Internet availability

I am a buisness customer. I am also what they now call a premium customer. Which means I never have to talk to anyone in India. And yes it truely is unlimited. I am online watching movies and downloading stuff for hours somedays. My service has never been cut off or my rates jaked up.

 

Before my wifi card I used Idleaire. Not the fastest but had the most availability. You still have to be aware of antenna location.

 

I wouldn't waste your time or $$ with the paid service at Pilot or Love's. I researched it A LOT - talking to dozens of other drivers, Pilot people, and even a couple of the guys installing the equipment out West - and the story was the same from everybody: It just don't work! And if you have to call them for help, get comfy because you're gonna be on hold for a half hour.
Of course, the guy I quoted above is gonna try & talk it up, but he's not exactly "unbiased"!

 

I used to have a tower unit in the truck and so any of the air cards wouldn't work as they all were pcmi cards but now they are both. Get the pcmi if you can swallow the price as the USB cards will wear out your USB slots!

As for using the WIFI at the truck stops. You'd do better with AOL dialup! Slow IS the standard with any of them unless you can get next to the building where no one can park between you and your computer! Even a flock of birds is bad for speed!

Then you have these idiots who actually try and some succeed in hacking your computer using windows explorer! Not to mention the more experienced of the crowd who actually do their hacking and get what they want. This not only goes for truck stop wifi but any of the free unsecured sites nation wide. I used to stop anywhere there was a free wifi and get on until most of them started giving a password to get on line. WIFI is NOT the way to go anymore for access especially if doing any type of secure work!

The cost of a secure broadband connection is worth the cost! $69. a month is the usual cost for "unlimited" useage but that word is fast becomming unusable! These companies are screaming about over useage and capping and if I didn't have unlimited my bill for last month would have been $720.00 for my whole cell plan! They made a booboo and I almost had a heart attack not to mention what my wife threatened to do!

To be real I DO use my puter as a TV, for watching movies , videos and downloading all kinds of crap. {Google - sprints broadband useage chart for a link to Sprints chart} and you'll be surprised what you CAN NOT do with 5G of useage! Oh sure you can send emails to the world and view 333 of 3 minute youtube vids but when it comes to TV shows it's now down to 14-30 minute shows and only 7 movies a month! That's only if you don't do anything else! But the real advantage of broadband is the avalliballity anywhere I might be sitting when I need internet! No more driving around to find wifi wasting my time and fuel. No more having to go to a certain truck stop to get on line and if an you're O/O finding that next load from where you are is an actual benifit!

The best part about the broadband cost is if used for the truck it's tax deductable! I use it for emailing BOL's directions and mapping info! I also have links to the traffic cameras in all the major cities and that alone justifies the cost!

How to find the best company is easy. All of the cell phone companies have their coverage maps. Don't just look at the map! OPEN it up for a closer look and what you might have thought was coverage was only a smaller area. I know that Sprint is lacking in the NW and Wyoming is almost nonexisting for coverage! Look at the maps closly and then decide which coverage is best suited for the rea you will run the most! Don't penny pinch! You'll get what you pay for! With all I use my computer for the $69 a month is well worth the cost as it's more than paid for it's self!

 

I80 and I40 are two of the major east-west routes we use. Think about this when looking for a cell company - weather info during the winter is priceless, and looking at a weather map for a few minutes before you start out might just keep you alive. No I80 coverage in WY is a really bad thing!

 

5gig/month is really nothing but that seems to be the standard cap for all of the mobile net providers I've seen.

 

Question about these internet services y'all are talking about. $50 or $60 bucks a month may sound alright for what you are getting, and when looking for a shipper or consignee, I can see the benefits. I also like the tax deduction angle. My question is, is there any up front costs beyond the service plan and is there a contract that will cost me big money if I cancel? Is there a cost for the card or whatever is used to provide the service?

 

They all have their own "rules" just study them and call and ask them before you decide. 2 years is the norm with a $200 earlt termination for all of them! CHOOSE WISELY

 

I have att motoq phone. Pay 30 bucks for the unlimted data plan. my phone bill is around 80 bucks. that for the net on my phone to. there is a software you can buy for like 30 bucks. I use my phone as a modem. if you have a signal. then you can get on the net. att want 60 bucks a month just laptop plan. I can use my phone to get on the net or use my laptop. good way to save money. I dont have to drag my laptop every where to check my emails.. If i need to use goggle map. then i use my laptop using my phone as a modem.

 

I just signed up for Millenicom unlimited and plan to add a external antenna to my wireless when I receive it! here's the antenna :

should mount above the mirrors!

http://3gstore.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=239_94&products_id=667

it works with coax so you just run the cable and plug it in fairly simple. I was a network engineer before this i'll let you know how it pans out once I have it installed.