Cellphone data internet service recommendations?

Depends on how much running around the nation you'll be doing or will you be regional and spend most time in/near major metro areas. Pilot Flying J has pretty good paid wifi service at most of their truck stops for $99/yr. Otherwise ATT or Verizon have pretty decent throughput. Just make sure you get a plan and device that allows "hot-spotting".

 

Hands down Verizon. AT&T is a good option. Avoid T-Mobile or any other plan that lacks coverage. I use Verizon and even in remote areas I usually have 4G.

Signing on to a WiFi plan at Flying J or any other truck stop has two problems. First, you can only use it if you are actually at that truck stop chain. Most nights you won't be staying at that chain. Second, the Wifi slows down considerably as other truckers sign on and start streaming video or playing computer games.

It's far better to have your own secure, fast internet wherever you are.

 

I have Xfinity Mobile. They use Verizon network but charge $20-30 less for unlimited data, talk, text. Only available in Comcast/ Xfinity service areas if you also subscribe to their TV or internet service at home.

 

I've had Verizon 10+ yrs. and I now have sprint, wife made us switch carrier.
Hands down Verizon is far and above over sprint
Always had a signal everywhere with Verizon
Sprint is a joke.
These are the only 2 carriers ive ever dealt with
Had Nextel back before Verizon but thats now the same as sprint

 

Sprint!!!??? As in "Sprint back to Verizon asap!!!???"

 

We will not sure how long our contract is, my Samsung galaxy 7 is paid for.
Wife and 3 of my daughters are leasing iPhones thru them

 

Verizon hands down...
I have their unlimited plan and use over 50 gigs a month ..never get throttled back

 

I admit, I'm at an advantage in that we only fuel at PFJ, so I'm at a PFJ 90% of my breaks. But I will disagree in that the PFJ premium service is not near as prone to being severely slowed as user count goes up, as like with Loves or TA/Petros. It's not perfect, but at it's worst, it's still superior to anything Loves to TA offers at their best. I can't remember the last time I was not able to run Youtube website in a snappy fashion and view in HD, even at 20:00 at the largest truck stops.

And I'll agree that most 4G LTE service is superior to the best wifi hotspot connection, there are a few areas where data throughput is flakey and hit/miss, even with 4-5 bars of signal.

A handful of locations are not fully optimized and if you're out on the far fringes of the lot you may have some slower throughput. And stay away from PFJ dealer truck stops (like Broadway chain in Washington), and you'll be okay.

 

Just remember, truck stop wifi is not secure. The controlling router is sitting on a shelf in the back storage room and is easy to access by someone who slips the shower guy a few bucks to let him attach a scanner to capture financial info from people who sign into the wifi network.
Only secure method on the road is to run a VPN with the wifi or use a cellular data plan. AT&T and Verizon have the broadest national coverage. If you are regional then Sprint may work in certain areas.