4G broadband as alternative to fixed line.

bobmunro

Living out in the very remote sticks I'm lucky if I get 1.0 mbps and BT want about £50k to run fibre.

My nearest neighbour has just installed a 4G booster aerial using EE, along with a 4G router. He reckons it gives him speeds of around 7.0 mbps - still relatively low but ultimate luxury compared to what I currently get from copper wire! I have my doubts as I have an EE contract mobile as my private phone and I'm lucky if it ever gets above one bar - outside!

Anyone got any experience with 4G broadband?

Carter

When it's fully juiced it is good and will suffice for a lot of your needs. Have a look at a coverage map on the web an you will get a fairly good idea of how much you will get. BT now offer a 4G hub as standard if you lose connectivity for any length of time and they are very decent. Annoyingly for you though it will come back to how strong the 4g coverage is where you live

MrOneLung

I didn’t realise internet had reached Stoke and though bob only posted when at work.

bobmunro

MrOneLung said:

I didn’t realise internet had reached Stoke and though bob only posted when at work.

*cough*Cheshire*cough*

I only have the misfortune to work in Stoke!

aliwibble

I can't remember whether the mobile broadband dongle I used while I was having issues with my old ISP was 3G or 4G, but the 7.0mbps sounds familiar. That was from 3, but Vodafone were about the same (avoid them, the customer service of their ISP side is shite). While having the extra speed was good, all the packages had data limits, so if I was watching a lot of catch-up TV I burned through my allowance fairly quickly. It's worth checking what if any limits there are on the packages you're interested in, and as @Carter said, check the coverage maps to see who you're likely to get the best speeds from.

Another option if speed is more important to you than download allowance is satellite broadband. The initial outlay for the equipment is a lot bigger than for 4g, but it's still way less than BT want for putting a line in, and you can take it with you when you move.

swords_alive

Have you checked the intentions of this group Bob- http://www.connectingcheshire.org.uk ?

mcgrandall

aliwibble said:

I can't remember whether the mobile broadband dongle I used while I was having issues with my old ISP was 3G or 4G, but the 7.0mbps sounds familiar. That was from 3, but Vodafone were about the same (avoid them, the customer service of their ISP side is shite). While having the extra speed was good, all the packages had data limits, so if I was watching a lot of catch-up TV I burned through my allowance fairly quickly. It's worth checking what if any limits there are on the packages you're interested in, and as @Carter said, check the coverage maps to see who you're likely to get the best speeds from.

Another option if speed is more important to you than download allowance is satellite broadband. The initial outlay for the equipment is a lot bigger than for 4g, but it's still way less than BT want for putting a line in, and you can take it with you when you move.

I used to work for BT and we recommended satellite as an option for people in your circumstances.

oohaahmortimer

I live in a rural ish area and had no t’internet
I had a BT radio wave satellite for a while which was brilliant but costly £300-£500 a month but for some reason they stopped this and that option was not available.
Used a satellite for a while from a random firm which was pitiful speed wise and had other users, so speeds would drop when other were on it .
Used an o2 and 3 dongle and they were fine but as mentioned chew up your data and would get costly if streaming stuff .
In the end had to pay up for BT fibre :-(

There is a firm called Gigaclear who are currently putting in a super duper fibre at minimal cost .
I spoke to a fella doing their work and they are government funded and needed a percentage of people to sign up , think it was 40% (but guessing) so we had 120 households out of 250 ish prolly (3 square miles) who signed up for it but it’s been 2-3 years since they were canvassing us and we aren’t live yet but I reckon we will be within the year.
Think Gigaclear are doing/ have done projects around the country , so a long shot maybe get in touch with them if you think it’s something your area would want

Ormiston_Addick

Totally depends on what you are using it for.

If you are just doing email and light web-browsing and are only using about 25GB/month then 4G will be fine.

However, if you are the sort of person - and I am not suggesting for a moment that you are - that likes to watch hardcore porn in 4K resolution 24x7 then it probably won't do the job.

SuedeAdidas

Ormiston Addick said:

Totally depends on what you are using it for.

If you are just doing email and light web-browsing and are only using about 25GB/month then 4G will be fine.

However, if you are the sort of person - and I am not suggesting for a moment that you are - that likes to watch hardcore porn in 4K resolution 24x7 then it probably won't do the job.

What about 12 x 5?

bobmunro

Thanks all.

EE will install the aerial and router and if it doesn't work that well they will refund the costs and cancel any data sim contract. So maybe worth a try although data limits is perhaps an issue. I'm not a heavy data user but with faster speeds I would almost certainly get SkyQ and also possibly use Netflix/Amazon Prime - so data will then be eaten up.

Like ohhaah, I may just have to bite the bullet and pay for fibre.

Ormiston_Addick

bobmunro said:

Thanks all.

EE will install the aerial and router and if it doesn't work that well they will refund the costs and cancel any data sim contract. So maybe worth a try although data limits is perhaps an issue. I'm not a heavy data user but with faster speeds I would almost certainly get SkyQ and also possibly use Netflix/Amazon Prime - so data will then be eaten up.

Like ohhaah, I may just have to bite the bullet and pay for fibre.

Your call, but be aware that connecting fibre to remote/rural locations can take months and be VERY expensive indeed.

Worth talking to your neighbours in the area to see if they want to make a joint application and spread the cost over as many homes as possible rather than bearing the whole cost yourself.

bobmunro

Ormiston Addick said:

bobmunro said:

Thanks all.

EE will install the aerial and router and if it doesn't work that well they will refund the costs and cancel any data sim contract. So maybe worth a try although data limits is perhaps an issue. I'm not a heavy data user but with faster speeds I would almost certainly get SkyQ and also possibly use Netflix/Amazon Prime - so data will then be eaten up.

Like ohhaah, I may just have to bite the bullet and pay for fibre.

Your call, but be aware that connecting fibre to remote/rural locations can take months and be VERY expensive indeed.

Worth talking to your neighbours in the area to see if they want to make a joint application and spread the cost over as many homes as possible rather than bearing the whole cost yourself.

We've tried that. There are around 10 houses but not all are keen!

cafcfan

mcgrandall said:

aliwibble said:

I can't remember whether the mobile broadband dongle I used while I was having issues with my old ISP was 3G or 4G, but the 7.0mbps sounds familiar. That was from 3, but Vodafone were about the same (avoid them, the customer service of their ISP side is shite). While having the extra speed was good, all the packages had data limits, so if I was watching a lot of catch-up TV I burned through my allowance fairly quickly. It's worth checking what if any limits there are on the packages you're interested in, and as @Carter said, check the coverage maps to see who you're likely to get the best speeds from.

Another option if speed is more important to you than download allowance is satellite broadband. The initial outlay for the equipment is a lot bigger than for 4g, but it's still way less than BT want for putting a line in, and you can take it with you when you move.

I used to work for BT and we recommended satellite as an option for people in your circumstances.

I'd certainly suggest it's worth a look. Not as expensive as you might think either. Some years ago, when my regular broadband was rubbish (it now isn't) I also looked at something that involved a central satellite receiver/sender and then "shared" repeater" units attached to other properties in the area. Unfortunately my house did not have a line of sight to the nearest repeater so it was a no-go. I wonder if that type of system still exists?

Edited to add: this site https://satelliteinternet.co.uk/satellite-packages suggests you might be able to get a government subsidy to help with installation costs.

red10

Might be worth checking if you have a wireless internet provider (WISP) in your neck of the woods. Basically it's a receiver with a line of sight to a tower, similar to satellite but cheaper and avoids the data capping. Someone in our village installed satellite as our area is also really bad but had it taken out as it didn't work very well.

Ormiston_Addick

bobmunro said:

Ormiston Addick said:

bobmunro said:

Thanks all.

EE will install the aerial and router and if it doesn't work that well they will refund the costs and cancel any data sim contract. So maybe worth a try although data limits is perhaps an issue. I'm not a heavy data user but with faster speeds I would almost certainly get SkyQ and also possibly use Netflix/Amazon Prime - so data will then be eaten up.

Like ohhaah, I may just have to bite the bullet and pay for fibre.

Your call, but be aware that connecting fibre to remote/rural locations can take months and be VERY expensive indeed.

Worth talking to your neighbours in the area to see if they want to make a joint application and spread the cost over as many homes as possible rather than bearing the whole cost yourself.

We've tried that. There are around 10 houses but not all are keen!

Even if you can get only a couple it’ll still lower the cost for you substantially.

EastStand

I've got a 4G hub from Three and it works a charm for me! Admittedly I'm in the heart of SE23 and not the sticks, but it may be worth giving it a go.

I've been with them 2 years now and got a great deal, so after 1 year argue with them and you'll get given extra stuff.

WSS

oohaahmortimer said:

I live in a rural ish area and had no t’internet
I had a BT radio wave satellite for a while which was brilliant but costly £300-£500 a month but for some reason they stopped this and that option was not available.

Bloody hell.