Comparing Hughes.net, Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and free wifi internet
bjoyce said
07:53 PM Dec 11, 2010
Being almost as detail oriented as Howard I realized I had information on where various internet sources worked for us over about the past two years. Hopefully this information will be helpful to some of you and won't put you to sleep.
I will start with results and then explain.
Hughes.net: We had it for 603 of 685 nights or 88% of camping nights. Verizon 3G: We had it for 619 of 685 nights or 90% of camping nights. The rest were no service or 1X speeds, which we find unacceptable but some will tolerate. AT&T: 3G we had for 402 of 607 nights (66%), Edge 186 of 607 (31%), G or no service 19 or 607 (3%). There are people who think Edge is fine, it is faster than Verizon 1X, so AT&T might be better for them since 97% of the time we had 3G or Edge. My cousin hates Edge on his iPhone, too much seems to not work well including using the phone to geocache. Sprint 3G: 594 of 685 nights or 87%, much like Hughes.net. Free wifi: 200 of 658 nights or 29% of our camping nights and in 37 of those nights only one computer could be used with the free wifi.
We have a Hughes.net internet dish on a tripod and have been using it since July 2003. The modem has been upgraded to the current HN7000s model and we are on Pro plan, the same one as Datastorm users. Being on a tripod it takes more setup than an automatic Datastorm, but until we got a Verizon aircard I would set it up at every stop I could and be more picky about campsites. We use Hughes.net through a wireless router.
In March 2008 we got a Verizon aircard, a Cradlepoint router, an external amplifier and external antenna. The router lets us use one aircard with multiple computers. Without the external antenna and amplifier we would not have signal in some places we go or the speed would be slower. Our original intent was to get rid of the Hughes.net dish, but we had two problems: 1) Verizon did not work for us in some important places; 2) We found we do use more than 5GB per month, often 8 to 12GB total
In March 2009 my AT&T phone died so I got a new one that shows me the internet capability, even though I do not use the internet on this phone. It shows "3G" for 3G, "E" for Edge, which is 2 to 4 times dial-up in speed and "G" for whatever is slower than Edge. There is no external amplifier or antenna used for AT&T.
Plus I have gone through the coverage maps for Sprint and checked if we would get online at our campsites. So the Sprint information I have is mostly untested.
I also keep track of free wifi from our campsite. I do not keep track of paid wifi or wifi that doesn't work from our campsite. So if the wifi is broken when we stay, we had none. If the wifi only works by the office or lodge, I treat it as not having wifi.
Back to the details. Once we had an aircard I was not as picky about campsites as before, so we have been offline with Hughes.net some in the past couple years that would not have happened when we had no fallback.
I figured out what worked since January 2009 and removed the 30 days we were getting service done that mostly kicked us out of our motorhome. That leaves 685 days, including the next few as we continue at our present campsite in Morgan Hill, CA.
Where we camp free wifi seems to not be common. Others put a strong effort out to be where there is wifi and many will pay for it. Many also do not mind going to the office, lodge or even going into town to get online.
We want to be online with fast service every day and we are heavy users. Others can live with more sporadic internet speeds and coverage and usage caps like 5GB are not important.
Paul and Jo said
10:48 PM Dec 11, 2010
bjoyce wrote:In March 2008 we got a Verizon aircard, a Cradlepoint router, an external amplifier and external antenna. The router lets us use one aircard with multiple computers. Without the external antenna and amplifier we would not have signal in some places we go or the speed would be slower. Our original intent was to get rid of the Hughes.net dish, but we had two problems: 1) Verizon did not work for us in some important places; 2) We found we do use more than 5GB per month, often 8 to 12GB total
We want to be online with fast service every day and we are heavy users. Others can live with more sporadic internet speeds and coverage and usage caps like 5GB are not important.
The first paragragh makes me want to go from Verizon aircard to Hughes.net. We use a LOT more than 5 or 10 GB
Paul
TDCDintheRV said
10:55 PM Dec 11, 2010
Bill Thanks for your post on comparisons of Internet service options, very interesting and informative. With all the options its nice to see this real world comparison to help make a decision on service or to help confirm the decisions that we have already made. Thanks for your many informative posts. We use the Verizon 760 stick and cradlepoint router and have been very happy with them. Tom & Cheryl
Howard said
08:11 AM Dec 12, 2010
Thanks Bill. Very informative for the members. Glad to see your numbers pretty much confirm the numbers we've experienced.
The following is exactly our experience and why we are currently unwilling to give up the Hughes.net - yet.
"In March 2008 we got a Verizon aircard, a Cradlepoint router, an external amplifier and external antenna. The router lets us use one aircard with multiple computers. Without the external antenna and amplifier we would not have signal in some places we go or the speed would be slower. Our original intent was to get rid of the Hughes.net dish, but we had two problems: 1) Verizon did not work for us in some important places; 2) We found we do use more than 5GB per month, often 8 to 12GB total"
Paul, Hughes.net also has a 5GB limit but they manage it differently. What Bill was saying, I believe, is they kept the Hughes.net because they needed the additional capacity of having both options PLUS the Hughes.net provides the additional benefit of getting internet in places where Verizon data simply isn't present or good enough. We have come to that same conclusion.
Like Bill, we have also concluded that Hughes.net by itself isn't the perfect solution either. Just a caution that I wouldn't give up Verizon completely for Hughes.net.
Though it's expensive, having both options is wonderful for those of us that are heavy internet users and need to be connected 100% of the time.
Bill, correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe your 88% for Hughes.net is primarily because of the following:
"Once we had an aircard I was not as picky about campsites as before, so we have been offline with Hughes.net some in the past couple years that would not have happened when we had no fallback."
Before picking up the Verizon option as a back-up, we were experiencing about 98-99% online with Hughes.net. But we had to be very selective about campgrounds and campsites to avoid trees and accomplish those percentages. We too are no longer that picky due to having the Verizon option.
BUT, confirming our own numbers again with Bill's numbers, the Verizon option has been unacceptable in about 10% of the places we've parked.
Most people won't find it cost effective to fill that 10% gap with satellite internet. We wouldn't either starting out today, but since we already have the equipment, it's hard to let it go - we'd rather have it and cover the additional monthly cost by cutting somewhere else.
Delaine and Lindy said
10:28 AM Dec 12, 2010
We have Hughes.Net and have traveled Hughes.Net in many States. Its not perfect but were our home base is at we wouldn't have inter-net at all. We no longer travel with Hughes.Net. We do have the AT&T wire inter-net but we try to use RV parks that have WiFi many parks we used this past summer had excellent WiFi, it was about 6,000 mile trip. I really don't think there is a perfect inter-net system. Sometimes it works sometimes it don't. Good Luck......
P.S. We have three Lap tops and a Desk top on the Cradle point with the Hughes Net. dish.
-- Edited by Delaine and Lindy on Sunday 12th of December 2010 10:30:38 AM
bjoyce said
10:36 AM Dec 12, 2010
Howard: You got it right, before we had the Verizon option we were online more like 98-99% with satellite.
With the Hughes Pro plan we have 375MB of download we can use for 19 hours each day and the other five hours, 2AM to 7AM Eastern, there is no limit. Uploads do not count any time, some people using online backup have uploaded 50 to 70Mb per hour for weeks to get their first backup loaded online. 375MB per day is more than 5GB a month, actually 11GB if you used all of your allotment every day. When on the West Coast it is easy to be up at 11PM, which is 2AM Eastern, to start a large download, a bit harder when further east. Plus I am good at using Free Download Manager to schedule downloads on Windows which lets me set start and stop times and change them to the next nigth to resume the download if needed. A friend says he has downloaded 30GB of movies in a month using Free Download Manager during the 5 hours of free time. He is on the Hughes.net Home plan of 200MB per day, which is mor e like 5GB per month.
For those who need more than 5GB but Verizon or Sprint will work, http://www.millenicom.com/ has prepaid on both services. The Standard plan is 5GB per month for $59.95 but they own the aircard, pay $99.95 for the card and you get the Advanced plan of 10GB per month for $59.95. These are both Verizon service and include the 1X locations. The unlimited plan is $69.95 and on Sprint. In our zipcode we only qualify for the Verizon plans for some reason. The Verizon plans use a USB760 USB modem, which has an external antenna port and works in a Cradlepoint router. If we went aircard today I would go with Millenicom and the Advanced plan.
-- Edited by bjoyce on Sunday 12th of December 2010 10:37:34 AM
Gypsy Turtle 2 said
07:02 AM Dec 13, 2010
Another advantage to going with Millenicom, as Bill mentioned, instead of directly with Verizon or Sprint is that the monthly charge of $59.99 is exactly $59.99. There are no additional fees, no taxes, no nothing. That saves several dollars a month.
We decided to try them 6 months ago and have been very happy. We paid the $99 for the aircard and use it with a Cradlepoint router. Because we purchased the aircard we get 10 GB a month. This seems to be doable for us-especially if you mix in some free wifi. There is no contract, you can cancel at any time. You can even put it on vacation for up to 3 months during any 12 month period. Or, if you will not need it for awhile, just cancel it. You can then reactivate at any time for $19.99.
For us, it was an easy decision. We know we will run into areas without service eventually, but we'll deal with that then. Maybe that would be the time to catch up on our reading
mailman01 said
08:59 AM Dec 13, 2010
Bill, what are the advantages of Millenicom over Virgin Mobile Broadband? Not really familiar with either, but both seem to be similar in several aspects. Thanks.
bjoyce said
10:27 AM Dec 13, 2010
They are similar.
Virgin Mobile is $40 a month for unlimited usage and uses the Sprint network, but with no roaming. You can get the Virgin Mobile card at many Wal-Marts for about $75 plus tax. You do not have to suspend Virgin Mobile, but you do have to pay for usage at least once a year to keep your account. The card does work with Cradlepoint routers. They also have a MiFi for more money.
Gypsy Turtle 2 gave you the info on Millenicom, at least for the Verizon network. The advantage I see is being on the Verizon network, which is more extensive. Millenicom on Verizon and Virgin Mobile both use the 760 USB modem (aircard). Virgin Mobile not having roaming does limit its coverage more than Millenicom's Sprint (unlimited) offering, which does have roaming. Having roaming is one reason Millenicom is charging more.
We already have a Verizon aircard so we are trying a Virgin Mobile aircard to fill in the coverage gaps and give us more GB per month when needed. We activated it in Bakersfield, CA and it had similar speeds to Verizon. Our next stop here in Morgan Hill, CA we are about half a mile from where Virgin Mobile says the coverage is and we can't get online. I have an antenna adapter that should arrive today to see if that will help us get service here. I am fairly sure that going Virgin Mobile alone would not work for our travels, we spend too much time where Sprint does not have its own towers, like much of New Mexico, Montana and the Dakotas.
mailman01 said
11:01 AM Dec 13, 2010
Thanks Bill. I had gone on the Virgin Mobile Broadband 2Go site and tried to make the comparison. Thanks for your clarification. Their coverage map indicates that the SE is pretty well served, and since that is where we presently hang out, I am initially going to go with the Virgin. Thanks again.
bjoyce said
10:14 AM Dec 14, 2010
Just a quick update. The adapter cable came in for the Virgin Mobile USB760 modem and I gave it a try with my external antenna and 3watt Wilson wired amplifier. With it I am getting 1bar 1XRTT alternating with no service. That is an improvement but we are still not online with Virgin Mobile here and it looks like I have done all I can to bring in the signal. This means there is no Sprint service here at Thousand Trails Morgan Hill in Morgan Hill, CA for those who care. Verizon works and my AT&T phone shows 2bars of 3G.
TxYellowRose said
05:42 PM Dec 19, 2010
We only have our Hughes.net system or whatever free Wi-Fi is available if we are stopping for only a night or two.
Here at Lake Paradise, our home for the next several months, WiFi is currently only available at the park lodge. Park-wide accessibility is in the works.
AT&T and Verizon phone signals here are sketchy at best and those with air cards are unable to get online.
Thanks to "Hughie," we have Internet in our rig.
We have a wireless router, run both our laptops through our private network.
We are happy campers!
-- Edited by TxYellowRose on Sunday 19th of December 2010 05:52:45 PM
Gypsy Turtle 2 said
09:56 PM Dec 21, 2010
Just as a side note, we got an email this evening from Millenicom stating that our 10GB Verizon plan for $59.99 had been increased to 20GB per month for no additional charge. I'm not sure what prompted this, but I'm sure not turning it down. I doubt we'll use 20GB per month even if we try really hard Must be our Christmas gift!
Hdrider said
07:54 AM Dec 26, 2010
OK,, I'm a dummy with this stuff so can someone send me in the right direction to read about theis 5g,, 10g stuff? I mainly do my banking and read forums along with playing online poker on the computer and I guess I need to figure out just what we need... Thanks
3Gstore_Matt said
09:44 PM Dec 28, 2010
Hdrider wrote:
OK,, I'm a dummy with this stuff so can someone send me in the right direction to read about theis 5g,, 10g stuff? I mainly do my banking and read forums along with playing online poker on the computer and I guess I need to figure out just what we need... Thanks
This should give you an idea of how much data that is for your applications.
Hdrider said
06:59 AM Dec 29, 2010
3Gstore_Matt wrote:
Hdrider wrote:
OK,, I'm a dummy with this stuff so can someone send me in the right direction to read about theis 5g,, 10g stuff? I mainly do my banking and read forums along with playing online poker on the computer and I guess I need to figure out just what we need... Thanks
This should give you an idea of how much data that is for your applications.
Hey thanks,,, that helps.
RVKevi said
09:03 PM Dec 29, 2010
Wow, thanks!! That is great info and is a big help!
NorCal Dan said
09:35 PM Jan 4, 2011
I contacted http://www.millenicom.com/ and found that you have to qualify for the BYOD plan. Where we are now, and where we will be working this summer, do not qualify. I then tried my Texas address and it doesn't qualify either...bummed...
They don't have a coverage map so I'm not sure if they are an east coast company, or if they just handle places located near big cities. I was drooling at the thought of having unlimited access...
bjoyce said
10:56 PM Jan 4, 2011
They can't tell you due to their own deals but the Millenicom unlimited plan is using Sprint and the 20GB per month plan is Verizon. We don't qualify for the unlimited plan at our Washington state address, but do for the 20GB (formally 10GB) plan.
NorCal Dan said
11:43 AM Jan 5, 2011
At this point, since we use our Sprint aircard (U727) very little, and our contract is fullfilled, we have decided to cancel service. We have good wifi at our present location, and our summer job location also has good wifi. So I can't see spending $60/mo. when we don't use it.
I guess we will continue to follow the articles posted here and see if anything interesting pops up. We tend to use the aircard as our backup in case no internet is available. It would be nice if there was a service like Howard has with his phone where you can activate/deactivate as needed.
Kayjulia said
03:34 PM Jan 11, 2011
Just my 2 cents worth, I use a Verizon wifi card exclusively and I am very happy with it. I can up grade from 5gbs to 10gbs if I feel the need. I had Hughes Net and IMHOP, their customer service stinks. I won't do business with them again if I can help it.
Between free wifi and the Verizon card I haven't had but a few occasions in remote areas when there hasn't been usable service. I had ATT and they were not customer friendly nor was their service available in even some metro areas, so I dumped them and went to Verizon.
YMMV and as I said just my 2cw
KayJulia
bobojay said
06:09 PM Jan 11, 2011
Interesting thing I just thought about. How much is the I-Phone data usage going to effect the Verizon network. It's coming this month.
If it's like it did/does AT&T's, it might get interesting on the Verizon network in the next couple years.
Stopped in our local Verizon store, a small store in small town on another matter today. Asked about if they were taking pre-orders for the I-Phone yet. They said they'd had about 20 calls the last couple days from people wanting to get on the list already.
bjoyce said
09:50 PM Jan 11, 2011
Kayjulia wrote:
Just my 2 cents worth, I use a Verizon wifi card exclusively and I am very happy with it. I can up grade from 5gbs to 10gbs if I feel the need. I had Hughes Net and IMHOP, their customer service stinks. I won't do business with them again if I can help it.
Between free wifi and the Verizon card I haven't had but a few occasions in remote areas when there hasn't been usable service. I had ATT and they were not customer friendly nor was their service available in even some metro areas, so I dumped them and went to Verizon.
YMMV and as I said just my 2cw
KayJulia
We do not find good free wifi that often and we like some of those places Verizon doesn't have service or doesn't have decent service. I agree that Hughes customer service is bad, but I get most of my support through forums and dealers and have since 2003.
We each have to make our own decisions. There are trade offs and for us being without service for more than a day is not acceptable.
-- Edited by bjoyce on Tuesday 11th of January 2011 10:01:36 PM
bjoyce said
10:04 PM Jan 11, 2011
bobojay wrote:
Interesting thing I just thought about. How much is the I-Phone data usage going to effect the Verizon network. It's coming this month. If it's like it did/does AT&T's, it might get interesting on the Verizon network in the next couple years.
Stopped in our local Verizon store, a small store in small town on another matter today. Asked about if they were taking pre-orders for the I-Phone yet. They said they'd had about 20 calls the last couple days from people wanting to get on the list already.
Verizon has lots of Android customers now and their network is holding up.
bobojay said
08:20 PM Jan 12, 2011
bjoyce wrote:
bobojay wrote:
Interesting thing I just thought about. How much is the I-Phone data usage going to effect the Verizon network. It's coming this month. If it's like it did/does AT&T's, it might get interesting on the Verizon network in the next couple years.
Stopped in our local Verizon store, a small store in small town on another matter today. Asked about if they were taking pre-orders for the I-Phone yet. They said they'd had about 20 calls the last couple days from people wanting to get on the list already.
Verizon has lots of Android customers now and their network is holding up.
This is true. Hadn't thought of that :(
Rockinmotion said
11:03 AM Jan 13, 2011
Click here if you are unable to see the images in this email.
Just rec'd this today from Virgin Mobile. Unlimited...not so much
Hey Deborah,
Here at Virgin Mobile, our mission is to deliver an outstanding customer experience. Sometimes that means making difficult choices in order to provide the best possible service to the greatest number of customers.
To make sure we can keep offering our $40 Unlimited Broadband2Go Plan at such a great price, we're putting a speed limit in place for anyone on that plan who uses over 5GB in a month.
How will it work?
Starting February 15, 2011, if you go over 5GB in a month on the $40 Unlimited Plan:
Your data speeds will be limited for the remainder of the monthly plan cycle. During this time, you may experience slower page loads and file downloads and lags in streaming media.
Your data speeds will return to normal as soon as you buy a new Broadband2Go Plan.
This change will only affect plans bought on or after 2/15/2011.
How will it affect me?
Keep in mind, 5GB is A LOT of data. To give you an idea, it's about 250 hours of web browsing or over 500,000(!) emails*. So this change shouldn't affect you unless you're a heavy downloader/streamer/etc.
How will I know if I'm getting close to 5GB?
We've updated the progress bar in your Connection Manager to show the amount of data you've used. If you go above 5GB in a month, the bar will turn yellow, letting you know your data speeds will be reduced until you buy a new plan.
By putting this speed limit in place, we're making sure we can deliver the same quality service you've come to expect from Broadband2Go. We hope you understand.
Thanks for being a Broadband2Go customer.
Virgin Mobile
* Data usage per activity is based on an average. Actual usage varies depending on the types of websites, video, email
Sherry said
01:04 PM Jan 13, 2011
Just wanted to comment on the sprint coverage offered by Virgin Mobile. We were in the SE - VA down to FLA from Sept to Dec and had MANY times when we had no Sprint service. Granted, we tend to be in State Parks and sometimes National Forests and almost never in cities or even towns
BUT if that sounds like you, I suggest you avoid Sprint. I understand it is worse yet the farther west you go.
bjoyce said
01:41 PM Jan 13, 2011
We are using Virgin Mobile to supplement Verizon and only turn it on when needed for a month at a time. So far we used it for one month and were glad to have it for 3 of those days since we had good Virgin Mobile/Sprint service those days and flakey 1X Verizon service. We only had the Verizon service with an external antenna and amplifier, without it there was no service. But I also agree Sprint does not have enough coverage since 11 days of the month we had no Virgin Mobile/Sprint service (confirmed by Sprint's coverage map). I would not expect to use Sprint or Virgin Mobile (which has less coverage than Sprint) as my only internet service, there are too many places with no service. Being limited to 5GB per month will be OK for us, we only used 1.5GB the month we had it. It is irritating that they are imposing this limit, but I am not surprised since I hear that Virgin Mobile is owned mostly by Sprint. I wonder if Millenicom's Unlimited plan will also go away soon.
I do not expect to turn on Virgin Mobile's service until sometime in March for another month's usage for when we are again in a place Verizon has lousy service.
Blars said
01:55 PM Jan 13, 2011
NorCal Dan wrote:
At this point, since we use our Sprint aircard (U727) very little, and our contract is fullfilled, we have decided to cancel service. We have good wifi at our present location, and our summer job location also has good wifi. So I can't see spending $60/mo. when we don't use it.
You might look into the byod option of millenicom. You need to buy a month at a time, and there may be a reactivation fee if you've been off tool long.
NorCal Dan said
04:53 PM Jan 13, 2011
Blars wrote:
NorCal Dan wrote:
At this point, since we use our Sprint aircard (U727) very little, and our contract is fullfilled, we have decided to cancel service. We have good wifi at our present location, and our summer job location also has good wifi. So I can't see spending $60/mo. when we don't use it.
You might look into the byod option of millenicom. You need to buy a month at a time, and there may be a reactivation fee if you've been off tool long.
I did look into Millenicom's BYOD plan. The problem is, when I type in addresses to check for coverage it tells me my address does not qualify for the BYOD plan. I have tried multiple addresses in different states and always get the same result.
I think the better option, at this point, would be to go for the advanced 20GB plan with free device. I would go for it now, while the special in on, but, they only allow you to suspend service for 3 months out of 12. Since I have good WiFi at my present location, and I expect good WiFi at our summer job, I see no reason to be spending $59.99/mo on something we won't use...
janni said
07:29 PM Jan 13, 2011
I also have decided to wait. I am looking at satellite as we will need to get our tv changed soon. This park has about 6 channels. Good news is........wifi is good.
bobojay said
09:49 PM Jan 17, 2011
Did a little clarification on the Advanced Plan from Millenicom. You can suspend the service one time per year for a maximum of 3 months. Otherwise the account is placed on "vacation", and there is a $19.99 charge to reactivate the account.
Just throwing that info out there for anyone interested.......
mrsgeek said
02:11 AM Jan 20, 2011
One option I haven't seen mentioned is to tether a Droid cell phone using PDANet. That's is what we're using now when we're on the road. The data is unlimited because you're piggy-backing on the Droid's unlimited service. I used 11 Gigs one month - no extra charge, just the $30/mo for the Droid's data service. The drawbacks: you can't tether it to a router, so it's one computer/one Droid (exception - connectify) you can't talk on the phone at the same time as being online it's not supported by Verizon - I worry that someday they'll figure out how to prevent use of PDANet
-- Edited by mrsgeek on Thursday 20th of January 2011 02:13:35 AM
bjoyce said
10:10 AM Jan 20, 2011
PDAnet has been mentioned on other threads, just not this one. This thread started to mostly discuss coverage of the various options but then it moved on to other things.
PDAnet is one computer/one phone and that computer needs to run Windows or Mac. That means no Linux, no wifi devices like a Kindle, iPad, or any other device that supports wifi. For many that is OK, for others it won't do. Plus word is it only works on Verizon, both Sprint and AT&T are reported to block it.
When we get Android phones, which should be in the next couple months, we will look at PDAnet.
Dan and Gail said
12:56 PM Jan 20, 2011
I have PdaNet on my AT&T Droid and have no problems using it. After 14 days, the trial version will not allow access to secure sites, but I purchased the one-time license for $15.95 + $1.00 tax = 16.95. Regular price is $23.95. Not sure how long the $15.95 price is being offered.
We currently have GREAT WiFi in the park where we are staying, so haven't used PdaNet very much in the last 3 weeks.
BigD said
04:48 PM Feb 5, 2011
We went with Millenicom after hearing of daily download limits with Hughesnet from my brother-in-law. We opted for the free usb760and 20gb/$60 verizon plan. Have it connected to a Zoom 4501 router ($50). We live in the middle of nowhere in rural Missouri. Our whole house is now connected at 3g speeds with no problems and no contracts. Extremely happy so far.
BruceandTrisha said
06:31 PM Feb 6, 2011
We hooked up with Verizon two years ago when we searched for internet access when we moved to the campground. Verizon was the only provider that reached to the River where we were. It has worked fine, but we're limited to 5G a month - which ain't much when you work from home.
We were delighted to read about Millenicom on the forum - and jumped in to research and talk with the company to see what would work for us. Yippee! We can get the 20G/month package for the same price we were paying Verizon for 5G!
Stay tuned - we'll get hooked up on Wed or Thurs this week.
P.S. The customer service at Millenicom was amazing - Bruce got on the chat help line and the guy spent a lot of time talking to Bruce and figuring out what would work best for us. They get 5 stars!
I will start with results and then explain.
Hughes.net: We had it for 603 of 685 nights or 88% of camping nights.
Verizon 3G: We had it for 619 of 685 nights or 90% of camping nights. The rest were no service or 1X speeds, which we find unacceptable but some will tolerate.
AT&T: 3G we had for 402 of 607 nights (66%), Edge 186 of 607 (31%), G or no service 19 or 607 (3%). There are people who think Edge is fine, it is faster than Verizon 1X, so AT&T might be better for them since 97% of the time we had 3G or Edge. My cousin hates Edge on his iPhone, too much seems to not work well including using the phone to geocache.
Sprint 3G: 594 of 685 nights or 87%, much like Hughes.net.
Free wifi: 200 of 658 nights or 29% of our camping nights and in 37 of those nights only one computer could be used with the free wifi.
We have a Hughes.net internet dish on a tripod and have been using it since July 2003. The modem has been upgraded to the current HN7000s model and we are on Pro plan, the same one as Datastorm users. Being on a tripod it takes more setup than an automatic Datastorm, but until we got a Verizon aircard I would set it up at every stop I could and be more picky about campsites. We use Hughes.net through a wireless router.
In March 2008 we got a Verizon aircard, a Cradlepoint router, an external amplifier and external antenna. The router lets us use one aircard with multiple computers. Without the external antenna and amplifier we would not have signal in some places we go or the speed would be slower. Our original intent was to get rid of the Hughes.net dish, but we had two problems: 1) Verizon did not work for us in some important places; 2) We found we do use more than 5GB per month, often 8 to 12GB total
In March 2009 my AT&T phone died so I got a new one that shows me the internet capability, even though I do not use the internet on this phone. It shows "3G" for 3G, "E" for Edge, which is 2 to 4 times dial-up in speed and "G" for whatever is slower than Edge. There is no external amplifier or antenna used for AT&T.
Plus I have gone through the coverage maps for Sprint and checked if we would get online at our campsites. So the Sprint information I have is mostly untested.
I also keep track of free wifi from our campsite. I do not keep track of paid wifi or wifi that doesn't work from our campsite. So if the wifi is broken when we stay, we had none. If the wifi only works by the office or lodge, I treat it as not having wifi.
Back to the details. Once we had an aircard I was not as picky about campsites as before, so we have been offline with Hughes.net some in the past couple years that would not have happened when we had no fallback.
I figured out what worked since January 2009 and removed the 30 days we were getting service done that mostly kicked us out of our motorhome. That leaves 685 days, including the next few as we continue at our present campsite in Morgan Hill, CA.
Where we camp free wifi seems to not be common. Others put a strong effort out to be where there is wifi and many will pay for it. Many also do not mind going to the office, lodge or even going into town to get online.
We want to be online with fast service every day and we are heavy users. Others can live with more sporadic internet speeds and coverage and usage caps like 5GB are not important.
Paul
Thanks for your post on comparisons of Internet service options, very interesting and informative. With all the options its nice to see this real world comparison to help make a decision on service or to help confirm the decisions that we have already made. Thanks for your many informative posts. We use the Verizon 760 stick and cradlepoint router and have been very happy with them.
Tom & Cheryl
Thanks Bill. Very informative for the members. Glad to see your numbers pretty much confirm the numbers we've experienced.
The following is exactly our experience and why we are currently unwilling to give up the Hughes.net - yet.
"In March 2008 we got a Verizon aircard, a Cradlepoint router, an external amplifier and external antenna. The router lets us use one aircard with multiple computers. Without the external antenna and amplifier we would not have signal in some places we go or the speed would be slower. Our original intent was to get rid of the Hughes.net dish, but we had two problems: 1) Verizon did not work for us in some important places; 2) We found we do use more than 5GB per month, often 8 to 12GB total"
Paul, Hughes.net also has a 5GB limit but they manage it differently. What Bill was saying, I believe, is they kept the Hughes.net because they needed the additional capacity of having both options PLUS the Hughes.net provides the additional benefit of getting internet in places where Verizon data simply isn't present or good enough. We have come to that same conclusion.
Like Bill, we have also concluded that Hughes.net by itself isn't the perfect solution either. Just a caution that I wouldn't give up Verizon completely for Hughes.net.
Though it's expensive, having both options is wonderful for those of us that are heavy internet users and need to be connected 100% of the time.
Bill, correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe your 88% for Hughes.net is primarily because of the following:
"Once we had an aircard I was not as picky about campsites as before, so we have been offline with Hughes.net some in the past couple years that would not have happened when we had no fallback."
Before picking up the Verizon option as a back-up, we were experiencing about 98-99% online with Hughes.net. But we had to be very selective about campgrounds and campsites to avoid trees and accomplish those percentages. We too are no longer that picky due to having the Verizon option.
BUT, confirming our own numbers again with Bill's numbers, the Verizon option has been unacceptable in about 10% of the places we've parked.
Most people won't find it cost effective to fill that 10% gap with satellite internet. We wouldn't either starting out today, but since we already have the equipment, it's hard to let it go - we'd rather have it and cover the additional monthly cost by cutting somewhere else.
P.S. We have three Lap tops and a Desk top on the Cradle point with the Hughes Net. dish.
-- Edited by Delaine and Lindy on Sunday 12th of December 2010 10:30:38 AM
With the Hughes Pro plan we have 375MB of download we can use for 19 hours each day and the other five hours, 2AM to 7AM Eastern, there is no limit. Uploads do not count any time, some people using online backup have uploaded 50 to 70Mb per hour for weeks to get their first backup loaded online. 375MB per day is more than 5GB a month, actually 11GB if you used all of your allotment every day. When on the West Coast it is easy to be up at 11PM, which is 2AM Eastern, to start a large download, a bit harder when further east. Plus I am good at using Free Download Manager to schedule downloads on Windows which lets me set start and stop times and change them to the next nigth to resume the download if needed. A friend says he has downloaded 30GB of movies in a month using Free Download Manager during the 5 hours of free time. He is on the Hughes.net Home plan of 200MB per day, which is mor e like 5GB per month.
For those who need more than 5GB but Verizon or Sprint will work, http://www.millenicom.com/ has prepaid on both services. The Standard plan is 5GB per month for $59.95 but they own the aircard, pay $99.95 for the card and you get the Advanced plan of 10GB per month for $59.95. These are both Verizon service and include the 1X locations. The unlimited plan is $69.95 and on Sprint. In our zipcode we only qualify for the Verizon plans for some reason. The Verizon plans use a USB760 USB modem, which has an external antenna port and works in a Cradlepoint router. If we went aircard today I would go with Millenicom and the Advanced plan.
-- Edited by bjoyce on Sunday 12th of December 2010 10:37:34 AM
We only have our Hughes.net system or whatever free Wi-Fi is available if we are stopping for only a night or two.
Here at Lake Paradise, our home for the next several months, WiFi is currently only available at the park lodge. Park-wide accessibility is in the works.
AT&T and Verizon phone signals here are sketchy at best and those with air cards are unable to get online.
Thanks to "Hughie," we have Internet in our rig.
We have a wireless router, run both our laptops through our private network.
We are happy campers!
-- Edited by TxYellowRose on Sunday 19th of December 2010 05:52:45 PM
I mainly do my banking and read forums along with playing online poker on the computer and I guess I need to figure out just what we need... Thanks
This should give you an idea of how much data that is for your applications.
We each have to make our own decisions. There are trade offs and for us being without service for more than a day is not acceptable.
-- Edited by bjoyce on Tuesday 11th of January 2011 10:01:36 PM
This is true. Hadn't thought of that :(
BUT if that sounds like you, I suggest you avoid Sprint. I understand it is worse yet the farther west you go.
You might look into the byod option of millenicom. You need to buy a month at a time, and there may be a reactivation fee if you've been off tool long.
I did look into Millenicom's BYOD plan. The problem is, when I type in addresses to check for coverage it tells me my address does not qualify for the BYOD plan. I have tried multiple addresses in different states and always get the same result.
I think the better option, at this point, would be to go for the advanced 20GB plan with free device. I would go for it now, while the special in on, but, they only allow you to suspend service for 3 months out of 12. Since I have good WiFi at my present location, and I expect good WiFi at our summer job, I see no reason to be spending $59.99/mo on something we won't use...
The drawbacks:
you can't tether it to a router, so it's one computer/one Droid (exception - connectify)
you can't talk on the phone at the same time as being online
it's not supported by Verizon - I worry that someday they'll figure out how to prevent use of PDANet
Here's our video on how we tether: Gabbing with the Geeks: Connecting to the Internet with Droid
-- Edited by mrsgeek on Thursday 20th of January 2011 02:13:35 AM
We currently have GREAT WiFi in the park where we are staying, so haven't used PdaNet very much in the last 3 weeks.