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BMG Coach
11-26-2012, 09:35 PM
I did do a search here but only came up cell air cards for the internet. Im sure it will be pricy but I have to have a really good internet connection on the RV. Enough to run a VOIP phone and surf the net. I have heard of good satellite connections but not sure how good. Any help would be greatly appreciated. This is something that has been on my mind for some time and I finally need to come up with a solution.

Will Procter
11-26-2012, 09:37 PM
On the subject of satellite internet, there are several competing services out there, including Direcway. However, a permanently mounted, automatic dish on the roof of your RV will cost around $5,000, and you'll also pay a monthly service fee. There are lower cost hardware options available, including manually deployed dishes and/or tripod mounted dishes. The satellite service will cost approx the same as air card service and, in the case of air cards, you can get the hardware for free with a contract. A satellite service offers the ability to connect where cellular (air card) service is not available, provided you have a clear view of the southern sky.

Will

NewellCrazy
11-27-2012, 01:25 AM
Both satellite and cellular have strengths and weaknesses. The satellite doesn't work under trees (much of the eastern US) while the cellular gets weak/slow or maybe even non-existent the further you get from cities and major highways. In practice, both systems work pretty well most of the time, but with the satellite you have to prioritize for open skies when you select a camp site. Cellular service can be much improved in rural areas with the addition of an external antenna or maybe even a cellular amplifier.

VOIP does not work seem to well on cellular data service, but a cell phone would do the job and it works when you are away from the computer too.

Chester B. Stone, Jr.
11-27-2012, 02:43 PM
I use a Verizon wireless router.

MrE
11-27-2012, 03:06 PM
I was going to post saying that latency would make VOIP impractical using a satellite connection, but found this post from 2006 on a satellite forum: VOIP on Satellite internet? (http://www.satelliteguys.us/threads/83211-VOIP-on-Satellite-internet)

In the world I live in (mobile satellite internet), VoIP is fairly common. Latency is often thrown up as a huge problem, but in practice for many of us it is not a big issue. I remotely administer a business and its servers, and when I'm out of cell range, or in Canada where my cell minutes are outrageous, I've used VoIP for a few years.

All VoIP is not created equal. Both WildBlue and Hughes do things that make Vonage pretty much unusable (didn't used to be that way on Hughes - I used Vonage there until August of 2005 when it stopped working). WildBlue's partner in Canada, Telesat, does not do whatever it is that WildBlue does, and Vonage works fine.

Most of us that are not on very high end satellite like iDirect (where Vonage still works) use software-based systems. The best engine belongs to Crystal Voice, and their primary licensee is NetZeroVoice. Skype works reasonably well also. I use NZV with a USB-to-phone connector that lets me use my regular 5.2GHz cordless phone (doesn't interfere with my WiFi).

The Newell
11-27-2012, 03:31 PM
All broadband services have a cap on the allowable bandwidth usage. Cellular plans are almost all 5GB/month, HughesNet is 375MB/24 hours for the Pro plan. As I said earlier, VOIP over HughesNet is very iffy, much better with iDirect. Satellite isn't cheap, but if you need to be online everywhere, there is no alternative. Do keep in mind that heavy rain can impair or even interrupt the satellite signal, but there are larger antenna available that alleviate that problem. They cost correspondingly more money, however.

BMG Coach
12-03-2012, 03:58 PM
Does anyone use BGAN Satellite Internet?