TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands WiFi USVI and BVI

My family (6 in all) will be visiting the USVI and BVI in April (bareboat charter starting on St Thomas). We need reliable WiFi at anchor (in part for play, but also for work). In the past we have rented a WiFi router from the Moorings' (actually Renport) and have stayed around the BVI. Now we will be also be in the USVI.

We have Verizon phones and their international plan doesn't offer enough data. So what is your recommendation?

I have looked at Cello Mobile

https://www.cellomobile.com

for a MiFi (limited to just 5 devices). They seem to cover the USVI and BVI. Does anyone have any experience with them or recommendations for other providers?

Thanks in advance for the group's wisdom.

I hope that you are not really looking for reliable as quite often it's less than reliable.

I'm interesting in this inquiry as well. We are AT&T customers.

Also, how is cell service in the BVI generally since Irma? I assume the hurricanes impacted cell towers.

I would call it adequate, speeds are slow.

For our July trip we used Verizon with their $10 a day used plan and it was pretty reliable, albeit slow at times, using one of their standard MiFis. We also had an unlocked phone with an AT&T SIM from mrsimcard.com that we hotspoted a few times when the Verizon connection failed. All in all we were able to stay connected most places, though Anegada was spotty.

Our Moorings boat had WiFi, but there were only a couple of locations (Moorings base and CGB) where it picked up any sort of cell signal.

You might also check with Renport about their packages.

I do Renport and my Sprint has "local" coverage down in the BVIs

Here are the Sprint Settings....

Please follow these settings on the phone once you arrive in British Virgin Islands.
1. Connect to wifi and To update the Data Profile, please follow these steps:
Settings > System Update > Update Profile > OK > The Data Profile will be updated > Update PRL > OK
> The PRL will be updated (please try this a few times as it may not go through on the first
attempt)
Once that is completed or even if it keeps failing please follow these settings Step 1: Turn wifi
and bluetooth off
Step 2: From the Home screen, drag down the Notifications bar. Tap the Settings icon. Tap Mobile
Networks > Network Mode > GSM/UMTS. Check the GSM/UMTS radio button.

When prompted to select Automatic or Manual, select Manual then select one of the available
carriers. Should you have any other concerns, please let me know.
Thank you,

Check out iwifitravel.com. We have had good luck with their service in multiple Caribbean location including the BVI. They ship you a
MiFi device that is ready to go when you arrive and will let you connect up to 10 devices unlimited for about $10/day plus shipping. We have one for our trip in February and it only cost about $12/person for the week which is not bad. It has been fairly reliable for us and even able to stream a little at times.

We use our phones as backups if necessary. Renport is usually $240 for the week which uses the same cell service. One less thing I have to do in the marina before we cast off.

Brett

Thanks for the suggestion.
Peter

Verizon's Travel Pass will be the simplest and you already own it. Spending half your trip chasing bad internet will not bring joy to your life.

https://www.verizonwireless.com/support/travelpass-faqs/