couple of the latest bands though it does have the "spark bands"... with no 3G fallback that means any fringe areas and its just going to die..

be interesting to know if the magic is in the SIM.. (could i shove it in a better device like a cradlepoint 850 gen 6) and would there be 3G fallback...
-Christopher

 

[AlleyCat67]

Unlimited Internet for a little over $33 a month..... not too bad. Will have to keep that in mind.

 

[cadillackid]

Unlimited Internet for a little over $33 a month..... not too bad. Will have to keep that in mind.

agreed.. but notice sprint;s LTE map isnt complete.. so make sure the areas you travel are covered... theres no 3G fallback
-Christopher

 

[mikeypj]

Ahh you are the tech guru of the group! Pleasure to meet ya!

You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to

 

[cadillackid]

theres quite a few of us techies here n the group.. makes it fun for sure!
funny thig is my Techie friends are the ones most into my Busses too... other than my one buddy who owned a trucking company and campers for years..

-Christopher

 

[mikeypj]

Good people to know, along with plumbers electricians and hvac people..lol

You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to

 

[cadillackid]

Plumber I am NOT.. I hate pipes!! unless they carry FREON!
HVAC I got that.
Electrician when I need to be.. wires are fun.. sparks are not..

-Christopher

 

[mikeypj]

I know enough to be dangerous, but always get through it.

You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to

 

[ol trunt]

Christopher, you are killing me. I wish I understood a word you just said!!!!

I might be able to hook up to what ever internet service the camp ground provides if I could remember remember where I coiled up the coaxial cable under my bus. Even if I could, all it would provide is movies etc. and no internet access which is probably why I've never tested it out!?! Why no internet access? Because I don't have a computer in my bus I guess. What would it take to bring me into the present century---without depriving my grand kids of there meger inheritance?

I'd probably never have admitted these lackings had I not swatted the side of my thumb with a large hammer this after noon while working on my "new" '03 T-bird project. Seems french bread dipped in cheap gin makes me talkative

Thanks, Jack