Internet for Baja

DaveF · Oct 27, 2014

Hello! I am planning to head to Baja in the next couple of weeks and I am finding the internet situation to be...complicated. It looks like I will not be remotely close to any cell towers. Also, we will be camping on the beach, so trips into town just for internet would not work for my "needs." It looks like the best available option is to use Hughes Net satellite service. I am new to using internet satellite and the results of some research suggests that it is quite a bit more complicated than I had realized.

My current problems are in finding the right technician and hardware for that location (e.g. satellites with a footprint specific to that part of Baja).

I would greatly appreciate any guidance on finding the technicians and/or I would need for this area as well as any more general advice on Hughes Net internet and Vandwelling.

-Dave

akrvbob · Oct 28, 2014

I assume this is the Dave I know and love? If it isn't forget all that stuff!!

Assuming it is we have a mutual friend who is very, very tech savvy and he has Hughes Net. Remember our discussion of Unix on a walk one day?

Either way, he has Hughes Net and he said he doesn't recommend it. It's slow, expensive for the few gigs you get and you have to be extremely knowledgeable to make it work.

But that was a few years ago so it may have changed.
Bob

gypsycowboy · Oct 28, 2014

We spent the winter in Baja 2 years ago and plan on doing it again this year. We used a TelCel banda ancha or wireless antenna for our laptops. Got great reception and were almost never out of range. I use Hughes Net at my place in the woods here in the PNW. It's pretty expensive for what you get. Talk to the folks at the TelCel office in Ensenada, they can get you set up and they have english speaking staff. If I recall correctly I got the hotspot device and 5G for $50.00 USD.

DaveF · Oct 28, 2014

Bob,

Hi! It is that Dave. I remember that long conversation about Unix. I spent an evening with them at last year's RTR as well. If he is finding it complicated, that does give me pause. Brian is suggesting that I consider just driving into town for internet as needed. With the apparent difficulties involved, that might be my only viable option. I'm going to dig a bit deeper into the HughesNet research just in case things have gotten easier to set up in the past few years. Thanks for the information.

-Dave

gypsycowboy,

Thank you for the lead. Unfortunately, their coverage map does not include the beaches I will be staying at. Verizon and AT&T do appear to have coverage in the area I will be at, but the internet speeds in those areas are just under 56k. Speeds slower than dial-up won't work for my needs. I might have to stick with internet cafes. I'm going to keep looking for a way to another form of internet to work. One of the strange concerns is that I will be in such a low-population area that the closest HughesNet technician might be as far as 8 hours away. Thanks again for giving me an area to check out.

-Dave

akrvbob · Oct 28, 2014

If Verizon and ATT have coverage you could get a pay-as-you-go phone for the time you are there. I think that's what most Canadians do when they winter in the USA.

Walmarts Smarttalk has an International Card you can buy, I think that would be worth looking into.

Are you still coming by here? I may have changed my mind and be staying in Flagstaff. I think I change my mind every day!

DaveF · Oct 29, 2014

Bob,

Thanks for the advice on phone internet. I am a bit concerned about the 2G speeds available in that area in terms of phone-based internet. But that may well be my best option. I'm still researching.

I am not sure if I am going to head back into Arizona before we head south. As this will be my first trip into Baja, I really want to go with a caravan. And the group I plan to head south with is leaving in the next week or so. Accordingly, I am starting to think I may not have time to visit with my friends before I go to Baja. I too am finding that I am changing travel plans quite often these days.

-Dave