For many RV’ers staying connected is essential. Whether it be for work or just to stay in touch with family and friends, a lot of us require a connection on our travels.
Today we want to tell you about a great new addition to the Ultranomadic RV Travel planner and that’s cellular coverage information!
Because we work on the road and our work is obviously internet based, it’s important for us to stay connected. With each stay we need to know what to expect for cellular coverage so we felt good planning software should include that information.
Today we’re going to talk about cell coverage in the RV Travel planner. We’ve built in coverage information for each campground right into the planner. Before we dive into the details, I want to tell you that this was a tough problem that we put a lot of thought into.
We tried out a lot of other campground software that includes cell coverage information. We noticed it’s usually in one of two types. It’s either carrier reported or user reported coverage. We found there are definitely benefits to both!
First, carrier maps are constantly changing. New towers are built. New technologies like 5G are released and carriers keep those maps constantly updated. The downside to carrier maps is that they frequently over-promise coverage where it’s just not there.
In contrast, user reported coverage addresses that issue. Users provide their real world experience at a site. Many times this can be better, however, user reports aren’t flawless either. Some users have newer gear, boosters, or special antennae. Also, if a carrier expands coverage, older user reports may not reflect the new change.
When we built cell coverage into the RV Travel Planner we felt it was important to show both perspectives. So, when looking at a stay in the planner, you can now see both carrier reported coverage and user reports of coverage as well. Let’s take a look.
Here in the site details page, you’ll notice a new line that gives you a quick overview of cell coverage for that location. Tapping on that line will give you the full details.
On the cellular details page, you’ll see the last reported signal strength of each of the major carriers. Below that, you’ll see BOTH the carrier reported signal strength and any user reports in chronological order. If a carrier changes their report of coverage for a particular site, we’ll update it here.
We feel that combining both the carrier reported coverage and the anecdotal reports gives you the best possible view of what your experience will be at that location.
If you want to help out, we would love to have your cell coverage report too! When you leave a review for a campground, you can add cell coverage quickly and easily right to your review. On the cell coverage dialog we ask that you always report unboosted signal strength to give other campers the best idea of what to expect.
As always, we want to hear your feedback about this feature in the RV Travel Planner so get in touch and let us know what you think. Happy trails!
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