TECHNICAL
September 2019Need technical advice?[email protected] 179
connection to stream TV and to do
this reliably you need two things.
The first is a strong cellular signal
so that you do n’t experience drop-
outs or buffering.The se cond is a data
planthat supports your intended use.
Typically, streamingTV can use 0.5
to 1GB(gigabyte) per hour. The lo wer
the resolutionyou watch, the less data
will be consumed. More on costs later.
MOBILE BROADBAND
AND BUILT-IN WIFI
Mobile broadband is essentially
an internet connection that comes
fromthe cellular network. Instead of
inserting the SIM cardinto a phone,
it’s placed inside a dedicatedrou ter
or MiFi devi ce. These canbe a handy
way of getting connected if you do n’t
havea smartphone or if you wantto
separate your data use fr om what you
get on your mobile phone.
In reality, the portabledevices offer
little by the wayof an improvement
over what a mobile phone can offer,
but one featu re they often carry
is extremely val uable: anexternal
antennaconnection. These havelong
been missing from mobile phones but,
by adding the ri ght sort of external
antenna, you cangreatly improve
the coverage and performance these
devi ces can achieve.
A permanent roof-mounted
antennawil l always give the best
perf ormance andmany motorhome
dealersnow offer a built-in WiFi
solution on their options lists as well
as some manufa ctur ers fitting this as
standard equipment.
A typical built-in WiFi syst em costs
in the regionof £300, plus fitting.
Once installed, the result is that
you hav e a permanent and reliable
internet connection foruse in your
’van when stationary or in motion,
with far greater performance and
coverage t han a mobile phone.
The most popular roof-mounted
antenna is low-profile at just 2.4
inches high (62mm) andis available
to fit on both coachbuilt motorhomes
and campervans. If you havea
campervan with a pop-toproof, a shark
fin an tenna may be more suitable.
In practice, some areasmarked
as ‘no service’ or ‘limited coverage’
may, in fact, be loca tion s in which you
could obtain a very usable in ternet
connection with an external antenna,
with similar 4Gtechnology being used
in ambulance services, mountain
rescuevehicl es and other such
applications in rural loca tions.
If a permanent ante nna is not
possible, then cheaper window-
mounted antennas are available,
which suctionto the windows of your
’van. These arenot as effective, but
can providean incremental increaseover what the devicecan do with its
own internal antenna.
You cansimply share the
connection fromyour smartphone, so
next time try the ‘personalhot spot’
feature available onthe most recent
smartphones to share the connection
to your tablets andeven smart TV
devices. But be warned,your data
won’t last anywhere near as longwhen
you share it around!DATASIM CARDS
If you’re mainly travelling in the UK,
you havethe pick of the UK networks
depending on the deals or your
experience of the coverage. As a rule,
EE tends to havesuperior coverage
in Scotland a s its m asts also serve
the fr ontline ambulance 4G network
there. Consequently, the cost per
GB can be a bit higher than other
networks, butthe data SIM cardtariffs
are often discounted. In the EU, you’re
limited to 15GBof data a month by EE.
Three has longbeen a favourite as
its cost per GB is historically lower
than the ot her networks and, for
heavy data users, there is also an
unlimited data SIM card starting at
£24 per month. In Europe, Three limits
you to 15GBon PAYG and 19GB on
contract SIM cards and you can only
use its prefer red roamingpartners
rather than being able to roam onto+The external 4G aerials areavailable in
black or white to match most motorhome
or campervan exteriors
A dedicated MiFi device linked to an external
aerial offers a significant increase in
performanceover a smartphoneAn iBoost WiFi booster kit doesn’t have
to be permanently mounted – it can be
fitted when needed