Staying Connected…Near and Far

Last February I wrote two columns about accessing the internet while traveling. As Eddie and I prepare to take our RV to Tucson, Arizona for a Life on Wheels Conference, I am once again thinking about how we are going to stay connected “on the road.”

Up to about five years ago, the majority of “seniors” used the internet primarily for email. It proved a convenient way to keep in touch with friends and family, and a dial-up modem connection was fast enough for most people. Then the family back home started sending digital photos of the grandkids, and the slow modems proved to be an obstacle. For many, it meant not even being able to download photographs. There had to be a better way.

Around the same time, broadband networks were becoming more and more common. Broadband provides high-speed data transmission at rates significantly faster than telephone lines. With broadband a photograph, that requires ten-minutes or more to download over a telephone connection, can be accomplished in less than a minute. Once you have a reliable broadband connection, it is possible to use the internet for much more than sending email and sharing photographs. With online banking, money can be transferred and bills paid with the click of a mouse. It is even possible to eliminate paper invoices entirely and arrange to receive statements directly online. Anyone who maintains a financial portfolio of stocks, bonds or mutual funds can personally manage accounts online. Want to read your hometown newspaper? Odds are there is an online version available. Then of course there are the “fun” reasons to use high-speed internet access: downloading music, TV shows, uTube videos, and even making long-distance telephone calls.

The more we use the internet for everyday transactions and interactions, the more important it becomes to have broadband access wherever we go. On a RV trip out west five years ago, Eddie and I used modem connections whenever one was available at a campground. Today, we need to have broadband. In fact, my new MacBook Pro computer does not even have an internal modem.

So what can we do to get broadband internet connection while traveling? One option, that only makes sense for RVers who travel most of the time, is to install a mobile satellite internet connection. A dish is installed on the top of the RV and connects to the internet, via satellite, when it is turned on. The upside is that the internet is available anytime and anywhere. The downside is the speed and the cost. Download speed is faster than dial-up, but slower than DSL, and is degraded when too many users are accessing the network. The systems are also expensive to install, costing on average over $5,000 for hardware and installation. Monthly subscriptions run in the $100 range including taxes and fees. Datastorm is the most popular satellite system for RVers, and the best place to find out more about the systems is at the Datastorm users’ website, www.datastormusers.com.


Another solution, and the one we tried last year, is to subscribe to a data connection plan from a wireless phone company. Using a data card that insert in a computer’s PC card slot, or connects via USB, connects to the internet wherever the selected carrier offers cell phone service. The three major companies, ATT&T, Versizon, and SPRINT, all offer data plans; and all cost approximately $60 a month before taxes and fees. While the $60 plans are only available from ATT&T and Verizon for their cell phone customers, SPRINT offers their plan to anyone. As with most cell phone service, data plans require a two-year contract and incur a still penalty for early termination.

While convenient, there are drawbacks to using a data card. First, true broadband (3G in the vernacular of cellular networks) is only available in the metropolitan areas surrounding big cities. We tried both ATT&T and SPRINT data plans at Travelers Rest, and in both cases we are just outside the 3G range, and the speed of the connection was only slightly faster than dial-up. The second drawback is the cost. Unless you use the data card as your year-round internet connection, maintaining a data card means paying for it when not in use. Cell phone providers do allow you to turn the card off for limited periods of time, during which the charge is reduced or eliminated, but the two-year contract period is extended. While we liked the convenience of being able to connect to the internet 24/7, the year-round cost was not worth it for the few months of the year we travel.

So what is the answer to finding reliable internet connections “on the road?” If you have a laptop computer with a WiFi card, the answer is connecting to WiFi networks when you can find them. In next week’s OnMouseClick I will tell you how to go about finding and using WiFi networks when you travel.