Mobile Internet?

[Brian894x4]

I don't know if my set up relates, considering the far more high tech stuff on here, but I have a Verizon wireless card that I use on my laptop and as far as remoteness, what I've found is that in the major cities, I get broadband access, but anywhere else that I get a "digital" cell signal, I can at least get around dial up speeds. I've been way up, deep in the mountains where I barely got a cell signal and in fact was in and out, but I had internet access.

I pay about $60/month for this service, plus the cost of the card. For serious expedition travel I don't know how it would work, but I like for my local travels.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[haven]

access by cell phone

Using a cell phone to connect to the Internet is not a viable plan when you're deep in the boondocks. But cell phone coverage is increasing all the time, and your phone can connect from some unexpected places.

There's a Yahoo group called "Internet by cell phone" that can help you use your cell phone to connect a computer to the internet at speeds faster than typical dialup modems (up to 144kbps vs 56kbps). The group has tutorials for Verizon and Sprint subscribers.

Another good source of information about cell phones and services is http://www.howardforums.com

It takes a little study, and the correct choice of phone, but the result is a "backdoor" way to access the Internet via regular cell phone using your cell phone calling plan, not a special (and higher priced) data-access plan. Nights and weekends unlimited use, etc.

The reason this works is that the cell phone companies use a digital connection to your phone to transmit value-added services like text messaging, fancy ring tones, music, games, and video, to name a few. The digital connection is called 1xRTT.

The cell phone companies are slowly closing the "backdoor" data access. They would prefer you to purchase a more expensive data plan. But it can still be a viable option for short-term travelers in USA and Canada.

Chip Haven

 

[dhackney]

Are there other systems worth considering in your opinion?

Scott,

We have not yet conducted data rate tests on the BGAN terminal.

For civilian use the options that I am aware of are:

• Orbcomm constellation (2.4k - We use Skymate)
• Iridium sat phone data connection (claimed 4.8-9.6k compressed, I don't see many users matching the claims)
• Globalstar sat phone data connection (generally viewed as higher speed than Iridium but does not support global coverage)
• US cell phone - (US only) dial up connection (speed depends on carrier, signal, etc.)
• US cell phone - (US only) data connection (speed depends on carrier, rate plan, etc.)
• US cell phone carrier based wide area network broadband (US only)(I use Verizon, and can get a signal in major cities)(speed depends on signal strength, carrier's underlying technology, etc.)
• Non-US GSM 3G cell phone - (speed depends on carrier, plan, etc.)
• Moto-Sat / Datastorm - (US centric North America, reaches most of the way down Baja)(.75 to 1+ meter dishes, speed varies by plan, high rates available, very popular in US RV community)
• Various Inmarsat offerings, most oriented to the marine market, including:

• BGAN - (Broadband Global Area Network) 492k IP, 256k dedicated streaming, very small terminals, DSL speeds, full 3G capability, vehicle mount in-motion antenna available for Hughes terminal
• Fleet F77 - rate soon doubling to 128k, big dome required
• Fleet F55 - 64k via ISDN channels, can bond two channels for 128k, big dome required
• Fleet F33 - 9.6k , small dome
• Mini-M - 2.4k, smallest footprint
• Inmarsat B and M - 9.6 to 64k, large footprint for faster data rates

There are probably many more options available. I am not well researched in this area.

For non-US general internet access we use internet cafes, which are as ubiquitous as Starbucks are here.

Our strategy for internet access in non-US remote areas, in order of preference is:
1. Internet cafe (wait for one)
2. Global quad band cell phone (we buy SIM cards for local carriers)
3. BGAN (make it quick - bandwidth is VERY expensive)
3. Iridium (this is so slow, why bother?)
4. Skymate (this is even slower than Iridium, are you kidding?)

Doug

 

[fisher205]

Has anyone tried Wild Blue? They say they aren't transportable, but I know somebody has had to try it.

 

[Healeyjet]

Bumping an old thread to get some new info if anyone has any.
What are people using for internet in remote locations now? I am asking mostly about North America.
I have seen products from Thrane and Thrane, Hughes, Moto-Sat.

I would like an external antenna of some sort that is as small as possible and securely attached to the vehicle if possible.

I am looking for remote internet that will allow me to send and receive emails with PDF's and use a remote desktop. Not looking at streaming movies or music or anything like that. We have the opportunity to stay remote for extended periods if we can get consistent access to internet. We will use local wi-fi when we are in that type of location as well.

Thanks in advance.
Ward

 

[kojackJKU]

Here are some ideas on mounting. Our situation is a semi-permanent mount. The modem will be mounted with other electronics. The antenna will be deployed when we want to use the system.

Here's the antenna in a typical deployment position.

The mount is a Manfrotto super clamp and a Manfrotto universal hinged arm with quick release. I use the same quick release system on my camera bodies and lenses, so I can make use of this clamp/arm system in a lot of ways.

If we've got the rear awning deployed, I've got another 3 meter IP67 DB9 cable that I can use to move the clamp/arm/antenna system to an open sky shot.

Here's a closeup of the IP67 DB9 connection on the antenna.

Lastly, here's the electonics bay partially loaded. L to R: Nera Pro 1010 BGAN terminal, Linksys compact wireless G router, Linksys gigabit switch, Buffalo 2 terabyte RAID array (1.5 terabytes in RAID 5 configuration which is what I use).

This is a reasonable setup for mobile digital photography. It includes a RAID 5 array for storage, gigabit switch for high speed tranfer from camera/laptop, wireless router to allow editing/email/printing/etc. from anywhere within range. We carry a spare drive for the RAID array.

Our strategy for offsite backups is to take along a batch of bare drives and a USB drive frame. When we've got a few hundred gigs of data we'll copy them off the RAID 5 array and ship the bare drive back home for safe keeping.

If you are going to do mobile video editing you'd probably want to carry a high speed drive array for the edit work. The RAID 5 array would be good for backup, archive and offline edit files.

THAT IS AWESOME.....Now I gotta find room in my pop up for this setup!...>DOH!

 

[Kiomon]

Bumping an old thread to get some new info if anyone has any.
What are people using for internet in remote locations now? I am asking mostly about North America.
I have seen products from Thrane and Thrane, Hughes, Moto-Sat.

I would like an external antenna of some sort that is as small as possible and securely attached to the vehicle if possible.

There haven't been a ton of new innovations since the original post. We are mobile filmmakers and need a high speed connection often. BGAN remains our most reliable solution on the road when we MUST get data up. We rely on cell based modems, in a Cradlepoint MBR1400 the majority of the time. If we are near co ities then we can approach the speeds you are looking for. Email and such isn't a problem hardly ever. Video conferencing and Remote Desktop work fine as well most of the time over cell as well.

For satellite connections the killer is the ping times, the satellite connections have to go a Long way and the lag is noticeable, you will adjust to it, but really fine Remote Desktop tasks can be frustrating. Opening a terminal window and typing away, not so much.

Have you looked at VSAT?

http://www.groundcontrol.com/US_Canada_Satellite_Internet.htm

If you are just in the Americas then it might be the ticket. And the 3GB for around $500 is very cheap compared to BGAN. If that feels expensive, then you are going to need to probably stay with a cell based system and they work great, if you have coverage. Just depends on how remote is remote.

For our BGAN we took a prepaid approach and have a balance that is deducted as we need it. The benefit of this is that we only use it when w heave to and save it otherwise. we have managed fine through lots of countries relying on the cell network, and only once during the crisis in Ukraine did we HAVE to use the BGAN for a deadline.

Do you have any flexibility in your access window? Eg.p do you need access all day everyday, or can you plan access?