internet and cell phone service for full-timers - RV-Dreams Community Forum

birder526 · RV-Dreams Family Member

internet and cell phone service for full-timers

Sushidog · RV-Dreams Family Member

We plan on giving up my Android smart phone and only using my DWs TracPhone pay-as-you-go phone. They are $10 from WalMart and cost either $10/month for air time and access or $99/yr. We always run out of month before we exceed our minutes (which roll over) as they double our minutes every month. I think we have about 1,200 minutes available on it now. This is the cheapest way to go, but not if you like to hang on the phone for hours at a time. You can also get a $33 AT&T smart phone and use go-phone prepaid service, but it is much more expensive.

For internet I plan on keeping my $10/month My Earthlink Internet/e-mail account as I've had it for a long time. We will be using whatever RV parks free WiFi or Hotspot is available for access. Our needs are simple with money being the primary consideration. I'm sure others who have a more generous budget will suggest much better (and more $$$) communication options.

Chip

Lucky Mike · RV-Dreams Family Member

Walmart has a new 3g-4g hotspot thru tracfone 5gigs for 50 bucks good for 60 days.....I use this and free wifi and have very few minor problems....

I have found I am using about 2 gigs a month thru the hotspot......as I travel I tend to overnite at several big box stores that have excellent Wifi to take care of most of my needs using an outside WiFi antenna

I have a Strait talk smartphone plan from Walmart ...35 a month unlimited talk/text and light internet which is good for browsing

Note:.....I am on the east coast

-- Edited by Lucky Mike on Sunday 16th of November 2014 06:16:58 AM

bjoyce · RV-Dreams Family Member

We are on a Verizon More Everything plan with two smartphones and a mobile hotspot (MiFi/Jetpack), but find we do not have service everywhere. We added an AT&T mobile hotspot and have been glad to have it multiple places.

On another thread I pointed you to http://www.rvmobileinternet.com/ for RV Internet. If you need help with blogging and other uses, like managing your photos in the cloud, then http://www.geeksontour.com/ is another resource. Both of these are run by fulltime RVers.

The Junkman · RV-Dreams Family Member

I think if you are staying where people are.. Verizon will be all you need. they have the metros and surrounding areas covered well. Verizon has and is number one in the business, and in my opinnion , a must have. If you are venturing to western mountains or open plains area.. you may need a second provider..

I'm on verizon only.2 smart phones, 30gb data, unlimited everything else.$230 / mo. Also have a wilson 4 g booster Amp and get 4g in the woods in florida...

Been a verizon customer for 25 year plus.. travelled everywhere in the us.. mostly.. never did I not have service yet.. not saying they are everywhere.. but everywhere I've been, they where there..

just my .02

-- Edited by The Junkman on Sunday 16th of November 2014 08:07:47 AM

Glenn West · RV-Dreams Family Member

Been in parts of Virginia and no Verizon service, parts of Kentucky, plains of Texas. Lots of places has no Verizon service. They are likely the best coverage there is though. Just don't want you thinking you will have cell service everywhere cause no provider does.

birder526 · RV-Dreams Family Member

Hi Chip,

Thanks for your response. Your information is helpful and we are looking into Trac Phone. Saving money is a necessity so their phones and plans are very attractive.

Diane

birder526 · RV-Dreams Family Member

Thank you, everyone, for your responses. Very helpful. It looks like Trac Phone will meet our needs. We presently have Verizon and will visit their store tomorrow, but I don't think they'll have a plan we can afford.

Diane

Glenn West · RV-Dreams Family Member

Just be aware that trac plhone uses att Verizon sprint towers. Which phone you get determines which tower you use.

birder526 · RV-Dreams Family Member

Glenn,

Didn't know this. Thanks for the heads up.

Diane

The Junkman · RV-Dreams Family Member

Glenn West wrote:
Been in parts of Virginia and no Verizon service, parts of Kentucky, plains of Texas. Lots of places has no Verizon service. They are likely the best coverage there is though. Just don't want you thinking you will have cell service everywhere cause no provider does.

Read my post.. Everywhere there are people..

Plains of tx? Virgina mountains and kentucky does not have a great gather of people.. and me as a traveler of attractions, I also, see no need to travel to those places.. so my Verizon services should remain at 5 bars of 4g..

I think you need satellite internet..lol ( it's a joke )..

Fact is.. no one provides more locations and best service as Verizon.. An yep.. you gotta pay..

Lucky Mike · RV-Dreams Family Member

Of course there is always AT&T.....and they are right on Verizons back door!!!!

Lucky Mike · RV-Dreams Family Member

Note:......Tracfone uses all 3 major carriers for their service......Verizon...AT&T & Sprint , it doesnt matter on the phone you have only on the closest servicing cell tower......their internet is provided thru sprint & AT&T...again it will depend on the closest servicing tower.

Tracfone
Net 10
Straight Talk
AARP
and about 5 more are all Tracfone services

Walmart's

Internet on the go is Sprint
ZTE Hotspot is AT&T & sprint depending on the region you are operating in..

I have been using the ZTE Hotspot 3G-4G for the last 2 months and it works well where others dont

I have had an active Tracfone for 11 years now and it also works where my other 2 phones have no service.

Tracfone is great for emergency phone service or lite phone use......

RVmomof3 · RV-Dreams Community Member

We use Verizon for our phones and internet. So far we have not had any issues with coverage and that is important since our kids do most of their school work "Time4Learning curriculum" online. They are more expensive, but worth the extra money imo ;)

TRAILERKING · RV-Dreams Family Member

Lucky Mike wrote:
.............take care of most of my needs using an outside WiFi antenna

-- Edited by Lucky Mike on Sunday 16th of November 2014 06:16:58 AM

What kind of outside WiFi antennae do you use?

Technomadia · RV-Dreams Family Member

There are many ways to approach mobile internet.. and the first part is assessing your needs for coverage, reliability, travel style and budget.

What works for us (it's essential for us) won't necessarily be what someone else might be able to get away with.

Here's a link to our personal setup:
www.technomadia.com/2014/08/how-we-keep-online-illustrated-tour-of-our-rv-mobile-internet-setup/

And here's some other relevant articles that might help:
www.rvmobileinternet.com/resources/the-four-major-us-carriers-data-comparison/
www.rvmobileinternet.com/resources/wilson-4g-booster-comparisons-sleek-vs-mobile-vs-dt/
www.rvmobileinternet.com/resources/mifijetpack-usb-modem-or-smartphone-hotspotting/

We of course also offer our book - The Mobile Internet Handbook that overviews it all. (www.rvmobileinternet.com/book)

- Cherie

Glenn West · RV-Dreams Family Member

Sometime in future I will let you know the difference in Verizon and ATT since we just quit Verizon based straighttalk and went with Att. We did this due to the Milleinicon problem.

Jack Mayer · RV-Dreams Family Member

What Millenicom problem? They stopped service. I used the heck out of it until it turned off. I took advantage of the double data on Verizon by walking into a store and changing my plan. It took, perhaps, 8 minutes. And it cost me less than Millenicom. (It will not be less for everyone, however. It depends on your plans and previous levels with Verizon) There was no real problem to my way of thinking.....

Glenn West · RV-Dreams Family Member

Jack those of us that didn't have Verizon would have to get a contract with them. That is the problem. Don't understand your criticism. Although ours is still working

-- Edited by Glenn West on Monday 17th of November 2014 08:52:19 PM

Selah · RV-Dreams Family Member

I'm probably reiterating what others have said but here it is anyway.
Verizon has the best overall coverage through out the lower 48 (maybe Alaska but I don't know). However we have stayed at several places that had no coverage, voice or data. A short drive to the nearest town usually turned up a Starbucks or Panera Bread where we could get email, send pictures, update DWs blog etc. In some cases all we had to do was walk to a different part of the park to get enough signal to make a phone call.

Technomadia · RV-Dreams Family Member

Glenn West wrote:
Jack those of us that didn't have Verizon would have to get a contract with them.

-- Edited by Glenn West on Monday 17th of November 2014 08:52:19 PM

No contracts required anymore unless you take a subsidized device. Bring your own device, pay full price or finance the device with the carrier - and you're contract free.

FinanceGuy · RV-Dreams Community Member

Wife and I both have iPhone 6's - mine on Verizon and hers on AT&T. We keep enough data on each plan for us both to use via the hotspots. We find coverage has been excellent between the two. Internet and cell service is a requirement for me so it's worth the little bit of extra cost.