Mobile Internet

[sonoronos]

I am viewing Starlink as a possible solution to all of this in a couple years... which is great for those of us trying to work remotely...

It's hard to predict what will be possible in a couple of years, especially with backhaul installations.

I think the other thing to remember is that if ones definition of "remote work" means "working where there is no internet", there may be a requirements definition problem

50Mbps sounds pretty good. I currently run two VDD's running 2880x1800 plus full duplex audio comms simultaneously on less.

 

[Livingduckman]

We travel with a Verizon Hotspot. Works great. It gets better reception than my Wife’s IPhone on the same network. There are two ports for external antennas that I have seen on Amazon and EBay for around $30. I was going to get then but there was no need. It’s great cruising down the road with real time info for exploring, research, streaming. One nice benefit while traveling we don’t have to make reservations at campgrounds, or dispersed camping in advance and locked into a schedule. Now about a hour or two before we decide to stop. We can pull up Mapping on Gaia real time with multiple mapping options, google earth, USFS all real time. Pretty cool driving down a trail watching you rig on google earth, found tons of interesting places on each side of the trails we have normally drove right by not even knowing they were there.

What kind brand of Verizon Hotspot did you get? I’m leaning that way too.

 

[Livingduckman]

No need to reinvent the wheel. There is a whole community of location-indepedent, working-age RVers who have been working on this problem for many years. First, check out Mobile Internet for RVers and Cruisers (I'm not affiliated, though the owners are my friends). They are *the* go-to source on this topic in the United States. Always testing the newest devices and trying out the latest plans.

But here's the TL;DR. No one uses satellite. Everyone is using a data plan from one of the major carriers. (Verizon is the best in my experience, but expensive. AT&T works almost everywhere, but can also be expensive. T-Mobile seems to have greatly improved its coverage, and tends to be cheaper than the other two. Sprint is terrible.) Then you can get a booster for greater reliability.

The best setup we've had is a Verizon hotspot, with the two ports that connect to a MIMO antenna. A MIMO is only $30 on Amazon, while a WeBoost will set you back hundreds of dollars. The key is getting the right hotspot because there's only one Verizon option that can connect to the MIMO.

Google Fi and Skyroam are options for outside the U.S. Scott Brady says he loves Google Fi, but not in the U.S. Our major carriers are superior here.

We've been traveling full-time in the USA and Mexico for the past seven years, working full-time.

What’s the name of the verizon option you got? And you use that with the MIMO and you’re good right? Video calls? Thanks!

 

[BrittanyHighland]

What’s the name of the verizon option you got? And you use that with the MIMO and you’re good right? Video calls? Thanks!

I doubt ours is sold anymore--we got it back in 2018. Here are some of the current options in an article dated August 2020: https://www.rvmobileinternet.com/gear/verizon-orbic-mobile-hotspot/. Yes, video calls are fine provided you're in a coverage area. The Coverage? app is good for determining this before you pick a camping spot.