5G Broadband thoughts?

Filo25

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82112131#Comment_82112131

Both unlimited plans fortunately!

hosay299

I would try it would use three but my house hold needs landline still so staying with talk talk

akwexavante

Have a look at cellmapper.net to find the best operator for you.

Have a look at scancom.co.uk for data sims.

Have a look at Teltonika routers.

Have a look at Poyning external antennas.

getting set up with kit is expensive, getting the right sim and placing your poyning antenna can be a little trying.

Get it right though and you can get 400Mb/s+ for as little as £9.50 a month on a pre-paid 3yr sim. Higher speeds are possible with the right kit, sim and a mast not too close, not too far away.

Salamat

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82124501#Comment_82124501

Many thanks for all those links. I think I will stay away from the 5G option, though.

Timalay

You say you can't get full fibre with Virgin Media, which I assume means that your property is on their DOCSIS 3.1 system, rather than their newer XGS-PON technology. So you should be able to get a faster package than what you've quoted (DOCSIS 3.1 can go up to 1,130 Mbps down, and 104 Mbps up). Have you talked to Virgin Media about why you're on such a slow package?

Also, with the introduction of other full fibre network providers in the UK, you may have other options for what faster speeds you can get. A great tool to see what broadband you can get in your area is Thinkbroadband's availability checker. It'll show other networks besides just Virgin Media and Openreach. For example, I have two other full-fibre networks besides Openreach where I live.

Salamat

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82126299#Comment_82126299

No, I don't think I said that anywhere, if I did, it was a mistake. I do have the option of all the VM speed offers. It's the BT Openreach that currently limits me to an actual realistic 50 speed

Timalay

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82126555#Comment_82126555

Sorry my mistake. I misunderstood. It's still worth looking to see if you can get another third party full fibre broadband isp in your area. For instance, where I live, I not only just have OpenReach, I have CityFibre and Truespeed

simonp99

I tried the Vodafone 5G deal which unfortunately didn't work and the router they sent me would not fall back to 4G properly either. I sent it back within the 14 days which was a bit of a nightmare ( they still have not refunded my payment which I believe they are meant to) but I've ended up being sent the voucher anyway and I eventually managed to cancel the contract. I would stay clear of all the 24-month contacts, recomend an old Huawei 4G router from eBay and if you look on other comparison sites you will find a lebara sim for £10 / m for 3 months it's not on MSE for some reason. it's superbly reliable and fast compared to my BT landline I'm tempted to get rid of that but I'm still on the essentials plan which is reasonable. I had a 5G phone temporarily and I could intermittently get it to connect to 5G but it wasn't amazingly faster than the 4G+ you need to check it does carrier aggregation basically not the very cheapest one you can find.

akwexavante

To get the best out of mobile internet connectivity you really do need an external antenna. You need to know where your masts are in the surrounding landscape and knowing that pick the right network. Mount the external antenna facing the mast(s) that you want to connect too as high as possible. You need a router that allows you to ban bands that don't best suit and allow bands that give you best chance of a speedy stable connection. Most routers don't give you this and are programmed to give you the best theoretical connection even if if it's the worst in reality.

5G can give you a poor and even non-existent connection, whereas a 4G+ connection to the same mast can be satisfactory.

Not all SIMs are the same even those from the same provider and piggybacking SIMs have greater restrictions to their use. You get what you pay for too, cheap SIMs don't get you a fast reliable connection (A general rule).

A mobile internet router / antenna needs clear unobstructed access to the masts in your neighbourhood so having it indoors is not a good idea at all, having it tucked away behind the TV, in a cupboard, behind the settee, under the stairs is disastrous. If the mast(s) in the landscape that your router connects too are to the north side of your house, and you place the router on the south side you'll be very disappointed.

Going down the mobile internet route requires far more understanding, research in advance of signing up and or buying your own kit and SIM.

A network providers mast in the landscape where you live can be too close, too far away and or obstructed by your own home and the stuff in it, trees, hills, buildings, overhead high voltage cables, industrial estates, substations and more. There are many obstructions within your own home too, such as radiators, staircases, RSJ's, fridges, freezers, tropical fish tank heaters, that 50" TV! Don't forget we are 90%+ water so you can be an obstruction to a signal too if you place yourself between the router and the mast it's trying to connect too.

Not all SIMs are the same, you can have a preloaded 3yr Business SIM from Three UK averaging out at £9.50 month and have a smarty SIM for about the same. They will not be the same. Cheaper and piggybacking SIMs may appear to have no speed restriction, but they don't tell you what is achievable and most are restricted. If you ask over the phone they'll typically say the max achievable is only "Blah" which can be as little as 20Mb/s which is nonsense.

Not the best example, but a truthful one, Placed in the same device…………… I have a Three UK business data SIM, costing averaged out £9.50mnth which connects to a Vodafone mast and i get in excess of 450Mb/s. I have a Talkmobile SIM which piggybacks on the Vodafone network costing just £4.95mnth, it connects to the same Vodafone mast, the best i can get is just 14Mb/s. Talkmobile tell me the SIM is unrestricted but the best i'll ever get is 20Mb/s because of where i live…. TOSH!

simonp99

4g uses lower frequency signals, it goes though walls etc and. The 5g router was working during that drought, i sware it never worked again after i gave the big oak tree in the garden a drink. You can literally put the 4g router anywhere in my situation and it will get 150 mbps. In my case the lebara works better than Vodafone, although the greepacket router is naff imho