The Mobile Internet Handbook: 2016 US RVers Edition

by Chris Dunphy, Cherie Ve Ard (Contributor), Jack Mayer (Contributor)

The comprehensive guide to mobile internet options for US based RVers by full time RVing 'technomads' Chris and Cherie of Technomadia, with guest author & mobile internet guru Jack Mayer. The book covers cellular data, public WiFi, satellite, ham, cable/DSL, enhancing signals, installation, managing bandwidth, traveling to Canada & Mexico, entertainment options, cellular phone plans and most importantly – setting your expectations for what life on the road with mobile internet is like. In this handbook, we help you assess your internet needs, set your expectations to realistic, explain your options and overview the challenges of mobile connectivity. The book is written for the non-technical internet surfer to the high-tech geek – we strive to balance using every day language and examples to explain complex topics, while keeping things technically accurate. All so you can best assemble a solution that is balanced between your desires and your budget. Our goal is to make this stuff comprehensible so you can enjoy a thrivable life on the road with a minimal of technical frustrations, and still able to afford the fuel that propels your adventures! We have no affiliation or financial ties with any of the products we mention throughout the book... we strive to provide unbiased information for RVers, by RVers. This stuff is constantly changing, and we keep it up to date on our accompanying website and provide additional services, such as our premium membership group with more in-depth content and Q&A forums. We highly recommend at least joining our free e-mail newsletter or subscribing to our RSS feed to keep in the know. Details are in the book on doing that. (Have the 2014 Edition? Do you need this one too? This is a minor re-write and re-fresh. We've updated the book with all of the news alerts that have come out since August 2014, polished up some of the content and expanded a couple areas. The 2014 Edition is still very timely & relevant as far as an overview of mobile internet options, however the specifics about products & plans mentioned will be outdated - for instance, Millenicom is no more. f you're in active preparation mode for your RVing journey or in the midst of a technology re-fresh, it's probably worthwhile getting an update. But if you're willing to do a little further research as to the current options... then you're good to pass on this update. Have the 2013 Edition? We definitely recommend snagging a new copy.. the book has more than doubled in size and content since then.)

Genres: Reference, Nonfiction, Travel

252 pages, Paperback

First published July 11, 2014

Reviews

[Hal Mahaffey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent review of different technologies to make internet available while traveling in your RV. I got this for $5 from Amazon because the new edition was coming out. But they offer a $5 discount from a year's subscription to their website if you buy it, so it all washes out. They do a lot of good research on cellular plans and cellular/wifi devices and keep it up to date on the paid portion of their site. I imagine that once you find what you need you don't need an active subscription, but until I do get settled, I think it's a small price to pay to have this couple do a bunch of googling for me. :)

[John Lomnicki, · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, pulls together all the data

Being new to the RV lifestyle, I needed a comprehensive reference to discover my options. People who have already done their research share their opinions freely on Internet forums, but with their own biases. This book fills the void and will allow me to move along to address my own needs with solid information.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book contains incredibly detailed information on connecting your RV to the Internet and cell phone service in remote areas. I gave it 5 stars because it's a great book if you fit its intended audience, which is people who are highly motivated to have good connections to the Internet and cell service in very remote locations, for example, people who work from their RVs. For the rest of us, I think we'll be pretty much happy not having connectivity for a few days, if necessary, rather than spend hundreds of dollars and hours of set up for solutions that the authors concede might not even work. For emergencies, we'll just try not to get too isolated. Instead of carrying phones from multiple carriers hoping one might work, we'll stay close to other people who probably have phones from other carriers. Even if you can't put its information to practical usage, it's still interesting to know, for example, the technical underpinnings of why some phones only work with certain carriers.

[Bonnie Odin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Required reading for full-time Boat or RV

I wish we'd had this before moving onto our boat full-time. I did all this research myself and it was confusing, even for a "techie". Highly recommend

[Kate TerHaar · Rating 5 out of 5]

New and updated. This is an invaluable resource for keeping connected while on the road. Great information in a very readable format

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Happy with the information

This armed me with the information that our family needs when we go on the road. The apps and other resources are invaluable.