Best Internet Solutions for US Nomads?

[Rick39]

Hey folks,

I'm planning to start living out of a Ford E350 starting this fall, and am currently working as a freelance copywriter. As you can imagine, internet is a bit of a requirement for me while out on the road. So far my research has shown me that an unlimited data plan, cell phone tether, and some sort of cell booster (weBoost Reach has seemed like the best option so far) are what I need. However, I am wondering if anyone else knows of any services or tricks to get reliable internet? 

Thanks!

 

[DannyB1954]

In the West, Verizon was the best, but AT&T has improved. Many people have both as the spot that you are in may have one of them but not the other. Prepaid plans do not allow you to use the phone as a hot spot. One of the carriers had an unlimited hot spot device but it also had the lowest priority for tower availability. During the day the tower could all but shut you down while they let the premium customers use the bandwidth.

 

[B and C]

I use an AT&T Mobley unlimited ~$23 a month for data (including tax) and can use my cell phone tethered to it for making voice calls through Hangouts dialer when not in Verizon area. The voice part doesn't always work well though. My phone is Verizon. I have a Verizon hotspot too with unlimited data at 600Kbps. Enough so I can watch Netflix.

With internet being paramount in your being able to make a living, do not cheap out on a prepaid plan. The prepaid plans do not roam.

I also have a weboost (cradle model) connected to a truckers antenna that I put my hotspots in keeping the phone free. When that won't get me service, I break out the directional antenna atop a painters pole to get it up in the air. Sometimes this doesn't work so camping in that spot is short duration and I mark it on a map as no cell.

 

[Matlock]

I've had verizon for the past few years, android smart cell, galaxy tablet and a verizon jetpack hotspot with 24GB data that I use for my Win 10 laptop. Jetpack sits in a boost and is connected to a directional antenna, VZ (Verizon) towers are found with "antenna search" to position the directional antenna. The antenna used on rare occasion as he boost usually is fine.

VZ works very well anywhere east of the mississippi river. I've not spent enough time in the western 2/3 rds of the country to offer any insight.

I continue reading about other offerings but nobody else has been able to match them for overall reception. Throttling happens during busiest times of day, otherwise 4G-LTE, throttle takes you down to 3G which is still acceptable unless your in a rural area, then it's 3G always.

My contract is up this month and I was hoping that AT&T, Sprint Mobile would be more competition but, looks like VZ has better coverage and best signal strength even though it costs the most. I'm now paying $160 a month with $110 of that for data on the jetpack.

just my 2¢ on where and what works for me and has proved very reliable and secure.

 

[B and C]

^^^Wow, My Verizon phone with hotspot feature (unlimited to 15 then subject to throttling), jetpack unlimited (600Kbps), no throttling or deprioritization and phone payment is only ~$131 including tax.

 

[rayrey]

There are places that Verizon is the only option just as there are others that are only AT&T. The thing is that there are also many places that Verizon is so overloaded that it is unusable leaving AT&T the only option by default. Even lowly Sprint was a better option than Verizon in Quartzsite this winter,,,,Okay, EVERY winter. By far it was AT&T for the win with the highest uncongested speeds.

In general if you can have both Verizon and AT&T you are pretty good to go. There are times that Sprint and T-Mobile are faster than both of them.

So what makes a difference when picking your internet? Getting a post paid plan with roaming is one. Getting a up to date device that gets all of the bands is another. Having a signal booster and directional antenna can make the difference between having or not having a signal on any of the services.

 

[jimindenver]

There are places that Verizon is the only option just as there are others that are only AT&T. The thing is that there are also many places that Verizon is so overloaded that it is unusable leaving AT&T the only option by default. Even lowly Sprint was a better option than Verizon in Quartzsite this winter,,,,Okay, EVERY winter. By far it was AT&T for the win with the highest uncongested speeds.

In general if you can have both Verizon and AT&T you are pretty good to go. There are times that Sprint and T-Mobile are faster than both of them.

So what makes a difference when picking your internet? Getting a post paid plan with roaming is one. Getting a up to date device that gets all of the bands is another. Having a signal booster and directional antenna can make the difference between having or not having a signal on any of the services.

 

[Firtree]

I like the ATT hotspot, jetpack, Nighthawk or Unite thing with the unlimited gray plan you can often find on ebay for $10 and then $34.99 per month. Add to that a Verizon phone plan maybe one with the hotspot feature enabled.
Visible a Verizon company has an unlimited talk, text, data and Hotspot for a flat $40 a month. Currently only certain phones work. Data download is limited to 5Mbs but that is fine for movies and much else.

For the ATT or a Verizon jetpack, brick thing, a Netgear MIMO antenna $30 @Amazon usually works as well as the boosters. To boost the phone you would need a booster as it doesn’t have antenna ports but you may not need to booster

 

[B and C]

If you are out west, a booster and high gain directional antenna placed as high as possible are almost a must unless you stay near freeways or metropolitan areas. The east is much more densely populated so not as much boosting is required.

I can get a usable signal when my friends without the high gain directional antenna cannot get a signal at all.

 

[Rick39]

If you are out west, a booster and high gain directional antenna placed as high as possible are almost a must unless you stay near freeways or metropolitan areas.  The east is much more densely populated so not as much boosting is required.

I can get a usable signal when my friends without the high gain directional antenna cannot get a signal at all.

What kind of booster do you use? Do you ever have any trouble finding a tower inthe distance to point at? My worry with a directional antenna is that if I cant see a tower I could have even worse signal than if I had just used an omnidirectional antenna

 

[B and C]

I use "open signal" app (android) to find towers in an area before I get there.  That lets me aim it in the general direction to get a start on getting a signal and fine tune from there.  When I get closer to my destination and still in cell phone range, I give it a look again.

Weboost cradle model.  Mine is discontinued so this is the closest I could find: https://www.weboost.com/products/dr...14Uh2Y0UKlPfP2Hv17t-pwxBAxK8AwsQaAgpYEALw_wcB

You have to put your hotspot or phone in the cradle for it to work.

Edit to add: if you can see the tower you probably don't need a booster.

 

[Rick39]

I use "open signal" app (android) to find towers in an area before I get there.  That lets me aim it in the general direction to get a start on getting a signal and fine tune from there.  When I get closer to my destination and still in cell phone range, I give it a look again.

Weboost cradle model.  Mine is discontinued so this is the closest I could find: https://www.weboost.com/products/dr...14Uh2Y0UKlPfP2Hv17t-pwxBAxK8AwsQaAgpYEALw_wcB

You have to put your hotspot or phone in the cradle for it to work.

Edit to add: if you can see the tower you probably don't need a booster.

Wow thats awesome, I would have never thought of that, there really is an app for everything! Thanks for the info, Directional antennas don't seem so scary to me now haha