Internet Antenna Options

[tmw188]

What are some options for Internet receivers. I really don’t know what most are using. Does let’s say the old technology prior to what’s being used now still work or does it grow old and not perform well because of changes in technology? What would it cost to purchase a reasonable receiver? I’m not full time and would want something pay as you go let’s say. Maybe some ideas of what to expect. 
Thanks in advance. 

[jacwjames]

In the past we've had ATT hotspots.

I did get a ATT Mobley account ~$23/month, which was a hotspot you plug into the OBD port and be able to use as a hotspot for the car.  I got an 120 volt adpapter and used it in the coach as we were building our house.  It actually worked pretty good but limited to only 5 devices connected.  I've since upgraded to a nighthawk hotspot which seems to have better reception and can have ~25 items connected.  Price has gone up to $23.16 but this is a legacy account.

The we switched to Sprint, which advertised there phones could be used as hotspots.   When I tried to use it I found out that it was only ~5 GB of data, which is maybe 2 days worth based on our current usage.  Sprint was bought by T-Mobile and at our house had terrible coverage, I had to sit on the front porch to make a call. 

I tried a Cricket turbo hotspot (this is a subsidiary of ATT)~$50/month for 100 GB but if you let this lapse you you have to reactive it costs ~$90.  They don't do an on/off type subscription.

So the best thing I could find was a Visible plan (subsidiary of Verizon), $25/month but it does throttle the speeds but they are good enough for some streaming and internet.  It uses Verizon network.  I first switched my T-Mobile account to Visible and tried it, seemed to work OK.  I bought a small travel router to hook to my phone so I could stream TV and surf the Web.  In 2023 I was N WIS and got by with a weak signal

Wife got fed up with T-Mobile and see agreed to try Visible, seems to work for her and supports he hours on the phone talking and/or facebooking.  I actually bought her a reconditioned phone through Visible so we had her old phone.  So when she was getting ready for a trip I set up a 3rd account on Visible with the old phone and set it up in the coach to use as a hotspot.  Worked pretty good when she was on her trip inMay/June.  Had the MicroAir thermostat connected to the travel router and I could monitor temps in the coach. 

So we now have 3 Visible accounts for $75/month.  For now I decide just to keep the 3rd account active in the coach.   This allows me to keep track of temps in the coach.  Still have the ATT account for $23/month for internet in the house.  So $100/month total for two phones and two hotspots.  That's the best I could do. 

I did install a WeBoost antenna before my wife took her trip, no idea if it helped or not.  Put the power booster in the TV cabinet and have the antenna head resting on the hotspot/phone.   The external antenna head itself I have mounted on the roof elevated slightly above the satellite dome. 

Edited August 22 by jacwjames

[Ivan K]

Depends where you travel. If in areas with cellphone service, you have options. We go places outside of coverage and starlink is the only option. Reliable and unlimited.  Not cheap at $150/month but it can be suspended and resumed on a monthly bases.

[1nolaguy]

Everyone's needs are different. For us we mainly use the net for email, surfing and streaming Prime, Netflx etc. e are not full time so dedicating a monthly note to internet for the R does not make sense. After trying several option we went with a MOFI 4500 ( not sure if this model is still available as it is several years old). We have T-mobile for our phones (Megenta 55+). When we travel the sims from teh phone we use least get moved to the MOFI and then we have internet service throughout the RV.

[DBRV.0]

The options I know are either cellular, or Starlink.  We use Verizon's "LTE Home Internet", which acts like a moderate-speed wifi router.  We get 35-50 mpbs, and are primarily stationary.

If you do research on Starlink, which works anywhere, you will find two options: Starlink or the new Starlink Mini.  Performance for both can be very good.  As I understand it, the Mini is intended more for roaming, but the standard model also has also been used by the RV community for roaming.  There are difference pricing options, depending on your needs.

Most users will keep Starlink on it's OEM stand and set it up for each use.  I found one video where the owner made modifications so it can be "permanently" roof or stationary mounted, then he shows how he modified his to use 12VDC instead of 120VAC.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRSnTMrUPrQ

- Jeff

[Rikadoo]

So when it comes to internet there are a few things i feel you need to know, like how often are you going to use it, part time, full time, or somewhere in between, then what are you going to do with it, surf, stream, work, games??? If less than full time are you gonna want to be able to turn on/off as your need do or dont need it.

i just bought a router with a verizon 5g sim card, i get 300gigs a month, i get 5g an 2.4ghz for my rv monitor system, i can set the router to pick up a free wifi an prioritze it over my sim card untill it gets schechy then goes back to my sim card, i can plug a starlink into it an control it thru the router, can have unlimited devices working out of my router or customize it to specific people. It has 2 WAN ports an 1 Lan port, so if i wanted a printer that i wanted hard wired to it, It is not cheap an i will say there is a learning curve on using it, an the wife an i just went to redmond last week, she was on her device the whole way up an back, it worked flawlessly. Router on sale $399. An monthly service $129. Per mo an am able to turn the svc on or off as i need to use it.

[JohnC3]

As others have mentioned, Your solution for internet depends on how important internet is to you and what you use it for. It is also important how often you use it and where you travel. If  you only go for weekend or short trips several times a year and only want to access your email and maybe watch a YouTube video, a phone based hotspot might work well for you(Visable, ATT, Verizon. ) and you might just use the phone plan you already have if you don't camp often.  If you are a family and work remotely on the road or stream heavily, you might have Starlink Satellite internet and multiple redundant connections with different carriers to provide you bulletproof internet. 

I have been a fulltimer since 9/20. Its just me and my wife, but I like to stream YouTube, Netflix, And several subscription channels. I have Starlink (120/mo+ for 1000Gb) and a Mobile router from (cricket $90/Mo for 100gb). Others spend fo have higher upload speeds with bonded connections from different providers to just have internet that works anywhere.

Starlink works well until you get under trees on the east coast (or it has an obstructed view of the sky (a tree, building, you are in a narrrow valley, etc. It does require you either to set it up each time you stop (getting the version that you can use while driving is more expensive both for hardware and monthly subscription)

Phones have limited hotspot range and don't work well for several people because of the short hotspot range of the phone. The plan you get will probably have dead spots (even Verizon or T-mobile)

Mobile hotspots are better than phones and can work for a whole RV, but require their own cellular data plan(not phone, just a data plan) You are still limited to one carrier unless you go with much more expensive hardware (although I have seen some hybrid cellular offerings that connect to Verizon/ATT/T-mobile (Whichever signal is better, These are more expensive but not too expensive), A few hotspots allow for an external antenna that you can have outside your RV (think on a pole, or on the roof) that get better reception. There is even an antenna that connects to the window with suction cups and may double your reception speed.

Mobile Routers are better than hotspots because they usually are meant to work for more people at the same time and are setup for external antennas. The downside is these are (usually) not able to go with you if you travel away from your RV as they are often wired to an external antenna and rig power (so they MAY not be setup to work in motion when traveling when the rig is powered down *but if you have power to the router, it will still work and sill often be strong enough wifi to reach your tow vehicle if you have one. In a mobile router you can have anything from a few hundred dollars to several thousand dollars for a multi-carrier redundant system if you have it professionally installed.

Lots of options, Escapees and FMCA offer mobile hotspot plans that are discounted and can run ~70/mo but you subscribe for a year at a time.

A good resource I used was Mobile Internet resource center (MIRC) (Search for it on the web/YouTube). They keep up with all the data plans (they change almost monthly), have reviews of different setups and links to different places to get the plans from direct to carrier to resellers (people/companies who buy old plans and rent them to you. There description if these plans is "They work until they don't!"

They are Rvers/Boaters and do a good job of providing the latest info. They offer a paid subscription that I did for a year (because this is complicated and can be confusing for about $79) I was willing to support them just to say thanks for doing all the legwork in finding and organizing all the data.

So on the road internet is very personal. Its like what car do you buy? It depends on how you use it, where you  use it and how much money you have.

For cellular carriers: Verizon is most popular and has pretty reasonable coverage. It doesn't work anywhere (think boondocking in Wyoming)

 Att ( or Cricket) works pretty good, but not everywhere All carriers have their holes in coverage usually where where there are not a lot of people around.

T-Mobile works pretty good but again has its dead spots. I have been to all 49 states and there are places where I could only get coverage in one restaurant on the second floor (if you have seen the movie RV, that's about it). I have been so far north that starlink didn't work all the time even with a good view of the sky.

Check out MIRC and see what works for you.

Good luck,

John

[DBRV.0]

FWIW, as I check a little more, it seems that the Starlink Mini should become the primary "Starlink" product.  It costs less to manufacture (so Elon says), and seems to have better roaming / on-the-move capabilities.  Here is a video and a couple of shorts to demonstrate.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pmiwqor1F7M

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/0tggLLeuBDU

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ST5XlZufxew

- Jeff

[jacwjames]

In 2021 I had T-Mobile phone service which even in TN had marginal coverage.   I had tried the T-Mobile phone as a hotspot in W VA with minimal success, very disappointed prior to the SD trip so I knew I had to do something else. 

In 2021 when I took a trip to SD from TN I opted to get a Cricket Turbo hotspot which uses ATT cell towers.  I looked at ATT but the Blackhawk they offered was 3 times the amount. 

So along the way I used the Cricket hotspot and had reception at every overnight stop, but at times it was slow.  But compared the T-Mobile it was a better option as I ZERO reception in some areas.  When I was driving in the rural areas T-Mobile usually had no reception and sometimes my T-Mobile phone would show an ATT connection.  I needed to make a call at Devils Tower in SD but no reception with my T-Mobile phone but was able use wifi calling on the Cricket hotspot.  Go figure.

So it might pay to check the coverage area map for which ever service you decide on and it might pay to go with two different carriers as a backup.

 

I know when I take a trip this fall out west I will have coverage problems based on the Verizon maps.  Traveling through parts of MT, ID, WA show limited coverage. 

 

 

[CAT Stephen]

@tmw188,

 

Can you specify what type of internet that you are seeking?  The options are cellular and Satellite LOE (Low Earth Orbit) solutions such as Starlink as others have shared.

Starlink has very poor to non-existant service where a clear view of the horizon is not available (dense urban areas with tall buildings and forested areas), but has absolutely phenomenal performance with complete 100% nationwide coverage otherwise and is often faster than cellular when a clear view of the horizon is available.  But Starlink is typically ~double the monthly cost of CEllular.

There are actually only three (3) MNO (Mobile Network Operator) cellular carriers in the USA that directly provide near nationwide coverage.  The distinction with these MNOs are that own and manage their networks:

- Verizon

- AT&T

- TMobile (Substantially less coverage than AT&T or Verizon)

All other cellular carriers except for a few scattered regional MNO carriers such as Dish Network are MVNO's (Mobile Virtual Network Operators) that resell service from the above MNO carriers.  Examples of MVNO's are Mint Mobile, Boost Mobile.  Here is a near complete list of MVNOs:

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mobile_virtual_network_operators_in_the_United_States

 

If you are primarily RVing in the eastern US, there is cellular service virtually everywhere, so Starlink will not be very useful in the eastern US and will actually be less reliable and available than cellular due to the need for a horizon view.  Satellite LOE service will work with trees, but there will be frequent to intermittent service brownouts because the satellites are moving in the sky.

If you RV primarily in the Western US, Satellite LOE service is an excellent use case over cellular due to vast areas of the west not having cellular service available.

Please share your decision in the forum (Satellite LOE or Cellular) so the we can guide you in equipment and carriers.

 

 

Edited August 22 by CAT Stephen

[tmw188]

I know nothing about any, it never really interest me in knowing. We are planning a trip up into the Blackhills, YS and Grand Tetons. The cost of subscriptions are more than I’m willing to spend. Something to boost what we might get with our AT&T cellular service. Maybe a Hotspot, don’t really know how they work either. I’m of the understanding they just help boost your cellular signal? 

[jacwjames]

Hotspots use a phone SIM card to connect to the internet, you can then connect to it just like a Wifi router.  

You might check your ATT plan and see if they have an option to use the phone has a hotspot, you can then tether it to a computer or router. 

That's basically what I do with one phone with a Visible plan, they allow you to use the phone as a hotspot or tether it.  I bought a small travel router and plug the phone to it, GL.iNet GL-SFT1200 (Opal) Secure Travel WiFi Router

Also bought a better USB charger so I could run the travel router, and will also keep phone charged when it is plugged into the router. AINOPE Smallest 4.8A All Metal USB Car Charger Port

While traveling I have a Smart TV, MicroAir thermostat, and Laptop connected to the travel router. 

Works for me and with the Visible plan @$25/ month is hard to beat. 

[tmw188]

So Jim what is the Visible plan, is it a particular carriers plan? 
I’ll look into At&t personal hotspots or I may just continue to deal with it on this trip. 

Edited August 22 by tmw188

[jacwjames]

6 minutes ago, tmw188 said:

So Jim what is the Visible plan, is it a particular carriers plan? 

Visible a phone carrier and is affiliated with Verizon, uses the Verizon towers. 

https://www.visible.com/

When my wife switched from T-Mobile to Visible I bought her a reconditioned phone, her old one was busted up pretty bad.  So I ordered the phone and SIM card.  Then just followed the instructions on activating the sim card in the new phone.  She kept her phone number, to be able to do that she (meaning me)  have to get a transfer code from T-Mobile.  Then just followed the instructions to activate the SIM. 

The downside of Visible is that there is no bricks and mortar stores and very limited customer service help.  Everything is done via chat help line, almost impossible to talk to a real person.   And you have to have a separate email address for each contract.  This was an issue for me when I set up another account for a hotspot in the coach.  I resorted to using my 20 year old email address I had at Yahoo, which I seldom used.  But that's the only way I could set up a second account in my name.

 

[Georgia Mike]

I use the Mofi 5500 paired with the Peplink 42g antenna and it’s worked great. The Mofi 5500 has what’s called carrier aggregation that locks on to 3 different cellular bands at the same time. When I am in a bad signal area where I barely have 1 bar it bumps it up to 2 or 3 bars and  I am able to steam when I couldn’t before. So far I have never been without service and I have been all over the US. I highly recommend it

[jacwjames]

10 minutes ago, Georgia Mike said:

I use the Mofi 5500 paired with the Peplink 42g antenna and it’s worked great. The Mofi 5500 has what’s called carrier aggregation that locks on to 3 different cellular bands at the same time. When I am in a bad signal area where I barely have 1 bar it bumps it up to 2 or 3 bars and  I am able to steam when I couldn’t before. So far I have never been without service and I have been all over the US. I highly recommend it

Which carrier are you using???  Sim card goes right in the Mofi?

[tmw188]

Thank you to all that have replied. I’m following along to understand all these options and what I want to do. 
So do I need another phone for all this  to work, it has to have another plan so that means another device?

24 minutes ago, Georgia Mike said:

I use the Mofi 5500 paired with the Peplink 42g antenna and it’s worked great. The Mofi 5500 has what’s called carrier aggregation that locks on to 3 different cellular bands at the same time. When I am in a bad signal area where I barely have 1 bar it bumps it up to 2 or 3 bars and  I am able to steam when I couldn’t before. So far I have never been without service and I have been all over the US. I highly recommend it

So Mike does the Mofi 5500 take the place of another cell phone, is that what Jim is getting at with his question above?

Edited August 23 by tmw188

[jacwjames]

Some phone plans do allow tethering so you can use the phone as a hotspot.   Sometimes you can add it as an option but you have to be careful as to how much data is allowed.   When I was traveling for work I had a Blackberry phone that allowed tethering and I used it in stead of "free" wifi options for security reasons, especially in airports. 

A lot depends what you want to do.  Just doing some minor web surfing and checking email doesn't use a lot of data.  Live streaming TV shows you'll use a lot.   I just checked the home hotspot and we've used 90GB of data in 21 days.  We both stream shows on the TV's , check internet for mail and other stuff.  We are fairly light users. 

When my wife signed us up for Sprint I told her to make sure we could use the phone as a hotspot.  Well, when I finally tried to use it on a trip found out it was only good for 5GB of data. 

Other things to watch for is if a carrier will throttle data past a certain point. 

 

Just for fun>>> back in 2011 I accepted a new job, my boss gave me the website and password to check out some files for the project I was assigned to.  At the time we had ATT home internet via cable.  We had a 100GB plan and never went over.  So I started looking at files, all pretty small and it was taking time to go through the folders and look at individual files so I decided I'd just download the whole file for the project.  Started the download in the afternoon and didn't check on it until I went to bed and it was still downloading.  HOLY CRAP.  I stopped it. 

Next day we didn't have any internet so I called ATT, they stopped our plan because I went way over the allowed limit and at the time the service rep said I would owe a minor amount, so I agreed and they turned back on the service.  Next day same thing, called the ATT customer service and they said that I was over but I'd owe +$1000 for excess data.  HOLY CRAP X2.  Not much I could do about it so I agreed to pay and they turned back on the service.  This continued until after the billing cycle.  I then got a call from ATT customer service and the women I talked to was very sympathetic to what happened and since we had never got close to the limit prior to that she said they would wave most of the charges.  Still had to pay a little more then the normal bill but not nearly the original amount.  Learned a hard lesson on data usage then🤑

[Georgia Mike]

 

2 hours ago, jacwjames said:

Which carrier are you using???  Sim card goes right in the Mofi?

Yes,  I have att. SIM card goes in the Mofi. You can add a line to your plan or add a tablet that uses a sim and just put that in the Mofi. 

Edited August 23 by Georgia Mike

[cbr046]

I just got a Facebook ad showing Home Depot carrying Starlink antennas, accessories and kits.  😮

- bob

[tmw188]

11 hours ago, jacwjames said:

Some phone plans do allow tethering so you can use the phone as a hotspot.   Sometimes you can add it as an option but you have to be careful as to how much data is allowed.   When I was traveling for work I had a Blackberry phone that allowed tethering and I used it in stead of "free" wifi options for security reasons, especially in airports. 

A lot depends what you want to do.  Just doing some minor web surfing and checking email doesn't use a lot of data.  Live streaming TV shows you'll use a lot.   I just checked the home hotspot and we've used 90GB of data in 21 days.  We both stream shows on the TV's , check internet for mail and other stuff.  We are fairly light users. 

When my wife signed us up for Sprint I told her to make sure we could use the phone as a hotspot.  Well, when I finally tried to use it on a trip found out it was only good for 5GB of data. 

Other things to watch for is if a carrier will throttle data past a certain point. 

 

Just for fun>>> back in 2011 I accepted a new job, my boss gave me the website and password to check out some files for the project I was assigned to.  At the time we had ATT home internet via cable.  We had a 100GB plan and never went over.  So I started looking at files, all pretty small and it was taking time to go through the folders and look at individual files so I decided I'd just download the whole file for the project.  Started the download in the afternoon and didn't check on it until I went to bed and it was still downloading.  HOLY CRAP.  I stopped it. 

Next day we didn't have any internet so I called ATT, they stopped our plan because I went way over the allowed limit and at the time the service rep said I would owe a minor amount, so I agreed and they turned back on the service.  Next day same thing, called the ATT customer service and they said that I was over but I'd owe +$1000 for excess data.  HOLY CRAP X2.  Not much I could do about it so I agreed to pay and they turned back on the service.  This continued until after the billing cycle.  I then got a call from ATT customer service and the women I talked to was very sympathetic to what happened and since we had never got close to the limit prior to that she said they would wave most of the charges.  Still had to pay a little more then the normal bill but not nearly the original amount.  Learned a hard lesson on data usage then🤑

Holy Crap is an under statement!

 

Edited August 24 by tmw188

[tmw188]

Thank you everyone for your contributions to this post, all good suggestions and options. Decided to look into the hot spot and go from there. Most of our travels we get by with just our cellular service.