BEST Cellular Data Plans for RVers & Boaters - Mobile Internet, Hotspot & Tablets (OLD)

what are the best cellular data plans to keep connected while rving or boating it's time for our quarterly update [Music] hi there i'm cherie with the mobile internet resource center and we track mobile internet options for rvers and cruisers who need to be connected during their travels whether that's for remote work entertainment general web surfing or research that's what we do and of course one of the top things that we are constantly tracking is data plans that can enable you to have a home-like or office-like internet connection on the road and this is our quarterly update being put out in january 2021 the first of the new year to the best cellular data plans that are currently on the market if you are watching this video much after january 15 2021 be sure to follow up with our full guide to these data plans because any changes that crop up before we have time to put out our next video update will be posted there so go there for your research to further get more information on all these plans that we're about to talk about i'm also going to be changing it up a little bit this time instead of going carrier by carrier i'm instead going to break the options up by type of data device because you can use a cellular data plan in data only devices like mobile hotspots cellular routers smartphones and tablets and our criteria here for a top data plan is a plan that can reasonably serve as a home internet replacement we're not looking for little bits of hot spot data we are looking for data plans that can provide a copious amount of mobile hotspot data use plans that you can use to get computers streaming devices cameras other things online on your local area network in your rv or boat so that's what we are focused on in this video so first let's start with hot spots and routers these are going to be mobile hotspot devices you might know them as jet packs or mifi's or cellular embedded routers like those that come from pepway mofi cradle point and others out there on the market these all have a cellular modem inside and they create your local area network of either over wi-fi or an ethernet wired connection these devices get you online may be bringing in multiple sources of internet but the data plans that you can use in them are limited there's not many data plans that you can use legit in these sorts of devices but thankfully we actually have some appealing options that might fit the need so first with verizon verizon there currently aren't a lot of great options unfortunately but if you have one of their unlimited post paid smartphone plans so get more do more play more or start you can add on to that a data only connected device and for as little as 15 to 30 dollars per month depending on the plan you have you can add on a data only device and get 30 gigabytes of high speed mobile hotspot use and then that data is slowed down to 600 kilobits per second now if you happen to be in a 5g ultra wide band area and you have a 5g capable device there are other terms and limits to it but as an rv or voter you're probably not going those places quite yet so that is an option on verizon now 18t over the summer cricket wireless which is their prepaid subsidiary so the their plans are on the att network and this and qriket is owned by att they now have a data only plan called simply data and you have options starting at 20 gigabytes all the way up to 100 gigabytes per month that 100 gigabyte plan goes for 90 per month and you can easily switch even mid month to their other tiered data and add data on as you need it so it's a very flexible prepaid option just keep in mind with att this is prepaid so you will be a lower priority than post paid but this is a great option that works in 18 compatible mobile hotspot devices and routers so great plan for that on t-mobile just last month in december they came out with what they're calling a mobile internet plan and for the first time since t-mobile has been around and been on our radar they actually have a usable data plan their best plan which they have said is for a limited time only with no ending date mentioned yet is a hundred gigabyte plan for fifty dollars per per month that will work on pretty much every t-mobile uh authorized mobile hotspot device they have a 5g device called the m2000 that a lot of people are going with or routers as well that support t-mobile's frequency bands that is a great option for t-mobile access for legit data on their plans for sprint now of course sprint has been acquired by t-mobile but they are still operating as independent networks but our favorite plan on the sprint network is via the calyx institute now this is a non-profit plan that brings in some old terms from when sprint bought clear wireless many many years ago that basically requires them to offer a low-cost plan to non-profits now if you join the calyx institute which is a non-profit they have access to this plan you pay 500 for the year and with that you get a mobile hotspot device as well as one year of unlimited sprint service and now they are roaming onto t-mobile's network when you don't have sprint service so the coverage map has been greatly expanded this is a great option that works out to be as cheap as 33 dollars per month for unlimited use on sprint network now we have some honorable mentions and the first will be uh with verizon if uh that 30 gigabyte plan if you don't have a post paid smartphone plan to add that onto you can do that standalone but it is pretty pricey but they do have a prepaid jetpack plan so you can get one of their jetpack devices and for 65 dollars per month get 30 gigabytes of data it is prepaid so it will be a little lower priority than the post paid option but that is an option if you don't have a postpaid plan to add a 30 gigabytes on for affordably for at t if you prefer a direct att post pay plan they still are offering their atm t wireless internet plans this one is 100 gigabytes for 100 per month but you have to use it on their wireless internet device which is a larger router with a modem built in so you are restricted to the device that you can use it on you can't use that on other mobile hotspots or other routers so that is a consideration there for sprint if you are a member of the fmca that's the family motor coach association which is a rv club for rvers you have to own a rv of some sort to become a member with them you are then eligible for their sprint unlimited plan which is a rental for 49.99 per month for unlimited data on the sprint network and you also can rent one of their hotspot devices for pretty affordably to get that plan and of course we do have to mention all of the third party unlimited resellers that are out there now these are companies that come and go all of the time and they somehow get access to unlimited plans sometimes they're legit but more often than not they are using plans that they have access to against terms of service to sell them to you or rent them to you they are on a month month basis you will find them available for all of the cellular carriers out there um just be aware these plans can like disappear with little notice whatsoever we hear complaints all the time of service going down and these are going to be companies you might hear them on other youtube channels referencing nomad internet otr mobile fix wireless boom and other third-party resellers like this so if you really need more data than some of these other data plans can provide consider those but go in eyes wide open to the risks with them which we have fully documented in our guide to unlimited data plans so be sure to go and read that see our video on unlimited data plans if we're more caveats on those third-party resellers and we do keep an active vendor list for each of the carriers that then you can go start your shopping with and our members do have access to some additional notes current pricing information and a lot of these plans have soft data caps usually in the few hundred gigabyte per month usage range all right now next are smartphone plans that include a lot of mobile hotspot use that you can use if you're comfortable hotspotting off of your smartphone to create your local area network to connect your laptops and computers and streaming devices too and use that hotspot data these are plans that might be suitable for those needs now on verizon the continuing champion is visible now visible is a prepaid owned subsidiary of verizon and you are using verizon's lte and now 5g towers if you have a 5g compatible device this plan is as low as 25 per month if you do party pay that's where you have at least you put four people you can even be random people on the internet on a shared plan you each pay individually 25 per month it is unlimited on device usage so you can use as much data as you want on your smartphone itself but it includes unlimited hotspot data for one device at a time connected they do cap that at five megabit per second speeds now that's very usable speeds uh but it is capped just keep in mind visible has a lot of downsides high ping times it is very low priority so if you're in a congested area you will get slower speeds and you only have access to native verizon towers no roaming on this plant but it is a great option if hotspotting office smartphone works for you for a t if you qualify for a business plan they have a great smartphone plan it's called business elite it includes 100 gigabytes of high priority data on the device itself and 100 gigabytes of high speed mobile hotspot use off of the smartphone and because this is a business plan it is their highest priority that you as a consumer can get so you do have to have a qualified business to get this plan but it is a great option if you want a lot of hot spot data off of your smartphone for t-mobile they have a plan um it's not really visible and seeable on their website but if you dig deep or go to a rep who knows about it if you get their magenta plan you can have an add-on called global plus 15 gigabyte now that 15 gigabytes confusing that 15 gigabytes applies to international use you get 15 gigabytes of high speed international use on that plan but there is a little feature on this that makes a huge difference here domestically in the us with this plan you get unlimited high-speed mobile hotspot use off of your smartphone so unlimited no caps on that hotspot use it is 120 per month total if you're a senior or 55 plus you actually can get a little bit of a discount on that but it that is an option on t-mobile direct posts paid so that's a great option for sprint you can still get sprint plans via t-mobile by asking for their legacy plans and they still have available it's called unlimited premium this one includes 100 gigabytes of high-speed mobile hotspot use off of the smartphone and it is 80 per month so that is an option that you might want to consider now some honorable mentions ultramobile is an mvno that resells t-mobile network and they currently have an ongoing promotion for 39 per month for a smartphone plan that includes 50 gigabytes of high speed usage whether on device or mobile hotspot you so if you want a smaller plan on t-mobile's network that's an option to look into just remember it is an mvno reseller plan and another one that it doesn't provide a lot of data but it is a great backup option that's google fi now this is google's mbno and the phones that they offer with it actually gets you connected to both t-mobile and spritz and u.s cellular networks natively across the country so it gives you a pretty good coverage map their plans start at twenty dollars per month for a smartphone plan that gives you unlimited calling and text and then you pay by the gigabyte as you need it at ten dollars per gigabyte so as a backup option in a flexible plan it's great but it does get pricey if you need a lot of data because that ten dollars per gigabyte adds up did you have an unlimited plan as well that one is actually capped at 22 gigabytes of data in a month so just keep that in mind google file great backup option you can even get a data only sim card if you have this plan for no extra cost that shares that data pool so if you want to put it in a hot spot or router that is an option too all right now let's move into tablet plans and this is a recommendation that we are making to a lot of people because you can do a lot on a tablet itself you can do zoom and video calls and video broadcasting on because they have built-in cameras and microphones so there's a lot that you can do you can do your surfing on them you can get a bluetooth keyboard with this and actually use it kind of like a laptop so consider if you can what you can do on a tablet itself because there are some affordable unlimited tablet plans that you can do and use all the data you want on the tablet itself it's also great for street video streaming you can do your netflix on this and even hdmi out a cable to a larger screen if you want now on verizon if you have one of those post paid unlimited smartphone plans you can add a a limited plan for as little as fifteen dollars to thirty dollars per month to your plan and get unlimited on device with some mobile hotspot use included as well if you don't have a uh post paid smartphone plan with verizon then it is 90 a month standalone so that gets pricey there but if you already have one of those plans it's great just add one on with a t you can add on a tablet for 20 per month if you have one of their post paid plans and that's a great option but if you don't have an att post paid account you can get a standalone tablet plan for just twenty dollars per month plus taxes and get unlimited on device usage we're even getting reports that mobile hotspot use off of the tablet is not currently metered so that might be an option as well in fact we recommend that a lot to those with people with tablets to use those plans on with t-mobile you can also add on an unlimited tablet to your magenta plan if you have one of those with them and that's just twenty dollars per month if you don't you can do that standalone for 65 dollars per month for an unlimited tablet plan and if you go back to those sprint legacy plans through t-mobile you can still get a standalone unlimited uh device plan on your tablet for 25 dollars per month that gives you unlimited on-device usage and 10 gigabytes of mobile hotspot you spell that wraps up some data options that'll hopefully help you with your shopping as you're going through your research and trying to find what are the right plans for you for cellular data just keep in mind it's not just about the data plans it's also about the equipment that you're using hot spots routers tablets smartphones and your signal enhancing strategy boosters and antennas and we are constantly tracking all of this information over at the mobile internet resource center so do come over get some more education on all of these options follow our videos here on this channel we're constantly putting out news stories as new equipment and plans become available and this is all made possible by our premium members we are not sponsored we don't do third party advertising on our content on the website and we don't sell stuff our incentive is not to get you to buy stuff via affiliate kickbacks we are member and community funded and our premium members make all of this free content possible and for that gratitude they get a bunch of extra perks such as our reviews our in-depth uh content our classrooms vendor discounts and an interactive forum where they can come and ask questions and we can help guide them through their selection process and questions as they have them so if mobile internet is an important part of your lifestyle do consider becoming a member come join us help make this all possible and we can help you make your mobile dreams possible as well until next time may the bandwidth be with you these videos 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Channel: Mobile Internet Resource Center

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Length: 17min 17sec (1037 seconds)

Published: Fri Jan 15 2021