Internet access while traveling?

[Cosmo]

I am looking for information on Internet access solutions while on the road. Something I can turn on for a month or two and then turn off without an long contract.

I know about searching for WIFI hotspots at donut stores etc., and turning a smart phone into a WIFI hotspot (I am using a dumb phone so that is out of scope for me for now).

Recently a neighbor at a campground let me use the connection on their Verizon “Jetpack” mobile hotspot. The Jetpack is a $40 device I can buy and purchase internet data megabytes to use it. Speed was good!. Apparently you I can buy the device for about $40 and then purchase megabytes and activate it when I need it – such as for a road trip and then deactivate it when the trip is over without a monthly subscription. The jetpack allows several devices to be connected (laptop, tablet etc).

Are there any other solutions I should consider or experience you can share?

Thanks for your help
Cosmo

[Fred Trout]

check out all the various sources starting here:

http://www.rvmobileinternet.com/

That should keep you busy...

[Cosmo]

Perfect! Thanks.

Cosmo

[lrrowe]

I went much to my dismay to Wal-Mart and purchased their StraightTalk hotspot for $79. Then I buy data cards for what I will be using. Usually I purchase 1 G for $15. I do not use it at home because I have DSL with unlimited daya there.
The catch is that you must use the purchased data up within 30 days or lose it. More data just costs more.
I purchased the unit that runs off of Verizon's towers.

It is great when I am sitting in the doctor's office waiting for my turn. I no longer have to read all the Home and Garden maginzines there.

[Fred Trout]

It is great when I am sitting in the doctor's office waiting for my turn. I no longer have to read all the Home and Garden maginzines there.

I read my kindle. Cost per MB equals zero. I have perhaps a hundred books on it at a time but I do need to charge it every week or two... For a techie, I am all retro on phones. Mine can autodial and keep a list of numbers and that's good enough.

[flboy]

I bought a Virgin Mobile 4G Hotspot for $99.00 and can add time on it. Each buy is good for 30 days.. use it or loose it... It is relatively inexpensive and runs on Sprint Network. It is a good option with no contract and pay as you do.

You will need to do some research in terms of where you travel the most and what coverage is for the various network providers. They all offer similar packages.

[lrrowe]

It is great when I am sitting in the doctor's office waiting for my turn. I no longer have to read all the Home and Garden maginzines there.

I read my kindle. Cost per MB equals zero. I have perhaps a hundred books on it at a time but I do need to charge it every week or two... For a techie, I am all retro on phones. Mine can autodial and keep a list of numbers and that's good enough.

Books on Kindle (or Ipad in my case)....also a good option.

[daveesl77]

Luckily, we are one of those old, original Verizon wireless 4gLTE customers and have the grandfathered unlimited 4Glte data plan. We pay $30 per month for all the high speed data we can pull off the net. Way back when, VZ made a mistake when they took the 750mghz bandwidth, it was the only one that locked them into not being able to screw over their original customers, no throttling, no cancels, no nothing. They have tried twice to stop it, but they got their hat handed to them in 2012 by a Federal Court and again last October. So now they have told those of us that still have this plan "we love you so much we promise to never alter it or charge more". That is so nice of them, since they are legally bound to do exactly that. They can play around with their 3g signal, but not the 4g.

Anyway, we use our phone as a wifi link to our house internet and it works great (WPA2 security and all). We take it on the road with us and there are very, very few locations that we don't get a signal. As long as we never change anything about our contract like add another line or get a free phone, they cannot mess with us. Yes, that means we pay full price for a phone, if and when we need one. But we have 3 old Droid Bionics. One is the main phone/internet. One I use with my Skype account, wifi connected to the 4gLTE phone and one is the back up.

I could have strangled my daughter, as she also had this same plan, but got suckered into switching over and thus lost it. Be aware that many of those advertised "unlimited data" plans are a bit of a scam. Read the fine print, probably says somethings like "First 1gb is 4G, from then on is 3g and 2g" 2G is dialup, if that.

dave

[Padilen]

No strangle Verizon they are the ones that lied. Been lying to me for years, and continue to. Yet I still give them money every month. Last month when I complained again about internet connection -worse than our old dial up. I was told it's because a cell phone wasn't meant to be used as a computer. Oh that's not what you told me when you sold me my first "smart" phone. And since the connection so poor I can't use the my hot spot feature either. I really like trying to order stuff from my phone from a mobile site. After failing I email companies and they say to use my non mobile device (don't have & just cell data) and visit their full web site. Yea like that's do able.

[daveesl77]

If you have verizon wireless and a 4GLTE plan, then they are bound by law to NOT throttle or mess with your system at all. That is why they are the only carrier that took the 750 band, because it had so many built in restrictions. But, it allowed them to build their giant network faster than the others. I often burn through over 300 GB (yes that is GIGA) of data per month and it costs me $30. Unfortunately, that is no longer available, and is why they so hate those of us that still hold on so tight to the unlimited plan. They cannot even stop you from tethering (they tried and lost in court), as that is built into the original contract. Essentially they were told by the FCC last October that they can either abide by the full terms or shut down the entire system and start over. I guess they figured the few thousand of us who are left with the unlimited system will go away at some point. Guess what VZ, not me, not ever!

dave

[Dale M.]

Some pay by the minute services (prepay) like Tracfone has a 1 year plan for $99 and you get 800 minutes (which you can add to at any time) ... And any minutes not used rolls over.... Catch is there is no WIFI service through plan but you do get i-net access through phones browser and you can do e-mail... MAYBE IF they have a smart phone the can be a wifi hot spot that may be a solution... I'll have to check it out ...

We buy one year service for wife so she has phone capabilities when she is driving and may need help or to let friends know if she will be late, but otherwise we rarely use it, I don't think anybody even has our phone number...

And to best I can tell Tracfone does ride same network as Verizion so coverage is decent...

The also have this service...

http://tracfonewireless.com/byop/

Dont know if this helps.... But many phone have Bluetooth so if tablet or what ever has Bluetooth capabilities "MAYBE" you can connect that way... Dont know lot about this and lots of IF's and MAYBE's here, but something to look at...

Dale

[Cosmo]

I was able to get my tablet to use the data connection on my work Android phone. I can connect the tablet to the phone configuring the phone as a WIFI hotspot OR using Blue Tooth tethering. Both methods allow the tablet and other devices to share the phones data connection.

I decided to buy a $35 Verizon Jetpack device - pay as you go plan. I can use that as another option. The Jetpack can take accessories like an external antenna etc. to help improve poor coverage areas. The plan quoted was $60 for 3 gig which expires in 30 days. That's fine for data but will not allow much video streaming (which is fine, I need the data).

I will have to talk to Verizon about coverage for the Jetpack in Canada and see if that costs an arm or an arm and a leg.

Thanks everyone for the help getting me started
Cosmo

[dmb90260]

I us a Verizon MiFI hot spot When I got it i was traveling more than i do lately and got used to paying the $60 a month fee. It works fine and can carry up to 5-6 other devices.

[jstrubberg]

Not trying to sway you one way or another, but even the newest smart phone on an AT&T Next plan (just about the most expensive way there is to buy a phone) will set you back less than $35 a month and allow you to hotspot and use the data you already own. At $60 per gig you are paying double just to avoid using a smart phone...

[daveesl77]

Pretty much any halfway modern 4g phone can run PDANet/FoxFi. With this $9 app you can turn your phone into a secure hotspot, or direct usb link to your computer. It also has bluetooth, but I don't like that. Easytether is another option.

dave