What cell plan works for zoom along the eastern seaboard?

[LeaS]

I am new boat owner with the plan to sail New England waters this summer and begin my journey south in October along the coast. I have a coaching business and meet weekly with my clients via zoom. The plan is to have flexibility to anchor away from marinas and still meet with clients based upon cell tower access. Currently using Visible and getting disrupted signal in a populated area. What has worked well for you and in what areas? Are there extenders I should add or antenna on the mast for reception? Sailing a 33’ Tartan single hull.

[bensolomon]

I use a verizon hotspot for this type of connectivity.

[Snore]

Good choice of boat!!!

I use AT&T. All plans work fairly well along the ICW. But all have dead spots.

[sailingharry]

We use verizon. We added a hotspot, the MiFi 8800l. This is the last hotspot Verizon sold that supports external antennas. It's not a documented feature, but the two little plugs on the top edge are removable and expose antenna ports. Super cheap used, under $20
https://www.ebay.com/itm/385998880376

I then bought a high gain Nemo antenna, at $250 not quite so cheap
https://a.co/d/iXq4Alz

And then a pair of 6-in long adapter cables. I can't remember where I bought them.

When the hotspot doesn't work below decks, we put it up on deck. When it still doesn't work, we plug it into the antenna. We do see noticeable improvement.

[CarlF]

Zoom does not work very well on cell 4G signals. Sometimes it's great but in weaker signal areas typical of many anchorages it can be unusable. It's great with 5G but there aren't many cruising areas with good 5G.

The best Zoom solution is to get Starlink. Works everywhere even 100 miles offshore. Much better speed than 4G cell and many fewer interuptions. You'll typically experience a couple of brief 2-4 second freezes per hour. Rarely noticed by people in the meeting. Much better than cell.

$600 for the dish. $150/month for a completely unlimited data plan. Feels like home cable. Plus an extra $2/GB when you are more than about 10 miles from land.

A tip - if you are dealing with clients who are at their work, use a Zoom background that doesn't make it look like you are on your boat

[LeaS]

Originally Posted by bensolomon

I use a verizon hotspot for this type of connectivity.

Thanks

[LeaS]

Thanks for info. Where did you attach the antenna on the mast?

[LeaS]

Thanks. I have heard good things about Starlink.

[sailingharry]

Originally Posted by LeaS

Thanks for info. Where did you attach the antenna on the mast?

Not sure which post you were asking about. If mine about the antenna for the hotspot, I clamped it to my wind generator mast. A real problem with cell antennas is signal attenuation. The signal is very weak and you lose an awful lot in antenna cable. I chose to mount it where I could reach it and use 6-in cables. Of course, that means my antenna is 10 ft off the water. Life is full of choices!

[flightlead404]

Originally Posted by bensolomon

I use a verizon hotspot for this type of connectivity.

Same. The standalone Orbic brick hotspot is what I used. No external antenna.

The only place I had to haul it up in the air was Boca Chita Key. Other than that, it was simply on the shelf in my salon