Undoubtedly, 2020 was the year of the Staycation. Within days of the news that lockdown restrictions were being lifted, campsites around the country were fully booked; holiday-goers were excited to introduce their kids (and perhaps also themselves) to a home holiday right here on the British Isles; campervans were purchased, brought out of retirement or, at the very least, tents and sleeping bags were bundled into the back of the people carrier.
Alas, the reality for many of us was that, once your smartphone’s out of data and the kids find they can’t play Fortnite without an internet connection, a holiday in a field suddenly doesn’t seem so appealing.
Like it or not, we’re tied to our devices and, for many of us, staycations involving camping or similar activities just don’t allow us to keep connected the way that many of us want to.
But we’re here to tell you it doesn’t have to be this way. Hikes and dog-walks across the moors during the day, sausages and marshmallows in the early evening, followed by… Netflix? Poynting is making it possible and, as a Poynting distributor, we’re here to prove it to you.
An Antenna for Your Campervan
In case you weren’t aware, the same data your mobile phone uses to connect to the internet can be used by other devices to connect as well. Most of us have used our smartphone as a mobile hotspot, ‘tethering’ another device to it to eke out what little internet connectivity we could.
The same process, done on a larger scale, actually results in an extremely stable and satisfying internet experience for many demanding users simultaneously. In case you’re wondering, with a quick Google I was able to find data-only SIM deals of unlimited data for about £30.00 per month. I also found out that Netflix uses about 3Gb per hour when streaming in HD, but with unlimited data, it doesn’t really matter. Who would have thought?
So how do we make this happen?
First, you should know that your smartphone has tiny antennas inside of it which it uses to communicate with your local cell towers. This is the process by which it connects to the internet using mobile data.
We can replicate this process (and improve upon it immensely) by using, not a tiny hidden antenna, but a rather large one on the roof of our campervan. We can cable this 4g antenna to a 4G modem/router with our data-only SIM inside and, just like that, have a superfast internet connection. If your 4G modem/router of choice also acts as a wireless access point, you’ll also immediately have WiFi. If not, you’ll need to purchase an additional access point to which you can connect your devices for wireless internet.
But it all starts with the antenna. Without a cabled connection from under the street to use, it’s the antenna that provides your connection to the wider internet. Without a good antenna, you won’t have a strong signal coming into your fancy 4G modem/router.
Luckily for you, we have just the thing. Poynting’s MIMO-3-V2-15 is the perfect antenna for you and your camper van. It’s specially designed for the transportation industry, meaning you would typically find one sat atop a long-haul, super-long-wheelbase truck or lorry (depending on where you’re from). You might think that this makes it overkill for your campervan, but it’s actually perfectly suited and, at around £200.00 RRP, it’s affordable, too.
It’s even 5G-ready, so when ‘superfast’ gets even faster, you can rest easy in the knowledge that your hardware will be able to keep up. You can find the full list of selling points on the product page, but suffice it to say that, since this ‘antenna’ is comprised of five individual antennas within its housing (making it a kind of Frankenstein’s mega-antenna), with two dual-band WiFi antennas, two all-important cellular antennas (for the 4G connectivity we’re interested in) and the fifth a GPS/GLONASS, this antenna’s diversity and omnidirectional radiation pattern make it highly effective for almost any mobile/transportation application.
Most importantly for our interests, it’s ultra-wideband, meaning it can be used with any mobile carrier. This means you’ll be able to go with the best data-only SIM deal you can find and then match up your findings with the suppliers with the highest concentration of cell masts in your intended holiday area.
Best Antenna for Your Boat or Yacht
Or perhaps you just like to do a bit of fishing on the lake or offshore of Cornwall. The latter actually gives us an excellent example use case for the next antenna we’ll discuss. After all, entertainment isn’t all that an internet connection can bring you, though listening to your carefully curated Spotify playlists out on the water is certainly welcome. A strong, stable internet connection can facilitate easier communication with those back on-shore and, though hopefully it never comes to it, could even help you extricate yourself from an emergency situation or two.
Even if just to keep your boat handlers happy while your divers are diving, the Poynting OMNI-403 is a wide-band marine antenna specially designed for the harshest of marine and coastal environments, coming with an IP68 rating, proving its ultra-high levels of protection against water ingress, saltwater corrosion and UV rays. If you desire a discrete looking antenna that won’t detract from the aesthetics of your nice new boat or yacht, too, then the OMNI-403 will serve you well here too, since it boasts exceptional performance and pattern balance for an antenna of its size.
Businesses: Campsites and Ferry Services
If you’re a business owner with a campsite or ferry service, then you can use an antenna like the MIMO-3-V2-15 or the Omni-403 to draw in a stable, powerful signal and to distribute it to your customers.
No one wants to lose customers to a competitor’s service or holiday location because they offered better WiFi. Make sure you stay in the race by setting up your own camp network. If providers don’t provide a wired service to your location yet, you’ll be able to provide what many others won’t, or won’t have thought of doing. If you can be the first to do this, then you’ll have a massive advantage over your competitors.
The same goes for ferry services. If you run a business taking people across the English Channel, over to Ireland or you perform shorter crossings, an Omni-403 might well be all you need to build yourself the most profitable ferry service in the region.
Of course, you’re not limited to the applications described here and, though the Omni-403 is designed to withstand harsh coastal conditions, it can be used inland for a transportation application just the same and just as effectively. By the same token, the MIMO-3-V2-15 is IP68 rated and can be used in marine applications, so take your pick as to which you would prefer.
Conclusion
Whether you’re looking to staycate in style, are looking for ways to improve your experience for next year or are a business owner looking to keep up with increasing demand, a strong and stable internet connection will help you get there. The first step is to purchase a capable antenna and either of the models mentioned above would be a great choice: the Poynting MIMO-3-V2-15 for the land and the Poynting Omni-403 for the sea.
