With the boys attending online school with required live sessions and Ben working full-time remotely, we really need the internet to work at all times.
Campgrounds often offer WIFI, but it is limited both in speed and availability. Some campgrounds offer it throughout the whole campground, some only in certain sections (usually towards the office), and some only in the office. Some even charge for the WIFI.
We spend a lot per month on internet, right now about $343/month, just to make sure we have service.
Here are our current internet options:
- Verizon Get More Unlimited: 5G where available, Unlimited 4G LTE (75 GB, then may slow during congestion), mobile hotspot (30 GB of 4G LTE). ($167.62/month)
- AT&T Unlimited Extra: Unlimited (after 50GB, may slow), mobile hotspot (15GB). ($100.51/month)
- Finally, we have an independent (no cell phone attached) hot spot through OTR Mobile. The hotspot runs using T-Mobile. It is an unlimited, supposedly not throttled, hotpsot. ($70+tax,$75.04/month) We also had to buy the hotspot ($426, $420 device plus $16 shipping).
However we recently learned that OTR was discontinuing the Pink (T-Mobile) plan on 10/1/2020, leaving just the Evo Blue (AT&T). We already have AT&T through a cell phone and ran into a campground where it didn’t work. We wanted to keep service in all 3 major networks to let us have the most options for service. We had to go back to the drawing board for a T-Mobile option. I will say if you are grandfathered into an unlimited plan, keep it! The new plans aren’t really unlimited.
Some RV’s will also offer paid plans as well. We didn’t go this route because we wanted the flexibility of a hot spot. It’s small enough that as long as it has power, we can bring it anywhere and get service (where T-Mobile signals are). There is a battery it can run off of, or we can just plug it into the wall.
We also have a WeBoost* and a MiMo Antenna* to help with boosting the signal.
We joined FMCA a few months ago and when researching a new T-Mobile provider, we saw they had a plan for FMCA members. This plan is $49.99/month, plus a one-time hot spot rental fee of $40. We’ll see how it goes! I am hoping it works really well.
*Affiliate links
So much to think about!