High speed internet

[Jrusa]

Hi all, I’m new to the RV scene and I would appreciate if anyone could help me understand the best way to get high speed internet in my RV.
I’d like to work out of it and I’d like to be able to stream things like Netflix and Disney.
My research has left me with the only close option being a hotspot with an antenna but the thing is, that is only as good as your data plan and those such plans don’t seem to support the speeds needed. They also only offer a fixed data plan which is just not enough. Some offer unlimited after you use the set data amount but the speed drops down to 3mbps. Things like 4K tv needs at least 20mbps.
Anyways I’m at a lose so I figure somebody here must have gone thru all this already.
Thank you in advance

[rjshiflet]

We have T-Mobile 5G Home Internet at home, so when we head out in our RV we grab the unit and bring it with us. We get plenty fast speeds (150-225 Mbps download and 15-20 Mbps upload) for most all purposes. Streaming is certainly no problem and Zoom business calls shouldn't be an issue either.

Cost is as low as $30 (if you are an existing T-Mobile customer and auto-pay). I believe it's like $40-$50 if you aren't a T-Mobile customer and it is truly unlimited.

We've had this service for about 18 months and absolutely love it. We have camped in a couple of more remote state parks where service was borderline, but we managed to get the job done.

[Jrusa]

Originally Posted by rjshiflet

We have T-Mobile 5G Home Internet at home, so when we head out in our RV we grab the unit and bring it with us. We get plenty fast speeds (150-225 Mbps download and 15-20 Mbps upload) for most all purposes. Streaming is certainly no problem and Zoom business calls shouldn't be an issue either.

Cost is as low as $30 (if you are an existing T-Mobile customer and auto-pay). I believe it's like $40-$50 if you aren't a T-Mobile customer and it is truly unlimited.

We've had this service for about 18 months and absolutely love it. We have camped in a couple of more remote state parks where service was borderline, but we managed to get the job done.

Thank you for your response. How does T-Mobil get into your home? Telephone wire? As a hotspot WIFI?

[Jrusa]

I see now, they send you a 5G gateway. I’ll look into more. Thanks again

[Jrusa]

It’s looking like satellite may be the best solution

[DavisK]

Starlink would probably be the best option, but it is not cheap.

[Jrusa]

Originally Posted by DavisK

Starlink would probably be the best option, but it is not cheap.

I have concluded that satellite is the way to go and should give me all that I want so I did some research on Starlink which led me to another source called Viastat.
$119/month plus $15/mo part rental fee. This plan is really unlimited and the speeds will support 4K streaming, Netflix, etc and it should support my work.
Starlink is very expensive, limited in data and you have to buy the equipment. It has a better latency but from what I can tell, a slower latency should not be a big problem.
I have to wait until April when we get our seasonal site setup to have Viastat come out and set me up. Can’t wait!

[Dan Erikson]

I've been contemplating ConnecTen. Looks like their device looks at 3 different cell providers and uses strongest available service. It then converts to wifi. Have seen good reviews but probable will wait till spring before I give it a shot. Anyone else using this service currently?

[mapachoo]

We have Starlink. We love it never worry about a connection. With that being said.We are retired and a connection is not a problem if its not there all the time. Bad weather can interrupt starlink. Once we had some pixelling while streaming in a storm. Other than that i has been perfect. The price went up 15.00 a month but the equiptment cost came down a lot so its a wash. you can turn it on and off they prorate your time to the end of the billing period when you turn it on. then when you turn it off it will be active to the end of the current billing period. What ever you decide if your going to use it for work you are going to want a backup plan.

[rjshiflet]

Originally Posted by Jrusa

Thank you for your response. How does T-Mobil get into your home? Telephone wire? As a hotspot WIFI?

It basically is an oversized hotspot. Just plug it into a wall socket and it does the rest. Once it connects, it serves as a WiFi router so you connect your devices directly to this unit just as you would a normal router in your home.

There are a couple of models - I have the white one like this:


It operates on 5G if available, or 4G as a backup.

[A. Scullin]

I highly recommend Starlink. It is awesome. It establishes a wifi network like you would have in a traditional home. You can surf the internet, do wifi phone calls, watch movies, TV and more. We use an Apple TV box and then apps on the box for TV. We use the sling TV app for TV programs. It all works terrific.