4g hotspot versus landline data

[offroad]

Will need to read what others are doing. My bill is<br /><br />$100 cellphone and data for smartphone<br />$50 for Internet via cable tv<br />$20 for 3G on iPad&nbsp;<br /><br />Thats monthly.&nbsp;<br /><br />Was thinking I could cut that in half with a 4G hotspot. And cancel all the above. What have others found for video quality from NETFLIX over a 4G Hotspot?

 

[rvwandering]

&nbsp;We have a 4G hotspot and cell phone service from ATT. It's about $100.00 a month for 5 gigs of internet on the computers and 450 minutes with rollover on the phone. ATT service is very fast almost everywhere. The quality of streaming video is pretty high but we don't do that much because it uses so much data. Check into Millicom for more data for the same money.

 

[hyperslug]

I often do Netflix over 4G, usually when driving down the road (not legal for the driver to view). It works fine for my 4" screen. I'm a sales rep and often stay in hotels and plug my phone into the the flat screen in room and watch Netflix on a bigger screen using the phones 4G network.&nbsp; I really cannot tell much of a difference between 4G and using my landline internet connection at home to watch Netflix. Of course&nbsp;neither are as high quality as my Dish TV and it does use a lot of phone data which could cost you dearly. I have unlimited data with Verizon but they no longer offer it and AT&amp;T and Sprint just don't have the coverage Verizon does.&nbsp; Good luck!

 

[Seraphim]

We eliminated our home Internet connection for a 4G Sprint Overdrive Pro hotspot. $50 a month for 6 gb. Sprint uses the Verizon network at no additional charge when the Sprint network is unavailable. It was unlimited when I first got it, but that changed. The Overdrive goes everywhere with us.

The satellite dish is the next to go. Too much cost for too little use.

 

[offroad]

Seraphim - had forgotten that sprint will piggyback on Verizon when sprint looses coverage. That's an important point when consider alternative service providers. Is that true only for DATA 3G-4G? &nbsp;Or will that also be true for phone service? &nbsp;Am considering buying an unlocked $400 iPhone 4S in addition to the hotspot. &nbsp;<br /><br />The trouble I noticed in&nbsp;bandwidth.&nbsp;<br /><br />1). Video streaming needs bandwidth. About 1M to 2M per movie. That's 1000 movies in a 1gig service. So in theory should be okay for Netflix.&nbsp;<br /><br />2). &nbsp;Microsoft and virus protection updates. Seems there is some rather large software update once every two weeks from these folks. Not in the gig range but it is large.&nbsp;<br /><br />3). What is the 3G 4G competition for bandwidth like? &nbsp;Will the hotspot switch through 3G 4G etcetera when the bandwidth is just not getting through?<br /><br />Referencing the below article, as getting WIFI to behave inside your RV is a lot harder than you might realize.&nbsp; Using the tips mentioned in this article my WIFI is now faster than all my neighbors in my apartment complex, because I activated 5GHZ WIFI properly (not easy).<br /><br />http://www.technomadia.com/2012/12/mobile-internet-for-rvers/

 

[VanLifeCrisis]

Movies are more like 500 megs of data at least...or do you mean bandwidth speed? <img rel="lightbox" src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" class="bbc_img" />

 

[offroad]

Movies are more like 500 megs of data at least...or do you mean bandwidth speed? <img rel="lightbox" src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" class="bbc_img" />

<br /><br />Yes movies can be only 500 Megs of data. Depending on the source.&nbsp;

 

[Seraphim]

Offroad

I don't know about if it's only true for data - we have AT&T for our phone.

We don't video stream, except the occasional YouTube video. The transfer rate for 4G is very fast. Not so much for 3G lol. We rarely use a Windows device, though we have one. IPads. For any updates or large files, public wireless is used. Nothing is ever urgent enough for us that we can't wait a day or so until find a public wifi. Might as well use their bandwidth for the the large files. The device automatically searches of 3G if 4G is lost. May take 30 seconds but it doesn't interfere with what we are doing.

We have looked into extending wifi range, but have done nothing about it. Hasn't been an issue for us. No problems for reception with either our old metal van or our new fiberglass camper. Put it near a glass window.

The device works great for us. We rarely exceed 3 gb a month. If there's no cell coverage, thats OK with us. Go to a public library and download a cpuple of videos on advance. There are larger data programs available if you want to pay the price. Not efficient, for us to pay the extra money.