Best Internet option

[Flyone]

Looking for the best portable internet option. I want something I can use at home and then take on the road for months at a time. I guess I should say, best on a budget---I would like to keepthe costbelow $60 bucks a month (actually 20/30 bucks a month would be great). I would be willing to make a small initial investment, but would like to use it at home as well as on the road. What do you use how well do you like it, and how much are you spending?

Flyone

[joescuba]

we use a verizon cell and tether it to our pc,our plan is old but the cost was only $39.95 for the "mobile office kit and $5 a month extra for data access,as a side benefit the cord from pc to phone charges phone battery,used to use at home as was faster then dial up,but could get costly
just an idea

[Stan]

I use the Verizon USB modem at home and on the road. Great signal on the road and normally good at the house (I live in a rural area - no cable). Satellite Modem is too expensive and this works much better than dial-up. Kinda pricey at $60 month though.

[Hunter11]

We used to use a Sprint Aircard when we traveled and it was costing us about $70 a month rather we used it or not.I got rid of it and I went to a HTC EVO 3D Android phone and I tether it to our laptop using Easy Tether I downloaded from the market for a one time fee of $10. With our unlimited data plan it does not cost us anything when I tether it. I get 4G speeds around larger cities and 3G everywhere else. As a backup we can use my wife's iPhone using WIFI hotspot which we can pay as we go through Sprint at about $1 a day. Edited by: Hunter11

[Sirsea]

We use a USB modem from Virgin Mobile, good service most everywhere except West Texas. Modem cost about $69 and unlimited data plan is $50/mo. It's a month-to-month service with no contract. When your month is up, it shuts off but you can still get to their website to renew for another month if you want to.

[Lloyd]

I think it depends on just how much you need/want to have a 24/7 connection. A lot of RV Parks now days offer free WiFi, there is more businesses all the time where you can access their WiFi when on the road traveling, even some of the rest areas in some states offer it. I get by quite well without paying out on a monthly bill for it. When I'm gone from home, the internet isn't something I need every day. It all depends on the individual needs and wants.

[scott]

we use the wifihotspot thru the droid II phone. Not sureof the cost added to the plan, it's a corporate thing. I'm waiting for the IPAD 3 to be released then I'm going that route. You can get a verizon 3G, possibly 4G for the IPAD3 and you can turn it onmonthly just when you need it for $50 and no contract.

[artgpo]

I have the Virgin Mobile Broadband USB card that is connected via Sprint's data network. I used it for a long time with mixed success. Their service says "Unlimited" but after either 2 or 3 GB you get throttled to a much lower speed.
I now have a Samsung Droid Charge 4G LTE Verizon phone. When I got the phone I was grandfathered into unlimited data @ $30 a month as well as unlimited tethering also for $30 a month. I would try Keith's method but I do not know if it will work on the Verizon network. If I give up either of my data plans or change service I lose my grandfathered advantage.
I do not want to be without Internet access. Most campgrounds we have visited still have poor Wi-Fi in their parks.

Edited by: artgpo

We also use the free WiFi at the parks where we stay. We just use the same laptop with wireless that we use at home. You just need to be careful you are using a secure wireless site so you don't get a bad virus. However, if you have a good virus protection set up on the computer you should be ok. Although, we like many others have picked up bad virus's even with a virus protection plan. So, I'm not sure I even helped you of just confused you more.

[CygnusSailor]

Like others have mentioned, I use free wifi as often as possible which is 99% of the time. It seems to be available almost everywhere. I also have a product called a "the wirie" http://www.thewirie.com/products.html. It is a powered router that links up with any wifi in the area, many times at ranges in excess of one mile. If the wifi is unsecured you can use it. You would be absolutely amazed at the number of wifi connections that are available with this device. Most of these wifi's are businesses that provide free wifi for their patrons.

[Dayle1]

We use the Verizon data plan with a USB modem and a Cradlepoint PHS3000 wireless router. I signed up for the Verizon data plan thru a 3rd party provider and with a 2 yr contract received the USB modem free plus $100 rebate which pretty much covered the cost of the Cradlepoint router. The wireless router supports both our laptops at home and on the road. We had to replace both the router and USB modem after last yrs house fire and our current modem is a Pantech UML290. Not all USB modems have an external antenna port like the UML290. I use it with a Wilson Trucker antenna mounted on the Cruiser roof ladder. So the USB modem and router are tethered to the external antenna, but the two laptops are not. Right now we are living inside the Cruiser that is inside our metal RVport and still have decent signal strength.

[gossamar]

Like others...I am with Verizon(big red), upgraded recently to the 4G MiFi for $50.00 per month for 5G data and you can link up to 5 devices to the MiFi. It also is a secured connection. Given some of the remote locations some campgrounds are in, Verizon is one of the few carriers that still has signal out in the sticks.....

[Flyone]

All, thanks for the replys---some good stuff to think about. Cygnus Sailor, how do you feel about the security of the system you use? It sounds great, I like the concept, doing personal banking and finances would concern me. Have you had any trouble with pep's on unsecure network?



Flyone

[CygnusSailor]

I have top notch virus protection and I will only do financial transactions on sites that have the https prefix. The s means that it is a secured site. I have never had a problem.