How Much Do You Spend for Mifi/Wifi When On the Road?

I had the mifi verizon last year, up till last month. Worked great, was approx. 60 a month. Couple months ago, I started using the hotspot on my I-phone, and it's been doing good job as well. I don't get as much down load data per month, but doesn't cost 1/5 as much.

 

get a bigger phone. LOL.

i have no problem reading this sight on my note2 which has a 5.3 inch screen. and you can also pan out the pages.

i prefer mylaptop though. and if i'm just checking out the loadboards. then i'll use my cheap 7 inch android tablet i just picked up from radioshack.

 

Good question, because at one point I was using 18 GBs of data with Verizon and the techs there would freak out and act like I am using 500 GBs or something. I am glad to see others average about what I use myself, which is now 6 - 10 GBs per month. Those Netflix movies use up a lot of bandwidth I wish they would offer better deals for bandwidth since a lot of people use data plans now. It isn't like the cell phone industry is suffering.

 

also tapatalk on a smartphone is a god send especially when getting my ttr fix for the day on the run its free

 

Ok... I am not tech savvy... have a very basic dum cell and 2 laptops. One line for the cell and another for the mobile broadband. Thinking about buying a tablet. VZ tech guy told me to buy a wi-fi only tablet so that I can use with a jetpack... Is that right? He said I can use the jetpack with my laptops as well and will not need another line which would cost more. Not sure I understood correctly... Think will need to upgrade my plan to use this device and will have a 2 yr contract and will have to pay more per month anyway. And the rate will depend on the amount of data I use, correct? I have no idea how much I will need. I used to be on the unlimited data plan with them but was stupid enough to change it to 4 GBs Now had to change to 6 GBs and hope will keep it that way. Anyway, is that jetpack a good and cheaper way to get connected? What else should I know when deciding what kind of tablet to get and mobile hotspot to use with it?

 

It's one fee for all Pilots and Flying J's. Also one fee for all TA and Petros. Love's is still on their own. So if you want coverage at all the major truckstops you have to pay three fees. They're all about the same price, something like $150 a year or $20 a month or $7 per day.

The OP mentioned using Google Earth. I can vouch that it is indeed a godsend that has saved my bacon many times. The combination of Google overhead view and Google street view to get a look at pickup and drop locations ahead of time is very, very valuable. In fact this is the main reason I got a Verizon jetpack -- there were enough times when I wasn't at a truck stop and still needed to get the overhead or street views of where I was going next. And like someone else said, the truckstops service seems to get pretty slow during peak times. For the few times I want to use Netflix during a 34 reset etc., I'll use points off my loyalty card to buy a days' worth of wifi service at one of the truck stops.

 

Verizion is way better then sprint. Unfortunately the verizion is limited to 20 gigs with milenicom. The sprint isnt unlimited though, its limited to 50 gb.

 

TO sum up everything here:

If you only need a little bit of internet, your cheapest option is running Mifi or another tethering app off your phone.

If your a power user, Milinicom gives you up to 20GB on the verizion network for 70/month (plus 150 equipment and activation, no contract)

If your a REAL power user Milinicome gives you up to 50 GB on the sprint network, but be warned, sprint is not that great coverage. (plus 150 equipment and activation, no contract)


Going direct through Verizon for 20 gigs cost 130/month + tax + 9.99 equipment. You save 60/month + tax going with milinicom and get the same equipment on the same network.

Sprint maxes out at 12 gigs if you go direct through them.



SO, if you need more then a gig or 2 of data, the milinicom Hotspot plan is the best option. It has the reliable Verizon network and will give internet to you laptop, phone, ipad etc. (anythign that uses wifi)

P.S. I have Skyped with friends in the middle of poor service WV on my jetpack from milinicom and it worked great. My cell didn't even have service, but the jetpack did.

P.P.S. And know I dont work for milinicom lol....Im just a very happy customer.

 

Thanks for the concise summary. Thanks to all others who have responded as well. There is a lot of very helpful information posted on this thread.

 

I like Truconnect. It's got two downsides. First is the coverage is Sprint and out west it's all but non-existent. And if you watch movies, youtube, or listen to streaming music you could easily spend hundreds of dollars a month.

If you're like me and only read, such as email, Trucker Forums, shop online, and can get use to not being 'connected' or 'always-on' just for the sake of it, Truconnect is nice to have. And it works with cell phones, tablets, Iphones, Ipads, does them all.

It's also good to have as a backup to whatever you already use out there.