Such a question, phrased in Spanish, would inquire as to the availability of an internet connection. In the Ameicano vernacular, TengoInternet now refers to a growing company that provides internet wifi services to RV parks across the US.
It didn't exactly start out with a boom. In 2002 when TengoInternet found
er Eric Stumberg tried hawking wifi services to RV park owners, many found him plumb loco. "It was a very hard sell at the time," he says. "Most of the owners were independent operators. They weren't technically savvy themselves, and they viewed WiFi as a technology versus an amenity. A lot of them were concerned about its obsolescence."My how the tide has turned. Today Strumberg's company has servers in 300 RV parks, and the money is flowing in: Nearly two and a half million dollars in 2007. What makes the market go? It's those young dollar-bearing folks. Baby boomers are making the RV market grow, and Gen-Xers are seen by many in the industry as a growing salvation. Boomers and Xers have a perfect addiction to the internet, and TengoInternet sees itself as the supplier.
Users typically purchase airtime at a participating RV park. However, visitors to the TengoInternet site can also purchase time online. Rates? They start at $4.95 per day up to $29.95 per month of service. Yep, you can find wifi service free in some cafes--but it won't take long to drink up that much in lattes. For a map of enabled RV parks, visit here.
For more on the rise of TengoInternet, visit bizjournals.
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ReplyDeleteMight be good for the companies profits but it is way to expensive. We get wireless internet with unlimited downloads for $60 per month. I recommend doing a little research and saving a whole lot of money.
ReplyDeletewhen I spend 35-40$ per night at an RV park I dont expect to be asked 4.95 more for WIFI.. I dont like the Idea of a 1350$ a month rent for a piece of grass and WIFI... If WIFI can come with a Latte it should come with the Park fee.
ReplyDeleteWe rely heavily on the internet as we travel and "free" internet access is fairly easy to find. Most public libraries offer the service and, if that doesn't work, we try hotels, cafes and other places. There's no need to pay $5/day for WiFi. If necessary, you can buy WiFi for just the days you need it to save a little money for gas.
ReplyDeleteWe are full timers and I refuse to use Tengo. There are plenty of free services available. I often take my tow vehicle to a coffe shop parking lot and use their service. Or locate an unsecured residential wireless
ReplyDeleteCampground Owners look at the previous remarks! Electricity, water, sewer, AND INTERNET are vital utilities and should be included in the price of the campground.
ReplyDeleteMy history with pay as you go wifi in campgrounds is they are no better than the free services - which themselves are pretty lame unless you are setting next to the antenna.
We see books on which walmarts allow overnight parking, but as far as the traveler knows, Internet, electricity, and water are all perfect at every campground, when in fact it is a crapshoot! Only when we get to the campground and have paid $35- $45 a night do we find out that the internet doesn't work at our site, the electricity fries our inverter, or the water smells like rotten eggs! Why are there not books out there that tell us that about a campground ahead of time??
300 RV parks out of 11,800 parks does not seem like a big success to me. tengo and those parks that think that $5 a night for wifi is a great deal are misguided. I usually ask at the rv parks we stay at that offer pay wifi what their take rate is - and it us usually low. It is for those weekenders that do not know any better that pay the price. And they are getting ripped off at $150 a month
ReplyDeleteWahoo! WiFi should be included in the price of the campground, not an extra...who wants that! It's free at our small Idaho RV Park (Swiftwater RV)on the Salmon River. Idaho isn't listed in Tengo's state list of available parks.....maybe that's because us Idaho business owners just get 'er done!
ReplyDeleteWahoo! WiFi should be included in the price of the campground, not an extra...who wants that! It's free at our small Idaho RV Park (Swiftwater RV)on the Salmon River. Idaho isn't listed in Tengo's state list of available parks.....maybe that's because us Idaho business owners just get 'er done!
ReplyDeleteI DO NOT recommend rvers use TengoInternet. I did not expect to receive such a lousy, slow and quite often no connectivity. At the MesaSpirit RV Resort in Mesa, AZ that was my only choice. So, I paid their excessive fee of $30 for a month of "service". Extremely slow connection when it is connected and days without. Appears as though they are spending their "income" on something other than keeping the equipment up to date. There are better connections when you drive by a local motel and park in their driveway. Recommend RVers bring their new USB internet connectors when they come to this area.
ReplyDeleteI also DO NOT RECOMMEND Tengo Internet. It is offered as "free WiFi" at Santee Lakes RV Park in Southern California. I guess its worth the price. Very slow and intermittent connection. The support group at Tengo Internet is useless. All they recommend is to purchase a new wireless card, from them of course. My wireless works just fine at other places.
ReplyDeleteBeen dealing with their support team for nearly 2 months and still nothing has been resolved. I had to wait over one week just to post this comment because I couldn't get a continuous connection. I am 23.5 feet from the wireless access point with a 11.0Mbs connection speed but still can't seem to get to the internet most of the time. Not even the login page.