Up-To-Date communication options on the road?

[Riverrunner]

I work for myself out of a home office and plan on taking some extended trips in the 80 this spring and summer. The only thing that would limit my time spent on the road would be the communication factor. All I need is internet and phone to make this work. Phone would be the most important, but I would need at least sporadic access to internet. This is what I need and have come up with, but I am hoping that you guys have some better more reliable options that you will chime in with:

Cell service-
I plan on using the Wilson 3G Booster with a magnet outdoor antenna and a low-profile cabin mounted antenna. I chose this one because it's wireless and should be able to support a few phones/devices in the car. There seem to be quite a few positive responses to this unit as opposed to the "Mobile Pro" version.

Internet-
The only thing I can think of is to get a hotspot unit from verizon that supports multiple devices and run it off of the cell booster. The bad side is that if I don't have cell service, even with the booster, I'm SOL. I picture myself driving around the backwoods aimlessly looking for service which somewhat defeats the purpose of being out there anyways...

I remember coming across a thread a few years ago of a husband and wife that utilized a satellite that they would pull access off of, but I can't seem to find it anywhere.

What are some of the set-ups that you guys use?
Products you are happy with, products you hate?


I will spare you the question of what GPS set-up you have...I can spend the next three years reading through threads on that.

Thanks in advance.

 

[rusty_tlc]

Not a lot of help but my son drove OTR for a couple of years, Verizion had the best coverage of any service he tried.

Skip the Verizion hot spot service, just get a phone that will support hot spot and use a third party app. This will save you a lot of $$$$$.

A good google term to try is "boondock" that is what the guys with the $$$$ RV's call dispersed camping. I know I've run across sites that had info on sat internet service using that term.

 

[Riverrunner]

What apps would you recommend?

Unfortunately my iphone won't do a Hotspot and voice at the same time-which I need.
Iridium is coming out with a device next quarter called the GO($800) that is supposed to support satellite hot spot and voice capabilities. They haven't released monthly pricing yet, but I imagine it will be astronomical.
I will search for that term, I've never heard it before. Maybe because I don't have a 200k mobile yacht

Thanks for the info.

 

[Mr Cimarron]

I have a wifi hot spot that I added to my plan with AT&T. It costs about the same as if I would have activated my iPhone as a hot spot. It's great for using my ipad as navigation while driving and keeping up with work away from the office. I also use Verizon hot spots at work and their coverage seems to be a tab better overall.

 

[rusty_tlc]

What apps would you recommend?

Unfortunately my iphone won't do a Hotspot and voice at the same time-which I need.
Iridium is coming out with a device next quarter called the GO($800) that is supposed to support satellite hot spot and voice capabilities. They haven't released monthly pricing yet, but I imagine it will be astronomical.
I will search for that term, I've never heard it before. Maybe because I don't have a 200k mobile yacht

Thanks for the info.

Check the forums for your phone for an app that works with it.

Many of the guys that can afford the land yacht life style are also pretty tech savvy and a lot of them run companies from the road. No sense re-inventing the wheel.

 

[abruzzi]

If you have verizon LTE service on a smart phone, they are required by law to allow tethering for no charge. If you have a LTE iPhone (not sure about the 4S, but 5, 5C, and 5S all have LTE) the tethering is built into iOS. If you have Android, there are tethering apps in the google store. As far as I know the "no concurrent voice/data" limitation on Verizon was only for EVDO and 1xRTT. I believe the LTE Verizion devices should allow concurrent.

EDIT: just did a little googling. Apparently LTE/CDMA networks are capable of simultaneous voice and data, but some phones support it, and some don't. It depends on whether the same radio or separate radios are used. The iPhones don't support it, some Samsungs do and some don't.

 

[El Cid]

This is an interesting question...and I'm sure the answers will be dramatically different in a few months time..

Before I go flying off trying to answer a question that might be irrelevant, your requirements sound something like this:

cell phone service in as remote a location as possible
internet connectivity in as remote a location as possible.

Aided by your vehicle presumably

So I think the question is actually threefold.

1) What is the best network or communication platform
2) Is there a vehicle antenna configuration that supports this
3) What additional software or hardware configurations are necessary for the laptop or phone.

It's pretty safe to assume that there is an answer that will allow for what you're asking. The problem is, I think it's a collection of companies rather than any one vendor..

 

[El Cid]

The Iridium Go won't be fast enough to be worth the wait. The next generation of Iridium satellite hotspots will be faster, but we aren't going to get the first generation until July. I expect the price to be just shy of 1k. But again, the speeds are terrible. The data had better be really valuable to be worth that price/speed.

Google is going to use balloons to try and accomplish precisely the same thing, so it's best to wait and see how this race pans out.

It's a great question but right now, I don't think the options available are cost competitive for the above average consumer. For me, I could justify spending 1k, for example. And for 1k, I can get an Iridium satellite phone and a good supply of minutes. After that, internet connectivity is based on wireless or free wifi.

As it stands right now, your best bet price wise is to go with an upgraded service from either AT&T or Verizon and to utilize their hotspot offerings. As others have mentioned, I recommend Verizon for the breadth of their network coverage nationally.

 

[El Cid]

duplicate.

 

[Denverblake]

I remember coming across a thread a few years ago of a husband and wife that utilized a satellite that they would pull access off of, but I can't seem to find it anywhere.

Thanks in advance.

I think you are referring to: http://www.technomadia.com/

Also, there has been some awesome advice on this/similar subject matter here:
https://forum.ih8mud.com/electronic-toys/796972-rolling-fj40-tech-monster.html

I've ordered the Wilson Electronics cell phone booster, but haven't received it yet. I'll be sure to post my results/impressions here after I give it a workout.

Thanks,
Blake

 

[Kofoed]

The antenna/amp linked by the OP is a 50dB gain system, that's quite a bit. I wonder if you could experiment with a home brew corner reflector in conjunction with that.....

 

[MontanaLax]

Riverrunner, did you ever come to a conclusion/purchase on this?
One thing to add to this topic... The Wilson Electronics boosters do not all support LTE (verizon 4G) due to different bands for voice/data. The older models will carry 3G and voice, so if data speed is of any importance you may want to check the specifications of whatever unit you're looking at.
Just FYI.

 

[Elbert]

if you need all that independent... get verizon cell service, android phone. then get cell network card for your laptop.

 

[CV Kurt]

Personally, I prefer to just pay for tethering (if not included in the base package) for my phone... then it can provide Internet via wi-fi to various other devices I have. With many carriers, you can upgrade to tethering support just for the days you need it. I use a iPhone here... and it does support tethering and voice at the same time, at least with my carrier. Not all carriers support this.

 

[GXO]

I use my iPad for tethering and my phone for calls. Works great. The iPad with MotionX and google maps covers all my GPS needs as well. You can pre-cache maps as well in MotionX to cover poor coverage areas. But if you have no cell, you have no data (only downside). I streamed and worked across the entire I70 corridor to Moab from Atlanta and only hit one dead spot. I use Verizon for phone and AT&T for data on the iPad so I can get overlap coverage areas as needed.