mogish
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Post by mogish on Jan 11, 2024 14:38:59 GMT
My broadband contract expires in May. I'm in an area where 4mb/s is about the max I get. I also have little choice which providers to choose from as I'm on copper wire and I'm keen to protect myself from annual increases...sim deals are easier to save money on.
This may have been discussed before, my question is... does a stand alone5g sim router present potential problems?
I'm looking at unthrottled speeds, cheaper monthly costs, portable, faster....what's the downsides?
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benaj
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Post by benaj on Jan 11, 2024 16:12:12 GMT
If you live in an 5g area with low population density, you may benefit faster speed rather than slow speed most of the time.
The wifi hub might not handle 24/7 usage without reboot
Tethering with the phone might be more reliable
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keitha
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Post by keitha on Jan 11, 2024 16:42:48 GMT
My broadband contract expires in May. I'm in an area where 4mb/s is about the max I get. I also have little choice which providers to choose from as I'm on copper wire and I'm keen to protect myself from annual increases...sim deals are easier to save money on. This may have been discussed before, my question is... does a stand alone5g sim router present potential problems? I'm looking at unthrottled speeds, cheaper monthly costs, portable, faster....what's the downsides? I'd have thought if 4mbps BB was the limit they you must be a fair way from the exchange so unlikely to get 5G I've used a 4G wifi hub and it was ok with 1 device and acceptable with 2 as soon as I tried 3 it virtually stopped
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mogish
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Post by mogish on Jan 11, 2024 18:39:00 GMT
Yes approx 4miles from the exchange via copper wire.
Might try tethering to the mobile prior to buying a router just to test the signal.
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Post by overthehill on Jan 11, 2024 19:43:22 GMT
Yes approx 4miles from the exchange via copper wire. Might try tethering to the mobile prior to buying a router just to test the signal.
4Mb/s ? Is that a typo?
I've recently bought a vodafone sim 18mth contract £10pm for 100GB data pm, I doubt you'll get near that based on past usage.
Test your download/upload speed using your phone or another phone as a wifi hotspot. My 4G speed tops out at 40MB/s on less than strongest signal. Once you get a 5G coverage and a 5G phone then speeds will be faster.
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mogish
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Post by mogish on Jan 12, 2024 7:45:04 GMT
Yes approx 4miles from the exchange via copper wire. Might try tethering to the mobile prior to buying a router just to test the signal.
4Mb/s ? Is that a typo?
[br
4mb/s is no typo. That's on a good day. I cant complain to sky as they will cancel the contract due to not meeting the promised 4 meg.
I need a back up plan it's always been like this here. Just more important we get a better speed due to reliance on tech more to do stuff.
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adrianc
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Post by adrianc on Jan 12, 2024 7:56:52 GMT
My broadband contract expires in May. I'm in an area where 4mb/s is about the max I get. I also have little choice which providers to choose from as I'm on copper wire If you're on ADSL, then you can sign up to literally any one of hundreds of ADSL providers - but it doesn't make much difference which, as the bottleneck for your speeds will be the copper between you and the streetcab, if there is one, or the exchange if you're directly connected. If you've got good mobile speeds, then that would be a good solution. An external aerial can make a huge difference, too.
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mogish
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Post by mogish on Jan 12, 2024 9:55:59 GMT
Adrian.... that is correct re exchange. 4m from exchange in next village and copper wire to our place.
Mobile with wifi off using sim data ( Vodafone) shows 7mb/s , wifes mobile o2 shows 15mb/s .sons mobile on 3 shows 509mb/s!!
Looks like 3 any be the way forward with router. We need to connect tv and multiple devices so router may be the answer.
I've given up hope on fibre ever being installed. Even the bt guy said it would be attached overland to existing lines.
Either way it seems like a good solution to the problem and I can surely use this in our motorhome as well.
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adrianc
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Post by adrianc on Jan 12, 2024 10:08:18 GMT
Adrian.... that is correct re exchange. 4m from exchange in next village and copper wire to our place. Mobile with wifi off using sim data ( Vodafone) shows 7mb/s , wifes mobile o2 shows 15mb/s .sons mobile on 3 shows 509mb/s!! Looks like 3 any be the way forward with router. We need to connect tv and multiple devices so router may be the answer. I've given up hope on fibre ever being installed. Even the bt guy said it would be attached overland to existing lines. Either way it seems like a good solution to the problem and I can surely use this in our motorhome as well. We're a similar situation. Direct to the subexchange, nothing but string between us and there, no street cabs. This is precisely the setup they're rolling out FTTP in, though - because they know that the ADSL setup is a big of steaming poo, and there's no other way to get decent terrestrial broadband. Yes, the fibre follows the line of the copper, but it's not as distance-effected. Even over wifi, I'm pulling 80mbit, vs 3mbit on copper.
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benaj
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Post by benaj on Jan 12, 2024 10:17:09 GMT
Trouble with mobile data is that having 500mb/s in one spot doesn’t mean you get the same experience in a different spot. At least it’s viable on a fixed premise for you.
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alender
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Post by alender on Jan 12, 2024 10:29:06 GMT
I looked into this as have some of my neighbors due to low speed of about 8Mb/s. Three was the best deal but said I was outside their area of coverage so would not supply me even though can get up to 30Mb/s on my 3 sim in my phone. Other provides lot more expensive.
Decided to get a phone sim (same as BB sim but different contracts) with unlimited BB usage, bought a 4g router getting good speeds with my current phone sim, best in the loft upto 50Mb/s and looking to buy an outside aerial to increase speed. So decided to do some more research before committing and found that all of Threes 4g BB packages do not work with my bank Santander (tried it out and confirmed by them), it keeps changing the IP address and every time this happens Santander logs you out. A number of people been frozen using unlimited SIMs for using too much data (you can make this up) but in the contract for a phone SIM it does say "not to be used for home BB". My next door neighbor tried this just for work keeping his copper connection for rest of the family, great speeds but unreliable, he has now gone to Starlink, speeds in the hundreds but very expensive and at present not sure how reliable as just installed.
In the end it was too much messing about so gave up and now have a 4G router sitting doing nothing.
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benaj
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Post by benaj on Jan 12, 2024 11:56:29 GMT
I have just learned Three offers 1 month 5G “home broadband” if you want to grab it. £25pcm
It seems it comes with a 5G home hub for free, they claim offers unlimited data and connecting up to 32 devices
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Post by wiseclerk on Jan 12, 2024 11:56:29 GMT
I would also suggest Starlink. I don't have it myself. But from what I hear from people that use it, it is very reliable, very hands-off and very fast. Requires that you have a spot in your garden or on your roof that as unobstructed view to the sky. More pricey though, so no savings.
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adrianc
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Post by adrianc on Jan 12, 2024 12:09:37 GMT
I would also suggest Starlink. I don't have it myself. But from what I hear from people that use it, it is very reliable, very hands-off and very fast. Requires that you have a spot in your garden or on your roof that as unobstructed view to the sky. More pricey though, so no savings.
Quite a few are moving to St Elon round here. Setup's not cheap, nor's monthly - but it *works*. £450 for the hardware, more to fit it if you can't DIY, then £75/mo - coverage map says 1-200megabit. Satellite latency is always higher than terrestrial, though, which might be an issue for online gaming.
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mogish
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Post by mogish on Jan 14, 2024 18:02:46 GMT
I have until April to sort this out so have a bit time to experiment.
Starlink sounds good but too expensive.
Is the aerial ( on roof)a plug in extension to standard routers?
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