TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands Wireless Data Plans And Hotspots - Oh My

I would like to setup a wireless router on the boat so we can share internet data with several devices while we are sailing. I am pretty computer/network literate but know little about cell phones, data plans and such. I have been studying the frequencies used by Digicel and Lime and think I have a handle on the routers that will work but from there things get fuzzy for me. I'd prefer not to tether a cell phone and not to have to go to a store (mrsimcard if possible) or rent equipment. I think over the long run this will work best for me and save some money.

So my first question is, assuming we already have a phone on board to make calls can I just buy a data sim for the wireless router? I know I'll need to put it in a phone to activate it first. From looking at mrsimcard and the Digicel and Lime websites I'm not sure if I need to get a prepaid phone talk plan first and then add data to it or if I can just activate a data sim and use it in the router.

I have a lot more questions on the mechanics of this but I'll stop here for now.

Activecaptain did an entire series on wiring up the boat for WIFI a couple of months ago. Tried to find a link for you, but if you go to activecaptain.com, maybe you'll have better luck. It was really in depth and explained the different features of different routers and other equipment as well as why he chose the equipment he did. Hopefully this will be a good starting point.
Good Luck
Happy New Year!

Here's the link....
https://activecaptain.com/articles/mobilePhones/intro.php

You can accomplish this with a mi-fi. I did have to go to the Lime store and set it up but is works great. The guys at the Lime store were very knowledgeable and we set up a Long Overdue network. This is what we have on the boat:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/MiFi-2372-Unlock...=item5d4faf7cae

The data package was 3 gigs for $50. We were there a month and had a gig to spare

We did the same as sail2wind. The mifi worked excellent and we were very happy with lime although many say that Digicel is better than lime but it worked perfectly on Tortola, Norman, Peter, VG, JvD and as well on Anegada ...

PS: When you buy a mifi take one with good batteries. To charge the mifi every four hours is no fun :-)

Same here, but we did Digicel. Also bought a cheap phone. Now when we go back, it's just a top up and we'll be good to go, hopefully. I think I spent around $130 or so on the two devices, plus the data for the mifi. I'm sure it could be done cheaper, but I just wanted to be sure it worked. Stopped in the Digicel store in Road Town and was on my way within 30 minutes or so. I did that while my wife got started on the grocery shopping at Bobby's right down the street, so it really didn't cost us any time.

Also, there is a Scotia Bank right there as well where we pulled out cash from my Bank America account fee free (don't like traveling with too much cash), so we were able to knock out a couple errands in one stop. Also got a good cup of coffee.

Thanks Showdavid for the Activecaptain article and Davids for the link. There is a lot of good information packed in there.

Thanks Sail2wind and Sunbvi.

Sail2wind I had looked at that mifi and it looks like it would work for me in the BVI and Antigua (quad band 850/900/1800/1900Mhz looks like it runs HSPA - theoretical download speed of 14Mbps, actual probably 1-2Mbsp). I started expanding my wants to something that could run HPSA+ and also cover St. Martin and maybe even Greece but as the wants increased so did the price and the difficulty in finding something that could do it all. All I really need is a way to check weather and send a few emails plus have a wifi connection so that whatever devices others bring can connect. At that price I could buy one for the BIV/Antigua, one for St. Martin and one for Greece and still come out ahead of renting!

Sunbvi thanks for letting me know where you had service. In Nov-Dec I rented a wifi from Renport at Sunsail. They had a 7 day plan for $120 but I got them to do a 10 day for $150. I considered it a little on the high side but it was worth it to me. The guy said it wouldn't work on Norman but I had some problems getting a decent signal even on Peter. Not sure if they use Digicel or Lime but it was a little disappointing. The girl at Renport I brought it back to said she thought there was something wrong with the device and we should have called them, maybe but I was doubtful.

Onlymedication,

I had seen posts where Sail2wind had said he was going to Lime's store and I thought no way I want to waste the time. Now that you mention it, going to the round-a-bout while my wife is grocery shopping doesn't sound so bad! I like to do things online ahead of time but I'm starting to think I might get a better, and easier to execute, data plan if I walk in the store - I'm having some difficulty understanding some of the options on mrsimcard's webpages and like you I just want to make sure everything works.

I tried to do this myself with the same unlocked mifi that sail2wind has and never made it work. I've gotten that to work in other countries, so there is some Lime magic they need to work with the settings. If you need it, its worth the trip to the LIME store. I'd like to add a Digicel LTE router to our boat.

Cheers, RickG

Yeah Rick nothing like wanting it and not being able to get it to work! Although I've spent a career fighting with computers and networks it's not how I want to spend my vacation time. Do you feel the Digicel LTE is necessary or that they might have better coverage?

Hi beerMe,

maybe this thread is also interesting for you:

http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/showflat.php?Cat=0&Board=bvi&Number=1617650

Some in this thread were saying Digicel is better. Therefore we were going to buy a Digicel-SIM-Card last time but we arrived on a Sunday. Both Digicel- and LIME-shops were closed. So we had to use Lime again. We recharged the SIM-Card and had luckily all the time no problems in the BVIs :-) So I am not sure if or in which regions Digicel is exactly better ...

PS: If you have once the SIM-Card you can recharge it very comfortable via the internet but you probably already knew that.

PPS: Be aware you have to recharge it in <12 months else you have to buy a new SIM-card they told us :-)

Thanks Sunbvi,

I didn't know that you had up to a year to recharge the sim. It's little bits of information like that which make TTOL so useful!

Regarding Lime vs Digicel, take this for what it is worth... We had TMM provided Lime on our previous trip Dec/Jan '13-'14 and Digicel for this trip in November '14. We found the connection more reliable and faster on the most recent trip. How much of that was the result of network upgrades in the time between trips, how much may have been the result of possible network crowding during the peak NYE period and how much was purely circumstantial as opposed to the difference between the two providers, who knows? Obviously there was a difference in the equipment used as well (mifi in both cases, but different devices). But just thought I would share our experience as the difference was distinct.

beerme, why do you think a sim card from a St.Martin carrier will not work in a generic unlocked device?

Beerme, Jay got a test drive of a Digicel router for our boat in June. They had LTE service throughout the BVI, including to Anegada and back. It worked great for me when I was on that boat, but wifi did not reach to the second boat that I captained. This router was a 120V unit. I spoke with Matthew Drum from Digicel when he was dropping off the demo unit and was impressed with what I heard about their operating plans in the BVI.

I'm a techie, but my lady gets grumpy if I go heads down on a piece of equipment while we're sailing. It either works when we get started or stays on the shelf until we're back at the dock.

Cheers, RickG

Onlymedication, love that name, thanks for the information. Yes there are so many variables that it's almost impossible for the average user to know exactly why one carrier seems to work better than another and things are moving/changing constantly. It looks like with 4G and LTE the frequencies used will become even harder to match to your device. Honestly, all I really need is a reasonable connection speed on the boat and I'll be happy.

Lime has been having problems this week in the BVI.

Good question. I was looking for a carrier and device combo that had HSPA+ speeds or better. At that time I had checked BVI and Antigua but hadn't done any research on SXM.

On another note I found this gsm world coverage map - it shows how North America and parts of South America are on one set of frequencies and the rest of the world is on another set. From my reading it wasn't that the US wanted to be different, there were practical reasons why those frequencies were use (like the bandwidth was already in use). I am not saying that a quad band device wouldn't work in most cases. GSM World Coverage Map

Glenn, how about a heads up, i know my phone works with a SXM sim card, why would a mi-fi not work?

I have used both Lime and Digicel internet on various boats throughout the BVI over the last couple of years. Both work reasonably well, although each has their moments. You can top up a prepaid Digicel data plan online but you have to call their customer service to activate it.......

I would be interested to hear from anyone who has tried the new CCT 4G internet service around the BVI.......?

Where is the Digicel store in Roadtown? How far from The Moorings?

Kevin

Frankie,

I am only going by what I've read here but I think both are located at the round-about in RT.

Rick

I was wondering the same thing as I thought about giving them a try vs. Lime and I can't figure out how to get one of their SIM cards remotely. Wickham's Cay is as specific as their website gets. But, probably not too far from the Moorings.

If you were at village cay marina, you would come out to the Main Street. Turn right and walk about a block or less . It would be on the same side of the street.