Charging for Wi-Fi

I’m sitting on a Caravan and Motorhome Club Site with no WiFi at all even a supposed hotspot which only works for BT customers….  

As I understand it the CMC, when the new system is installed, will allow an element of free WiFi beyond just using the Club website which was the case in the past. However if you want a premium service to allow streaming etc it will still be a chargeable service.  I have found the free C&CC WiFi a bit hit and miss on the sites I have used.

David

Our recent trip to Brecon had no WiFi at all except in their information hut, and very little tv reception. We needed all our data from our cellular hot-spot to just do some work so left the TV off. However, they proudly announced when they upgrade the system in future then wifi would be free. Although that didn't help us there and then. We check that site listing's include wifi before booking. 

Evening

Up until this year the club used to have paid for wifi through a company called Freshwave.  This year they have employed BT to replace that antique equipment which was pretty much beyond economical repair. Anyone who had a current subscription will have received a voucher for the unused time. So far every site has had a free hotspot installed with the intention to roll out site wide equipment over the course of this year. You don't need to be a BT customer but you obviously need to be in sight of the hotspot. Connections will show "club wifi", no login or password needed. Moving forward, when sites have had the full upgrade there will be two tiers of wifi, a free one for general web use and a paid for subscription for a higher bandwidth for streaming etc.

When people arrive here for a stay and want to use the free wifi we advise on the pitches which get a good signal which today is around 25 of the 55 touring pitches we have. I'm currently getting 30mbs sat in my camper 200 meters from the mast.

JK

Do you know what is happening at Clumber JK? Club has spent a vast sum of money there, but there’s still no wifi at all on the Site, or at least there wasn’t last September. It’s our closest site, but we won’t go because I need to know I can be contacted because of my Mum, even if it’s just a simple message.

Morning

Same as my post above I think. The site refurb didn't then include wifi as it was owned and run by a third party company.

JK

I found this David :- 

How good will the new FREE to pitch Wi-Fi be?
 

The FREE service is intended to provide access to basic web browsing and email providing 512kb/s. The speed at which it runs is a factor of how many devices are connected at the same time.

That’s about the same as the speed I measured on the C&CC sites we stopped on during May / June. Good enough for checking emails but general browsing very limited, as often web sites have lots of pictures which take ages to load. Google maps ran OK on general maps but street view froze or took ages. 

TDA

We came back from Clumber just over a week ago. They do have a free hotspot around reception but even that was a bit hit and miss, it might have depended on how many were using it at the same time? Some of us who have been at this game a long time will remember the queues on Club sites to use the only public telephone! I am not sure what the problem is at Clumber Park with regard to the non existent phone signal, given the proximity of several major roads and Worksop not being far away. I just feel the situation at Clumber could be dangerous in an emergency situation?

David

I had to use the payphone at Clumber to check on my elderly Mum. I didn't like the set up although the site is otherwise well situated. I read there is no signal to use the ev charge points either.

Just read your review David, we had a similar experience and we picked a "quiet" spot on the perimeter. We did have a couple of peaceful days before the weekend rush. 

We've always found the C&Cc wifi perfectly adequate avoiding peak times.