A mobile business life

[bertietheblue]

I am currently converting a delivery van into a camper van with a mobile office so I can rent out my house and take my homeworking - legal proofreading - on the road, at first in the UK, then if all is OK in France and Spain. I must have internet and a phone connection at all times otherwise I will lose clients. The basic idea is I drive, a client calls or emails with a request, I pull over, proofread, upload my update, then drive on. Any suggestions to ensure constant internet/phone reception would be appreciated.

Note I am happy to avoid certain areas with poor reception if I know in advance, I am also happy to consider costly set-ups if this is the only option, because the benefits of being able to rent out my house and earn on the road would outweigh the costs.

Thanks for any advice

Bertie

[Jebelious]

You could invest in a MIFI unit of sorts, i would think this would be the best suggestion - runs on battery and can be charged via micro USB normally. This means the MIFI unit can be stored anywhere in the van to get the optimal signal and broadcast a WIFI connection within the vehicle.

Not only that you will be able to keep on top of the current connection speed available HSDPA etc and move on, you just need to make sure you monitor your Upload/Download amounts and ensure you have the tariff right for you.

I believe Vodafone offer only 1 or 2 options for the MIFI unit there are other providers who offer substantial data bundles with theirs i suppose it will depend upon where you are in the country etc.

[bertietheblue]

Thanks. I spoke to Vodafone and I understood MiFIs (which they call Sure Boxes) boost and/or generate a signal but they only work in the UK. They suggested I contact Vodafone France, which I might though my French is rather patchy.

[Retired-James]

Hi bertietheblue,

Thanks for your post here.

From your last reply I think that there could be a little confusion as the Sure signal and the MIFI dongle are two different products.

Basically the Sure Signal will only work when connected to a fixed line broadband and as you will be in the van, this wouldn’t be an option.

If you were to look at the mobile WIFI option that we have then this would be WIFI R205 however, the data packs are limited to 2GB on a contract.

You can find more information regarding the R205 here.

James

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