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Old 05-28-2011, 11:29 AM   #1
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Unlimited Broadband for Full-Timers

This article was just posted by Mali-Mish, who have a wonderful Airstream blog.

Mali Mish - An Airstream Travel Blog. » Blog Archive » Unlimited mobile broadband for the traveler – Unplugged.

It solves a big problem for those of us who work on the road.

Thanks Dan!!!
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Old 05-28-2011, 11:35 AM   #2
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Originally Posted by Secguru View Post
This article was just posted by Mali-Mish, who have a wonderful Airstream blog.

Mali Mish - An Airstream Travel Blog. » Blog Archive » Unlimited mobile broadband for the traveler – Unplugged.

It solves a big problem for those of us who work on the road.

Thanks Dan!!!
I like your Avatar and Cupcake quote
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Old 05-28-2011, 11:54 AM   #3
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Originally Posted by Secguru View Post
This article was just posted by Mali-Mish, who have a wonderful Airstream blog.

Mali Mish - An Airstream Travel Blog. » Blog Archive » Unlimited mobile broadband for the traveler – Unplugged.

It solves a big problem for those of us who work on the road.

Thanks Dan!!!
Thanks Thomas for sharing our post with the community! I will be happy to answer any questions people may have about our setup.
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Old 05-28-2011, 11:58 AM   #4
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OK, this is my dream, too! Eleven years ago my company permitted me to move three hours south of the office to live in a rural Virginia county in our log home and continue to contribute to the firm. Now we want to transfer the work life to inside the Excella for extended periods of time. Unlimited broadband is an essential part of that plan.

I'm currently using the VirginMobile MiFi Broadband2Go $40-per-month plan. They haven't really capped me yet, so far as I can tell, but the threat is there. I'm eager to hear the solutions others have adopted.
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Old 05-28-2011, 01:34 PM   #5
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gheuer, you have a perfect opportunity to do just that. One thing I learned is that my clients are on a need to know basis on my personal life. They don't need to know where I am and what I am doing. As little as it matters to them, people do get envious and it can potentially effect the working relationship down the line.

You might already know this but your VirginMobile data plan uses the Sprint EVDO network. So your coverage will be exactly the same if you were to switch. There are several reasons why the MiFi does not work for me and one of them is that our service provider does not officially support them.
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Old 05-28-2011, 02:53 PM   #6
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Originally Posted by malimish
gheuer, you have a perfect opportunity to do just that. One thing I learned is that my clients are on a need to know basis on my personal life. They don't need to know where I am and what I am doing. As little as it matters to them, people do get envious and it can potentially effect the working relationship down the line.

You might already know this but your VirginMobile data plan uses the Sprint EVDO network. So your coverage will be exactly the same if you were to switch. There are several reasons why the MiFi does not work for me and one of them is that our service provider does not officially support them.
Yes, I know and understand the "need to know" issues. Thanks for the encouragement.
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Old 05-28-2011, 03:34 PM   #7
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If you want unlimited 3g you first need an unlimited phone plan. Then you need a blackberry or a android then you can tether them to your computer. Just as fast as a air card. We use sprint.
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Old 05-28-2011, 07:47 PM   #8
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I use a Verizon 4g (usually on 3G is found) access point for all this times I can't find WiFi...
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Old 05-29-2011, 12:20 AM   #9
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If you want unlimited 3g you first need an unlimited phone plan. Then you need a blackberry or a android then you can tether them to your computer. Just as fast as a air card. We use sprint.
thats a great tip. As a matter of fact, I do also have an unlimited data plan on my phone. And since my 3G broadband plan doesn't support 4G data, I will tether when I am in a 4G area to splurge a little
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Old 05-29-2011, 04:28 AM   #10
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Thanks!

Thanks Mali-Mish for joining in on this thread. Everyone who knows your blog loves it, and I think every Airstreamer should hit your blog daily, as I do. (I use Google search, so I always know when you have a new blog post).

The more all of us can get together to solve bandwidth (and other problems), the more wonderful our Airstream experience is for us all.

Also, thanks to TinCrumpet for your kind comments!
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Old 06-02-2011, 05:41 AM   #11
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A year ago, I bought an android phone with 4G capability, expecting 4G to be in my area soon as all the Sprint stores were touting and promising. Now, after being sorely disappointed , I have discovered what a scam the whole 4G thing is, at least with Sprint. I have made numerous phone calls to Sprint to complain that their stores in my area keep pushing expensive 4G capable phones and yet, they can not even give us an estimate as to when 4G will be in the area. Very clever strategy. Surely, someone who does the planning for all this for a major mobile phone company like Sprint knows when. So why not be honest and tell customers? Futher adding to the disappointment is the fact that 4G will likely be obsolete before it ever gets in areas anyone would camp in. As Sprint is using Clearwire's WiMax system, it will likely only ever be available in high population density areas. 4G is data only, not phone capable and therefore not replacing 3G, and very expensive to build in remote areas.
I would be curious what Verizon and ATT users have discovered with the 4G promises made to them.
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Old 06-02-2011, 08:28 AM   #12
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You know I pay local cable here in Oklahoma at about fifty dollars a month for 3 G....what I have heard from some about androids (and any other 'phone' that brings the wifi hotspots...is that they drain their battery life real quick while using the internet source. So I am subscribing to Malimish's blog...might learn something there, as I am also a fulltimer.
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Old 06-02-2011, 10:52 AM   #13
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We're interested, too. We won't be full time full timers, but will be part time full timers. Does that make sense? We'll be in the trailer probably two months a year, but we need good internet access for that time, to do what we do.

Heck, if we could get the wireless equivalent of DSL offshore, reliable and affordable, I'd be writing this email from a 42 ft. catamaran.
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Old 06-02-2011, 03:59 PM   #14
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Check the coverage maps, world of difference between providers, verizon seems to have the eastern market. Virgin Mobile only works close to the interstates highway system from my experience with it.
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Old 06-02-2011, 04:25 PM   #15
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I used to use a cradlepoint CTR500 with a USB modem from Mellenicom when they had unlimited for $50/month no contract, with a choice of carrier of Verizon or sprint (EVDO).

Millenicom | High Speed Wireless Broadband

However, I have since found that my maximum capability and flexibility comes with 2 smart phones from 2 separate carriers, both with unlimited data, so I dropped the USB modem.

Lets just say that both my phones (AT&T & Verizon) are legally modified. Both have WiFi capabilities that allow me to share my connection which left the cradlepoint in the drawer.

This also allows me to have voice and/or data coverage most anywhere I go, so when one has no towers nearby, another carrier will...

I also run a Wilson cellular booster as well....
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Old 06-02-2011, 05:02 PM   #16
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Our little Mac Book finds connections all over the place (in fact, I'm talking to you all from somebody's home Apple wireless system in the neighborhood) and most every biz outlet has wi-fi these days, too. We tried the Verizon and decided it was a waste of money. If I needed the connection for business, fine, but, geez, do we need to be connected ALL the time?
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Old 06-02-2011, 10:48 PM   #17
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I agree with others here, great post Dan.

We recently got stung by the AT&T police for tethering. It's ridiculous - we have 2 iPhones with unlimited data plans, but to use tethering, an iPhone feature that has very little to do with AT&T, I essentially have to give up my unlimited plan for one of their 5gb limited ones. Plus pay a $15 per phone per month charge to again do something my phone would do for free with another carrier. It's robbery.

So, instead of losing the grandfathered plan, we went to Verizon and picked up a MiFi. So far so good. The unit we have (i think it is model number 4510L but ill jave ti check again) has 9 hour battery, but can also be used while plugged in ( a feature not all mifi units have, believe it or not). It picks up 3G and 4g well, although I uncovered a weird bug that seems to block 4g access if the unit ever goes to 3G! If you have a mifi that never finds 4g, even in bug cities, you should go into the admin page settings and manually change the type of network to LTE only. That locks it into 4G mode and has worked well for us. We just switch it back to "global" when we need 3G.

Anyway- we've been pleased with it so far and also find having access to two carriers is definitely the best for us. Another perk is that you get even more free wifi options (although so far Verizon's free wifi have been only at places that offer free wifi anyway).

One other small feature of this unit that is particularly hand for RVers is it's antenna port. I haven't seen other mifis with this port. I just ordered an external antenna and will post how well it works.

Just my two cents.
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Old 06-02-2011, 11:40 PM   #18
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We're interested, too. We won't be full time full timers, but will be part time full timers. Does that make sense? We'll be in the trailer probably two months a year, but we need good internet access for that time, to do what we do.

Heck, if we could get the wireless equivalent of DSL offshore, reliable and affordable, I'd be writing this email from a 42 ft. catamaran.
We are in those same shoes now too since we got home last June. I have a name for people like us and its 'faux timers'

I would be on a sailboat too but besides the internet connection, also a wife who isn't afraid of sailboats.
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Old 06-02-2011, 11:44 PM   #19
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Our little Mac Book finds connections all over the place (in fact, I'm talking to you all from somebody's home Apple wireless system in the neighborhood) and most every biz outlet has wi-fi these days, too. We tried the Verizon and decided it was a waste of money. If I needed the connection for business, fine, but, geez, do we need to be connected ALL the time?
everyone's situation is different and some of us need to more than we want it. we also have little kids so we can't leave the airstream at night to find free wifi to connect to. we have had to do that but it just isn't a reliable way to get work done.
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Old 06-02-2011, 11:53 PM   #20
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I agree with others here, great post Dan.

We recently got stung by the AT&T police for tethering. It's ridiculous - we have 2 iPhones with unlimited data plans, but to use tethering, an iPhone feature that has very little to do with AT&T, I essentially have to give up my unlimited plan for one of their 5gb limited ones. Plus pay a $15 per phone per month charge to again do something my phone would do for free with another carrier. It's robbery.

So, instead of losing the grandfathered plan, we went to Verizon and picked up a MiFi. So far so good. The unit we have (i think it is model number 4510L but ill jave ti check again) has 9 hour battery, but can also be used while plugged in ( a feature not all mifi units have, believe it or not). It picks up 3G and 4g well, although I uncovered a weird bug that seems to block 4g access if the unit ever goes to 3G! If you have a mifi that never finds 4g, even in bug cities, you should go into the admin page settings and manually change the type of network to LTE only. That locks it into 4G mode and has worked well for us. We just switch it back to "global" when we need 3G.

Anyway- we've been pleased with it so far and also find having access to two carriers is definitely the best for us. Another perk is that you get even more free wifi options (although so far Verizon's free wifi have been only at places that offer free wifi anyway).

One other small feature of this unit that is particularly hand for RVers is it's antenna port. I haven't seen other mifis with this port. I just ordered an external antenna and will post how well it works.

Just my two cents.
Thanks Deke and Tiffani! We are loving your blog and following your adventures closely. I am assuming you guys are in Jackson Center right now enjoying yourselves. Wish we could be there too.

We use an external antenna on our 3G card almost all the time. In fact, in most cases, it will give us the extra bar of signal that we desperately need to speed up the connection or just to make it more reliable. As you guys have a similar trailer as ours, what I do is I place the magnet mount antenna on the end of the metal awning just above the door and lead the wire back through the rear wraparound windows. Works great.

Another thing I started using is a wifi repeater. For those campgrounds that have poor wifi coverage, we can park the van closer to the base station and bounce the signal to us or just simply place our big external wifi antenna on the outside of the trailer and the repeater will let all of our devices share that same connection. I will probably post another video on the blog on that setup in the near future.

Have fun at alumapalooza and I look forward to your posts about it.
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