Internet on the road
There are a number of options for connecting to the Internet as we travel.
Here are nine ways RVers are using to connect:
- Use a public computer in a library or coffee shop.
- Install a landline when you'll be somewhere for several months.
- Use a PocketMail® device to check e-mail.
- Pick up a Wi-Fi signal in an RV park, coffee shop, bookstore, or truck stop.
- "War driving," which is driving around until you find a Wi-Fi signal. By parking nearby you can use their Internet signal. We have found signals at motels, public buildings, houses and other RVs.
- Use a dial-up modem in a campground.
- Use your cell phone as a modem, connecting with a cable to your computer.
- Put an Aircard in your PMCA slot (or use one with a USB connection) to pick up a signal.
- Set up a satellite Internet dish, either on a movable tripod or roof mount.
More about each option
Public libraries, universities, and sometimes coffee shops have public access computers. There might be a fee at a commercial establishment.
Cost: $0 to a few dollars a session.
2. Landlines for long-term stays
For long-term stays you might need to sign up for a landline to connect or connect to local cable or DSL. We have worked in remote areas where signing up for telephone service was the only viable option - places like the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, AZ the Castellon area of Big Bend, TX, Bull Frog, UT. At one point some RV parks were installing modems for instant connections. Though most are going to Wi-Fi, parks with older equipment might still have this availability. One Web site sells a CD with about 2500 RV parks and how you can connect while there; some have instant connections at each site.
Cost: Phone installation varies, monthly phone access charge, Internet provider fee
3. Use a PocketMail® device to check e-mail.
If you want to keep in e-mail contact with family but don't have a computer, rarely use the Internet or don't have Internet access, the PocketMail device might work for you. Type your e-mails on the small device, then use a pay phone or cell phone to send your e-mails and retrieve any waiting for you. See article for more information.
4. Use Wi-Fi signal in public places
One of the limitations of using Wi-Fi you find in establishments like RV parks, truck stops, coffee shops or bookstores is that you may be charged a fee or need to subscribe to a specific service. Starbucks uses T-Mobile, Flying J has its own service that doesn’t work anywhere else. At an RV park, if you use the daily rate, it is rather expensive, but signing up for longer periods wouldn’t be advisable unless you were staying there long term or were sure your next destination used the same service.
The other drawback is that the connection may be unsecured so you should not transmit confidential or financial information on these connections. Even with a secured sign-in, those on the network could access your data so be careful.
Hot spot locators
http://www.wi-fihotspotlist.com/
http://www.wifinder.com/
http://www.wifinder.com/ free hot spots
RV parks with Wi-Fi: Do a Google search for RV parks with Wi-Fi to return several sites. Some RV parks charge an access fee.
Cost: Cost per session varies from $0 to several dollars. If a subscription is needed, you may be able to get one for 24 hours, a week, month or year. If you have a newer laptop, Wi-Fi capability is probably built in. If not, figure around $100 for a card.
"War driving" is a term for driving around an area and checking to see if you can pick up an unsecured Wi-Fi signal, often with a Wi-Fi detector. Once you find a signal, you can download e-mail and use the Web. We've picked up signals from motels and other RVers that were unsecured and used them.
Be aware that in some places this could be illegal and a felony at that. In June of 2007, a fellow was arrested for picking up a signal outside a coffee shop. In Michigan, a law, introduced in 1979 to protect Internet and private-network users from hackers, and amended in 2000 to include wireless systems, makes piggybacking off of Wi-Fi networks, even those without a password, illegal. Read the article.
Under the Michigan statute, individuals who log on to a Wi-Fi network with the owner's permission, or who see a pop-up screen that says it's a public network, can assume they're authorized to use the network. If not, they could be subject to prosecution.
It is important to have an Internet connection for many workers on the RV road. They can check forums, receive the daily Hotline if they are Workamper Plus subscribers, and research jobs and areas. There are times when your usual Internet connection does not work.
It would be difficult to know if you are in a jurisdiction where piggybacking on a signal was illegal. Perhaps the mistake this fellow made was coming back to the same location day after day and not getting out of his car. Had he bought coffee, he would have been a customer and entitled to use the signal. However, sitting in the same spot for days, the owner of the neighboring business got suspicious—not because he was using his computer— but because he thought he might be a stalker!
We do occasionally try to find an unsecured signal when we can't set up our Internet satellite dish for some reason. I'm sure many other RVers do the same at times. Keep in mind that you could be breaking the law. The best thing, if it’s a coffee or book shop is to purchase something. If possible, as the RVer (if you can determine who it is), for permission.
Cost: Most war-drivers search for an free, unsecured Wi-Fi signal.
6. Dial-up modem in campground
Some parks still have a central location where you can use their telephone connection to access the Internet. In this case you must subscribe to a provider like AOL or Earthlink and use their access numbers. If the hookup is DSL you would not need to use another provider.
Cost: Usually the use of a modem in a campground is free, though you may be limited in how long you can use the connection, particularly if others are waiting. You would need to subscribe to an Internet service, which is usually around $20-25/month.
7 and 8. Cell phones and aircards
Many RVers are choosing to connect to the Internet using their cell phones or through an aircard, which receives a cell phone signal. There are three methods:
First, use a phone or device that receives Internet data signals. PDAs or smartphones may be Internet capable. A PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) is a computer that fits in your hand. These small computers are sometimes called palmtops and are a great way to store telephone numbers, email addresses ,access the internet, make calculations, keep a digital calendar and play games. A smartphone is a mobile phone offering advanced capabilities beyond a typical mobile phone, often with PC-like functionality.
Many of these devices have a small keyboard to use and have their own operating systems or mini-browsers. You access the Web and send email right from your device.
Second, you can also use an Internet-enabled cell phone, PDA or smartphone as a modem. Verizon calls this BroadbandAccess Connect. Your phone is tethered to your PC via a cable while you are using your computer. (This was called the Mobile Office Kit previously.) You can check at Verizon which Verizon devices work.
Third, aircards are devices that transfer data. Some attach by a cable, other models go into your PC card slot on your computer, others can use a USB port. You can also use an aircard on a handheld PC and pocket PC devices. If you are in an area with broadband access, it works at very high speed. An alternative to the aicard is a USB Modem which also picks up a high speed signal on devices with a Type A USB interface. Additionally certain modems can act as a storage device. See this article with more information.
RVers will want to look for an amplifier and an external antennae such as the Wilson Trucker’s antenna so they can receive a signal where it would otherwise be weak. Our amplifier is a Wilson Direct Connection Cellular/PC Amplifier. An aircard for a USB port can also be used in a router so you can share the signal with another computer. Be aware of usage limits so you don’t exceed the allowance or you begin paying extra.
Verizon, Sprint, AT&T and T-Mobile have data plans. Even if you have a cell phone, you will pay extra for a plan that allows access to the Internet.
Cost: Phones vary in price, depending on features. Sign a two-year contract and the price is reduced. The modems range from $129-179 at Verizon with a two-year commitment. Aircards are about the same, though we purchased one in March, which is "Aircard" month, and paid nothing after the rebate. Monthly service for a large amount of data runs around $59.95. A few data plans are less expensive, with a smaller data allowance or if you use your cell phone to connect.
Working much like satellite TV, satellite Internet locks onto a signal and allows two-way Internet transmission. You can purchase a roof-mount dish with automatic satellite finder or mount the dish on a movable tripod. The tripod is a heavy surveyor's tripod, which should be anchored down with weights or tie downs so it does not blow over. You also need a place to store the tripod and dish for the portable one.
Margo Armstrong, co-owner of Maxwell Satellite, shares an article about how satellite Internet works.
Cost: The equipment for the roof-mount runs around $5,000; the portable dish on a tripod from $1500-1900. Service plans run from $59-$129.