Part Time Mobile Internet Connections
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As fulltime RVers, we have no problem signing a 2 year contract for Internet service from Verizon, but we know many people who only travel part time. What are their options for mobile Internet service? A couple years ago, your only option was to rely on Wi-Fi which is very UNreliable! Now there are several options for short term cellular Internet connections. The technology world moves fast, and nothing moves faster than cellular Internet plans, so take the information below as talking points only. Check with your provider, and/or your contract for the details that apply to you.
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Verizon is the focus of much of the information in this article since it is what we use personally, and it is the most popular service among RVers. There are links at the bottom for information on other providers.
1. Putting your Contract on Vacation: Even if you do sign a 2 year contract with Verizon, for example, you can put your service (and payments) on vacation for up to 6 months. Be aware that vacation time will be added to the end of your contract. That means, if your contract period starts on 1/1/11 and goes thru 1/1/13, and you put it on vacation for 6 months, your contract now goes thru 7/1/13. Be sure to check with your service provider (Verizon, Sprint, AT&T etc.) for details based on your particular contract.
2. Bring your Own Device: People sign up for a two year contract because that is the way to get the device (Mi-Fi, or cellular modem) for a steeply discounted price. If you already have an appropriate modem or hotspot device, you can get service on a month to month basis. So, bring your own device and sign up for monthly service and you can turn the service off at any time. Standard monthly service plans offer 5GB for $50.
3. Prepaid Mobile Broadband: These plans can be pretty pricey, but it may be the best option to get your teenagers for your month-long summer vacation. For example, Verizon charges $50 for 1 GB – expires in 1 month or $80 for 5GB – expires in 1 month. There are no overages because, once you hit your limit the service is turned off.
4. Cellular Resellers: You can get service without a contract from Virgin Mobile (resells Sprint network) and Millenicom (resells Verizon network.) Also see the paragraph below on the 3GStore – you will find several options there, including monthly plans that resell Verizon, and DataJack which uses Sprint.
4. Pay-As-You-Go: TruConnect is a service using the Sprint network. You buy the device from them then pay $5/mo plus 3.9 cents per megabyte. This would only be good if you are a very sporadic user with low data needs. According to my calculations 5GB at 3.9 cents per MB = $169.68.
5. Smart Phone Internet: This is my favorite. First of all, you may find that you don’t even need to take your computer on short trips because you can do your email and browse the web straight from your phone. If you do take your computer, many smart phones today have a ‘Hotspot’ feature that costs extra from the service provider, but that feature can be turned on/off at will and you only pay for the time you have it on. When it’s on you have your own Wi-Fi hotspot powered by the phone’s data plan and up to 5 devices can connect to it. You can also use third party tethering software called PDANet. This allows you to tether your phone to the computer with a cable and use the phone’s data plan to power Internet browsing on our computer at no extra service charge. The PDANet software costs about $20 – one time fee. See this Geeks on Tour Video: Connecting to the Internet with Droid.
6. 3GStore: 3GStore has a reputation for being very knowledgeable and helpful in giving guidance thru the morass of mobile internet devices, service providers, data plans, and signal boosters. They are resellers for cellular services and they sell all the devices to make it work. We’ve had such good experience with them that we are an affiliate for 3GStore.com. They have several plans for short-term cellular Internet solutions.
Here are some links to more information
Discussion of Part-Time Internet solutions on RV.net Forums
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Another option is Millenicom http://www.millenicom.com/ . I have been using them since last January and had no problems. If you use the “Advanced Plan” there is no contract and you get 20gb/month. They use the Verizon network. You have to buy your Air card, which is a Novatel 760 for $99 and you can cancel at any time.
When I was on the road I had my router on all of the time and used it to watch some TV shows and never went over my 20gb limit.
I have a Verizon mifi, 3 GB for $36.00 per month. When I am home or at a park with wifi I don’t use my mifi. Sometimes it is not used for 3-4 months. My question is; Will Verizon ever have rollover GB? Love reading your posts.
Howdy Chris,
Thank you, for all of the hard work rounding up all of this info…
Another option is “AutoNet Mobile” It uses mobile cellular connection – mine is Version commercial. Contact is autonetmobile.com. Has a one year contact with a 1GB or 5GB download limit. The only thing that might happen if you go beyond you limit is a slowed connection until first of month. You can check your usage on line.
We have the Verizon MiFi because we can use more than one device at the same time. It works great just about anywhere. However, a good part time option is to have a Verizon iPad and just activate your service on the iPad on a month to month basis. You can do just about everything on the iPad, but if you need a full computer this will not work for ou.
I also use Mellincon. I suspect it has contractual agreements with other providers than Verizon. While traveling “off the beaten path” recently with a friend who had a Verizon MIFI, I almost always had a connection; my firend’s was sporadic. It is as fast as the broadband I’ve had for several years at home, and with the 20 gig limit, I was comfortable enough to cancel the home broadband. FYI – I don’t do movies and don’t know how the 20 gigs would work for people who do use their computers to watch movies.
I’m using Millenicom and it has been G R E A T. No contracts. Month to month unlimited for 69.95
A heads up for verizon customers. The verizon telemarketers are pushing 4 G service without telling you that 4 G service is restricted to the major metropolitan areas. As a result of listening to a heavy accented hispanic brogue and understanding nothing but ten dollars a month cheaper on the monthly bill I lost my 3 G and my unlimited service. I have 4 G which I am miserable with and stuck with it for two years. Let the buyer beware.
Hey guys! I did mention Millenicom in #4 above! And … I wish I had done this research before signing my 2 year MiFi contract with Verizon … Millenicom is a great deal – and it uses Verizon service. ??Don’t know quite how they do that – use Verizon service but give you more than Verizon??
Ben C: I thought about mentioning Autonet but this article is about part time options – Autonet requires a contract.
Ronald Frederick: Thanks for mentioning the iPad as a part time solution – good idea!
So, if you use a cellular capable GPS that connects to update upcoming sites and road and traffic conditions, how much data transfer would such a device use for its GPS needs?
Great article.
FYI, the DataJack network is using Sprint not T-Mobile.
Dennis: I don’t think that GPS would use much data transfer – although it’s magic and wonderful to see road and traffic conditions and maps – it’s just simple data, not images or videos. I’m just guessing here, but I don’t think that usage is significant.
Mike: Thanks for the clarification, I’ll update the article.
Another option for tethering the smart phone is easytether for android. It’s much easier to use than PDANet and less than $10.00 one time fee. I use it at home also, since my only other option is satellite which is extremely slow and expensive.
[...] Part Time Mobile Internet Connections As fulltime RVers, we have no problem signing a 2 year contract for Internet service from Verizon, but we know many people who only travel part time. What are their options for mobile Internet service? A couple years ago, your only option was to rely on Wi-Fi which is very UNreliable! Now there are several options for short term cellular Internet connections. Read the article … [...]
Spend my winters at Lake Havasu and Verizon does not work there period. Sprint works best and get 4g on smartphone hotspot for $30 extra month and no data limits.
Chris, great article. This article has helped my understanding of Internet options as an uninformed infrequent on the road WiFi user.
Thanks for a good article. For my use, the Virgin Mobile MI-Fi purchased at Wal-Mart is the best. $20/month for the month you need it.
[...] Part Time Mobile Internet Connections As fulltime RVers, we have no problem signing a 2 year contract for Internet service from Verizon, but we know many people who only travel part time. What are their options for mobile Internet service? A couple years ago, your only option was to rely on Wi-Fi which is very UNreliable! Now there are several options for short term cellular Internet connections. Read the article … [...]
My thanks to the author of this article and also to those in the comment section on this subject. In out present day economy, as a working full time RV’er an Internet connection is required.
D.M. Simonds
ScribeCave.com
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