The DigitalRV Blog

While WiFi is popping up everywhere, relying on it as your only means for internet connection while traveling might not be advisable. After a year of travel across the country, this author has come away disappointed in the reality of WiFi hotspots, their availability, and finally associated costs.

During the past year of my personal travels I’ve made an extreme effort to have some form of internet connectivity. The primary means of connecting to the internet for me is a Kyocera KR1 with a Verizon Wireless EVDO card. However, even with my own personal portable WiFi setup, I’m always watching out for available high speed WiFi connections when pulling into the next new town.

Unfortunately, the case has been the same at most any RV park you stop into. WiFi is advertised as part of the package, but WiFi isn’t available 80% of the time. There are several reasons why this occurs, and they’ll be listed below. The bottom line for most Digital RVers (a term coined in the book, The Digital RV) is that WiFi is not a reliable option if you’re looking to remain connected the majority of the time.

Stopping in Salem, OR - WiFi service disappointment number one
During the course of my year long travels the International Airstream Rally popped up on my list of to-do’s. Of course, I arrived in the area a week and a half early. One friend had suggested a high end RV resort, and that’s where I went prior to the rally.

One of the key features that caught my attention was the WiFi service that was available at the park in question. The Kyocera and Verizon service had been functioning well, but a higher speed connection meant I could do some server maintenance that had been neglected while on slower speed networks.

The park’s WiFi service was a fee based service. Fortunately the cost was reasonable, so I signed up upon arrival. With pay for services you need to log in with a password provided by the park, and then you can connect to the Internet. Many parks offer free services, but the list of pay for WiFi parks is growing.

While parked in Salem, OR, I was happy to have my own WiFi
That should be a plus. It means the parks have a service provider monitoring the system, tracking billing, and working on network issues. The reality is quite different though.

During the course of my stay in Salem I would see the network signal from the park’s WiFi system. There were 2 different access points to pick from, and each was named for the park. Number one and number two.

My first try left me scratching my head. I connected to access point number one, and tried to get on the network. Nothing. No luck. Ok, switch to number 2. Once connected to number two I was asked for a password, and supplied the one on the card I’d been given when I purchased my WiFi service. The password was accepted……then nothing. E-mail didn’t work, the web went nowhere. Finally, I hooked up my KR1 and downloaded my e-mail.

A visit was paid to the office later that day to ask what I was doing wrong. The woman behind the counter answered honestly. Nothing. They’d been having issues with the service for over a week. The access points kept going up and down. A call had been put into the national WiFi carrier they had servicing the park, and they were “working on it”.

Over the course of my time at the park I used my Kyocera almost exclusively. I’d check on the park’s WiFi. Sometimes one access point was up, while the other was down. Sometimes both were missing. Sometimes both were up, but I still couldn’t get on the internet with them.

In the end, I was glad to have my own setup. Depending on this park, at $32 per day + Internet access payment, would have left me unconnected the entire time I was there.

Gunnison Colorado’s disappointing internet access

Two months after my experience in Salem I found myself in Gunnison Colorado. Lovely spot. And a busy RVing spot to boot. There’s a ton to do in the area, and it was hard finding an RV park with open sites. The local KOA had openings, and they also had WiFi service included.

At the time of my registration I met the owner / operator of the park. Nice guy. And he was very excited to hear what I did for a living (building national wireless networks). He explained he’d been having quite a time with the park’s WiFi service, and wanted me to take a look at his setup.

After settling in to my site, booting up my computer and finding no WiFi signal I plugged my KR1 in once again, and took a walk to the office to speak with the owner. He happily showed me through his setup, where the directional antenna was mounted, and his router equipment. So many mistakes in the system, and so easy to correct.

The primary cause of his network issues was an unreliable DSL connection. Keep in mind, the WiFi gets you to a router. The router must connect to the internet somehow. In the case of this park, a DSL connection was used to get park residents on to the internet. In Gunnison, there were regular DSL issues.

Beyond the fact that the pipeline from the park to the Internet was questionable there were other issues. Even when the DSL was working, the owner pointed out that many campers couldn’t even see his WiFi signal. The cause was simple. The antenna mounted on the roof of the KOA building was a DIRECTIONAL antenna. What does that mean? Simple, the signal was sent in a specific direction. It didn’t fan out 360 degrees. It went along the path the antenna was pointed.

One camper uses satellite to get on the Internet while at the Gunnison KOA 

It turned out a local “IT guru” had installed the system for this park. He sold them on a particular router, a particular antenna, and the DSL service. He was also a very busy consultant, and often hard to get ahold of.

For the size of the park I recommended a repeater to solve some of the problems. Also I suggested another directional antenna pointing at the rest of the campers, or an antenna that did 360 degrees. I showed the owner a few web sites with the recommended equipment, and it was clear quickly he didn’t want to invest a couple of thousand to do it right. My one argument against such thinking…..he had the local tech over each week at a pretty steep rate. Long term, he would have saved money.

Anza-Borrego State Park - AT&T WiFi service….where was it?

On a very recent excursion into California I was lucky enough to spend time in Borrego Springs! What a wonderful place.

While planning for the trip, a friend pointed out that Anza-Borrego State Park offered AT&T WiFi service. I tucked that thought into the back of my mind, and traveled out to the high desert park. I completely forgot about the AT&T service, and I’m glad I did. I liked the park so much, and the WiFi service was such a disappointment that it would have detracted from the experience.

My first week in Borrego Springs I used my Kyocera and Verizon service. I’d totally forgotten about the AT&T service. However, when I set up in a new spot I always scan for wireless networks. The only one that came up was my Kyocera.

After enjoying several days at the park I moved on. A week later I returned to meet several friends at the park once more. This time when I scanned for wireless networks the AT&T service popped up. It was surprising to me, and I wondered why I hadn’t seen it the week before.

During my “second stay” I spoke with one of the park attendants regarding the WiFi service. She told me that it was down the week before, and was pretty inconsistent. How disappointing.

Looking up information I found regarding AT&T’s WiFi service I became very happy that I brought my own. Monthly service charges, limited hot spot locations, and from what I saw in Borrego Springs, inconsistent service. Of course, the park attendants know nothing about the service, how to repair it, etc. So when it goes down you’ve got to wait on AT&T to get it going again. In this particular situation that meant almost a week. Would you really want to pay monthly service fees for something you can’t use in many places, or for that matter can’t use because it is out of service? I wouldn’t.

Here’s the breakdown from AT&T’s site regarding the subscription fee:

Primarily for non-AT&T Internet access customers, providing unlimited access to any AT&T Wi-Fi Hot Spot starting at just $19.95 per month with a one-year term commitment.

One year contract? Not for me.

There is a bright side to WiFi

The WiFi story isn’t all gloomy. But the 3 samples above should illustrate pretty clearly, there’s a long way to go in WiFi if you’re looking for regular connectivity.

So, what’s really positive in the WiFi world? From this author’s perspective, small private hotspots and libraries. Local cafes offering free WiFi always seem to have service working. And every single library I’ve visited in a year of travel has had WiFi available to the public for free! Fantastic!

The author using the Victor Idaho public library’s WiFi Hotspot

Where the fee based services fall down, the free hotspots seem to shine. Cafes advertising WiFi always have functional WiFi. Same case with the libraries. What is it the cafes and libraries know that the RV parks don’t? I’m not sure. Whatever it is, seeing that high speed WiFi signal when pulling into a library is always a joy in my book!

Bottom line with WiFi Hotspots while being a Digital RVer

So, what’s the bottom line?  Simple, WiFi hotspots can help you get connected while traveling, but relying on them solely will leave you extremely disappointed.  The only way to guarantee 100% uptime on the Internet while on the road is to go satellite.  Anything else will leave you with less than 100% coverage.  And when it comes to hotspots, if you’re covered 30% of the time you’re doing well.

That doesn’t imply you should discount WiFi hotspots.  It just means you should not depend on them.  I’ve heard time after time from other RVers, that advertised hotspot services haven’t worked out.