I write a lot about the 3 different ways to get high-speed Internet as you travel: Wi-Fi, Cellular, and Satellite. We use all three. Satellite is by far the most expensive. In the past year, we have heard from so many people who love their cellular Internet that I’ve considered getting rid of our satellite dish and going all cellular.
I’m glad I didn’t! And, I didn’t really consider it very strongly. I’m very spoiled with never having to be concerned about Internet access. As long as we have a clear view of the southern sky, we have high-speed Internet.
We are currently staying at a delightful park in central Missouri – Lost Valley Lake. We found this place because of our memberships. We have a Thousand Trails membership (TT) and a Resorts of Distinction (ROD) membership. This means that, if we can find either a TT or an ROD park in our vicinity, we can camp for free. Well, not exactly free … we paid a lot for our memberships … let’s call it ‘prepaid.’ In any case, a membership park will always be our first choice, so when we found ourselves in Missouri we saw one ROD park and made our reservations for 2 weeks. This place is gorgeous! It is heavily forested, but we still got a site with plenty of open view to the southern sky, so our Datastorm Satellite dish got locked on right away and we have Internet.
I am way behind on my website-building work, and have been looking forward to these 2 weeks to get them done. If I didn’t have Internet access, we couldn’t stay here. Our cell phones are constantly ‘Searching for Service’, so cellular Internet access is out of the question. The park has Wi-Fi, but only at the clubhouse. I do some of my best work in the middle of the night, so the clubhouse Wi-Fi doesn’t do the trick for me.
I checked the Verizon coverage map and it claims that we have digital coverage here. hmmm Maybe with a good antenna and amplifier we’d be able to get it. But, since we have a satellite, I don’t have to worry about it. I love my satellite Internet.
Chris Guld
www.GeeksOnTour.com
Darren
I know this is an older post but maybe this will help someone who comes across it. I personally use HughesNet satellite internet which I’m really happy with. You can get more information here; http://www.satelliteinternet.com/
high speed satellite internet service
I just hope it has all the good channels and the internet doesn’t have a small
download limit. Yes with the help of this connection i can do work from home very fast. Also i can download heavy files and videos in a very short time. This will increase my work efficiency and saved a lots of time.
Brook
Chris,
I wish I could say the same for our datastorm satellite system.
We have two, yes two, data storm satellite systems on the hughes net.
Paid $8000. for the first one five years ago and $5000. last spring for the newest one. We travel all over the country and constantly have problems getting locked on and connected. Recently the problem turned out to be a frequency change that was made by the provider without any notification to the subscriber (me). Unfortunately the other satellite internet service providers I’m finding out aren’t any better. So with that being said I’m about to subscribe to HughesNet again for the home back in Texas.
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Cosmosatellite
Satellite Internet is a technology that provides high-speed Internet services to consumers using satellites that are in orbit above the earth. This type of internet connection is simply system in which the upstream (outgoing) and the downstream (incoming) data are sent from a satellite and arrive at either a desktop or laptop computer A subscriber for this type of internet service needs a satellite dish antenna and a transceiver (Modem) that operates in the microwave portion of the radio spectrum.
BlueMan
If you have an iphone you could make the best of your data plan by getting this connection sharing app from the itunes store: http://www.macrumors.com/2008/08/01/netshare-tethering-app-reappears-on-app-store/
Otherwise maybe try wildblue and a tripod.
http://www.mybluedish.com/
John Shelton
I have no doubts that satellite internet would be expected to be, and surely is, more reliable than cellular – – but for considerably less money, I find my Verizon USB aircard to be perfectly reliable. I even have internet access in remote areas of Mississippi and other areas where no digital phone service is available according to Verizon’s US coverage map. I have traveled much of the eastern 1/3 of the US and have never failed to have internet access with this setup. It is so much simpler to just pull into a rest area or parking lot somewhere and check email without any setup than to have to set up a dish to connect. Some users may find the download speeds of my setup less than ideal, but the lower cost and greater convenience outweigh this disadvantage for my needs. (Download speeds are usually considerably faster in urban areas) My Verizon plan adds $60 to my $40/mo basic cell phone service.
Bob Snider
We have just got out of the full timer RVer thing. Sold our RV, want to sell our membership and I will give (free) our satellite equipment to anyone that is currently using it. I don’t want to encourage anyone to get into it since I think the technology favors the cell phone system now. As time goes on, there will be more and better towers. We paid $60 a month for our satellite Internet and I understand that Verizon costs only $40 a month. I could generally set up in about 2 to 3 hours and take down was maybe 20 minutes. I have the Hughes Net system with the tripod.
Ken Hudson
Yes, satellite internet assuming you can afford it, has it’s advantages, especially for those that move around alot and for those places that the aircard can not reach. For me, as a programmer with full time job, and yes, also a RV fulltimer, I stay in one place for a while, I am very thankful for the aircard. Can not afford the satellite. Hoping in a couple years when I do retire, the coverage for aircard will be even better than it is today, so the expensive satellite will not be needed.
Chris, always enjoy reading your blog and website. Even after having been programming for over 20 years, I still pick up a good tip or two from it. Thanks for being there…..
Chris Guld
P.S. After I wrote this article we met another RVer in the Lost Valley Lakes campground who was trying to get Internet connection through her Verizon datacard. She did have all the best in external antennas and amplifiers, yet couldn’t maintain a connection for more than a few minutes.
Did I mention that I love my satellite Internet? 🙂
Chris Guld
Chelle,
You have it exactly right … tripods are cheaper but considerably more work to set up. Whether they are a good option for you depends on how you plan to travel. If you normally travel to one place and park for a week or more, the work to set up the tripod is negligible. If, on the other hand, you’re on the road every day or two – then the set up and tear down can be a bit too much.
chelle
Anyone have any experience with the tripod satellite? We are about to become full timers and are considering satellite internet, seems the tripod ones are a lot cheaper,but considerably more work to set up.
MetropolisMom
Good for you for finding a good internet connection. I agree that satellite internet connection are far more expensive but they are more reliable in terms of connection. I am considering of getting a plug in internet connection where I can take it anywhere. It uses 3G connection that mobile phones uses. I hope it i will be better or at least have the same speed as my broadband line right now.
Cheers!
Metropolismom
Chris Guld
Darrel, The Datastom satellite dish will run you around $5,000 installed and the service is $80/mo. We paid more, but that was 5 years ago.
Darrel
I’m curious as to how much you pay for your satellite Internet? How much was the equipment? Thanks.