Broadband - unsure what would work best and how to check.

Annie1612

Our tenancy for a new property starts tomorrow. We will be living there for 6 months initially, maybe longer, while looking for a new home to buy.

At our current home, we have Virgin broadband and it’s been pretty fast. In fact it has been our only provider for donkeys years - I think it was called ntl back in the day and it has been our provider since then.

The new property is out of town in a village and there is no Virgin connection. I looked at BT broadband and put in my postcode and 10 mbs is about the expected speed for the address. Apparently the previous tenant was with BT and had no problems with it. The other option is a 4G router. According to the ofcom coverage checker, the best signal would be O2 but I am already in a good O2 area in my old house and only get 2 bars, 3 bars occasionally. I tried tethering to my phone signal and it was awfully slow loading pages.

Questions I am struggling with - is it worth signing up to a BT contract for 2 years at £30 per month to get 10 mbs and then have to take that with me when I move? If I buy a router and use it with an o2 sim, will I get a better speed than the current speed I am getting when tethering to my phone? Because if so, it wouldn’t be worth trying the router. What are the best ways of finding the best broadband speeds please?

Thanks in advance for any replies/help/advice. (Please explain anything too technical like I am 5)

Neil_Jones

Get some free sims from the four big networks and then decide whether its worth going down the mobile network route.  Online checkers only tell you what you "might" get, they won't know about the whopping big oak tree in the back garden or the RSJ lintels that block your signal...

Annie1612

So if I put the free sim in the router, can I find out if there is a signal without having to put any money on the sim?

Neil_Jones

Put the SIMs in your phone and see what signal strength you get with it where you think you might want the router for a rough idea.  Just because you get rubbish speed on O2 doesn't mean it applies to all networks in the area.

Where I am I got naff all signal in my dwelling on one network.  Switch provider, can stand anywhere where I like.  Your mileage may vary.

GrumpyDil

Assuming you have a router that will take a Sim, once you are in the house you could look at adding an external aerial. I used that setup a few years back and ended up getting 120mb speed on a 4g connection which was good enough for what we needed. 

M25

You'll need to test the SIMs over a few days or you could be wasting money. A router with a high category (at least 16) would be best. Using your phone as a hotspot is a bad test (although it'll give you an idea before investing in a router) and it'll wreck your phone over a long period as it'll always need charged.

Only one SIM is any good here (Vodafone 5G I get 180+ MBPs). That's now my only source for the internet. I did have a cheap 4G SIM as backup but not needed it in over a year. I do have a spare 4G/5G router so I can always buy an extra SIM.

Another serious option https://www.starlink.com

Neil_Jones

Yes sorry I should have probably clarified, try the sims in the phone just to get a rough idea, and then if it turns out you can't any signal on any network there's no point looking at the router option

housebuyer143

Drive to the new house. Sit outside and try the various network SIMs. Use speed test on Google or something reliable. 
It will be different inside, but if you can get it outside and it's decent you can put your SIM router in a window and you will probably pick up the signal fine.

Annie1612

Thanks all. I have been looking for an alternative broadband deal, but every time I click through to the provider, it won’t offer me anything. BT is just offering me a 4G router at around £50 a month. Other providers just offer a number to phone saying something has gone wrong. I have no idea why there is no broadband deal for me. Getting anxious that I will be without any broadband for 6 months. If so, it will be a short tenancy!

housebuyer143

Annie1612 said:

Thanks all. I have been looking for an alternative broadband deal, but every time I click through to the provider, it won’t offer me anything. BT is just offering me a 4G router at around £50 a month. Other providers just offer a number to phone saying something has gone wrong. I have no idea why there is no broadband deal for me. Getting anxious that I will be without any broadband for 6 months. If so, it will be a short tenancy!

You just need to order a few PAYG SIMs and put a few pound on them while testing. To save money, try the ones with the best signal as per the online map.
You can purchase your own router then and the cost to you is the SIM only then monthly. 
I live semi rural and was offered 20mbps on BT. Instead opted for 4G router and ran my house on EE for the best part of 2.5 years, getting 120mbps. You will get better speeds depending on the router you buy, but if it's only for 6 months then you don't need the best. 

littleboo

What has the landlord or letting agent said about broadband availability?