Hi Lindsay, Well with that big pole you use...clearly you HOG everyone's bandwidth. And what's worse you do it ON PURPOSE!!!
We're getting out of proportion here. You are expected to use the water in a reasonable manner - you wouldn't wash your camper or vehicles unless they say you can. I would assume that shared Wi-Fi shouldn't be eaten up with an online backup. But in both instances, if the CG doesn't stop you from doing it, some will do it anyway.
I QUOTE would assume that shared Wi-Fi shouldn't be eaten up with an online backup. When we are gone for 3 months at time, it is really necessary in my opinion. When I got my first computer, I had a micro cassette for a hard drive and have been seeing computer usage change drastically over the decades. Computers come now with 4 gig ram standard and 250 or more gig hard drives. I think if campers are going to be upgrading and keeping up with the technology, people offering WiFi service should be keeping up with technology also. If you are going to offer WiFi, I think your system has to be large enough to handle what is routinely done by the computing public. I have stayed at many places that advertised WiFi and had such crappy service as to be unusable. The question becomes is it because the camper who is paying for the service one way or the other is being a hog or is it because the park's system is incapable of handling today's average needs. We use the computer to communicate with our friends and relatives and photos really tell a great story. I have my digital camera set at highest resolution for my hard drive and then resize down to website level and lose about 90% of the file size. My uploading to the net is very quick, but my online backup takes about 10 times longer. I try to do it at night so as not to affect others. We boondock a lot and when we stay at a campground and pay for WiFi, I unpause my Carbonite and back up. We are staying 2 days at a campground outside of Theo Roosevelt National Park. We payed $58 total for the two nights and I uploaded about half a gig of photos. I think it was a good deal for everybody. I also think that once 4 Gig phone networks are commonplace, WiFi will go the way of the dial telephone.
QUOTE I am convinced that campground owners are getting the message that WiFi is a real desired amenity. While true, this may be causing issues for campgrounds that many of us do not consider. What liabilities does offering WiFi expose the campground to? There is some interesting reading here ARVC study on WiFi liabilities Obviously this information is a long way from being definitive, but it does show how complex a seemingly simple thing can become in today's world. The law of unintended consequences, I guess.
Wifi is important to me since I'm a web designer. However, I do run with a backup - I can tether my Blackberry to my laptop and run that way, though it's slower than the cable I'm use to. I think if a Campground lists an amenity - it should be free or clearly note that it is not. I would not pay for Wifi. We've also noted that many campgrounds are offering cable TV. We haven't guppied up yet for a DISH so we appreciate that. As newbies to RVing, we are rather amazed at the prices of campgrounds. We just did a 28 day trip and the average campground price was right about $35 even with a Good Sam's discount. I thought times were hard and less people were traveling so we might catch a break after $4 gal gas - not so.
We are leaving a private campground today at Yellowstone. They use Tenngo commercial system. You get two passwords per day that entitle you to 2 hours each, but have to be separated by 10 hours each. Very weird system. Speed varies from very slow to moderately fast. I basically used my Android tether and did backups for 2 hours when we left in morning and when I went to bed at night. Access shut down after two hours and I set up my "sleep" feature to correspond. Very screwy system. If somebody wants to just do email and very low bandwidth applications, they should do it via cell phone. Once again, I am hoping WiFi soon becomes a thing of the past with fast cell phone speeds around the corner. (I hope.). My thoughts and prayers go to the many folks involved in the floods. Here in the Rockies, the remaining snow pack is huge and locals are saying the highest in 50 years for this time of year. This is going to be melting and much of it will be going down to the Mississippi. It is going to be months before this is all over.
QUOTE the average campground price was right about $35 even with a Good Sam's discount You must be staying at places with "resort" or "KOA" in their names. We are fulltimers. It is extremely rare for us to pay over $30 per night, much less $35. QUOTE They use Tenngo I have learned to pass on campground WIFI if it is provided by TengoNet ...I have used it in many places and I don't believe it EVER works well. Using my tethered cell phone is cheaper, and ALWAYS works better...
QUOTE I have learned to pass on campground WIFI if it is provided by TengoNet ...I have used it in many places and I don't believe it EVER works well. Using my tethered cell phone is cheaper, and ALWAYS works better... Exactly what I did, but used my free Tenngo for backups 2 hours in morning and 2 hours in evening.
I design and install wifi systems exclusively for small RV parks. Most parks of this type do not have backhaul (the connection from the park to the Internet) that is very fast. Thus when overloaded everyone suffers. Most of the parks I set up I restrict access to streaming sites for movies and TV. Monitoring the networks you would be surprised how many people want to watch TV all day on their computers, or movies. One or two like that is the reason most networks are slow. Many people are used to high speed fiber or cable based residential systems. And they expect that the wifi in parks will be equivalent. Education by the park is the key....most people are understanding if they are educated. Althought there are those that feel they are "entitled" to "all they can eat". So, my advice is to try to be considerate of your fellow RVers and not consume lots of bandwidth if you know it is not available.
It is my impression that most people that RV try to be considerate. Yes, to be sure, there are exceptions. But, I suspect that some folks just aren't aware that streaming video requires a lot of resources. By asking folks to not hog resources, I believe the assumption is that they know better. In some way this begs the usage charge; and, while I think that is unfortunate as it is a nuisance, it is the way the accidental/intentional hog gets their notice. You pay for what you take if it is inordinate. Perhaps if the usage was free up to a certain limit, then a charge was placed, say for every (rounded) half-Gig used. IMHO, until people are made to be responsible for their actions, they will (unwittingly or not) act accordingly. WHOA! What happened - I'm no longer a newbie ?
QUOTE(JDRobar @ Jun 16 2011, 07:23 PM) [snapback]26492[/snapback] It is my impression that most people that RV try to be considerate. Yes, to be sure, there are exceptions. But, I suspect that some folks just aren't aware that streaming video requires a lot of resources. By asking folks to not hog resources, I believe the assumption is that they know better. In some way this begs the usage charge; and, while I think that is unfortunate as it is a nuisance, it is the way the accidental/intentional hog gets their notice. You pay for what you take if it is inordinate. Perhaps if the usage was free up to a certain limit, then a charge was placed, say for every (rounded) half-Gig used. IMHO, until people are made to be responsible for their actions, they will (unwittingly or not) act accordingly. WHOA! What happened - I'm no longer a newbie ? Wow, you spoke like a written book he, he, he. I agree with you 100% and I am of the opinion that to make people aware is by chargin them
QUOTE(drmcleod @ Jul 18 2008, 06:18 PM) [snapback]12323[/snapback] Should Campgrounds charge for Internet access? What do you think? A limited yes basic wifi is not expensive and is easy to maintain if you know how. The problem is in and around cities if you dont hire a company to manage a wifi hotspot to control it ANYONE can get on. Yes, I have seen ppl sit in cars outside businesses to use it. Thats often when your money paying customers complain about speed, you begin getting neg. reviews. Then there are campers with kids of multiple ages that each want on to download music, for kindles, ipads, and computers and don't even get me started on netflix and gaming systems LOL. I feel free basic internet access to do searching, email, socializing is perfect. In that same note there should be rules preventing the system from being overloaded by those wanting to play high end games and music/video downloads...wifi isnt meant for that...and with the parks I am experienced with most wifis are bogged down with a few ppl at the sacrifice of many.
Just returned from a week trip that included 6 different campgrounds. Never a separate charge but WiFi ranged from good to non-existant at my campsite. A couple parks offered WiFi but you had to go to the office building area. In one case I was about 100' from office so my Hawking signal booster worked. The CG I liked the best only had WiFi at the rec hall but they were only charging $28 (30A electric) Side issues. How about parks that have coin operated showers? or consider 15A electric reasonable. Would I like "free" WiFi? Sure. I would also like a clean, heated pool, dry capsites, free showers and maybe a golf cart to ride around in but I'm not holding my breath. Maybe the solution would be to offer WiFi but keep the charge nominal like $2. That way the park owner knows who and how many really wants it, and if they need to grow capacity,
As an RV Park owner, I do not feel that it is fair to charge for this service. I paid $600 for an antenna & $29.95/month for 20MBPS Internet service. This also keeps me free from liability when someone how up with an older computer, they don't get as angry when they are not paying for wifi
We just returned from a 2 month plus trip saying in numerous parks and boondocking. The WiFi was spotty and one time I questioned the owner about it and feel like he definitely lied about it. I have a really good omnidirectional WiFi antenna and was unable to pick it up. Another place that said they had WiFi told us when we couldn't get it at our site that, "It's working good at the house." I think many owners realize that WiFi is a big selling point and make an uninformed attempt to provide it. Both guys I mentioned touted it heavily. One just plain lied about it and the other was just dumb. I was able to hellp things drastically with my antenna. I also have the ability to tether so my Verizon Android. In the West we had times where we could get no cell signal. I have recently heard of a new WiFi type system that utilized the wave length between different TV channels that is supposed to be very good. It is called White WiFi. Looks like the much touted WiMax has died. We take an extended trip every summer and this trip was the best of all for getting internet coverage and I think that trend will be continuing.
QUOTE(tandiee @ Jul 22 2008, 10:03 AM) [snapback]12364[/snapback] I think WiFi should be free, almost all the Motels offer it and most are free. . I don't do much on the internet while camping but the weather bulletins are worth it. Last time the campground did nothing to warn anyone of storms. Good thing someone had access to let people prepare.
QUOTE I have seen ppl sit in cars outside businesses to use it. Hey, that was me. next time stop and say HI. Putting in a password will stop 99 plus% of us who use unprotected WiFi.
QUOTE(drmcleod @ Jul 18 2008, 04:18 PM) [snapback]12323[/snapback] Should Campgrounds charge for Internet access? I would like to get other opinions on this. My opinion is no! I have two reasons for this. First, as a consumer. Having free internet access is actually one of the things I look for in a campground. It's a 'perk' if you will. If I have the choice between two, somewhat comparable, c/g's then I will choose the one with free WiFi. Heck, I'll even choose the one with free WiFi over one that is slightly nicer with fee for service. Second, as a business owner (of which I am one). It does not cost more to allow the whole campground access to your broadband service. The only additional expense is the addition of the hardware. In some cases this might be more expensive if additional antennas are required and installation requires an expert. Also, a higher than basic internet subscription is needed. However, if the c/g is going to charge for its WiFi service, then all of this has to be done anyway. Therefore, consider it a marketing expense to drive more people to your c/g. Why do you think that places like Panera Bread and even McDonald's are offering free WiFi? I know I choose to eat there when I need a place to surf while I eat. In my case, I want more people to come to my place of business, so I make my wireless service available to all. It costs me no more, but brings more people to me. What do you think? Should Campgrounds charge for Internet access? I would like to get other opinions on this. = Yes, Internet is not part of the facilities required for camping, the organization is charging you, as unit price for space, for electrical line up to your unit , water shower and washroom service, every thing else, unless specifically included should be optional service and must be paid for.
I think it's fine if they charge. If they charge though, I expect it to work consistently. We can take it or leave it. We bring the laptop and if wi-fi is available we will use it even if we have to pay. The only place we've been charged, we paid about $15 for a week. It would have been about $10 for a day though and I wouldn't pay that much. I don't mind if the campground doesn't have it at all although now that most do, I am starting to expect it. If they don't have it, it's an excuse to find a Starbucks and get away from the kids for an hour
Given a choice between no wifi and wifi, I always stay where there is wifi. Free is bonus, nominal fee is OK as I understand the costs involved in provisioning. I am parked at an RV park now since early July and will stay until later in Sept. I have Skype running on my laptop with a Philips VOIP wireless phone system attached to the PC. This is my main telephone system, and is cost effective as I subscribe to annual unlimited North America free calls. It is just like at home. Unfortunately the RV park I am in is in a rural setting and served via wireless internet provider. While the speed browsing is great the jitter sometimes causes difficulty in phone conversations where low jitter rates are required.
