More On Wi-Fi Connections – The Air Card Solution

In an earlier blog about Wi-Fi For Beginners, I talked about a plain vanilla solution for connecting to a Wi-Fi hotspot in an RV Park. But, what about those times when you are boondocking or staying in an RV Park that doesn’t have Wi-Fi? Or even worse, and all too common, staying in an RV Park with Wi-Fi that is lousy? What options do you have then? The simplest, and most popular method, is to use what’s called a “Broadband Wireless Modem”, or as it is more commonly called, an “Air Card”.

Since Verizon offers the largest 3G network in the U.S., and it’s the one I’m most familiar with, I’m going to use it as an example – but, they all work basically the same way whether it’s Verizon, AT&T or Sprint. Each have their own devices – typically a small “flash type” unit that plugs into a USB port on your laptop. Verizon’s most popular USB Air Card, is the USB760.

Like cell phones, the air cards connect to cell towers and establish a connection between your computer and the Internet. Think of it this way – it’s just like using your good old, familiar cell phone that you talk on, only now your using a small, USB air card to transmit data between your laptop and the Internet instead.

A USB Air Card transmits data while a Cell Phone is primarily used for conversation

Like cell phones, use of an air card requires you to sign a service contract which normally ranges from 1 to 3 years, although Verizon also offers month-to-month contracts. This is of particular importance to us as we are only in the U.S. for 5 to 6 months a year. We can cancel our service anytime, and reconnect to the network at a later date for a $35 fee. As you might guess, the contract term determines how much you pay for the USB760. It can range from $49 for a 2 yr. contract to $169 for month-to-month.

Red areas on map below show Verizon’s Air Card coverage in the United States

Most broadband mobile subscriptions cost approximately $60 a month for 5GB of data transmission or “bandwidth usage”. Unless you use extensive video or music downloads and uploads, 5GB should satisfy the needs of most of us RV’ers(see Table 1 below). Remember, that if you are in an RV Park that has it’s own free Wi-Fi, don’t plug in your own air card at all. Just connect to the park’s free Wi-Fi and surf the web on their dime! If it’s a lousy Wi-Fi network, then by all means use your own air card.

I don’t know about you, but when I hear people talking about bandwidth in terms of kb’s, mb’s, gb’s and upload speed/download speed, it kind of makes my head spin and worse – it’s just confusing. So, here’s a little table that puts all of that geekery into something that, I hope, is a little more understandable and helpful.

Table 1. How Much is 5GB of Bandwidth and What Do I Actually Get?

Data Type	Average Size	Total Per Month	5GB Usage
Web Page	50kb a page	1,000,000	500 hours
100 Emails	1MB	500,000	5GB
Streamed Radio	18MB	-	284 hours
Streamed Video	125MB	-	41 hours
Games	13MB	-	394 hours
Images by Size	100KB	51,200	5GB
	1MB	5,120	5GB
	2MB	2,560	5GB
	5MB	1024	5GB

So, through Verizon’s website, you get a contract and the USB760 is delivered to your door – now what? Here’s the nice part - there's no software CD to install as everything required is included on the air card. Just plug the USB760 into a USB port on your laptop and the VZAccess Manager will automatically launch and guide you through a quick and easy installation process.

If even that seems daunting, an even simpler solution is to take your laptop to a Verizon Store, buy the USB760 there and have them install and get it all setup. It only takes a few minutes and once you walk out of the store, you are all set to surf the Internet while “on the road”. You can use your laptop anywhere you can use a cell phone, even while you are driving down the road – provided it’s your co-pilot and not the driver of course!

Coming up in a future blog: Broadband Routers and MiFi

That’s pretty much all there is to connecting to the Internet with an Air Card. But, what happens when you and your spouse each have laptops? Do we have to buy a second air card or just fight over the only one we have? No, you don’t have to buy another air card as there is a much simpler solution – Mobile Broadband Routers and MiFi devices.

There are pros and cons to each, but depending on which device is best for you, these routers can add 5 to 32 connections by creating your own WiFi hotspot right in your RV. I’ll talk about these devices, what they cost, and how to use them in a future blog.