Internet access in trucks

Discussion in 'Questions From New Drivers' started by c64basic, May 13, 2013.

  1. c64basic

    c64basic Medium Load Member

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    Jan 17, 2013
    Frozen Tundra
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    How do you guys get internet access in company owned trucks? Do they provide it free and is it unlimited or do you have to use your personal device for that? Are you able to stream audio while you're driving?
     
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  3. SpiritWolf

    SpiritWolf Light Load Member

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    Jul 10, 2012
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    wifi hot spot on my att phone. workss well, but limited to 6 gig of data. any "extra" gigs are $15 each.
    and depending on where i am, i can stream music.
    no provider has perfect cell coverage, and the best seam to be either att or verizon, with sprint following a bit behind them.
     
  4. Balakov100

    Balakov100 Road Train Member

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  5. snowwy

    snowwy Road Train Member

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    i use my sprint phone as my hotspot. since sprint is unlimited. i keep my old verizon phone in case i don't have sprint coverage. i can use my verizon phone for internet. and i have voip software to make phones on my sprint phone connected to my verizon phone.

    i pay the same amount i was paying with verizon alone. but now i have coverage either way. and not limited to the verizon caps.

    there are areas where verizon works and sprint don't. and there are areas where sprint works and verizon don't.
     
    newlife1966 Thanks this.
  6. jderflinger

    jderflinger Bobtail Member

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    Apr 9, 2013
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    This sounds like a good idea. I found most carriers seem to have decent coverage on most interstates but we are not always near one. My gf has been trying to get me to get on her plan for Sprint but I had issues with them a few years back. I been wanting to get a hotspot but was not sure how that would work with Sprint. Thanks for the information.
     
  7. Sequoia

    Sequoia Road Train Member

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    Tampa Bay, FL
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    I have a Verizon MiFi and for the most part I get 3g/4g coverage where I am that night. There have been a few places where I've had either no service or a painfully slow connection. Some areas of Texas come to mind but it is a huge state so I guess that should be expected. I did notice I had no service along I-29 the last 30 miles of Iowa heading towards Missouri.
     
  8. Scorcher21

    Scorcher21 Light Load Member

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    my carrier disabled my hotspot ability, so I went out to wallyworld and got a virgin mobile usb modem. looks like a memory stick. was relatively cheap and started off at 20 bucks a month for two gigs of data. Unfortunately they upped the monthly cost to 35 bucks but its handy because I can use it just about anywhere. has 4G capability and if I'm in a 4G area it uses that and doesn't count against my 2gig limit. I don't stream videos so the I haven't reached my limit yet. i used to use pilot/ flying hook and pay the twenty bucks for a month using my points but That means I have to stop at them to use it. And personally I cant stand pilots. Its a bit expensive but it's an option if you're interested and don't have the ability via your smart phone. No contract or anything like that and there are different plans to choose from, the $35/2gig is just the one that works for me. You have thirty days to reach that limit and if you don't want to re-up right away you don't have to. There might be a limit to how long it can be in active but I'm not sure what that is.
     
  9. Lepton1

    Lepton1 Road Train Member

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    Yukon, OK
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    It seems that there is no hotspot provider that will have full coverage around the country. Currently I'm using a T-Mobile hotspot I purchased at Walmart (after paying through the nose for daily use at truck stops). I purchased the preload card ($50 for 5G that must be used in two months). I find that for my purposes 3.5 G per two months is fine. If I let my wife use the hotspot to watch video, she can burn through 2G per day easily.

    Rule of thumb for me is to only use my hotspot for critical things (like this forum :D) and use free WiFi when I can find it on the road for "fun" things. Critical function for me is to use weather.com and Google Maps for trip planning, sending e-mails or logging into the company system.

    There can be days at a time, depending on location, where I have no internet access.
     
  10. CDL1968

    CDL1968 Medium Load Member

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    My company has free Wi-Fi on their property but they only have one location, LOL. I use to have T-Mobile for broadband because they claimed to have the largest broadband coverage with the fastest speeds in the country. After my contract was up I went with Verizon. They seem to have more coverage and about the same speeds but cost about twice as much. Outside the Eastern and Pacific time zone the coverage really drops off and sometimes only works in major cities and much slower speeds if at all in the less major cities with both carriers even though their coverage area show differently.
     
  11. Aireal

    Aireal Medium Load Member

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    I use verizon. I haven't had to much of an issue, my tablet works like a phone for internet, uses data but i've only went over once. . .and I had teenage help with that one. My sister-in-law had a phone on our plan, til i texted her saying NOT to use any data andafter that we went over by 4g's in 3 days time when she allowed her grand daughter to use the phones hot spot.

    Other than getting messages asking if i want to use data out of the country, when anywhere near the Mex boarder. . . Or West Virginia ( really odd) their doesn't reallt seem to be two many "dead"spots.
     
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