Internet on the Move

Last week I had an important meeting I needed to take fairly early in the day. Normally I like to exercise before work and so I headed to my gym and made sure to bring my computer. Rather than rush home to make the meeting, I just joined from the gym. I thought they had Internet access but that turned out to be wrong. No worries, I just used the Internet connection from my phone and turned on "Personal Hotspot." While I had plenty of signal strength, I could see the video but not hear the audio. The easy fix meant using the phone portion of my smartphone and calling in manually to the meeting. It could have been more elegant but worked.

Before heading to the gym, I felt sure it had Internet access and surprised me that it didn't. Fortunately I didn't really need to participate in the meeting, just listen. Now I know that I should not plan on taking early-morning meetings in the gym. I had been tempted to take other more important meetings from where I exercise every morning and am now glad I haven't.

Then yesterday I got an e-mail about Starlink. It is Internet service provided by Elon Musk's SpaceX. Basically you buy the hardware for around $600 and pay a monthly service fee of around $120 to have a fixed Internet connection almost anywhere on land around the world. That is a bit more than I am paying for my current provider and so I am not going to change services any time soon. They do have other options though.

I have often thought about getting a camper and going out on the road with my wife. We could visit national parks across the country and Starlink has a service for that. You pay the same for the hardware but up your monthly commitment to $150 but can roam anywhere your camper will take you. It would allow me to continue working full time yet be able to spend my evenings sightseeing.

I have also thought about getting a bigger sailboat and heading out on the ocean. This is where Starlink has potential that isn't quite realized. First your hardware costs jump to $2,500 and your monthly service fee jumps to $250 per month. They also don't have service all the way to Hawaii. If all you plan to do is stay close to land, Starlink has you covered. It is those longer journeys where you may have to rely on other more expensive solutions.

Yes there are quite a few options for those looking for Internet connectivity on the move. Fortunately I don't need anything too complicated right now but it is nice to know what my options are.