Has anyone considered StarLink?

[Bob Denman]

That's correct: they just need to get more satellites launched...

[TxTig]

Just saw a new article quoting Elon Musk as saying that Starlink service should be able to go “fully mobile” by the end of this year, including service to RV’s.

https://www.theverge.com/platform/am...es-trucks-2021

[Bob Denman]

I saw the same article...

[6inthefamily]

After getting tired of waiting for starlink for our RV, I recently add T-Mobile 5G home internet for $50 a month (no contract, cancel anytime)

T-mobile states it is for use in a fixed location, but a quick internet search shows they don't have it locked down. Taking it on a 3000 mile trip soon and will report back on our experience.

Our 5th and 6th graders since Covid have had the option for remote learning, so good internet on the road is key for us so they can keep up with what the teachers send them on their Chromebooks.

We also switched from Hulu live to You Tube TV as not being able to watch recorded shows on smart tvs while on the road has been inconvenient.

Wife and I have unlimited Verizon phones to use as hotspot backups, but the speeds we are seeing using T-Mobile home internet on the road has been much better. (180-350MB per sec)

Anyone else using T-Mobile home internet both at home and on the road?

[wrapped]

No,but sounds interesting keep posting updates.

[6inthefamily]

Originally Posted by wrapped

No,but sounds interesting keep posting updates.

Traveled from IL to Ft Myers FL. The T-Mobile home internet works fantastic. Traveled down interstates 74, 55, 24, and 75 all with a good connection.
My kids watched alot of Netflix on a smart tv and my wife worked remotely on her laptop with several Skye calls with no dropped calls. .

What I love about it. Is I unplugged the T-Mobile home internet and 1 of our Google Fi pucks and plugged them in the 1 outlet in our RV with constant 110. All phones and devices picked up the internet just like at home. Didn't need the generator at all.

Currently sitting in Ft Myers getting 378MBps speeds in a random parking lot, waiting to check in later today at our campground.

[DavidEM]

In my experience T Mobile works great in cities and along interstates, but not if you get off of the beaten path.

So, I am looking forward to Starlink mobile.

David

[Chateau_Nomad]

Originally Posted by DavidEM

In my experience T Mobile works great in cities and along interstates, but not if you get off of the beaten path.

So, I am looking forward to Starlink mobile.

David

Yep... don't even think about boondocking away from major population areas... or camping in remote mountain spots... or driving roads off the beaten path. As long as you stick to major freeways you'll nearly always be in range of a tower. I'm amazed at the amount of money people throw away on equipment trying to magically solve a baked-in communications infrastructure shortcoming.

Telcomms have done the math and know EXACTLY the minimum number of subscribers needed to make "coverage areas" worth their while. It's the same reason you rarely if ever see advertising billboards in remote areas... not enough "potentially paying" eyes on them. Telcomm coverage area WILL NOT get any better unless their subscriber base moves. They KNOW coverage is limited.

If you wade through all the 5G buzz you'll discover it's just marketing glitz - another attempt at squeezing more data through a pipe that's already at it's limits. Look at data coverage maps... not surprising they're in the EXACT coverage areas where 4G is. 5G is in NO WAY intended to solve the "remote access to internet" problem faced by millions of RVers who like to get away from civilization.

Not that I always agree with Musk, but if he follows through with his plan, it will completely solve the remote internet issue. And I believe it will put pressure on the major tower based telcomms to compete with lower prices. BUT, tower based systems will NEVER solve the data speed problem. While Musk has stated it's NOT his intention to encroach on land based systems, how can he avoid that?

When (if) Starlink finally opens up to full-fledged mobile connectivity, it will be a massive game changer... on the scale of the release of the first iPhone.

[howzball]

I've seen recent posts on Reddit from people who are already using StarLink while mobile, probably not actually while in the act of going down the road but I have read about one person who mentioned they'd changed their home address 45 times already without issue and I think that was in one month.
It's apparently something that can be done directly from their app now.

I rarely stay at an RV park that has acceptable wifi, you could probably get the StarLink equipment, set up in an RV park and sell your wifi signal to other folks in the park and make money off of it.

A lot of our travels involve work and there have been times when I would happily pay to jump on someone's wifi if it was an option. We pay an extra $20 per month for a Verizon hotspot that gives you 10Gb of data and then throttles down to almost nothing. StarLink needs to hurry up.