Internet - Is there a way to confirm how good it is prior to visiting? (1 Viewer)

[LetsGo!]

Morning everyone, one of the things we have discussed is working from the Motorhome however we are both heavily reliant upon excellent internet connection for video calls etc.

Is there a way to establish how good an internet service is provided at a site prior to visiting?

Alternatively, is there a specific system that would be good enough that we didnt need to worry about it!. Looked at starlink, but at £85 a month its a little steep.

Thank you!

 

[Jane And Rog]

I think at the very least I’d put a 5G MIFI in - ours increased our coverage & bandwidth a fair bit compared to phones in the van.

That said, we’re actively considering Starlink for use at home & while travelling.

 

[Wh05apk]

If Internet is essential to you, I would suggest a dual sim system, or even a multi network sim, generally we get decent reception with Id mobile who use 3, but sometimes nothing, in those situations ee are normally good.

 

[Andy Norfolk]

If you're looking to use site WiFi I think you can be pretty sure they are unlikely to be good enough for what you need. Many are only available close to a reception area.

 

[GerTee]

If you're looking to use site WiFi I think you can be pretty sure they are unlikely to be good enough for what you need. Many are only available close to a reception area.

And quite often I find that 4g is faster than the site WiFi. I think you’d be better off sorting out your own independent solution.

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[Pausim]

Site wifi is often throttled to about 1mbps. If you are planning to use a mobile signal it often depends on which network you are with. There used to be an app that gave the mobile reception for the different networks all over the country but sadly this was discontinued. If it is vital to you I would speak to the site owner/operator before booking, they will know which networks if any have a good signal in their area. Remote hilly areas often have a poor signal and sites close to motorways often have a good signal. 5g can be brilliant but it can also be useless, 4g often gives a more reliable and stable signal.

 

[LetsGo!]

Appreciate the feedback, think an independent system would be the best option. Anyone get personal experience on what works well for them?

 

[ctc]

We have never stayed on a UK campsite with a good signal, all have been slow and unreliable. The 4g exactly the same. Your best bet is to take the bus, they often have good WiFi.

 

[gus-lopez]

 

[MisterB]

Morning everyone, one of the things we have discussed is working from the Motorhome
Looked at starlink, but at £85 a month its a little steep.

Thank you!

But if you're working from the motorhome then the cost of starlink is tax deductable surely?

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[Gromett]

If internet is critical for you then here is my recommendation.
Three unlimited data sim <£20 a month. Rely on this.
BUT. Buy a starlink and have it on pause. If you ever go to a site where Three doesn't work then power up the starlink and activate it for a month.
My guess is you will soon start seeing the value of starlink and go with that.

 

[oldiesontour]

We have 3 at home (roof mounted Ariel )Good signal but very slow at peak times,have EE in my phone at home can be very quick but again very slow at peak times,wife's vodaphone same thing ,It seems very random when travelling...good signal low speed,poor signal good speed, network provider quality again varies,as said even 5 G can be useless
Seems the UK mobile network is often just overloaded..
Do comparison sim only sites get cheap (£5 a month or less no contract) SIM cards from several net works to find what suits you best

 

[RustyRuss]

We have a TP-Link router and an IQmobile data only SIM card, worked well on Anglesey with around 20Mbps input speed in a notoriously poor phone reception area near the California Hotel, mid island. We are on Il de Re in France ATM and experiencing 128-135Mbps which is better than at home! Data is 100GB for £20 and works anywhere in Europe.

 

[starquake]

We have both a Three and EE Unlimited sim we keep in van most of time (but we usually have the Three in as it works better most of time). Under £20/mo for both combined. We prepay the EE sim a year or two in advance via scancom, and use a very cheap 3 business unlimited sim on Three (part of a wider contract for a business). (scancom on amazon for ee sims that are unlimited and work out at around 13/month prepaid for a year or two in advance)

Not one campsite we have visited has produced under the amount needed to stream video (TV) in last 12 months, and we've actually temporarily moved the EE sim to the parents house now we know we can trust Three at most of the campsites we regularly visit.

The key point is making sure you buy a decent 4/5g router, one able to support modern bands (frequencies) used by Three and EE. Unfrotunatly many of the motorhome solutions are today only category 4 (LTE cat 4) which does not support around 2/3 of Threes frequency space so performs "poorly". The key bands you need to watch out for are 28 and 32 as Three in paritcular are rolling this out now rurally, and band 28 is the lowest frequency in use by UK mobile providers, so goes "furthest" from a cell tower when enabled (obviously key when rural camping).

My advice would be to get a decent roof anteena (required at some capsites to even get a signal, ignore people saying a mobile on roof works... it DOES NOT in North Norfolk and Wales) and good 5g or 4g router that is cat 20 or higher in 4g capabilities ideally. Teltonica RUTX50 and the ZTE MU5001 has been used by a few on here successfully. If you rely on internal antenna some sites in both locations mentioned (and likely others) you will not have any signal at all.

Note in some sites one network or other may work better, we've just found Three is most consistent in our travels. We're off to a site (St Neots) this weekend when it works better than our home broadband (or did last time we visited!).

Ref; checking sites before you go, I can tell you around Cromer area, all the networks are a bit rubbish so you may need to tinker settings to get the decent performance I mention (we sometimes limit to 3g only) - however the Gt Yarmouth area, we've again had internet better than home there. Cromer area at some of the sites, don't expect your phone to work at all... but it is quite a nice area to visit (we like Incleborough Fields CACC site).

That or get Starlink as some on here have, but it is £85/month when you have it activated, and does use rather a lot of power compared with a 5g device (5g device will use 5-10W so easy on solar, starlink needs 75W ish average).

 

[Coastal Cruiser.]

Have a Netgear M2 and been all over Europe many times and very rarely has it not pulled in a good signal. Luckily networks in Europe are a lot better and we have had 5G in some very remote village.
Flying into Venice yesterday and even at about 100ft when coming into land 5G came up on my phoneprobably EE is one of the better data providers to go with.

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[Brains]

One of the experts on this subject is Motorhome WiFi
They are friendly, it's no cost to call and ask questions.
They have a stand at a lot of the shows

 

[ChrisL]

I have an EE unlimited as fast as is available sim in a CAT12 router, and a Tesco unlimited sim in a CAT 4 device as backup and for use in the EU, I have never been anywhere where both didn't work and I wasn't able to stream tv in HD.

 

[The Wino]

I don't see how you could rate internet speed given several different networks and most likely variation in quality depending on the pitch selected on any given site. If you rely on video calls for work and want to work at home may starlink isn't a bad bet

 

[HillRunner]

Is there a way to establish how good an internet service is provided at a site prior to visiting?

You can check the coverage maps for relevant operators before you go but they don't really give you the full picture. I did find that it sometimes helped to determine where on a site I might park.

Alternatively, is there a specific system that would be good enough that we didnt need to worry about it!. Looked at starlink, but at £85 a month its a little steep.

Service is essential for me also, so I have Three unlimited as the main mobile service and Starlink as backup. I do have additional backups of RWE and Vodafone (on my mobile) so I am covered for all UK networks.
As Gromett proposed, I use the mobile service if it is adequate. If service is poor, I activate Starlink. Mobile and Starlink run through the same router (with an external fixed antenna and dual SIM) and so switching is seamless with all internet connected devices working as usual.
The arrangements also serve as backup at home if there are any disasters (very rare).
A setup like this is generally a DIY option. You could piggy-back Starlink on an installed system given the right confguration though.

Starlink appears expensive but since it can be paused, it is more economical than you might think. If a good connection is essential then it really does make sense especially when working in more remote areas or roaming.

 

[Tony50]

We use O2 , but on the Suffolk / Norfolk border near coast it's a useless signal, never had a problem anywhere else

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[starquake]

We use O2 , but on the Suffolk / Norfolk border near coast it's a useless signal, never had a problem anywhere else

Indeed, it's why we don't have Tesco ourselves (we live in suffolk and Norfolk/Suffolk campsites our are most regular visit).. You have to have EE or Three as anything else doesn't tend to work (Voda sometimes).

 

[Kannon Fodda]

Cellmapper.net shows locations of masts by provider, their expected signal coverage area, and even frequency and bandwidth available. Gives you an idea if you will get something useable or useless.

 

[starquake]

Cellmapper.net shows locations of masts by provider, their expected signal coverage area, and even frequency and bandwidth available. Gives you an idea if you will get something useable or useless.

It does however it collects from cellphones it's data which is kind of it's drawback given it's limited to what a mobile can "receive", given it crowdsources it's data from it's own mobile app only. It's often incorrect if you have a roof antenna, as a weak band 3 signal that cellmapper says you can't get can be better than a strong band 20, which a handset can get. Thats why I'd treat it with a bit of a pinch of salt, however it IS useful for identifing cells that MAY be of use that are further away at times.

It may be worth people understanding their relevant ZTE or Huawei advanced options if you care about this stuff as by disabling the longer reach (but lower bandwidth) frequencies with a roof antenna you can get acceptable internet in areas people claim is "no good". This is easier on a Teltonica or Mikrotik type device than ZTE or Huawei, but it is possible on near all manufacturers. Top tip is usually to disable band 20 as usually poor mobile signal is your device using band20 when other frequencies exist (as band 20 is strongest, but also slowest).

My top tip is checking for band 28, which is available from Three at least at at least 6000 cell sites now. If your phone or device does not support this, you may want to upgrade (I am not aware of any cat4 device supporting it). If you get this frequency bonded with band 3 or band 32, you will usually find your performance is similar to home broadband on 4g. (Band 28 is lower, so goes further than even band 20, and also has more performance than band 20).

 

[Revolvor]

Another factor with a site wi-fi is that it's unlikely to be a secured connection.

 

[Widge]

Morning everyone, one of the things we have discussed is working from the Motorhome however we are both heavily reliant upon excellent internet connection for video calls etc.

Is there a way to establish how good an internet service is provided at a site prior to visiting?

Alternatively, is there a specific system that would be good enough that we didnt need to worry about it!. Looked at starlink, but at £85 a month its a little steep.

Thank you!

Best site I went to was in peniscola Spain, for a small fee you rented your own WiFi box that plugged into a network socket next to the power sockets on your pitch.

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[scotzsue]

when away with elder grandsprogs we had 7 choices for mobile signal (don't ask it's a long story)
Have always been berated for sticking with Tesco, was very popular that week, however moving about the site all devices got a decent signal.
Find though that i get poor signal in some areas of the motorhome, even moving a couple of inches can make the difference between no signal, and spending too much time on here.

 

[Tony50]

Cellmapper.net shows locations of masts by provider, their expected signal coverage area, and even frequency and bandwidth available. Gives you an idea if you will get something useable or useless.

I'm not too worried when I'm on holiday about a good signal, I'm retired and the thought of going back to work doesn't do anything for me