Internet Troubles

[svseachange]

Originally Posted by rebel heart

At least in Mexico and other CA countries you have to use a USB modem stick on a windows machine.

Yeah, it's a crap shoot. I travelled to India, Ethiopia, BVI, US, Canada, Turkey and Australia in recent years and was hard to work out the best approach for each destination. The US is fantastic for 3g/4g access

I wonder what we will find in the South Pacific next year? I've warned my clients I am probably going to be on a bit of a hiatus.

[zeehag]

in mexico one does no thave to use a usb stick with modem thingie--rodlmao--i have been able to use wifi around mexico easily and without too many problems. rent a marina slip, get wifi. this is part of mexico cruising...make friends with restaurant owners and get better wifi--some even reaches to boat at anchor.,,, easy peasy....
rent a slip in a marina associated with a 5 star hotel and get wifi you can load pix with.,rodlmao--

you aint cruised mexico until you use the resources available in mexico.

our only problem of late was a palm tree fell onto the fibreoptic cable...lol..so ours was down for a bit--oh yes--and this wifi even works in electrical storms, unlike in baja andmazatlan and la cruz....

there is better wifi in tropical mainland mexico than in baja and mazatlan and banderas bay..


but, then , i have only been in mainland mexico 3 years so what would i know.....lol

[rebel heart]

Originally Posted by zeehag

in mexico one does no thave to use a usb stick with modem thingie--rodlmao--i have been able to use wifi around mexico easily and without too many problems. rent a marina slip, get wifi. this is part of mexico cruising...make friends with restaurant owners and get better wifi--some even reaches to boat at anchor.,,, easy peasy....
rent a slip in a marina associated with a 5 star hotel and get wifi you can load pix with.,rodlmao--

you aint cruised mexico until you use the resources available in mexico.

our only problem of late was a palm tree fell onto the fibreoptic cable...lol..so ours was down for a bit--oh yes--and this wifi even works in electrical storms, unlike in baja andmazatlan and la cruz....

there is better wifi in tropical mainland mexico than in baja and mazatlan and banderas bay..


but, then , i have only been in mainland mexico 3 years so what would i know.....lol

If you go to places without marinas, restaurants, and hotels, there is no access like that. And in plenty of places there is also no cellular coverage at all.

No one is addressing how to deal with an Internet connection when it's clearly and obviously available (like at a marina). But when you're in more remote locations it's a whole different ball of wax.

[rebel heart]

Originally Posted by shanedennis

Yeah, it's a crap shoot. I travelled to India, Ethiopia, BVI, US, Canada, Turkey and Australia in recent years and was hard to work out the best approach for each destination. The US is fantastic for 3g/4g access

I wonder what we will find in the South Pacific next year? I've warned my clients I am probably going to be on a bit of a hiatus.

I think it's a crap shoot to be sure. French Polynesia and the Cooks have their own individual 3g carriers and you can get sticks, but in FP the coverage seems pretty sketch. The Cooks interestingly enough, based on what I can read online from the carrier's site, covers almost all of the inhabited islands.

The transit times between them though makes it still pretty problematic.

We're getting ready to bounce from a city here soon and venture further north into the Sea of Cortez where cell coverage doesn't exist. I've used my Iridium phone before but now I'm actually going to really put it through its paces for email and data.

No checking CruisersForum obviously, but I think I figured out (almost) how to get my company email through the sailamail compression system. If I play my cards right I think I can spend a couple of bucks a day in satellite airtime and process most of my work email.

[zeehag]

mainland mexico is a LOT different than baja, as i stated. baja i s desert and not habitable. if it were habitable there would be more souls living there,instead of only gringos sailing without interwebs.....
i only use marinas in summer, when it is repair season. i have interwebs when NOT in marinas --is truly simple and easy---one merely goes to a restaurant, as i stated, and uses wifi at that restaurant..is very easy. when you are anchored in a roadstead situation, make friends with the closest restaurant with strongest wifi---tadaaa---wifi on board....lol is very very easy... the only thing is that you must befriend locals..very easy. AND one becomes friends with interesting souls.

there are many folks in mexico who are interesting and good to know.
just because someone cruising mexico has learned how to have interwebs does not mean they always use marinas..lol...i just do not sail golfo de california--i know what is there already--i did that on land many years ago and have no interest in sailing that patch.
i do not DO deserts. therefore i has interwebs when i cruise....as long as i am in port and anchored--i will find internets. mexico is not uncivilized.
funny how many souls who cruise do not understand this part of cruising.

[svseachange]

Great info on the Pacific islands, RH. maybe I will not be as out of touch as I thought.
.
Spent ten years in Papua New Guinea as a kid and the whole country didn't even have a TV station. Figured the Pacific islands might be slow to catch on to wireless broadband. Sounds like I was dead wrong.

[rebel heart]

Originally Posted by shanedennis

Great info on the Pacific islands, RH. maybe I will not be as out of touch as I thought.
.
Spent ten years in Papua New Guinea as a kid and the whole country didn't even have a TV station. Figured the Pacific islands might be slow to catch on to wireless broadband. Sounds like I was dead wrong.

I think you're probably more right than I am when the chips are all cashed in. A lot of the Pacific is so friggin huge and so lightly populated that I can't see how they could (or would pay, or make revenue to support) a "real" communications infrastructure outside of the large islands with resorts and even then I bet it's a bit sketchy.

But it does seem to be a bit better, at least in the more touristy areas.

Tahiti Vacation FAQs - French Polynesia & Bora Bora FAQs

Q. Will my cell phone work in Tahiti and the sorrounding islands?
A. Cell phone coverage is available in tahiti and the main islands, which are: Tahiti, Moorea, Bora Bora, Taha'a, Raiatea, Huahine, Maupiti, Rangiroa, Fakarava, Manihi, Nuku Hiva, Hiva Oa, Rurutu Tikiphone is the local provider in French Polynesia with their VINI network. As in Europe, a standard GSM 900 MHz network is used. To use your cell phone in Tahiti, you first have to know if your mobile operator is one of their Roaming Partners.

French Polynesia coverage map (from the carrier, VINI):

Mobile network in Tahiti: Vini is the first mobile network in French Polynesia.