Patriot Mobile Connect (PMC) is a cellular internet service designed for those who travel. Patriot Mobile offers cellular plans and standalone cellular internet plans at a competitive rate. Their customer support is based in the U.S. and my experience speaking with them on the phone as been professional and prompt.
Patriot Mobile offers the following devices to users for their standalone cellular internet service:
The puck, the router and seabreeze are offered by PMC.
https://patriotmobile.com/solutions/pmc
The Appeal of Patriot Mobile Connect (PMC)
The initial appeal I saw was the option to have a LTE router. The LTE router provides excellent wifi range. Restriction free, the router can be configured anyway you choose: whether you want to use it their service, use it as a wifi range extender at times, use it as a wifi router for a home, or use it to connect to a different service than PMC as the router (at least) has a slot for a physical SIM card.
Secondly, the appeal of having a virtual SIM on either of the offered devices. The virtual SIM technology allows Patriot Mobile to provide internet from what the device determines is the best carrier's cell tower. One of their devices will connect either to TMobile, US Cellular or AT&T depending on your geographic location.
After a conversation with one of the techs from Patriot Mobile, I was told that the data plan that you pick does not receive less priority over a customer with a higher tier plan.
My Experience with PMC
First and foremost, this internet service is not a solution for more than 2 people. That has to be said. Today's multimedia content is so large that it demands at least a consistent 50mbps connection or more. If you do choose a plan that is lower than 200 GB, be very careful about data usage. Phone updates, game updates can really consume a lot of your data fast if you're not monitoring your connected devices.
Initial issues
Needless to say, I went with the LTE router. I paid outright for the device. At the time I felt like I was taking a risk because there is not a refundable option if it does not work for your situation. But I had already been using their cell phone service and was treated well, and had great cellphone service so I took the risk anyway.
The LTE router speed, once connected, was nearly what advertised. I receive 25mbps consistently at my home base. I have not had any downtime with the service. What initially irritated me was that my cellphone that uses supposedly the same cell tower as the router somehow performs better at times (up to 200mbps download) than my router that has massive physical antennas protruding from it. I also noticed the ping was rather high, inhibiting my ability to play online games, especially those that operate in peer to peer (p2p) protocol.
I immediately called Patriot Mobile and reported the issues in the paragraph above. After a few attempts with a tech to make my situation better, I accepted the relatively low download speed. The tech was however able to prioritize my device to use the AT&T that offered significantly less latency. This allowed me to be able to play the online games I wanted to. Whenever I have large downloads, I tether my cellphone internet to my laptop.
Coverage and reliability
I have had the LTE for 2 months and not once have had downtime with it. Earlier in this thread I mentioned that the router did not perform as well as my cell phone. It is worth noting there has been times where the router has outperformed the phone.
From a coverage perspective, I do not have many data points there as of yet. I used this service during a visit to Osage Hills State Park in Bartlesville, OK. The campground is fairly wooded. I received fairly low latency and was able to play p2p gaming with my friends. And received an average of 15mbps download, enough to run standard definition video.
The only locations I've used this service is in Northeast Oklahoma and Northwest Arkansas.
Perks of the LTE Router
The router they advertise, at the time I'm writing this, is a CPE-0001 router. There is not a big label or anything special looking about the router. It is a standard router that is tailored for many companies to use which is a good thing. You can configure this router anyway you choose to.
Ease of use for RVers
The device requires a standard 110 volt outlet, which I found to be a perk for RV living. As I live in a travel trailer now, I find it convenient to not have to concern myself with the battery level or battery life of my hotspot. When I plug my RV into shore power, my LTE wifi router powers on and there is not any other steps needed.
Router compatibility to repeat existing WIFI networks
If you are like me and have chose a lower data plan, there could be a concern you exceed your data cap. A way to circumvent that could be with using WIFI at the RV park or a friends at you are parked at. This is where wifi range extender functionality of the router could come in handy. You might be parked 20-30ft outside the range of the wifi you would like to connect to. With this router you can configure it to connect to the wifi and broadcast it to all of the devices near your router.
Superior WIFI range
The 5Ghz wifi band seemed to be as long distance friendly as the 2.4Ghz band. It broadcasts well over 150ft.
Can be used with other cell network providers
The router has a dedicated physical SIM slot that could be used for other cell providers if this service does not work out for you. It should also be able to function as a regular router in general, in case your WIFI router that broadcasts WIFI for DSL or fiber happens to go bad.
Ethernet ports
Yes, the LTE router has Ethernet ports as does most wireless routers. It is nice to be able to connect my laptop directly to the router.
Cellular Plan Dashboard
You can monitor your data usage from a simple URL. No login required.
Conclusion
PMC serves my purpose well. Coverage and reliability have not been an issue. The customer support is superior compared to the other mobile networks I have dealt with. Patriot Mobile is a Christian based company giving to good causes and is not slacking when it comes to mobile internet for those who travel.
If you do choose to go with patriot mobile, I would appreciate that you mention my account number for referral: 1186317