LindaCW said:
With these considerations, what would be the best system to consider?
I was probably the first RV Forum person to go with internet dish -- back when it was thought to be an illegal thing. I did the gauntlet over the years from sitting it on the ground with shims and a concrete block to a fully auto dish on my roof. I was also a trained certified installer of tripod ground mounted dishes. When I finally took it off my roof I was very relieved not to have to deal with it anymore.
Fully auto dishes are still overpriced and need to be installed at an addition expense -- and that requires holes in your roof and wires strung down through the roof. For the most part, internet by satellite is a dying business other than for those that cannot get over the air internet. Ask anyone who has one if, today, they were starting with RV Internet whether they would have an auto dish installed or go with an air card??? Of coure, just as with a dish, you are restricted in the amount of data you can transfer -- unless you want to do it at in the early AM.
I am full time and run my business from my RV -- and deal with clients all over the US that use my software. My internet is via Verizon air card plugged into a cradle point router that supports my 4 station network. I keep the latest version of each clients copy of my SW on my server and update each time I make a change. I have developed and maintain my own website, do email, and typical daily internet chores. If a client calls while I am driving the freeway I just pull over and go on line -- without having to find a place that's not behind a tree or having to wait for an auto dish to find the satellite. If you have a partner with you, they can be on line while "on" the freeway.
In today's world, most restaurants and such have free Wi-Fi -- and I have learned to take full advantage of that. In my last two landings I was able to transfer updates to my software while doing my laundry -- or other file transfers while having breakfast or dinner - or, will do Remote Desktop help with a client. That is a nice way to suppliment my Verizon data limitations.
While using dish I could not do VoIP very well. Some do but it just is not the same as with an air card. Upload is dramatically slower than download w/a dish. Also, I do Remote Desktop training and help desk stuff. I have one client that still used a dish in his park that was a real chore to work with -- because of the time it took to interact. He now has cable and with my Vz card it's just like I was sitting beside him when I maintain my software. I can transfer files to his machine quickly, or pull files for testing.
My recommendation would be to start with a Verizon Air card at the 5gb level. -- then increase to 10gb if you feel you need it. Sitting on the internet all day doing email and such is not going to eat up much time, whereas if your file transfers were constant and all day that would eat into your bandwidth. Verizon still has their "test drive" feature so you could get a card for 30 days and see how it goes on a stand alone machine. Then turn it back in if it doesn't work for you.
There "will" be times when a dish would be better -- such as when you are in an area that is saturated or you find yourself completely in the boonies, but my experience is that the trade offs between dish and air card are skewed heavily in favor of the air card.
