Using Cell Data Onboard The Auto Train

[MisterRick]

Very likely in the Spring and/or Summer of 2014 I'll be traveling on the Auto Train and from past travel I know currently there is no Wi-Fi access onboard this route. So what is everyone's experience using their mobile/tablet devices with cell data (i.e. AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and/or Verizon Wireless) from Sanford, Florida to the crew stop in Florence, South Carolina and then onward from Florence to Lorton, Virginia? Who do you use as your provider, did you receive a high-speed Internet connection that allowed you to use services like Hulu, Skype, YouTube or live TV apps such as [adult swim], ESPN, TBS, FOX News Channel etc... and if so how was the stream? HQ, MQ or LQ and during your travel on the Auto Train and use of your cell data service were/are there any dead zones between the three stop points? and if so where?

Thanks for your input.
Rick

 

[pennyk]

I travel often on the Silver Meteor, which I believe uses the same route as the Auto Train. I use a Verizon mi-fi for broadband and it works for a good portion of the trip. I use it for email and web surfing. I do not use Hulu, Skype, etc. Once, I tried to stream CNN and it was not very successful, but it could have been operator error.

 

[Lori]

I used it for netflix on the meteor a couple of years ago. Service was decent most of the time except in the middle of the night it was spotty. We were stopped somewhere for a long time in the pitch black and I didn't get signal there.

At@t is my provider.

 

[Arizona Chuck]

The family and I were on the Auto Train two months ago for our annual pilgrimage to see the mouse and our Verizon Wireless service worked well. The wife and I watched movies and TV on my iPad and thanks to the hotspot capability our 5 and 10 year old sons could watch Cartoon Network live on their iPad mini.

Here is the coverage maps of different providers.

http://www.wireless.att.com/coverageviewer/#?type=data

http://coverage.sprint.com/IMPACT.jsp?serviceType=data&covType=lte&ECID=CM:VE:AppleataCov

http://www.t-mobile.com/coverage.html

http://network4g.verizonwireless.com/#!/coverage

 

[dlagrua]

I believe that it all depends on the cell phone provider. Verizon seems to have decent coverage while T-Mobile does not.

 

[ScottRu]

AT&T has pretty good coverage on the AT and Silvers' routes.

 

[amamba]

I traveled on the silver service with a verizon mifi. The service was pretty good, I don't recall it going out at any point. I did not stream anything - just email, internet browsing, etc.