Cell Phone v. Home wifi

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

The time is drawing near when I normally enter into the dark, dark world of Comcast Xfinity, for seasonal wifi at our FL house.

I have noticed folks connected to forums via Tapatalk and a sizeable % of emails I receive are being sent from smartphones.

That's all new to me, so could someone please discuss the possibility of not having home wifi (Comcast in FL and CenturyTel up north), and just doing everything via AT&T cell signal.

Drawbacks?

Thanks

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

I see things like AT&T Home Base that get mixed reviews:

https://www.zteusa.com/att-homebase

I don't think that's what I'm asking about, but might be a possibility.

What I think I'm asking about is how to do Internet stuff directly from a smartphone or tablet.

https://www.google.com/#q=surfing+th...hone+or+tablet

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

Is it feasible to do away with Comcast down there and Clink up here, and just have one mobile wireless provider everywhere?

[rapmarks Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close rapmarks]

I can't answer this, but I wish I had a solution. We cannot use our cell phone as calls are dropped in our Wisconsin home. Our internet is very slow, and I get kicked off frequently a land line is a necessity we do not get to use our roku and can't even watch a short video clip there. Also can't get newspaper delivery. So I am happy to be back in Florida with Comcast, a working cell phone, and a daily newspaper


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[ronparise Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close ronparise]

I have a home in SW fla and Comcast is my provider, both for TV and internet. We havent yet been willing to drop Comcast for TV, so I cant drop Comcast altogether. and I have several wi fi security cameras that wont work over cellular (at least I dont think they will)

My second home is a boat. There its an easier decision. I dont have any cable service available at the marina. I get my TV service from the dish network (for RVs) which works well, and is a month to month deal. Currently my internet service is a really lousy wifi service provided by the marina. So next year Ill do what you suggest and look for new cell phone service with unlimited data

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

Coincidentally, what prompted my query is an article in the BoatUS magazine.

Doing business with Comcast and Clink is a twice-a-year, most years, battle. We have houseguests in our SWFL home that do all their web browsing, and their business, on AT&T.

It would be much easier to be able to cut the ties with two providers if a third we already have would take care of it.

I have also found that there are ways to do what I do with my laptop via a cell phone. So, I could, for instance, attach a document or photo, and email it. The two printers we have are "Tablet" printers, designed to work with wireless mobile devices, or home wifi.

I just sense there is something out there I'm missing.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

Speaking of DISH, I have acquired my own personal customer service person in the Englewood, CO, executive office, like the son I always wanted. He has provided us "owned" receivers for both locations, and when the Ft. Myers CBS affiliate was holding out during last year's NFL playoffs, he overnighted us an OTA module so that we can route free TV through our DISH system. There are about 40 free channels that appear on our DISH guide.

Super Bowl week the CBS affiliate rejoined DISH, so we got it through both DISH and the OTA free signal. It was the same high quality HD picture, with a slight delay in the DISH signal.

We inquired about using DISH for Internet, and everyone with DISH has been honest enough to discourage us.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

Speaking of DISH, I have acquired my own personal customer service person in the Englewood, CO, executive office, like the son I always wanted. He has provided us "owned" receivers for both locations, and when the Ft. Myers CBS affiliate was holding out during last year's NFL playoffs, he overnighted us an OTA module so that we can route free TV through our DISH system. There are about 40 free channels that appear on our DISH guide.

Also, when we moved next door earlier this year, and the DISH tech came out to do the DISH, when he saw we had an OTA module, he ran a second coax for it to our connectors outside, so that when I get the antenna set up all I have to do is run coax to that connector.

When DISH gets knocked out by cloud cover or a thunderstorm, we still have the OTA channels.

My "son" also set our account up so we can have DISH at both locations simultaneously for an extra $17/mo, and they even pro-rate that for less than a month. The only drawback is that our locals have to be one place or the other, and run-of-the-mill customer service people don't quite get what's going on.

I say they all this because service providers can actually provide service, and be helpful and friendly about it, so they don't have to be jerks and pay hefty fines like Comcast just got. Service providers can train their people to be helpful rather than evasive.

I will say that Comcast has been listening to some of that in SWFL, and the last couple of years have offered some non-contract Snowbird rates, and you don't have to drive 60 miles RT, take a number off the wall, and stand in line for two hours, to take your equipment back. Now you just take it back to the nearest UPS store. I have always thought that a simpler way would be to have all those Xfinity service vehicles you see every day stop by and pick your equipment up, but I understand how drastic and friendly that would be.

[rapmarks Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close rapmarks]

our subdivision bundles Comcast TV with our maintenance fees. The manager signed a ten year contract for thirty a month a couple of years ago, and a lot of people were angry about it. Up til then we had it for ten a month in our maintenance fees. comcast lets me drop when I leave and get again when I come back. i have to pay $25 a month up north to keep my phone number.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

Has anyone here cut all the cords, and does everything by mobile? Maybe not TV . . . maybe TV, too.

[buzglyd Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close buzglyd]

The easiest thing to do is get an iPad (or equivalent) that has a cell radio in it.

I never buy the wifi only pad.

T-Mobile's service includes Binge On which means music streaming and video streaming from certain apps doesn't count against your data plan. You can put up an HD antenna and pull in the local networks over the air like we did in the old days.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

You can put up an HD antenna and pull in the local networks over the air like we did in the old days.

The old days are still here for some.

[rapmarks Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close rapmarks]

I have an iPad Air 2. Don't know if it has cell radio


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

In case there's some kids watching, you might want to them what a newspaper is.

[shorts Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close shorts]

Has anyone here cut all the cords, and does everything by mobile? Maybe not TV . . . maybe TV, too.

We have satellite TV with Dish network and our phone and internet is Verizon wireless. We purchased a grandfathered unlimited data plan and use a Verizon jet pac to connect all of our devices to the internet. Since we are now traveling around the country fulltime, we needed the mobility. We also have a small plan on a phone with AT&T for backup when Verizon doesn't work but that's very rare as Verizon has the best national coverage.

It's working really well so far. We got it in July. We are able to stream movies and do everything we could on our DSL we had. Some times we get in a poor signal area, but then we turn on our signal booster and it usually will bring it up to a usable level.

Let me know if you have any questions.