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Old 01-26-2021, 08:18 AM   #1
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Pleasant Garden , North Carolina
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Replacement for AT&T Unlimited

Now that the second year of our AT&T unlimited service has expired, I'm wondering what others have come up with to replace it. Sure can't rely on any campground wifi.
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Old 01-26-2021, 08:27 AM   #2
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We are looking for a solution also, it "seems" that T-Mobile 55+ plans may be a good "stop gap" based on data rates vs cost.

We used it (AT&T connected) one weekend and it about 90GB just for the weekend because the SO was watching CNN streaming....there was a reason and we don't normally watch that much, but it was good to know what we actually used.

This is what we are looking at:

https://www.t-mobile.com/news/press/...d-55-promotion

Not sure if we will pull the trigger as I'm still doing some research.
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Old 01-26-2021, 08:28 AM   #3
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There is no good alternative / comparable plan available on the market today.

www.rvmobileinternet.com will have a review of the "next best" options.

The Airstream AT&T plan was a true unicorn when it came out. It was not surprising at all that AT&T killed it given the cost vs un-capped/non-throttled nature of the plan.

You might be able to get the same plan (grandfathered from a decade ago) on the grey market for ~$250/month but there is a waiting list to get your hands on one of those SIM cards...
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Old 01-26-2021, 08:46 AM   #4
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No good options we ended up doing the 300 GB 1 year plan as a backup for our Verizon unlimited packages on our phones and a hot spot. They do throttle at a point but for email etc not an issue. Also that allows us to choose which device the data comes from. For example my wife uses her phone data for everything she does, I use my phone or hotspot depending.

Not cheap but it works.
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Old 01-26-2021, 08:48 AM   #5
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T-mobile just rolled out a 100GB/month $50 plan.
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Old 01-26-2021, 09:21 AM   #6
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Hi

You have multiple problems:

1) You need somebody who has coverage out in the sorts of places people put campgrounds ( = outside the major urban centers)

2) You need towers that have capacity. ( If you are a secondary customer on that tower .... guess who comes first ?? )

3) You need a plan that provides a lot of data without a lot of throttling.

The three are not entirely independent of each other. Verizon and AT&T are pretty much the only two outfits that even come close to checking the boxes for 1 and 2 above. If they aren't offering a plan this week, wait a couple months and see what comes up ...

Bob
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Old 01-26-2021, 09:23 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ghaynes755
T-mobile just rolled out a 100GB/month $50 plan.
That is a good per GB rate. No a bad option if you can deal with / travel within their network footprint. Roaming has caveats on native carrier data plans. VZ and AT&T are the go-to footprint, typically.

Personally, I use 400GB / mo run rate when working on the road. So if you are after a truly "comparable" unlimited data/un-capped speed/non-network throttled plan there is none not he market today, unless you are like me and have held onto an old SIM card / plan that is no longer offered.

All depends on your monthly usage and travel area I suppose.
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Old 01-26-2021, 09:43 AM   #8
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T-MOBILE coverage

The prices sound great . . . Just check the coverage maps compared to where you want to travel. We've been at 2 campgrounds in Florida that had little to no T-Mobile coverage. (per the neighbors asking about our booster antenna) While both our ATT (husbands phone) and Verizon (my phone and hotspot) had signal. We are fulltiming and I am still working so we bit the bullet on higher cost to have the best chance at getting a decent signal. Recently we both updated our plans . . . For same cost we are now getting 30gb and 50gb (formerly 15) unthrottled data on our unlimited plans.
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Old 01-26-2021, 09:55 AM   #9
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We struggle with this as well. Been back and forth with AT&T & Verizon, it seems both have their +s & -s that end up being not too significant a difference to make one a clear 'winner' over the other. Costs for 2 lines runs around $200.-/mo.

I have a 3rd phone for a small side job that is with Consumer Cellular ($27.-/mo.) & it seems to work most everywhere we get the 2 biggies but it does not have a data plan & I'm not sure what that would be like as CC is a secondary carrier. The cost is great & even if I add a data plan it's still a lot less than ATT or Verizon but speeds and coverage are a concern. We will download a movie a couple of times a week but hardly ever try to live stream
anything.

Has anyone tried the CC solution for data that could provide some insight?

We do not stay in major metropolitan areas as a rule.
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Old 01-26-2021, 10:00 AM   #10
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Verizon has a senior plan if you are a Florida resident. Not sure why they only allow Florida residents on the plan. We went with the T-Mobile 55+ plan a few weeks ago. I will have to wait until we get out in the spring to leave feedback on the service. I know the price is right. $70/mth tax included for two lines unlimited. We had AT&T (which was Cingular when we started) for 30 yrs but their loyalty and/or senior plans do not exist.
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Old 01-26-2021, 10:01 AM   #11
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T Mobile +55, got tired of AT&T trying to sell me a better plan and not telling me what they were take away.
Been with T-Mobile for three months, pleased so far and saved a lot of money.
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Old 01-26-2021, 10:05 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RivetED;
We struggle with this as well. Been back and forth with AT&T & Verizon, it seems both have their +s & -s that end up being not too significant a difference to make one a clear 'winner' over the other. Costs for 2 lines runs around $200.-/mo.

I have a 3rd phone for a small side job that is with Consumer Cellular ($27.-/mo.) & it seems to work most everywhere we get the 2 biggies but it does not have a data plan & I'm not sure what that would be like as CC is a secondary carrier. The cost is great & even if I add a data plan it's still a lot less than ATT or Verizon but speeds and coverage are a concern. We will download a movie a couple of times a week but hardly ever try to live stream
anything.

Has anyone tried the CC solution for data that could provide some insight?

We do not stay in major metropolitan areas as a rule.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MickeyC;
Verizon has a senior plan if you are a Florida resident. Not sure why they only allow Florida residents on the plan. We went with the T-Mobile 55+ plan a few weeks ago. I will have to wait until we get out in the spring to leave feedback on the service. I know the price is right. $70/mth tax included for two lines unlimited. We had AT&T (which was Cingular when we started) for 30 yrs but their loyalty and/or senior plans do not exist.


It's very important for this discussion not to confuse mobile phone voice plan with hotspot option with a true data-only plan / data only device designated for large amounts of data consumption for the purpose of working on the road.

A voice plan with hotspot option does not give you unlimited data and speed for connected devices. Carriers specifically CAP tethering / hotspot data on voice plans. Typically in the 20-30-50GB / month range before you hit your data cap and speed via hotspot for connected devices becomes unusable, even though your phone itself continues to run smoothly.

These are two very different things and you cannot compare data-only plans with voice plans that have hotspot option when it comes to working in an office environment in your airstream.

Anyone truly working from the road these days with video conference calls all day / real-time network cloud back up, file / video transmission, etc... will rapidly burn through any allocated "hot spot" data on a mobile phone voice plan. Also, with a voice plan and mobile handset like an iPhone or Android phone you are at the mercy of the physical limitations of the antennas in the mobile phone for speed / reception vs specific data-only LTE/4/5G hardware.

I go through 20GB easy in a day, for example. My hotspot allocation on my AT&T phone is toast by 11am on day 2 in the office

Just FYI. The Airstream plan is a data only plan with data-only Category 6 LTE hardware. It is not a comparable to a voice plan with hotspot off your phone.
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Old 01-26-2021, 10:11 AM   #13
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Talking The new FCC

It may be worth waiting for a few months to see what shakes out in the new administration's effort at restoring "net neutrality." The potential upside for consumers is huge; the regulations that were in place a few years ago - those that inspired ATT to provide awesome "unicorn" plans like the Airstream Connected partnership - may be restored. More competitive data plans, less throttling, more affordable prices. All those may be back soon as the FCC reasserts itself in the question of corporation over individual.

Happy Streaming!

https://www.zdnet.com/article/presid...chair-the-fcc/
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Old 01-26-2021, 10:54 AM   #14
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Comcast mobile

It might sound crazy (it did to us!) but in the Salt Lake City area Comcast/Xfinity Mobile is an offering that allows for unlimited data using the Verizon network for just $45 per device. No extra charges either. We use data like crazy (my phone used over 100GB last month) and it’s been pretty great as we’ve traveled. This service was recommended to me by a friend who I respect and know he shops around. Otherwise I would never have left AT&T to try it. We give it a thumbs up and are saving a lot of money. I believe Comcast/Xfinity go by different names in different states so you may need to do some research.

Hope this helps!
Danny & Joni
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Old 01-26-2021, 11:09 AM   #15
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I spoke to AT&T Customer Service just last week about it. If you purchased the original unlimited unthrottled plan which was prior to January 2020. As long as you continue to pay the annual fee, the original AT&T plan is grandfathered and will stay with you until either you unsubscribe or change plans. The same holds true with the cell phone service. You can call AT&T Customer Service, have your Data Card phone number assigned to the Airstream Connect and account number, or ask for it.
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Old 01-26-2021, 11:29 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jlandreth View Post
Now that the second year of our AT&T unlimited service has expired, I'm wondering what others have come up with to replace it. Sure can't rely on any campground wifi.
Patience everyone Starlink from Tesla is coming.
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Old 01-26-2021, 11:32 AM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by helwigc View Post
T Mobile +55, got tired of AT&T trying to sell me a better plan and not telling me what they were take away.
Been with T-Mobile for three months, pleased so far and saved a lot of money.
Have you tried it with Netflix or Amazon video? Just wondering how well they handle that as we tend to watch it before nodding off.
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Old 01-26-2021, 11:40 AM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by smmckean View Post
I spoke to AT&T Customer Service just last week about it. If you purchased the original unlimited unthrottled plan which was prior to January 2020. As long as you continue to pay the annual fee, the original AT&T plan is grandfathered and will stay with you until either you unsubscribe or change plans. The same holds true with the cell phone service. You can call AT&T Customer Service, have your Data Card phone number assigned to the Airstream Connect and account number, or ask for it.
I just looked at my device now and there is nothing there but "convert to postpaid"....

Do you have a phone number? Who did you ask for? More info as I'd love to keep it.....and pay if that is truly the case.

LMK.

Thanks.
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Old 01-26-2021, 12:22 PM   #19
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Patience everyone Starlink from Tesla is coming.
I think it will be the long term solution, but right now it's only for stationary residences and it's expensive, IMO.
I'm in the gap between my phone is a hotspot, and a dedicated device.
Verizon has an offshoot, Visible, no contract, turn it off/on, unlimited data, but only one device. I think the goal is to buy an inexpensive phone to act as a hotspot and tether it to a router.
Anyone try Visible yet?
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Old 01-26-2021, 02:54 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DannyNJoni;
It might sound crazy (it did to us!) but in the Salt Lake City area Comcast/Xfinity Mobile is an offering that allows for unlimited data using the Verizon network for just $45 per device. No extra charges either. We use data like crazy (my phone used over 100GB last month) and it’s been pretty great as we’ve traveled.
I am familiar with Comcast offering. They typically try and push the mobile handset onto Xfiniti wi-fi access points to bypass LTE network.

Also, publicly, for $45 unlimited hotspot is throttled to just 600kbps. Ultra slow, un-usable for working off of that as your primary internet connection. unlimited data at turtle speeds. Yeah!

From Xfinity - what you get for $45/mo:

https://www.xfinity.com/mobile/learn/plan/details

Unlimited is available on any Xfinity Mobile line, whether you have a phone or tablet.
It includes 4G LTE data and 5G access where coverage is available.
Personal hotspots included at 600 kbps.
Includes standard-definition LTE streaming (480p) on all devices
HD Pass available for higher-quality cellular service in times with high network traffic.

Personally, I rely on 10-50Mbps connectivity for working. 600kps is a small step up from analog modem speeds

Are you seeing different performance from your hotspot service off the VZ MVNO handset?
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