The new traffic light system opens our highways to the camping spots around New Zealand. It means you can finally take that holiday and haul the kids and pets to a beach in Northland or explore the wonderful and lush forests of Fiordland in the Deep South. Whatever you choose to do, the great news is that you can continue to be connected to the internet anywhere now with satellite broadband. With small 75cm or 1.2m VSATs (Very Small Aperture Terminal) that are easy to mobilise and transport, speeds can go up to 100Mbps – similar to speeds you’d enjoy on a fibre connection.
People like Geoff and Barb Burgess have made that decision to hit the road. It’s been a long-time coming and he’s decided to work from his mobile office while exploring Aotearoa over several months.
Geoff is the general manager for a Charitable Trust which provides funding assistance for around 40 well-known NZ charities.
“Our Trustees need access to my services 24/7 and our recipient charities depend on a responsive service in their relationship with us. I am often the host for virtual meetings of up to 10 people, so the speed and reliability of my internet connection is absolutely vital. With wireless broadband, bandwidth is often throttled and my meetings were plagued by poor audio and pixelated videos,” Geoff said.
“There are many places in our fabulous country that are not well-served by reliable wireless broadband. Even being close to a cell tower with good signal strength does not guarantee usable bandwidth. We were parked near a tower in Whangarei and were getting 0.3Mbps. When looking at alternatives for mobile wireless broadband, there appeared to be two contenders: Starlink and Kacific (Woi). I chose Woi as Starlink’s service was locked into a geolocation, which is not viable for the mobile office lifestyle. Local support is another important factor in my decision and Woi’s local support team has been very responsive in assisting me.”
“Anyone who is prepared to tinker a bit with the set-up process at each new location would benefit from the Woi service. The 75cm dish is easy to stow on the floor of the van in transit and during operations I have it anchored to a bracket, fitted to the caravan’s draw bar.”
Barb and Geoff live in their van permanently while they explore and work part-time.
“We are spending 2022 in the South Island and did not want the location of cell towers to be controlling our itinerary. The Woi connection will enable us to travel anywhere and be guaranteed a fast broadband connection,” he said.
“We are looking forward to roaming the Catlins and parking up for Warbirds Over Wanaka in April before meandering our way back up to the Nelson/Marlborough area for winter. Although my business requirements drove the decision to go with Woi, we watch a lot of digital content via the internet and the download speeds with Woi give us perfect, unbuffered viewing wherever we are”
Woi’s broadband, powered by Kacific’s high-throughput Kacific1 satellite, uses the latest Ka-band technology. Being a GEO satellite means less interruption in signals from trees, and Kacific1’s service does not have geo restrictions, so campers like Geoff and Barb can get online with high speed and reliable internet connectivity no matter how remote their camping site is.
Woi is based in NZ and offers a seven-day local helpdesk. With a network of installers in almost every part of NZ, onsite support is possible, and stock replacement hardware is also in-country if one is required.
Members of NZMCA will receive free training on realignment when moving to new regions. Inquiries can be made here.
Woi’s unlimited data plans start from only $169 for 12mbps down/10Mbps up with 190GB of priority speed. The plan remains unlimited in quantity even after the first 190GB is used up. It’s a great camping plan suited for daily usage, including the likes of banking, accounting, Teams, Zoom and social media.
Their website is able to accept orders and payment. Woi Satellite can be reached on 0800 438964 or sales@woi.co.nz
From now until December 31, quote <Woiconnectsfarmers> when you purchase any satellite plans from Woi and get a 5% off the upfront cost. For Farmers Weekly readers only.
