PERISCOPING HAVANA
I've decided to skip Cuba - it's killing me though. Which means there won't be a Debbie Tiger periscope.
I researched Periscoping the Havana concert a couple of months ago and I hope one of you who does go will periscope.
If your cell provider is Canadian or European, your phone will work - although the international data plan might be too costly. If you're in the US - only Verizon (and possibly Sprint) are offering service in Cuba and the last time I checked, only calls and text, no data. Also very expensive.
You can buy a SIM card from Cubacel (Cuba's cell provider) at the Havana airport. However, your phone must be unlocked* and it's call and text only, no apps, no web surfing, no Periscope. iPhone nano cards are supposed to be in short supply.
OneSimCard sells a Data and Roam card for Cuba (the smartphone has to be unlocked). The card is $29.99 and gives reduced rates on calls, text messaging and in the data plan list, it includes Cuba. When you click on cost of the Cuba plan, it lists N/A for the data plan. You would have to call to see if there is a data plan and how much it costs per mb.
http://www.onesimcard.com/international-sim-card/If you're Canadian and have Rogers, there is a $95 Cuba plan. It only includes 500mb of data, then charges $20/mb. Periscoping a Stones concert is approximately 500mb**.
http://www.rogers.com/web/content/add-onsThe best option might be to rent a mifi from Cellomobile. A mifi is wifi in your pocket or purse. You switch your smartphone to airplane mode when you step on the plane. When you step off the plane you turn the mifi on and connect your phone with the passcode provided. You can connect five devices to the mifi. You don't turn airplane mode off until you return to your home airport.
For $380 for one week Cellophone will rent a mifi that will work in just Cuba or Cuba and Mexico and includes 1 gb of data per day. If you use more than 1 gb/day too often, they cut you off. The price includes 2 day shipping to an US address and the prepaid return envelope. You can have it shipped to Canada or Mexico. The coupon code RCAB gives you $10 off. There is a $49.99 daily rate, but when I tried renting it for one day, the rate given was the weekly one. Calling the company might result in a rate for less than one week.
I would suggest buying a new battery for the mifi before you leave, the one included does not hold a charge like a brand new one will. Cellophone will tell you the mifi model and you can google the battery needed.
The mifi connects to Cubacel's cell towers, not their internet company. Some of the towers in Havana are 3G, the rest are 2G. If the towers near Sports City are 3G - there should be very few connection issues.
http://www.cellomobile.com/rental.php?cPath=4&country=54%2C138If you use the Talkatone app on your phone you can receive calls/texts from anywhere for free and make calls and send texts to the US and Canada for free. For $12.99 you can make 1000 minutes of calls elsewhere in the world. The Talkatone app gives you an US phone number and you can have calls to your phone forwarded to your Talkatone phone number. You can make free calls and texts to other Talkatone phone numbers. The Talkatone app will work with the mifi, it will not work with the Cubacel SIM card and might work with the OneSimCard card if there is a data plan.
http://www.talkatone.com/You can buy a dual port battery extender from Monoprice that will charge the mifi and phone at the same time. You'll have to purchase an USB cable for the mifi if Cellophone doesn't include one. There are two Monoprice dual port models, the 5000mAh is $17.99 ($20 at Walmart) and the 8000mAh is also $17.99. The 5000mAh will charge an iPhone or iPad four times, the 8000mAh a couple of more times before it needs to be charged. You can also buy a battery extender that only charges one device, I'd suggest getting one with at least 5000mAh.
http://www.monoprice.com/category?c_id=108&cp_id=10831&cs_id=1083110To use Cellophone's mifi with your phone to Periscope the concert, you will need an extra battery or battery extender. I rented a mifi to use in Europe on the 2014 tour - it was wonderful but even with the brand new battery I purchased, the mifi probably would have gone dead during Gimme Shelter.
To stay under 1gb/day, keep the mifi off when not using it. Talkatone will take messages if your mifi isn't on. Alyssa and I could use 1 gb in four hours when we were both using it to upload photos and videos, Facebook, email, Stones forums, calls/texts with Talkatone.
It's going to be costly to Periscope Havana and the connection might be iffy. I think many of us are willing to donate if one of you are willing to give it a try and set up a GoFundMe. I know I don't expect you to be up front and if you're a 1/4 mile away near a delay tower, I'll be happy even if you can only get a connection for half of the concert. You might even be the first Periscope from Cuba.
If you post your GoFundMe to EOMS, Facebook, IORR, Rocks Off, Shidoobee and Undercover - 30 to 40 people contributing $15 each should cover the cost of the mifi rental, extra battery, GoFundMe fees, etc.
Anyone willing to be our Periscoper?
*Unlocked Phone: Your cell phone is probably locked to your cell phone carrier unless you bought an unlocked phone. What this means if you install another SIM card, it will not work - only a SIM card from your carrier will work. Your contract probably locks your phone for two years, after that you're eligible to unlock the phone. It requires contacting your carrier to unlock the phone, then backing up your phone, erasing the entire phone and reinstalling your back up.
**I estimated I used around 400-500 mb of data to periscope an entire concert last summer.
NOTE: With one mifi we can connect five phones or iPads to Periscope as long as they are within 100 feet of the mifi. Of course, Cellophone is probably going to cut the mifi off the next day if more than 2gb is used.
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