WIFI cost

[Happy Jack]

Hi everyone,
Starting out adventure in March, this is out first year.
Van is just about done, but for this year we won't have a telly, so on a night time we will play cards & monopoly,talk; & visit a pub occasionally.
We do have a TP Link portable Wi-Fi router and can keep it charged with usb.
For a time each night the wife could visit her favourite shopping channel and I could play online chess, on our 8" fire tablets .
We also intend to stream BBC I-player and the others occasionally to the big tablet we have but that one needs 240v for its charger, and we want to avoid hook up as we have solar and I'm assuming hook up costs more as well as the leccy you actually use.
The router is on 1p mobile and my questions are :-
For the sort of use I've outlined, is 1p mobile going to run out expensive and would I be better off getting an all monthly data plan and which one ?
Thanks,
Keith.

 

[Orion]

Won't have a TV this year but will remember for future.

Don’t forget that just as per your tablet power requirements many ‘240v’ TVs are actually 19vDC and use a step down transformer in normal domestic settings. Our 22” LG Smart TV/Monitor was (IIRC) £160 from Argos and works perfectly well with one of the laptop power units previously linked plugged into one of the 12v ciggy socket in the MoHo.

 

[DDJC]

Do you only use it in UK? Because the search for a provider that works in Yerp is a minefield.

About half of the providers have sacked Roaming in Europe. Of the big providers only O2 still retains roaming as standard. Tesco (who use the O2 network) have stopped roaming from the end of March for new contracts, but will continue to honour roaming if you have an existing contract.

HOWEVER! Be alert. All the providers (bar a couple as far as I can work out), have a pernicious 'Fair Usage' policy. Most effectively reduce the amount of data you can use abroad by X percent, sometimes as much as 50%. So even if you get a 100gb data allowance, you won't be able to use all of it in Europe.

There seem to be two exceptions. iD mobile who do have a fair usage policy, but they seem to only send you a text warning if you are using too much data abroad. The other is Popit, where they explicitly say that you can use all of your allowance aboard, as long as you use it in UK when you are in UK; and it is not a SIM card that you use solely in Yerp.

The only other option is to get one in the EU, which seems to be a popular option for quite a few funsters.

As far as MIFI, I went for an old 4g mobile phone and switch on the hotspot. Works fine.

 

[Happy Jack]

Will only be doing UK this year. Spain/ Portugal thinking winter 2024. Will cross that bridge when we come to it.
What is YERP ?

 

[DDJC]

Will only be doing UK this year. Spain/ Portugal thinking winter 2024. Will cross that bridge when we come to it.
What is YERP ?

It is a small part of Eurasia, about 18.7142% of the total Eurasian landmass, about 3.93million square miles. Population as of yesterday was 748,833,911.
Easy to get to. Drive to the Kent coast and get a Tunnel or Ferry, heading south east-ish. When you next hit land/sunlight, you will be in Yerp.

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[kevenh]

Best guess & helping, Yerp is a typo for Europe.

 

[Glitch]

Do a google search for “signal expert booster” and there are a lot of choices and lots of different prices, don’t know if this copy works but it’s similar to the one I have.

ATNJ LCD Display 4G LTE Moblie Phone Signal Repeater GSM 70dB Gain DCS 1800MHz 2G 4G Cellular Signal Amplifier Band 3 Antenna

ATNJ LCD Display 4G LTE Moblie Phone Signal Repeater GSM 70dB Gain DCS 1800MHz 2G 4G Cellular Signal Amplifier Band 3 Antenna

www.googleadservices.com

Just make sure you purchase from a reliable supplier to ensure the signal booster is allowed to be operated in the UK as per the Wireless Telegraphy Act 2006. Although in fairness and as long as you turn it off when the van us laid up between trips away the chances of any "iffy" booster kit being detected and reported to Ofcom would be minimal.

Is It Legal to Use Mobile Boosters in the UK? | UCtel

Poor GSM network signal? Want to find out why mobile repeaters are illegal? Then our article about GSM boosters will be useful to you!▶️

www.uctel.co.uk

 

[PaulyP]

Just make sure you purchase from a reliable supplier to ensure the signal booster is allowed to be operated in the UK as per the Wireless Telegraphy Act 2006. Although in fairness and as long as you turn it off when the van us laid up between trips away the chances of any "iffy" booster kit being detected and reported to Ofcom would be minimal.

Is It Legal to Use Mobile Boosters in the UK? | UCtel

Poor GSM network signal? Want to find out why mobile repeaters are illegal? Then our article about GSM boosters will be useful to you!▶️

www.uctel.co.uk

I switch everything off when I leave the static as I never know whether I will be back there in two days or two weeks !