We have usually depended on free RV Park WIFI while we have been in the States but last year on the way home it did not work out all that well. Many RV parks charge for the service, some as much as $6 per day. In the parks that offer it for free it is not always available at the site. My Hawking dish bailed me out in a few places but I was still left without any connection in a few places. I must admit I have become spoiled by readily available WIFI in the house all summer and am not willing to go back to undependable service.
After checking out prepaid internet plans on the Internet, I have sort of settled on Virgin's Broadband To Go plan. I will have to buy either a USB stick ($80) that plugs into the laptop or one of the new MIFI boxes ($150) that plugs into the inverter, mounts in the middle of the motorhome and provides WIFI in a thirty foot range. It allows five simultaneous connections so I could share it with a neighbor if the need arose. Service is $40 per month and has no bandwidth limit. The problem is that this is a newly released plan and the MIFI boxes are sold out everywhere I checked on the Internet. If I can't find one of the MIFI's I will have to settle for the Internet stick. The system is sold at Best Buy and WalMart.
Revolution Day
17 hours ago
Go for the MiFi! I went through two of the air cards (you call them sticks) and if you move them around a lot the part that plugs in to the computer starts to wobble. If you are using it with a laptop it is very inconvenient. I love the MiFi which stays in one place, and I can carry the laptop just about anywhere in my apartment or out on the patio. I'm sure I'll love it while traveling as well.
ReplyDeleteIf you get it for $40/month with no bandwidth limit, consider yourself lucky. In the US it is $60/month, with taxes & fees running the cost up close to $70. There is a 5GB limit per month.
I've read that you might have roaming problems on the Virgin plan. Take a look at Millenicom. They resell both Verizon and Sprint plans. I'm thinking I'll go with their Advanced Plan (Verizon) $60 with a 10 gb limit and pair that up with a Cradlepoint router.
ReplyDeleteI got around the USB problem by using a short USB extender cable. I have a much longer one that will let me move the stick anywhere including outside.
ReplyDeleteI checked prices and nothing comes close to the Virgin plan which is $40 per month in the USA. I can live with the odd dead area.