A newer Airstream at Organ Pipe

Mobile Internet in Black Canyon City

Richard Charpentier Mobile Internet, Notes from Rich, Tech Tips Leave a Comment

As the Airstream is parked for several weeks in one location I’ve been pondering the fastest access to the Internet.  Glad to say I’ve got my mobile hotspot with Verizon here.

A quick speed test of my mobile hotspot while parked in Black Canyon City.

 

The 4G LTE in this location has been up and down over the past few days, but when it’s up, it is UP.  7.3Mbits on my download speed.  That’s faster than the office WiFi that was available while I was contracting in West Virginia last year.

The park where the Airstream is currently located is a nice one.  Swimming pool, hot tub, a nice little office, areas for resident activities…..  And a recently revised WiFi system in the park.  Unfortunately, the system doesn’t even come close to the speed of my 4G LTE.

Like so many parks, this one advertises “Free WiFi” throughout the park.  And they do achieve WiFi throughout the park.  Repeaters are up on polls, the WiFi signal is strong throughout the park.  But the speed just isn’t there.  So, what’s the deal?

There are several options.  It could be they have a slow broadband provider.  Or, given there are over 100 sites in this park, it might be with everyone on the network there’s little to go around to everyone.  There could be equipment issues from the park’s office, or issues between the park and the broadband provider.

Many possibilities exist, and short of doing diagnostics (I used to do that in my engineering days) you’re just not going to know for sure.  So I’m glad I’ve got my portable hotspot!

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