I'd actually say that many full timers go with cellular as a strong component of their arsenal, with public WiFi hotspots being a bonus complement when they are available and work. At least, those of us who consider internet a fairly essential component of our mobility.

Satellite can be a worthwhile contender if you're planning to be out of cellular tower access a lot and need 'nearly everywhere' access. A lot of folks who used to depend on satellite have been dropping it because 1) cellular has gotten so much better over the years 2) mobile satellite opens are limited and haven't improved much and 3) the major RV support for satellite (Motosat) went out of business earlier this year.

What is best for you really depends on your needs - how reliable you need your setup, how much bandwidth you need and your style of travel. Internet is essential for us to work remotely, so yes - multiple pipelines online is key for us. We have two cellular providers, cellular boosting equipment, WiFi boosting equipment and a satellite dish we can deploy if needed.. and sometimes that's still not enough options.

It's a very complex topic with no easy answers, which is why it took 85 pages for us to explain it all. :) If you haven't already, I'd really recommend picking up a copy of our book, The Mobile Internet Handbook (linked in our signature). And I don't just say that because we wrote it.. we wrote it to answer questions like this that come up all the time.

- Cherie

I might be wrong but I was always under the assumption that having a Dish on your roof dedicated to Internet was the most reliable system...you need a clear line of sight to the sattelitte so the dish along with some kind of cell phone hot spot should give you the best consistent service....That's what I always thought but more knowledgable members here can shed some more light I am sure...

Many of the others have so much more knowledge about this topic than I do.  While I used to manage a store for a "major, national electronics chain," I've since fallen off of the technology wagon.  I'm doing good to turn on my laptop and Verizon MiFi.

However, I did do a bit of reading on Boingo.  They speak of WiFi and having 7000 hotspots in the U.S. and 13000 international ones.  I would suspect that we can ignore the international ones unless one plans to ship their RV elsewhere.  So, with the 7000 U.S. locations, where are they located?  They mention hotels and airports and such, but are those hotspots going to be anywhere within range of one's equipment?

Even if they are cheap, if they are unusable, they wouldn't benefit many people except those that travel using commercial "vehicles" and stay in commercial places like hotels and motels.

Terry

I knew this conversation would help me and it is.  The more I listen, the more I realize that it is a combination of systems that will work best.  It took a short time today to get turned off of Satellite again.  I just don't think it will work well as a primary because of several reasons but it just frankly seems a little to sensitive for me.  If I need to be worried about clear cover, or too many trees, etc.  that is just not something I will have a lot of patience for I think. 

Technomadia, it's not that I am "expecting" wicked reliable service.  I wanted to know if there is such a thing.  And I certainly don't need it to be cheap.  Effectively running my business is important to me so I have no issue with investing in it.  My point was that I simply wont spend thousands on this and still not have reliable connectivity.  So, I don't see this as me expecting "fast, reliable, everywhere and cheap";  it's me expecting to get what I pay for.  If I am not ever going to get more than "this" much, I am not going to pay "THIS" much.  What I am hoping to gain here is a competent enough understanding of this to use a large budget for it wisely.

Nice post simple and informative.. There are so many choices I think being informed but keeping it simple is a good approach. Thanks

I had satellite internet from 2003 to 2011 from Hughes.net (Direcway), about the most common system for RVers. In 2008 we added a Verizon USB modem (aircard) plus a wireless router to share the modem. We dropped satellite in 2011 because it was not behaving as well as before, plus we now had a 20GB Millenicom plan on Verizon. We also have an AT&T hotspot device to give us 5GB per month when Verizon has lousy or no service and AT&T has good service.

But I don't give advice out like I used to since Technomadia's, The Mobile Internet Handbook, does a better job.  

Terry and Jo wrote:

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Since I'm still learning all this as well, I have another question with regards to WiFi provided by campgrounds, RV parks, and local businesses.  Are those systems fairly secure?  I do know that we can "secure" our Verizon MiFi, but I wondered if there are precautions one can take when using a WiFi system of someone else.

Terry

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  Security buffer between the "

I use a wifi Ranger Pro to connect to park Internet.  It does 2 things as I understand it...   Boosts the wifi signal and provides a secure connection  between the "public" system and my computers.

We've been considering offering that service, Sherry. But we haven't decided yet how we'd go about it.

We are one of the few full-timers left that have a combination of satellite, cellular, and Wi-Fi.  Most have given up their satellite internet or are on the verge of doing so.

The ONLY reason to have satellite is if you park in remote areas where there is no cell coverage and absolutely have to have internet AT YOUR SITE.  Linda accuses me of using the Verizon coverage map and planning our travels around the white areas where there is no service. 

And yes, that is why we got satellite internet in the first place and still have it.  However, the reliability isn't as good as it once was, the speed has never been great, and the increased cellular coverage makes it really hard to justify the upfront costs and monthly expense.

If business dictates having a 24/7 internet connection, you can certainly do that with cellular, but you may have to avoid the more remote areas of the country for parking and take day trips into those wilderness areas OR rely on private campground Wi-Fi.  Even then, you will find a wide range of cellular connections and speed.  You will certainly want the best cellular boosting equipment you can get.

And you will want Wi-Fi capability and the best Wi-Fi boosting equipment you can get.  As mentioned, Wi-Fi is notoriously inconsistent, but on those occasions when it is your ONLY option or it is available and faster than your cellular connection, then you want to be able to take advantage of it.  My opinion on things like Boingo, etc. is that if you are in areas where those hotspots are available, you will also have good cellular access which will likely be as good if not better.

Summary

We bought our satellite internet equipment (entry level, consumer version) in 2005 when cellular wasn't nearly as widespread and that was our ONLY internet other than occasional Wi-Fi for our first four years on the road.  However, I can't recommend it now.  If it is a necessity, be prepared to spend twice the amount upfront (over $10,000) and in monthly service bills for commercial grade equipment and service, and you still won't get close to 4g speeds.  I certainly wouldn't buy just the consumer grade equipment and service now.

Now we have satellite just for those times we are in remote places where there still is no cellular coverage or only 2G service.  And even then it's not as reliable as it used to be and more frustrating now than it ever was before.  We just can't let go of that miniscule additional freedom it allows, but we're getting closer.

We run a business online and while we don't need an internet connection 24/7, we still need to be online every day AND we still like to park in places where there is no cell service or Wi-Fi service.  But, if we are parked in trees or our satellite internet is down for whatever reason, then I can usually find cellular service somewhere within ten miles of where we are camped and I'll load up my laptop and cellular boosting equipment and drive a little to set up a mobile office for a couple of hours - not convenient, but it's still better than letting the "connectivity madness" dictate where we park our home.

My recommendation for business out of your RV:

1.  Cellular plan with high data limit and top notch boosting equipment (However, may have to be conscious of coverage maps and where you park).

2.  Back that up with Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi boosting equipment (May require parking at private campgrounds rather than public campgrounds, especially where there is no cell service AND be prepared for inconsistent connectivity and speed)

3.  And this is a very distant third.  Only if you have money to burn, want to park in the remote reaches of the U.S. and absolutely have to have internet at your site, add satellite internet (And I would go with commercial equipment and service IF your business income can easily absorb the costs)

Also, be prepared to continually change equipment as technology changes.  The equipment I might recommend today may be obsolete next year, next month, next week, or even tomorrow. 

And buy Technomadia's book. 

 

Meggie: I noticed in your original post that you thought WiFi was the main way fulltimers get on the internet. With 10 years experience as a fulltimer and knowing many of them, I can tell you that cellular internet is the main way fulltimers get on the internet and campground/coffee shop/whatever WiFi is their secondary method. Where the confusion comes from is most turn their cellular internet into WiFi for their own use, so they use WiFi all the time and talk about it. Many are also using routers from WiFiRanger, Cradlepoint (we use an MBR95) or Pepwave, that can provide a WiFi signal with a consistent name and password from cellular, campground WiFi, or even a DSL, cable or satellite modem. That way all their WiFi devices, including tablets and wireless printers, only have to know one WiFi network name (SSID). The router also allows them to use Ethernet (wired internet) from a WiFi or cellular source.

Right now we are using campground WiFi via our Cradlepoint MBR95 router. This WiFi is limited to 500MB in 12 hours, so I have set a limit of 1000MB (1GB) per day which will switch to our Millenicom modem if it is exceeded. (The router will also switch to the modem if the campground WiFi gets slow or unreliable, which would happen if we exceed the 500MB in 12 hours). This is one of our best campground WiFi experiences and we only stay here 2 weeks a year. We know all the places we are staying into early October and none have reliable WiFi and most do not have WiFi at all.

Most fulltimers use Verizon's network for data, either directly or via Millenicom, and the rest use AT&T. Very few who try to use Sprint for internet stay with them and I do not remember anyone staying with T-Mobile. Hardcore internet users like us use both Verizon and AT&T. We tried to use Sprint as a secondary over Verizon and it rarely helped us out. AT&T is much better as secondary to Verizon.