I've had a hotspot from Calyx Institute for van living before and it worked great. It's been a while but I remember their price was great with a payment once per year.
this post was submitted on 16 Jun 2024
1 points (60.0% liked)
Living in vans, cars, RVs, etc
328 readers
6 users here now
We're not homeless, we're houseless! By choice or by circumstance we are living in our vehicles. Don't worry about us -- it can be a very good life.
Anything that affects us as vehicle-dwellers is probably on topic.
external resources
- emergency guide to suddenly living in a vehicle <-- start here if you don't have a choice in the matter
- vanlife FAQ
- introduction to power in the vehicle
- gentle introduction to solar power
- overview of charging by alternator
- guides to hygiene and toilet
fedi resources
rules of engagement
- be civil
- use descriptive thread titles. Pro tip: "Help" or "Question" are not descriptive titles.
- old-timers: assume people are different and have different needs, preferences, budgets, and use cases
- newbies: demonstrate effort and willingness to learn; you'll need it on the road anyhow. Links have been added below to help get you started. When asking question state your "use case" (what you are trying to accomplish); we are terrible guessers.
- tire-kickers: yes, we've heard that "in a van down by the river" joke. It was hi-larious in 1993.
vandwellers vandwelling vanlife urbancarliving
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
T̶h̶a̶n̶k̶ y̶o̶u̶!̶!̶ I̶t̶ l̶o̶o̶k̶s̶ g̶o̶o̶d̶.
Okay turns out that's just a hotspot, and nothing more. It's like paying $750 to sit outside a Starbucks for a year mooching off their Wi-Fi, except I can carry that Starbucks around with me everywhere I go which is great but
It's not an ISP that includes a phone number for calls and texting. I wanted to port my phone number over to a new provider but after I went through and bought the thing they tell me they can't port my phone number, they're not an ISP like that, It's just a hotspot, And I'm on my own when it comes to having a phone number and which carrier provides service for it. Now you've got me fucking paying for a hotspot while still paying for my original separate phone plan. That's not what I wanted.
Starlink dishes need an open unobstructed view of the sky to communicate with the satellites. You'd need the dish to be outside and then be in range of the wifi from the dish's router (or other routers or mesh system you set up).
IMHO Starlink is best when living or boondocking in remote area without other options and with enough open sky view to get a decent connection. I have a Starlink dish on my van to get internet access when 5G coverage is not available.
The new Starlink Mini dish might be of interest - a small dish, power-able by 12-48V DC or USB-C PD. In the US it is $600, then $30 a month but only 50GB per month before extra charges.
FMCA TechConnect+ has some plans including an unlimited but speed capped AT&T plan for around $60 a month.
I have Visible (Verizon MVNO) for $25/month. I put the SIM in an LTE router I got off amazon (open box) for $42.