How good is 4G home broadband, really?

2

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  • Uxb1
    Uxb1 Posts: 732 Forumite
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    I use 4G at a second home where I have no phone line installed.
    I find that when it is working it is perfectly good as an internet connection for a single user - however the issue is that fairly regularly it becomes totally non functional. This is not a signal reception issue - just that there is a "problem" somewhere. Give it a few hours and its back again.
    This is a rural location so possibly the reliability might be better in an urban one with multiple paths/masts for the connection.

    For those hoping for 5G - dream on
    5G works at much higher frequencies than 4G and hence as a result its "reach" is far less.
    So you are looking at masts on every street corner to get a decent 5G ultra fast signal and rather fewer of the huge solitary masts we see now. Not a problem in an urban environment but it simply ain't going to happen in rural areas.
    ...........well not until computing power becomes at a level which is almost magic to us where maybe every house and every car and every phone is a 5G repeater station managing the local network traffic as well as doing its own thing.
  • brewerdave
    brewerdave Posts: 8,507 Forumite
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    pinkteapot wrote: »
    And just to add - I don't know why this house doesn't have fibre. The exchange is enabled and and other houses in the postcode, including its neighbours, get fibre at 50-60Mbps. I don't know why this one house isn't connected but it suggests to me there was a problem when the fibre roll-out came through so the situation isn't likely to change?


    Have the existing owners even tried to get a faster connection ??
    If the neighbours have "fibre @60Mb" then its highly likely that it's FTTC not FTTP - There must be a local cabinet serving these houses which is fed by fibre from the exchange and then onwards via the "old" copper or aluminium wiring to the individual properties- are you absolutely sure that you can't order a FTTC connection from one of the ISPs?

    The other possibility is that the initial FTTC cab is "full" ,so you might have to go onto a waiting list pending expansion of the cab.
  • markin
    markin Posts: 3,844 Forumite
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    edited 25 June 2019 at 2:43AM
    The are no unlimited deals that i can find they all cap at 100GB month, unless you have to search for business deals? Other threads say the average use is 260GB, I know just my personal usage in the house is around 150GB month.



    ....Ok, Non of the bundles with the HomeFi are unlimited, it seems you would have to buy something like the Huawei B311 router from Amazon (other retailer available) and get the sim only for £22, but im sure if the was no "tether" and "fair use" policy then that deal would be bundled with the router on the 3 website... " down for maintenance" so i can't look at it now...

    And if too many people start using it, it quickly gets congested.

    Its perfectly possible that half the street is on a different cabinet.
  • Terry98
    Terry98 Posts: 1,155 Forumite
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    markin wrote: »
    The are no unlimited deals that i can find they all cap at 100GB month,

    What about 3?

    'Can I get Unlimited data on home broadband?
    We have many plans available, including Unlimited 4G home broadband. Unlimited is available on selected Pay Monthly home broadband plans but is not available on Pay As You Go home broadband plans.'

    http://www.three.co.uk/store/broadband/home-broadband
  • markin
    markin Posts: 3,844 Forumite
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    edited 25 June 2019 at 9:13PM
    Terry98 wrote: »
    What about 3?

    'Can I get Unlimited data on home broadband?
    We have many plans available, including Unlimited 4G home broadband. Unlimited is available on selected Pay Monthly home broadband plans but is not available on Pay As You Go home broadband plans.'

    http://www.three.co.uk/store/broadband/home-broadband

    [STRIKE]They updated it last night after the maintenance[/STRIKE], you can get "unlimited" with the device (*1000GB)

    And as i suspected getting the sim only and router separately would be against the T&S

    "If you are on a SIM Only voice plan, you may only use your SIM in a 3G or 4G mobile."

    Here's the plan for the £22 a month bundled with the router, 24 Month *unlimited, I think if you put this sim in a phone you get charged the "other" 1p/MB



    Ea5lQjS.jpg


    EDIT. Ok it seems i did get a little confused by not being able to see the T&C as it was under maintenance and this text under it.
    It’s also available on a 12-month plan with 40GB of data for £24 per month, or with 100GB data for £30 per month. Alternatively, you can get it on a 1-month rolling contract with 40GB of data £24 per month but with a £60 upfront cost.


    ................................................


    Every time i look at giffgaff /sim-only-plans They get worse now the "Always on" is only 20GB Last year it was 100GB "After 20GB of data used you'll experience a reduced data speed of 384kbps from 8am to Midnight."
  • Terry98
    Terry98 Posts: 1,155 Forumite
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    A few earlier posts on it here.....

    https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=5968228&highlight=home+broadband

    https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=5973164&highlight=home+broadband

    https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=5955679&highlight=home+broadband

    https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=5966971&highlight=home+broadband
  • markin
    markin Posts: 3,844 Forumite
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    edited 26 June 2019 at 5:48PM
    Im liking the smarty at £25 a month, pay as you go, They even say to use a router! Why is anything else recommended?
    Unlimited data plan, no speed restrictions

    All the internet you need without worrying about hefty bills and data speed restrictions. You can tether it too!
    SIM only, unlimited data

    No contracts, no credit checks and no surprises at the end of the month with our Unlimited SIMs.
    T&C
    Unlimited minutes and texts
    There’s no hidden “fair use policies” with our unlimited text units or call units allowances when using your service – we just ask that you use this allowance in accordance with our Terms for SMARTY Services – that is, for personal use only, and not for any illegal, commercial or improper purposes.
  • FarmerGilesUK
    FarmerGilesUK Posts: 68 Forumite
    Regarding using "phone" sims in a router. ALL providers are no longer allowed to tell you what device you can or can't use their sims in. This is an OFCOM ruling last year some time. You'll find that somewhere on OFCOM's site - You can use any sim in any device. You can also tether on any contract - Don't let Three or any other telco tell you otherwise.

    I've had a Three unlimited sim (£20 a month) in my 4G router since February and it works a treat. 100pc reliable, speeds 15-20mbps (symmetric almost) - Only downside is latency at 150-200ms which might kybosh gaming. For normal browsing / streaming its fine.
  • Pluto88888
    Pluto88888 Posts: 65 Forumite
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    edited 28 June 2019 at 5:36PM
    pinkteapot wrote: »
    We've seen a house to buy that's perfect for us in every way except one. Broadband speed is 1-3Mbps :eek: Estate agent said his office has a 4G business service as that's all they could get, and they run 10 computers off it. He claims to get 40 Mbps.

    I'm really unsure. We use internet for the following currently (we have 300Mb Virgin!!):
    • Netflix/Amazon Prime
    • Working from home one day every 1-2 weeks
    • Facetime - we relocated so it's nice to Facetime family
    • Open University study - I study and it includes a lot of web use, online tutorials (think online conference call with a presentation) and watching videos

    I'm just not convinced 4G internet will be quick enough or reliable enough for this kind of usage. EE and O2 both claim to have a good 4G signal in the area but hubby's mobile is on EE and he had no service downstairs in the house! (I know we could get a signal booster)

    I'm aware it's really expensive - we're prob looking at £100/month for the usage we need. Setting that aside though, will it even work?!

    Any experiences to share?

    Tips Smarty have a deal offer ends in 16th July £18.75 unlimited everything runs on three network pay and go no contract just pick up a cheap router on Amazon

    Three have 6 months half price deal sim only £11 after 6 months £22 bad news on this offer is 24 month contract

    I currently paying £11 a month with ,200 minutes unlimited hotspot using around 1600gb each month no issues all depends on your location I get around 70mb download and 24mb upload.
  • davemorton
    davemorton Posts: 29,066 Forumite
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    edited 7 July 2019 at 2:01PM
    I have just signed up for the Smarty instead of getting home BB, seems a cheaper option, and only tied in for a month if it is carp.
    What home wi-fi routers would people recommend that I can put the sim into and are not too expensive please? I am utterly clueless when it comes to these.

    Is there much difference between the cheap ones and the expensive ones. Looking to buy second hand.
    “Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?”
    Juvenal, The Sixteen Satires
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