Downsides to moving to mobile broadband? vs shell basic

frosty12345

Hi,

Currently I have basic broadband (~11Mbps) which is perfectly sufficient for my needs. My current contract expires in a week or so and I have signed up to shell "fast" (basic) broadband via MSE (~£13/month equivalent).

I have seen some cheap unlimited data SIM's are available (e.g. THREE - £6 / month equivalent after cashback for 12 months via Affordable Mobiles).

It's a "phone" contract (so includes minutes & texts too); can I use this in a Mobile router? (Likely to be against the T&C?)

What are the downsides to ditching the wired broadband and using mobile broadband instead?

I'll need to buy a mobile router (Mi-Fi) device

I don't use the landline (call) function anyway (no phone is connected).

I have ordered a free 200Mb data sim from Three so I can check out the speeds.

Since it is a cashback deal; there is the risk that they don't pay out.

Anything else?

Thanks

Cisco001

three network could be unstable.
I am with three mobile network for the past 2 years. The internet was down probably 2 -3 times? But it was around mid-night and mobile data come back when I wake up, so not too fuss.

They can't stop you using phone sim in router.

I believe the cheapest way to get a 4G router is joint three homefi with 1 month min contract
£19 upfront with £30 per month.
Send in a online cancellation form to give 1 month notice the next day you receive the router to serve min contract term.

cgfw201

We've just been connected to FTTP Fibre after 18 months of waiting. In that time we had a Vodafone unlimited 4g sim in a Huawei Router and it was faultless. 80mbs download speed regularly and to be honest, haven't noticed a single difference or improvement since moving to fibre. Watched plenty of netflix, played plenty of ps4 online, millions of zoom calls, never had an issue with it.

flashg67

Due to being in a remote location, I'm using a Lebara unlimited sim in a Huawei 4g router from ebay which is working well for streaming, vpn for home working etc. I picked Lebara becayseVodafone has by far the best signal locally as the mast is 1/2 mile away, otherwise I'd consider 3 mobile for value. So it's definitely doable as an alternative to fixed line broadband, although it's not as easy to add a phone to use the minutes. I just have a cheap £5 unlimited minute sim in my phone for call etc anyway

hbrook

If you can get a strong 3 4G signal you should get a better internet link with better bandwidth. It all depends on your signal strength. 
Mobile internet is usually not ideal if you have a lot of people in your household using high bandwidth streaming applications simultaneously - netflix, gaming, video conferencing.

frosty12345

Thanks for all the feedback. A brief update from me;
I signed up to the 12 month (sim only) contract with Three (via affordable mobiles for £6/ month equivalent via cashback) and bought a 4g modem. Result is that the data service with Three in my post code is very poor (typically get 3-5Mbps) even though I’m in a major city. 

I spoke with Three and they said that the mast that serves my home is congested. It will get upgraded at some point but no firm date. I can cancel the contract without paying any fees or paying for the “service” so far (I’m in the 14 day cooling off period). 

It’s worth noting the article here; https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2021/02/three-uk-pauses-4g-home-broadband-sales-in-some-areas.html

Basically, if the three home broadband is showing as “not available in your area” then you’ll likely get low data speeds, though you’ll probably get some service.