WiFi is free at our campground. We have a problem on occasion with people downloading things constantly and hogging the bandwidth for others, especially when several people in the same RV each have computers going at the same time. When they do that it slows things way down for others that want to just get online. Sure, we could increase the strength of the WiFi but that would be expensive and that cost would have to be absorbed by someone. We could charge for WiFi, we could raise the camping fees or we could not have the money to make improvements in other areas. With rising costs for everything CG's cannot afford to just keep spending on things without making that money back somehow. We strive to do what we can to make people happy but we have bills that must be paid, including employees. In my case, I would be willing to bet few people would work anywhere for what my husband and I are paid. We are on call 24/365, no vacation, one day off a week but are still on call, do all the yard work, pool care, maintenance, office/store, sell propane, clean bathrooms and laundry room. Yes, we don't pay rent but, even with rent added to our salary, we work about 80 hrs a week between us (not counting being on call) and we make less than $5.00 (together, not each). We do this type work because we enjoy it and, with the economy as it is, our employer cannot afford to pay us more. Remember that what you see as free is paid in someway by someone.
Just to clarify your response, I assume you are aware that increasing the "strength" of the wifi signal won't make it faster. It would be necessary to increase the size of the connection to the internet that the CG pays for (often called the "pipe"). This may not even be possible in some rural areas. What can be done is to restrict access to the major streaming sites or invest in software which can limit the bandwidth of any individual user.
QUOTE(dalsgal @ Jan 27 2013, 10:39 AM) [snapback]32471[/snapback] WiFi is free at our campground. We have a problem on occasion with people downloading things constantly and hogging the bandwidth for others, especially when several people in the same RV each have computers going at the same time. When they do that it slows things way down for others that want to just get online. Sure, we could increase the strength of the WiFi but that would be expensive and that cost would have to be absorbed by someone. We could charge for WiFi, we could raise the camping fees or we could not have the money to make improvements in other areas. With rising costs for everything CG's cannot afford to just keep spending on things without making that money back somehow. We strive to do what we can to make people happy but we have bills that must be paid, including employees. In my case, I would be willing to bet few people would work anywhere for what my husband and I are paid. We are on call 24/365, no vacation, one day off a week but are still on call, do all the yard work, pool care, maintenance, office/store, sell propane, clean bathrooms and laundry room. Yes, we don't pay rent but, even with rent added to our salary, we work about 80 hrs a week between us (not counting being on call) and we make less than $5.00 (together, not each). We do this type work because we enjoy it and, with the economy as it is, our employer cannot afford to pay us more. Remember that what you see as free is paid in someway by someone. Curious as to what you would think the proper speed for an allocated system would be. It is my understanding that somewhere between 750 KBS and 1mbs is the minimum needed speed to view video clips, which is almost a requirement in surfing the web today. Wouldn't bandwidth throttling just have people staying connected longer downloading big files, since they can just have the file save and walk away while it is downloading? What is a bigger delay, someone loading a file at 20mbs and being on line for 2 minutes or have it download at 1mbs and they are logged on for 40 minutes? Not sure this isn't one of those problems that just plain doesn't have a magic solution.
QUOTE(Mayatan Lake RV Resort @ Dec 1 2011, 02:04 PM) [snapback]28319[/snapback] Howdy As a Developer just building our first RV Resort we are wondering what this RV Community would like to see from a WIFI policy that will work for both campers and us owners. our situation is a little different then most of the RV Resorts i see posting in this topic. We are 45min outside of a major city centre and as such our maximum bandwidth is 1mps. so for our office to run online registrations and have a decent service to customers. also our campground is located on 73 acres of land and as such we need up to 5 of the Omni directional antennas. ( there are other options for bandwidth but these get costly we can get 10mps bandwidth but they charge close to 10$ a gigabyte that we go over our 1 GB Limit. whereas the 1Mps service has unlimited download and upload. ( the cable companies have not reached out this far as of yet) ) Any advice out there would be appreciated. so far my personal thought is to not charge for internet. but have a separate service for the office to run administration out of. I would imagine you are going to get lots of complaints about a 1mb/ps service. It may be unlimited but it will take forever to download most things as simple as a windows update. JMHO
QUOTE(joez @ Dec 1 2011, 02:34 PM) [snapback]28320[/snapback] We as WIFI users want unlimited access, lightening speed, free, always available WIFI on which we, and every other user, can Skype, play online games, download humongeous files, and stream multiple movies. Most of us are, however, aware that all this is not possible at most of the places we stay. I would suggest that you install the best system you can afford, provide the expertise to keep it running and then be honest with your guests. We have stayed at several places where system limitations and allowances were explained to us (in writing) and then usage was monitored and abusers excluded from the system. If the system will not support heavy use then tell us so. This is so much better than staying somewhere that advertises WIFI only to find that the system is only available at the office, or down more than up, or only available in 1/3 of the sites and nobody working knows anything about the system. Good luck with your venture. Keep us updated as you succeed. In all of the parks that I have every visited in 20+ years I have had exactly one owner tell me about the WiFi. He was located in a rural part of Texas and told me day one that the Internet was Ok for email and maybe some web browsing on a good day. But as he also added it was available at no extra charge. My reply....Thanks I appreciate the heads up.
We have 3MBPS. My husband explained it to me like this (I'm not a big techo person). If you have a small battery and attach one small light bulb it is pretty bright. If you attach a second light bulb they must share the power. The more light bulbs the more sharing of that power. Then you come along and add a large bulb (like someone downloading) and it gets the power and the little ones fade or go out.
QUOTE(HappyCampers6 @ Jan 25 2013, 11:05 PM) [snapback]32464[/snapback] I know that a lot of folks say that technology should be left at home but apparently they have never tried to 'unplug' a teenager for any period of time and expect them to have fun. It can be done. Most places we go don't have wi-fi, nor even 3G, and cell is spotty. Kids can't wait until next trip (ages 15, 13, and 10).
QUOTE Remember that what you see as free is paid in someway by someone. Does this apply to welfare and "free" healthcare too?
QUOTE(HappiestCamper @ Jan 28 2013, 09:12 AM) [snapback]32480[/snapback] It can be done. Most places we go don't have wi-fi, nor even 3G, and cell is spotty. Kids can't wait until next trip (ages 15, 13, and 10). I agree, my boys, age 16 and 12 are perfectly happy camping where thy can fish, ride their bikes, shoot arrows and bb guns. Sure they spend their fair share of time playing video games when they can, but wi-fi does not need to be present for them to have fun.
If you aren't already aware of it, yesterday Netflix put online an entire 13-episode new series entitled "House of Cards" starring Kevin Spacey. Although we have already watched the first two shows and have enjoyed them, the reason for this post is simply to point out that this event took place. It appears to be the first time an expensive show with a well-known cast has gone this route, bypassing the HBO, Showtime channels which would have been a more normal venue. Netflix is hinting that this may be only the first of a whole line of "made for streaming" TV content. What's made this even more unusual is that Netflix has made the entire series available at once, no waiting until next week to watch the next episode. Of course, the implications of this to the entertainment industry are enormous. Essentially, a content provider (a movie producer) has bypassed the entire distribution system and is providing commercial-free content to those willing to pay the intermediary (Netflix) to stream it to them. It's the next logical step beyond the "on demand" process we have become accustomed to. Once technological evolution like this begins it is hard to stuff the genie back in the bottle, so I expect, over time, we will see more of this not just by Netflix, but maybe also by Amazon and others. This has huge implications for internet providers, campground operators, etc, since it will stress the data-handling capacity of their networks. Sure, nothing has really changed since people can already stream video, but if first-run content becomes more available via streaming they are going to be frustrated if they discover they can't spend their weekend "camping" trip watching a marathon of their favorite shows episodes. Yet another problem for campground owners to wrestle with. As if the question of "free wifi" wasn't difficult enough to deal with on its own.
Doci - you are correct. At this time getting TV via the internet is problematic for "campers" for the most part. The big four wireless people make huge money owning their delivery systems and I don't see them going back to unlimited data with the exception of Sprint. And some have old Verizon unlimited plans, like me. So far I have not bothered to use my Verizon data plan to watch TV. I did test it out on one show, works well. I am not sure this one Netflix show is a harbinger of the future. I don't think Netflix can afford it. In a fixed location we have changed the way we watch TV at home. We mostly watch on demand shows from the HBO library and then year old stuff from Netflix. But on the road it is not so easy to get fast internet still. QUOTE(docj @ Feb 2 2013, 10:45 AM) [snapback]32531[/snapback] If you aren't already aware of it, yesterday Netflix put online an entire 13-episode new series entitled "House of Cards" starring Kevin Spacey. Although we have already watched the first two shows and have enjoyed them, the reason for this post is simply to point out that this event took place. It appears to be the first time an expensive show with a well-known cast has gone this route, bypassing the HBO, Showtime channels which would have been a more normal venue. Netflix is hinting that this may be only the first of a whole line of "made for streaming" TV content. What's made this even more unusual is that Netflix has made the entire series available at once, no waiting until next week to watch the next episode. Of course, the implications of this to the entertainment industry are enormous. Essentially, a content provider (a movie producer) has bypassed the entire distribution system and is providing commercial-free content to those willing to pay the intermediary (Netflix) to stream it to them. It's the next logical step beyond the "on demand" process we have become accustomed to. Once technological evolution like this begins it is hard to stuff the genie back in the bottle, so I expect, over time, we will see more of this not just by Netflix, but maybe also by Amazon and others. This has huge implications for internet providers, campground operators, etc, since it will stress the data-handling capacity of their networks. Sure, nothing has really changed since people can already stream video, but if first-run content becomes more available via streaming they are going to be frustrated if they discover they can't spend their weekend "camping" trip watching a marathon of their favorite shows episodes. Yet another problem for campground owners to wrestle with. As if the question of "free wifi" wasn't difficult enough to deal with on its own.
QUOTE(RFCN2 @ Feb 2 2013, 03:17 PM) [snapback]32532[/snapback] Doci - you are correct. At this time getting TV via the internet is problematic for "campers" for the most part. The big four wireless people make huge money owning their delivery systems and I don't see them going back to unlimited data with the exception of Sprint. And some have old Verizon unlimited plans, like me. So far I have not bothered to use my Verizon data plan to watch TV. I did test it out on one show, works well. I am not sure this one Netflix show is a harbinger of the future. I don't think Netflix can afford it. In a fixed location we have changed the way we watch TV at home. We mostly watch on demand shows from the HBO library and then year old stuff from Netflix. But on the road it is not so easy to get fast internet still. I agree things won't happen overnight, but IMHO this is where they are headed. We are lucky enough to have an unlimited Verizon 4G plan so we have used it for streaming. If you can get a decent data connection >2Mbps it works well. Data usage is ~1GB/2 hours at SD quality, so someone with a 10GB/mo plan can watch several movies while on a weekend camping trip. If your plan charges $10/GB for excess usage that's not really all that much more than it costs to watch an on-demand movie on DirecTV. Data prices on the cellular system will, inevitably, come down just as have "per minute" prices. Some 20 years ago I bought a cell phone for a college-age son who had to drive long distances through some rough country to come home from school. I recall his plan cost ~$10/mo for 10-15/minutes of service and a awful lot for excess usage. It's hard to imagine that wasn't all that long ago.
On our recent RV trip, we camped for 3 days at a Passport America camp ground that advertised they had WiFi. We asked for a site with good reception. They showed up as having reception (3 or 4 bars), but we could not connect. My Smart Phone did the same thing. The next day, I asked numerous other campers and they all said the same thing. We asked the owner to correct and they didn't have a clue. I think it just needed a reboot. Many of these campground rely on vendor for the whole thing and evidently they can charge by the call.
QUOTE(Lindsay Richards @ Apr 16 2013, 10:18 PM) [snapback]33099[/snapback] On our recent RV trip, we camped for 3 days at a Passport America camp ground that advertised they had WiFi. We asked for a site with good reception. They showed up as having reception (3 or 4 bars), but we could not connect. My Smart Phone did the same thing. The next day, I asked numerous other campers and they all said the same thing. We asked the owner to correct and they didn't have a clue. I think it just needed a reboot. Many of these campground rely on vendor for the whole thing and evidently they can charge by the call. Several times I've been successful asking CG managers if they would reboot the wifi. Since there is no risk to them by doing it, I haven't encountered any resistance to my suggestions.
QUOTE(docj @ Apr 17 2013, 07:52 PM) [snapback]33108[/snapback] Several times I've been successful asking CG managers if they would reboot the wifi. Since there is no risk to them by doing it, I haven't encountered any resistance to my suggestions. I have asked staff to do a reboot so many times that I've lost count. I think I'm batting around 50% success in getting connected. If I got a dollar for every time staff have told me that they don't know anything about the Wi-Fi setup I would be a rich man indeed.
This doesn't work when the campground manager thinks the computer is a TV hooked up to a typewriter. It is the advantage of the "computer guy" to come out and get paid for a service call rather than teach them. I have talked to campground folks who did not even know their own server password. Not the password to their web site available for campers, but the password to start up their own server/computer.
QUOTE(Glenn Norton @ Apr 18 2013, 05:46 PM) [snapback]33120[/snapback] I have asked staff to do a reboot so many times that I've lost count. I think I'm batting around 50% success in getting connected. If I got a dollar for every time staff have told me that they don't know anything about the Wi-Fi setup I would be a rich man indeed. If I had a dollar for each customer who has asked me how to connect to a wireless network I guess we'd both be rich.
QUOTE(puddleduck @ Apr 23 2013, 09:00 AM) [snapback]33170[/snapback] If I had a dollar for each customer who has asked me how to connect to a wireless network I guess we'd both be rich. I wouldn't doubt that several of the times I have been bumped off a perfectly good Wifi connection in the middle of a download was because some "internet expert" convinced the park to reboot their connections.
A savvy park owner should know not to reboot on one complaint. When nobody in the park can get a connection for days, something is bad wrong and future business can be hurt via review sites. It pays to deliver what you advertise and it hurts to not due so.
QUOTE(Lindsay Richards @ Apr 23 2013, 10:43 AM) [snapback]33172[/snapback] A savvy park owner should know not to reboot on one complaint. Probably true, but we were at a park recently that we were having a lot of trouble connecting to their wi-fi. I called the office, and the desk person said they had not had any other complaints which they would have been getting if the problem was with their system. (They had quite a few long term residents who reported trouble quickly.) However, he said he would reboot (I didn't even ask him to; he just said he would try that). After that we had no more trouble, so I'm glad that in this instance, he did not wait for more complaints.
