Mobile broadband question?

Jon_01

Morning all,

I'm looking for some info for my daughter. She's just moved to a flat and can't get BB through a wire due to it being a listed building.

I've been looking at mobile BB for her but I've not had anything to do with it before.

She can get unlimited data with Three on 4G using their 'Three 4G Hub', can anyone tell me if that would be fast enough to stream services like Netflix? Or would she need to go to a 5G device?
I'm going over there tomorrow with a handful of payg sim cards from all the networks to test the reception.

Thanks...

Spies

4G should do the trick but very dependent on speeds in the area. 

matelodave

It depends where she lives and how good the network coverage is. In the end all you can do is try it out at the location that you want to use it.

I've got a portable 4g router which I take away in  my caravan or on my mates boat. In some places it works well, others not at all, much like my mobile phone.

Where I live out in Fenland, Three is good but EE is awful. However earlier this week I was in London and Three was virtually unusable in some places.

Supatramp

Buy a Huawei B535 router,  then you can use whatever SIM you get the best connection  through.

531063

I've used a Huawei E5330 on many holidays when the has been no wifi available and had no probs streaming tv etc, you can 
connect up to 10 devices to it, it's only 3g so i'd a imagine a 4g mifi would be miles better & a lot cheaper than a 4g router.

flashg67

Once she's tried a few sims to check speed of different networks (don't rely on the online coverage checkers), then  if she needs multiple devices, a dedicated 4g router is probably best - I use a Huawei B525 which can connect up to 64 devices inc smart home devices etc. If she only needs a few connections, then a mifi device would probably do - just make sure it's unlocked for the network you go with.
Vodafone is the best local signal for me and I use a Lebara unlimited sim (£22.50 p/m for 12 months). Speed wise, it varies between 20-50 mbps - plenty for streaming netflix etc

Cisco001

Is she the only one in the flat?
If yes, just get unlimited mobile data and use hotspot, don't bother additional router. (provided she is not using a expensive phone, as this reduce the battery life)

Edit: Huawei B535 £65 @ CEX

coffeehound

It used to be possible to do a scan of the available networks to see the signal strengths using one's mobile phone -- presumably still possible on modern smartphones.

For basic needs, it's possible to tether a laptop to a smartphone, which might save a few bob on hardware costs

Jon_01

Cisco001 said:

Is she the only one in the flat?
If yes, just get unlimited mobile data and use hotspot, don't bother additional router. (provided she is not using a expensive phone, as this reduce the battery life)

Edit: Huawei B535 £65 @ CEX

Yes, just her.

She's got a Three deal with unlimited data and a mifi but I don't know if she got the Huawei unit or the Three branded on.
The B535 from CEX looks a great deal and I'm guessing would work better than anything that Three supply for free?
 

Supatramp

The Three one is a B525 or 535, my brother has this from Three, and very happy with it.  The 535 is simply an updated version of the 525.  The details of each unit can be found via Google

Jon_01

Just been over there to test the equipment that 3 have sent.

The unit connects to the network with full bars with it placed in the window.  But the max we're getting on the wifi is mid 30 meg.  Is this going be enough to stream Netflix in HD?  Or should I buy her a Huawei B535 as suggested above?

Thanks. . .