Internet for Military Families: How to Handle Wifi During a PCS Move

A PCS move comes with a binder. Orders, household goods, housing, schools, vehicles, pets, a spouse's job, and a checklist long enough to have its own checklist. Near the bottom, under "utilities," is a small word that causes a large amount of grief: internet.

Military families move every few years, sometimes more. Every move means cancelling one provider, qualifying with another, and waiting for an install while living in temporary lodging. This guide covers how to take internet off the PCS list for good.

Why internet is harder for military families

• Contracts do not match orders. A two year agreement signed in month one of a tour can outlast the tour.
• Every duty station has different providers. New company, new account, new equipment, new learning curve, every time.
• Temporary lodging comes first. Weeks in a hotel or TLF on shared wifi, with kids, while house hunting.
• Install calendars fill up during PCS season. Everyone arrives the same summer weeks.
• Short notice. Orders change. Report dates move. Providers' cancellation rules do not care.
• The spouse handles it alone. Often while the service member is already at the new station or deployed.

Know your rights on cancelling

Federal law gives service members certain protections when military orders force them to end some service contracts. The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act is the one to ask about. The details depend on the type of contract and your orders, so talk to your installation's legal assistance office before paying any early termination fee. It is free, and it is what they are there for.

Better still is never signing a term contract in the first place.

The portable approach

A portable cellular modem is a small box that connects to a nationwide cellular network and creates a wifi network wherever you turn it on. It is tied to you, not to an address. When you move, it moves.

With Beakom:

• $74.99 per month, unlimited. The same price at every duty station in the country. No promotional period.
• No contract. Month to month. Nothing to break when orders drop.
• No credit check. A $100 refundable deposit is the only qualification. No new credit inquiry at every station. See internet with no credit check.
• No address eligibility check. It does not matter whether the new house is on a provider's map. See internet with no address check.
• No install. Nobody needs to be home for a technician window.
• Nothing to transfer. You do not call us when you move. There is nothing to update for service to work.

A PCS with portable internet

1. Pack out day. The modem and charger go in your carry with you bag, not on the truck. Your household goods may take weeks. Your internet does not have to.
2. On the road. It works in the hotel room each night, and for passengers in the car where there is signal. See hotel wifi vs bringing your own.
3. Temporary lodging. Put it by the window. The kids' tablets and your laptop reconnect on their own, because it is the same network they used at the last house.
4. House hunting. Check cell signal inside each place you tour. Add it to your list next to commute time and schools.
5. Move in day. Find the best window, turn it on, done. You are online before the beds are assembled.

The general version of this is in moving and taking your internet with you.

On base and off base housing

Off base, it works like any home or apartment: near a window, up high, away from metal. Our placement guide has a ten minute test.

On base, privatized housing generally works the same way, since the modem does not use the building's wiring and needs no installation. Construction varies, and some older concrete housing is harder on signal. Check whether phones work well indoors before relying on it. For barracks and dorms, check your unit's and housing office's rules on personal wifi devices.

It needs usable cell signal. Most installations and surrounding towns have it. A few remote posts are more variable. The test is in how to check coverage before you buy. If it does not work at a new station, cancel from your account, return the modem within 30 days, and the deposit comes back.

OCONUS orders

Beakom service is for use in the USA. It does not work overseas. If you get orders abroad:

• Cancel from the Customer Center. No fee, no minimum term.
• Ship the modem and charger back with the prepaid label within 30 days.
• The $100 deposit returns to your original payment method within 10 business days of the modem arriving.
• Reorder when you come back stateside. No penalty.

Do the return before you fly. A modem that goes into long term storage with your household goods will miss the 30 day window, and an unreturned modem is a $150 charge. The full process is in how cancelling works.

Deployments, TDY, and schools

• Family stays, member deploys: nothing changes. The modem keeps running the house.
• Stateside TDY or a school for a few months: one modem covers one place at a time. If the family needs it at home, the traveler needs a second modem, which is its own plan and deposit. Month to month means you can run it just for the length of the course.
• Geographic bachelor situations: same answer. Two households, two modems, no contracts on either.
• Family moves home during a deployment: take the modem along. It works at the grandparents' house too.

Who holds the account

Put the account in the name of the person who will actually manage it, which is often the spouse at home. That person can change the payment method, cancel, or reorder from the Customer Center without needing the service member on the phone or a power of attorney to talk to a provider.

Guard, Reserve, and recruiters

Drill weekends, annual training, and recruiting duty far from a base all involve temporary housing and unfamiliar towns. The same modem that runs your house goes with you. See internet for temporary housing for setup tips in short term rentals.

What to check when leaving your current provider

1. Get the new connection working first.
2. Check for a contract and ask legal assistance about your options under your orders.
3. Cancel, and get the end date and return instructions in writing.
4. Return their equipment before pack out, and keep the receipt in your PCS binder.
5. Check the final bill from your new address.

More in how to switch providers with no downtime.

PCS internet checklist

• Modem and original charger in the carry with you bag.
• Wifi name and password saved in both spouses' phones.
• Beakom login saved in a shared password manager.
• Prepaid return label from the original box filed in the PCS binder.
• Cell signal added to the house hunting checklist.
• Account details updated after the move so billing emails reach you.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a military discount?
There is one price for everyone: $74.99 per month for Residential, with no promotional period and no contract.

Do I need to tell you when I PCS?
Not for service. Just keep your account details current.

Can I use it in temporary lodging?
Yes. Anywhere in the USA with signal.

Does it work in Alaska and Hawaii?
It works wherever the network has signal. Check phone signal at your specific location, and remember the plan is month to month, so trying it is low risk.

What if my orders change at the last minute?
Nothing about your internet changes. That is the point.

The bottom line

Military families move too often for address based internet. A portable modem with no contract, no credit check, and no install turns internet into something you pack, not something you cancel and restart. It works through the hotel nights, temporary lodging, and move in day.

See How it Works, and cross one line off the binder.