I searched the archives for this but came up with nothing. What wireless ISP's are affordable and have good coverage. I am currently using Sirricom available at Pilot, Petro and Loves because it was the quickest and easiest when I started and I didn't know anything about it. I don't like staying at truck stops all the time so would like to have something different. I use Nextel and they offer one but it ties up your phone line. Phone contract is up in Jan. so may be switching anyway. Any thoughts?
On the road with wireless internet service
- Thread starter lanier1
- Start date
FAMOUS AMOS
Expert Expediter
I have Sprint cell service. I use their PCS card. Don't tie up phone line at all. $59.99 a month unlimited use. Hubby can be driving down the road and I am online. Hardly ever lose a signal. Will have a signal online when we can't get a signal on our cell phones. I am very pleased with it.
You could switch to sprint now and not be held reliable for your Nextel contract since they are merged anyway.
You could switch to sprint now and not be held reliable for your Nextel contract since they are merged anyway.
My choice is ATT Wifi - available at nearly all McDonalds, UPS Stores, Barnes & Noble bookstores, & a bunch of others I don't pay attention to, because McDonalds are at nearly every exit, & it works in the parking lot, so I don't have to go inside. I had a one year contract for $19.95 a month, after that, it is $1.99 per month - because I have ATT DSL at home. I particularly like it because (besides the great price) there is a telephone number that's answered by a human, 24/7/365 you can ask for locations: "I'm in Kokomo, Indiana - where's the wifi?" They will provide you with as many locations as you wish, and I've not been anyplace where they said "Sorry, we have no coverage there" This would probably not be the best choice for a t/t, but for vans, & straight trucks, it's an affordable option, and a great alternative to truckstops.
I have A sprint card,I bought off an online dealer for less than $6.00,Where sprint wanted about $75.00 for It.I get unlimited service for $49.95 a month,But I have a nextel phone also.Just stick the card In your laptop and It doesn't matter where you are you have service works great for me anywhere I've been,Plus great speeds up and down...Also to find a card just Google (sprint pcs cards) and you'll see 100's of places that sell them...P.S. With your own card there's no contract just month to month...
Tennesseahawk
Veteran Expediter
I have a Sprint phone and pcs card. I've been in roaming with my phone, and still can get service on the card. However, when I'm with no bars on my phone, I get nada on my pcs.
"If I claim to be a wise man, it surely means that I don't know." - Kansas
"If I claim to be a wise man, it surely means that I don't know." - Kansas
Cherri, would you mind saying how much your home ATT DSL service costs? Your monthly connection fee for internet is great! Just wondering if we'd be further ahead with the service at home. At present I just sign up for a few months at a time at FJ's wifi but am limited obviously to using it there. Thanks in advance.
Dianne
Dianne
When I had the Ford van I'd just scarf access from whatever motel was nearby, but this Sprinter stands out more when in a lot for a long time, and it's harder to maneuver around tight motel lots. I want access where I can park for the entire weekend if need be, so most businesses don't work well for me in that regard. McDonald's is not likely to take too kindly to me camping out in their lot for 2 or 3 days, for example.
And I just can't seem to bring myself to pay $50 or $60 a month for crippled broader band WiFi passed off as broadband. For that much money I should be getting 3-5 Mbit speeds, instead of 1.5M bit max, and usually half that.
So, for me, the best bang for the buck compromise is the Flying J thing. Three or four times a year I might break down and buy 24 hours of Sircom or some other service, but usually if I'm without net access I just live without it for a day or two.
The problem comes from at home, where I had free cable Internet access because I was a beta tester for the service, and later, the Krystal restaurant nearby is a HotSpot, so I just stole it from them. So for like 10 years I never paid for Internet access, and it's hard to pay for it now. hehe I live out in the county now, no cable, so I have satellite access, for which I actually pay for. But, it's a virtual steal at $45 a month for 8 Mbit speed down, 3 Mbit up, since most satellite services have 1 Mbit or less downstream speeds, and for more money.
Too bad I'm never home. :7
And I just can't seem to bring myself to pay $50 or $60 a month for crippled broader band WiFi passed off as broadband. For that much money I should be getting 3-5 Mbit speeds, instead of 1.5M bit max, and usually half that.
So, for me, the best bang for the buck compromise is the Flying J thing. Three or four times a year I might break down and buy 24 hours of Sircom or some other service, but usually if I'm without net access I just live without it for a day or two.
The problem comes from at home, where I had free cable Internet access because I was a beta tester for the service, and later, the Krystal restaurant nearby is a HotSpot, so I just stole it from them. So for like 10 years I never paid for Internet access, and it's hard to pay for it now. hehe I live out in the county now, no cable, so I have satellite access, for which I actually pay for. But, it's a virtual steal at $45 a month for 8 Mbit speed down, 3 Mbit up, since most satellite services have 1 Mbit or less downstream speeds, and for more money.
Too bad I'm never home. :7
I appreciate all the suggestions. I will look into them. I knew there had to be something better and since I live out in the sticks too the Sprint could take the place of my (don't laugh too loud) dial up.
Turtle, what satellite system do you have for that kind? I'm on Dish Network and the internet with them is high.
Turtle, what satellite system do you have for that kind? I'm on Dish Network and the internet with them is high.
Diane, I believe my DSL through ATT is $35 per month. The bill is so complicated, with the phone line, long distance, etc, that it's hard to tell, lol, but I'm pretty sure the DSL is $35 - the best deal I could find. Like others, when on the road, I often find Wifi for free, though, which is why I don't want to pay a lot for it. They do offer better prices when you combine home phone, cell phone, ISP, etc.
D UNIT:
"...what satellite system do you have for that kind? I'm on Dish Network and the internet with them is high."
It's called Wild Blue, and it's offered by the West Kentucky Rural Telephone company. You can get it in any of the lower 48 states, though. You have to buy the dish for $300, and it's twice the size of a DirecTV or The Dish dish, too. If the dish wasn't so big, I'd figure out a way to mount it on the van. lol
Didn't know they had one (never even looked) but found them on the Web at www.wildblue.com. They show three speed/price packages.
512K for $49.95
1Mbit for $69.96
1.5Mbit for $79.95
I pay $45 a month for 8Mbit, but I know somebody. I essentially have the same kind of connection that they have at the telephone office, which probably isn't available generally. If I didn't know someone, it would still be worth $80 for the 1.5Mbit, at least to me, living in the sticks with my only other option being <gulp> dialup.
Not sure what The Dish or DirectPC charges, but Wild Blue is certainly a viable option to look into. DirectPC puts severe caps on bandwidth MB limits per month, which isn't good for me and my ftp server. Don't know if The Dish does that or not. But Wild Blue, at least so far, hasn't said a word about my gigs and gigs of bandwidth usage per month. (A DVD is 4 gigs. My ftp site has many members. And I'll leave it at that.)
"...what satellite system do you have for that kind? I'm on Dish Network and the internet with them is high."
It's called Wild Blue, and it's offered by the West Kentucky Rural Telephone company. You can get it in any of the lower 48 states, though. You have to buy the dish for $300, and it's twice the size of a DirecTV or The Dish dish, too. If the dish wasn't so big, I'd figure out a way to mount it on the van. lol
Didn't know they had one (never even looked) but found them on the Web at www.wildblue.com. They show three speed/price packages.
512K for $49.95
1Mbit for $69.96
1.5Mbit for $79.95
I pay $45 a month for 8Mbit, but I know somebody.
I essentially have the same kind of connection that they have at the telephone office, which probably isn't available generally. If I didn't know someone, it would still be worth $80 for the 1.5Mbit, at least to me, living in the sticks with my only other option being <gulp> dialup. Not sure what The Dish or DirectPC charges, but Wild Blue is certainly a viable option to look into. DirectPC puts severe caps on bandwidth MB limits per month, which isn't good for me and my ftp server. Don't know if The Dish does that or not. But Wild Blue, at least so far, hasn't said a word about my gigs and gigs of bandwidth usage per month. (A DVD is 4 gigs. My ftp site has many members. And I'll leave it at that.
)
Dunit, make sure the Sprint card works in your area before you buy. They won't work where I live so I had to go with Altell. I've only had it a week but I'm happy with it so far.
roadweazel
Expert Expediter
Had a thought about this. So i have a laptop with a wifi card installed when i bought it. I would not need a card from SPRINT/VERISON right? Cause some places that have wifi aslo passworded there connection.
Jason
Jason
Tennesseahawk
Veteran Expediter
A wifi card is different than a wireless cell card. A wifi is internal, whereas you have to plug a pcs card in, and it acts as the antenna.
"If I claim to be a wise man, it surely means that I don't know." - Kansas
"If I claim to be a wise man, it surely means that I don't know." - Kansas
Well, more accurately, the built-in WiFi that is found in laptops is, indeed, internal, but a WiFi card and wireless cell card are both external cards.
Usually, the built-in WiFi on a laptop is rather weak. Its antenna is nothing more than an inch or two of wire that's buried inside the laptop case. You'll notice this when in many truck stops and other areas where you cannot get a good signal, or the signal disappears completely when you put up those silver reflective thingies (it's an industry term) on your windshield and side windows. If you have a WiFi card (i.e., PCMCIA) it will have its own antenna and you can usually get a good signal even with the reflective thingies in place. Some allow for an external antenna to be mounted outside the vehicle for even better reception.
If you have built-in WiFi, you would only need to get a separate, external WiFi card if you have signal strength problems that make you want to get something better.
A Wireless card for net access via a cell phone company is the same kind of card as a WiFi card, except that service is provided only be the cell phone company, and cannot be used on other wireless networks, like at truck stops, McDonalds, Panera, etc. The upside to a wireless cell card is that you usually have net access wherever you can get a cell phone signal, including the middle of nowhere.
Usually, the built-in WiFi on a laptop is rather weak. Its antenna is nothing more than an inch or two of wire that's buried inside the laptop case. You'll notice this when in many truck stops and other areas where you cannot get a good signal, or the signal disappears completely when you put up those silver reflective thingies (it's an industry term) on your windshield and side windows. If you have a WiFi card (i.e., PCMCIA) it will have its own antenna and you can usually get a good signal even with the reflective thingies in place. Some allow for an external antenna to be mounted outside the vehicle for even better reception.
If you have built-in WiFi, you would only need to get a separate, external WiFi card if you have signal strength problems that make you want to get something better.
A Wireless card for net access via a cell phone company is the same kind of card as a WiFi card, except that service is provided only be the cell phone company, and cannot be used on other wireless networks, like at truck stops, McDonalds, Panera, etc. The upside to a wireless cell card is that you usually have net access wherever you can get a cell phone signal, including the middle of nowhere.
IF YOUR LOOKING FOR A SPRINT CARD,Don't buy It from sprint google sprint PCS cards and you can get them for just a couple of dollars,I found one for less than $6.00 and then call sprint and your ready to go with NO 2 YEAR AGREEMENT Since your have your own card.Plus sprints charges like $75 for the same card...I hope this helps....
davebeckym
Expert Expediter
I have Verizon National Broadband Access for $59.99 a month with cell service. I bought a laptop at Circuit City and the card was free, after rebate. Don't know if this is a continuous promotion or not, but worth looking into.
I'm sitting at the J in El Paso showing all five bars on the broadband. Flying J shows 1 bar, IdleAire and SIRICOMM were both showing 1 bar this afternoon when I was on the other side of I 10 At McDonalds. Don't see one for McDonalds.
I've been able to get service everywhere I've tried so far, and it's a lot safer if you need to do some online banking.
I'm sitting at the J in El Paso showing all five bars on the broadband. Flying J shows 1 bar, IdleAire and SIRICOMM were both showing 1 bar this afternoon when I was on the other side of I 10 At McDonalds. Don't see one for McDonalds.
I've been able to get service everywhere I've tried so far, and it's a lot safer if you need to do some online banking.
I also have verizon air card same price 59.95 unlimited access, and the card is free when you get the service. Works anywere verizon does with alot of broadband area. Which is a large covarage area much better then my nextel coverage. We droped my nextel service and got a Verizon phone too. Hubby still has Nextel has too many friends with Direct Connect to get rid of it plus he has a hell of a plan. Good luck deciding.