OT Need HS Internet for 2 weeks-upstate NY

[slriver]

A little background: we vacation each year summer for two weeks to upstate NY along the St. Lawrence River. I took my iPad last year but could not get service with AT&T (3G).

My sister had her laptop with Verizon mobile broadband which got great service but she found out later that she was picking up service from a Canadian tower. Verizon billed her for over 1000.00 which she was able to get them to take off because the mobile broadband did not show roaming. Verizon told her that they were "marking her account" and that they would not take anything off if this happens again.

Is there any type of no contract Internet service that we could use?

We will be just south west of Morristown NY.

Thanks, Tracy

 

[Cotton's Parrot]

It's only 3G, but check out Broadband2Go from Virgin Mobile. It's a no contract 3G data service using Sprint's network. No idea about the coverage for the area you're looking for. The downside is you have to buy the hotspot device for $150, but after that you could go on something like $10 for 10 days, 100MB of data. Or, if you're going to use a laptop, the USB device is $80. Not necesarilly a budget friendly solution, but it's an option. I think Cricket might have something as well.

One suggestion on your sister's Verzon mobile broadband, there should be a setting there to turn of roaming. You may not get as good of a signal (or any signal), but at least you shouldn't get hit with the roaming charges again.

 

[slriver]

Thanks, I am going to check those out. I hate to commit to something only to find out there is no service. According to the AT&T coverage map there should have been coverage but we could not even pick up a signal. I guess I should contact AT&T too.

Tracy

 

[mamalle]

would like to know also. Im in upstate NY for camp for 4 weeks and have my droid with internet that Im looking forward to using.. I hope its okay

 

[emma'smom]

Upstate NY is notoriously bad for it's internet service. We have a cottage in the Adirondacks and we depend on DIAL UP service for our internet. Our cell phones don't even work except very late at night in one spot right by the lake (and even then it is shaky). It's odd to see everyone drive down to this one magical spot and line up to make calls.....

Honestly, at this point I think the lack of dependable access to the internet in this region of the country is almost becoming a public service issue. Not that we expect the services for free---but they should be available has the have to be affecting the economy in so many ways. Those little towns can get so isolated and it is difficult to make purchases or download the most basic information online.

The good news for the OP, some of the towns along the border seem to be getting better. You can always look for a wifi spot in your nearest town if you can't get it right where you are staying. For that kind of dependable service, we drive about 25 mile to a McDonalds in Tupper Lake.

However, I will point out that the point of vacation in this region is to "get back to nature" and sometimes that lack of access makes it truly a vacation!**

**Then reality sets in and I realize it's necessary to be "in touch" for work....so so much for the dream!

 

[slriver]

However, I will point out that the point of vacation in this region is to "get back to nature" and sometimes that lack of access makes it truly a vacation!**

**Then reality sets in and I realize it's necessary to be "in touch" for work....so so much for the dream!

This is so true!! We had 4 teenagers on our last trip - they did good for about the first week with no internet but then we had a couple of rain days and I thought they were going to go crazy with no facebook! We did play lots of board games.

Our phone connection was real iffy. We could get a connection with no roaming but if we took a step or even moved it would start roaming. We were able to drive up the road to get a better signal.

On a side note - We took a day trip to Tupper Lake and loved it. We visited The Wilds. All of the kids (ages 4-18) loved it. The best place was the outdoor play area where the kids could make forts out of the tree branches. What a wonderful place. We plan to visit it again in July.

Tracy