Stacy regretfully offered her unused firewood to anyone who wanted it. “You may as well take it. I have to cut my stay short because of the campground Wi-Fi. It’s too slow for my work so I’m heading out tomorrow.”
George wanted to know, “Why can’t campgrounds provide decent Wi-Fi like, say, hotels? In today’s world, almost everybody needs high-speed internet—whether it’s for work, streaming entertainment, or just keeping in touch with family and friends.”
The new face (and needs) of RVers
In times past, it used to be that most RVers were retired folks. These were people who finished decades of work and chose traveling as their retirement goal. A few decades ago, a retiree’s list of “campground must-haves” was short and certainly did not include Wi-Fi.
Times have changed. Now retired RVers are accustomed to accessing the internet. They enjoy streaming movies, too. In addition, many younger folks have joined the RV lifestyle. They’ve opted to work remotely and/or homeschool their children while simultaneously traveling the country. Almost all of today’s RVers require a reliable and upgraded Wi-Fi. So far, many smaller campgrounds have not caught up with this increased demand.
Why the divide?
I believe George has a valid point. Why haven’t campgrounds kept pace with the increase in demand for upgraded technology? If hotels can serve 100+ Wi-Fi users at a time, why can’t campgrounds supply consistent Wi-Fi for at least a tenth of that number of campers?
I spoke to local campground owners. Their campground has 45 full hookups, a swimming pool, a camp store, and mini golf. The current owners understand that back when this facility was originally built, times were markedly different. The needs and wants of today’s RVers include reliable Wi-Fi, but making that upgrade is a challenge for the owners—and others like them who own smaller, independent campgrounds. Here’s why.
Infrastructure and location
One of the most significant factors in the divide between hotels and RV campgrounds is infrastructure and location. Hotels are typically located in urban or suburban areas where access to high-speed internet is readily available. They can tap into fiber-optic networks and have the resources to set up dedicated, high-capacity Wi-Fi networks throughout their properties.
On the other hand, many RV campgrounds are located in rural areas, often far from urban centers with reliable internet infrastructure. In some cases, campgrounds rely on satellite or cellular-based internet, which can be less reliable and slower than traditional wired connections.
Cost of campground Wi-Fi and return on investment
Hotels and some motels have the advantage of being well-established businesses with the financial resources to invest in robust Wi-Fi infrastructure. They can afford to hire IT professionals and purchase enterprise-grade networking equipment to ensure a seamless Wi-Fi experience for their guests.
RV campgrounds, especially smaller and independent ones, often operate on tighter budgets. Building a reliable Wi-Fi network can be costly, and for campgrounds that only operate seasonally, the return on investment may not justify the expense. As a result, many campgrounds opt for cheaper, consumer-grade equipment that struggles to handle a large number of users simultaneously.
Outdoor environment
RV campgrounds are exposed to the elements, which can pose unique challenges for providing Wi-Fi. Rain, snow, or even high humidity can affect outdoor Wi-Fi equipment. Also, the physical layout of campgrounds, with trees and other obstacles, can hinder a Wi-Fi signal.
Because hotels are indoor facilities, they are less likely to be affected by environmental factors. Their controlled indoor environments make it easier to maintain a consistent and reliable Wi-Fi signal.
User density
Hotels generally have a more predictable and manageable user density compared to campgrounds. Hotels have a set number of rooms and can anticipate the number of guests they’ll have on any given day. This predictability allows them to allocate bandwidth more efficiently and ensure a stable connection for everyone.
In contrast, RV campgrounds can experience significant fluctuations in user density. During peak camping season or special events, the number of campers using Wi-Fi can spike dramatically. Campgrounds may not be equipped to handle these sudden surges in demand, resulting in slow or unreliable connections for campers.
Campground Wi-Fi in time
While the digital divide between hotels and RV campgrounds is apparent, I think it’s important to understand the factors that drive this disparity. As technology advances, more campgrounds will invest in better Wi-Fi. In the meantime, RVers should still be prepared for the occasional Wi-Fi frustrations when venturing into the great outdoors. After all, sometimes disconnecting from the digital world can be an adventure in itself!
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I know of a small private campground that cut out wifi on the advice of their insurance agent. Apparently cutting out wifi saved them a few $$ a year on their premium. The insurance agents reason was to avoid law suits from identity thefts – people who had had their identity stolen while using public wifi were suing those establishments and the insurance companies were paying out big $$ to settle those lawsuits.
George obviously hasn’t spent much time in hotels. I travel quite a bit as part of my job. 164 nights in the past year. Hotel WiFi is a crapshoot. I have spent nights in Mom and Pop hotels in towns of 6,000 people that had excellent WiFI. I have stayed in $400 a night resorts in large cities where I had to resort to a cellular hotspot just to do basic emails. The last name brand hotel I stayed in was in a medium sized city, I got better WiFi from the restaurant next door.
For campgrounds a large part of it comes down to available infrastructure and cost. A multi-user system is not cheap to set up, and the equipment will be obsolete long before the owner can recoup their investment in it.
In addition to my previous comment… Most people are completely clueless as to the infrastructure required to bring even the most basic services to their homes. A campground is basically a medium sized neighborhood and bringing the services in is expensive. Even moreso if it is an established campground, retrofitting is always more expensive than initial installation.
Have to agree with Ms Marsh’s last inference, lack of campground WIFI isn’t the end of the world. So one can’t stream movies? Then read a book, enjoy nature, ride your bike, wrassal with your significant other. UNPLUG and relax! Thats why we love COE campgrounds. If you need to work from the road, I realize it is totally different (and it sucks to be you) install Starlink.
Whole heartedly agree!
Odse to all you great outdoors. men and women. Before leaving on your “campaign” adventure, make sure you absolutely have all your computer needs, TV is working great, and everything electrical is all set to give you an enjoyable outdoor adventure.
The cost off WIFI I am sure is very prohibitive inn a campground that only charges $150.00. a night for one term stays, so that is the big reason WiFi is so expensive. Have fun all you OUTDOOR Camping enthusiasts.
PS I like wifi too.
The entitlement culture has infected the RV lifestyle. Instead of expecting campgrounds to provide you with internet service, how about providing your own? My bank/mortgage company does not provide free internet service on the property they own.
Correct. If you need the internet to go camping, your priorities need reordering.
Yeah, but the same can be said of the RV and almost everything in it…
Very true as well…does the list of ‘needs’ ever stop?
Many people are TRAVELING, not CAMPING. My wife and I use our motorhome instead of flying and staying in hotels. We don’t call what we do “camping.”
We provide our own internet. $25 a month for Visible (by Verizon) and a cell phone is all one usually needs. Unlimited data and hotspot. We travel all over and the Verizon towers always seem to be near enough to where we are to have service.
Infected?? Are you sure it wasn’t born that way?? Before RV’s everyone slept in a tent…
We have unlimited cellular data plan so we don’t have to rely on slow, unsecured wifi. Most of the time it works well for us. When it doesn’t, well it’s like using an antiquated campground wifi, except its still secure.
Bring your own WiFi. Simple and you control it. As a veteran computer technician, expecting a small place to have robust WiFi is an expensive and technical problem.
If someone is relying on WiFi for work purposes shouldn’t they be responsible for everything they need to do the job, Not the campground?
Well said!
Yep!
We bring our own Wi-Fi, have for several years.
That said, I’ll expand on why Wi-Fi (at least in some RV parks) is so terrible. Not only do the owners have little idea how it works, but they get suckered by the companies selling them an installation. Data streams are like a water stream. There is only so much water that comes into a system. Each split divides the amount of water reaching the various destinations. I listened to a campground owner proudly tell me how much data the new Wi-Fi system was bringing into the park. It was the TOTAL data and sounded huge. Then I did the division for the owner. Yeah, not so huge.
Good Day all.
My wife and I own a small campground in a very rural, sparsely populated part of the West. In order to “serve wifi” to our guests we have three phone lines with three router/modems in three locations providing DSL type internet from our local phone company. Our “best” router delivers 25 mbps download speeds and 1.5 mbps upload speed. The other two are almost half that. Even when people can get connected they will not have as much internet as they would at home.
To be continued
My wife and I have RV’d all over the US and never use campgrounds’ wifi. We carry hotspots for both AT&T and Verizon and use them to stream TV at night and for whatever purposes we may need. If we are in an area that does not have good cellular signal from either of them, a very rare thing, oh well, we find other things to do. I would also add that if you are going to depend upon a campground’s WiFi for conducting any personal business you should be doing so with a VPN (virtual private network) for security reasons.
We’re the same NGV. Independent with no expectations of WiFi from the campground. Next thing, people will be expecting the CG to pass out tablets at time of check in. We pay for the data we need, and then use what we want with no expectation of others providing security and speed for our data needs. 95% of the time, no issues with the exception of Canadian trips where high speed is $10.00/per period of hockey. The existing US carrier partnerships with Can. Providers does not include high-speed.
If you go to Canada, plan on not streaming more than 1 movie/month without excessive buffering, unless you have a Canadian carrier.
It is not uncommon to have upwards of 50 different devices trying to access the world wide interweb some evenings during July. Everyone has a smart phone, some also have an ipad or kindle, and then there will be old codgers like me on my wireless laptop. Heaven forbid that someone might stream music or a movie.
Bringing your “own internet” is not really an option because our cell service is as spotty and slow as our internet so there are times when people cannot even make a phone call.
The only saving grace is that we have a very nice campground and the weather usually calls people to get out and enjoy themselves. Perhaps poor internet is a blessing.
Happy web surfing.
Why are we travelling and camping? Mostly in rural areas? I have Verizon because they have the most network coverage. I’m a heavy user of the wonderful world wide web, however it’s a privilege not a right and I don’t expect it or even use it when staying in campgrounds I realize at best it’s a crapshoot. We, like most of you have all the entertainment needs covered, by downloading whatever we want to watch ahead of time, and we have several dozen dvds. I’ll admit to some frustrating times when you can’t reach out to communicate with friends and family, but that’s the life we choose. You can install starlink which you only pay for the months that you use it? Happy camping.
Workcamping at our favorite state park this year, we had issues with the POS computers and credit card connections. Also the CG hotspot was no longer available. Our new smart TV and laptop streaming were useless. When the IT contractor came to check out the POS unit, he told me that neither his company nor anyone he knew would provide connectivity to the park because of their location and lack of towers in the area.
We also noticed that we had additional POS units up and running since some had been closed during Covid. So the park amenities were taking up whatever bandwidth had previously been available.
Only solution: BYON(etwork) or wait for urban growth to catch up.
Some years back going to a campground and using the WiFi I was surprised to find no security per individuals who also did not use security software. Using Norton I could see all computers on my node and also see all their files, yep all their files. Being a Geek of computers I went to everyone and suggested software.
Two problems everyone was unaware that their computers could be seen for they were old and were behind the curve, next the campground used a volunteer to install the antennas and transmitters and was only around for winter months.
Everyone also wanted to watch TV like Comcast shows but there was a block on incoming reception of Comcast TV you could use the net to find things.
Sorry, but you don’t even “need” the RV. If you need all of the comforts of home, maybe you should just stay there…
Just to add even in hotels people can see your files and buying codes and credit card info. Ever go to Panera, I used the chip on my card and someone put a chip reader and by the time I got to my car my bank sent 3 texts saying my card was being used way out west and the forth text said the card was canceled and a new on the way. The same for campgrounds, someone in a camper watching all transactions. Campgrounds do not have tech savvy people available out in the never never lands. you could use your phone as a hotspot but it gets hot and destroys the battery after a while. You also today can get a hotspot from your cell company, yes it will cost but safer than wifi.
I wish there was a list of campgrounds with poor or no WIFI, those are the ones I would go to.
I love your comment Steve! Totally agree.
I agree…camping in my mind is to avoid the trapping of the daily electronics and unplug ! The rolling hotels in most of these RV Parks are great for those who can not exist w/o all the creature comforts but you should expect to pay for these luxuries if you “need ” them. I understand the full timers / work from the road warriors need to be connected but there is the rub…this should be budgeted to that need in your expectations of per day charges.
The issue for me isn’t whether a campground or RV park has reasonably usable WiFi. It is those that advertise as if they do when they know full well their minimal WiFi can’t support even a fraction of the individuals they have booked or only extends within a short distance of the office vs covering the entire campground.
Just asking for truth in advertising, that’s all. If they don’t have it, or it is severely restricted or only usable in the office, just state that rather than misleading people.
I started a business to solve this problem because I was frustrated. It is even harder than Gail describes. We create a unique plan for each park or campground.
Thank you, Gail!I guess there was little campfire discussion on this topic, or it was pretty uniform.
We travel with our own ability to connect to the internet wirelessly. We have unlimited data plans (subject to network management) an AT&T hotspot and three cell phones, one on AT&T’s network and two on Verizon’s, that we can turn into hotspots but with hard ceilings on the monthly amount of hotspot data.
Generally these work pretty well. In the extreme we can use the phones to connect to the internet and “cast” what we are watching to the televisions.