Another wireless internet post

[dverstra]

I'm a newbie to trying to hook up while on the road with my RV. I need to access email while on the road. In Sept., we will be travelling from Michigan to Maine ( thru the U.P. to North Bay, ON to Montreal to Maine. I currently have a Verizon cellphone(capable of internet) and a Sony laptop with wireless. After reading quite a few posts on this topic, I think I have a plan. My backstop will be Verizon, with wireless when available.  I can switch to a "North America's Choice" plan  and have no roaming in ON ( per their map). I think that I might want to add a external antenna for my cellphone(?). Wilson Electronics antenna has been suggested to me. Some of the RV parks on this route do not have wireless access so I might have to rely on a Verizon connection. When I am at a park with wireless, will l need an external wireless antenna? From all of the posts, it appears so. I see where a couple of those have been suggested in other posts. Hawking HWU54D and RadioLabs. I have never connected with a cell phone but I am sure the local distributor of Verizon will help me thru it.

Suggestions and comments would be appreciated. I certainly appreciate the info on this forum. Thanks to those that administer it!!

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Many of us here use cell phone internet access and have for years.  It has improved immensely and is pretty reliable now, though not available everywhere you go.  Most of Verizon's network partners (what Verizon calls the "Extended Network") do not support data transmission and handle voice only, so chances are high that you will not be able to use your Verizon phone to access the internet everywhere you go.  A few network partners will support  the slow speed data connection called Quick-Net-Connect (QNC or Q2N) which runs at 14.4 kbps.  The cell service in Ontario will be from a network partner rather than direct from Verizon Wireless.

I would not count on getting good info or help on internet connections from any Verizon rep - it's something they are almost universally uninformed or misinformed about.  May I suggest that you subscribe to aYahoo group called internetByCellPhone. See http://groups.yahoo.com/group/InternetByCellPhone/    Read the Verizon internet tutorials in their Files section and then ask some questions.  Once you have educated yourself in the basics, ask further questions here, where we can give you the Rvers slant on things.

Your basic plan is good - wi-fi if available, cell phone if not. Landline access, provided by most campgrounds in some form, is the ultimate back-up.  An external antenna adds a lot to your cellular capabilities.  For the wi-fi, I also recommend a wi-fi adapter that plugs to a USB port and has a cord several feet long and either a small antenna that swings up or an external antenna port.  The corded USB adpater lets you move the wi-fi transceiver around to find the best reception point and the antenna is usually much better than the one integarted into a PCMCIA card or the case of your laptop. 

 

[dverstra]

Gary
Thanks for the information. I downloaded the Verizon tutorial from the Yahoo group. Good information
Thanks again