Using a SIM instead of standard broadband

[ThunderPants73]

My contract with Virgin broadmand is nearly up and I'm thinking of using a router with a SIM slot instead. Has anyone had any experience with this instead of regular broadband? There seem to be some good SIM only deals with 'good' speeds and unlimited data at the moment, but could I use this to say, stream 4K Netflix? Sorry if this is the wrong place to ask...

Thanks chooks.

Originally Posted by ThunderPants73

My contract with Virgin broadmand is nearly up and I'm thinking of using a router with a SIM slot instead. Has anyone had any experience with this instead of regular broadband? There seem to be some good SIM only deals with 'good' speeds and unlimited data at the moment, but could I use this to say, stream 4K Netflix? Sorry if this is the wrong place to ask...

Thanks chooks.

I used a 4G setup for a couple of years. It can work well but it’s a minefield. Lots of things to get right, beginning with finding the service provider with the best local signal, whether or not they’re the cheapest. I have seen an entire rural community 4G broadband trial fail spectacularly because they got this most basic requirement wrong at the outset.

So don’t start by looking at deals, start by thoroughly researching your local signal environment. You’re going to be placing a modem/router wherever the best 4G signal is in your house, and if you’re stuck with universally meh service from all providers you’re going to be adding an external antenna whose flylead must not be more than 5 metres long.

If you’re up for it I can probably answer most of your questions but I’m off out just now - happy to post more later if you want.

[ThunderPants73]

Originally Posted by Chris

I used a 4G setup for a couple of years. It can work well but it’s a minefield. Lots of things to get right, beginning with finding the service provider with the best local signal, whether or not they’re the cheapest. I have seen an entire rural community 4G broadband trial fail spectacularly because they got this most basic requirement wrong at the outset.

So don’t start by looking at deals, start by thoroughly researching your local signal environment. You’re going to be placing a modem/router wherever the best 4G signal is in your house, and if you’re stuck with universally meh service from all providers you’re going to be adding an external antenna whose flylead must not be more than 5 metres long.

If you’re up for it I can probably answer most of your questions but I’m off out just now - happy to post more later if you want.

Thanks Chris, yeah, some advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm currently looking at some router reviews and also coverage quality for various networks. I'll no doubt have some questions for you!

No worries … have a look at cellmapper.net (desktop browser is best) and ask if you need help with it. It’s a tad fiddly but has tons of information on your local cell coverage.

[jfman]

+1 to all Chris has said.

I’ve set up a 4G connection for a family member during lockdown since they had no broadband at all and a caravan set up for another family member. It’s possible that you might have to use the modem/router to override the automatic signal search as well, as it might latch into a stronger signal from a slower mast. Some allow you to lock to specific masts or bands.

I’m considering moving to 5G from Three when my Virgin deal is up I’ve got a mi-fi that gets me 200-500 meg I assume based on congestion.

Also happy to assist.

Originally Posted by Chris

No worries … have a look at cellmapper.net (desktop browser is best) and ask if you need help with it. It’s a tad fiddly but has tons of information on your local cell coverage.

I tried that site, and got this ;

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[jfman]

If you click okay the site should still work. Assuming you are also blocking your location it starts off at a point in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean so you need to zoom out to find some land then can zoom back in to wherever you need.

The menu at the side will let you filter by network/band.

Originally Posted by Paul

I tried that site, and got this ;

More and more common these days.

The free version of the site is more than adequate for selecting and setting up a provider and equipment for 4G home internet and the adverts on the site are hardly offensive.

---------- Post added at 18:33 ---------- Previous post was at 18:14 ----------

Originally Posted by jfman

+1 to all Chris has said.

I’ve set up a 4G connection for a family member during lockdown since they had no broadband at all and a caravan set up for another family member. It’s possible that you might have to use the modem/router to override the automatic signal search as well, as it might latch into a stronger signal from a slower mast. Some allow you to lock to specific masts or bands.

I’m considering moving to 5G from Three when my Virgin deal is up I’ve got a mi-fi that gets me 200-500 meg I assume based on congestion.

Also happy to assist.

We installed 4G internet at church earlier this year. I asked the installer to research 5G modems but they’re still a lot more expensive than 4G ones, there’s a lot less choice, and to be honest they’re not always quicker. Most cell towers in most urban locations will allow channel bonding, as long as the modem supports it. A single 4G channel maxes out at 150Mbps down, 50Mbps up. We are normally able to get 2 channels off our local mast so on a good day we can get close to 300/100. The only way 4G really falls down compared to 5G is capacity. If you’re in an area where a lot of people are using the same tower then the available speed will drop considerably. Our previous house was a tourist hotspot; we got it during lockdown and it was brilliant, but when everything opened up again, come the summer holidays our speeds would really suffer.

At church we tend to see 60-70 down, 30 up during the week, but we only really hammer it on Sundays when we live-stream the church service and town is quiet then, so it zips along and we provide 1080HD at ultra-low latency.

[Lacking]

I was wondering if someone could step by step walk me through how I can check whether 4G is going to be better than wired broadband for our new home? We're being quoted extortionate prices for an average of 10mbps with only BT or Shell as the available providers. I got a Three home broadband kit for our last place that is 2 minutes down the road as they said they didn't offer it at our new address. My plan is to test it out to see if we can get useable speeds - however I'm getting really variable speeds, from 23mbps download at best to 1 at worst, leaving the router in exactly the same spot! Apart from streaming services, mainly on one TV, we don't do anything else that requires huge speed.

The only way to know for sure is to use it.

A website like cellmapper.net can tell you where all the local cell masts are which will give you an idea what sort of signal strength to expect. That information should inform your decision about which network to go with and where to place the modem/router for best signal reception.

However, with 4G a major determining factor is how many users are on the same cell as you at the same time. A single 4G channel is capable of 150mbps download and 50mbps upload but you will only see that speed with a very good signal and not many other people also using the cell at the same time.

If your speeds are highly variable then there are a couple of potential factors at play. First, weak signal. If they refused to offer you service at your new address it is because their coverage model is telling them not to. That’s not to say you won’t be able to make it work, but it is marginal enough to be susceptible to interference. Second, if the speed drops at a particular time of day, then you’re suffering from movement of Three subscribers into or out of your area. If you’re close to a town centre or industrial estate where people work you will see a dip during the working day. If you’re near a popular night spot it will be constrained in the evening. I used to use mine in a remote rural location with lots of campsites and caravan parks so it would drop to a crawl every evening for 8 weeks in the summer.

If you’re determined to stick with 4G the first thing I’d say is ditch Three. If even they don’t want to provide your service there’s no merit in sticking with them. Try out a couple of PAYG SIMs from different networks, based on what you discover at cellmapper.net. The golden rule with 4G internet is you go with the network with best coverage, not the cheapest deal.

And on that final point, *do not* ever sign up to a data SIM contract with any supplier. They will always charge you more for a data-only contract than you can get with a phone contract that has data included. Get a SIM-only phone contract and put the SIM in a 4G router. You are legally allowed to do this due to a market/competition court ruling from several years ago. The mobile service providers would prefer you not to do it but they can’t stop you.

[jfman]

It might also be worth checking (assuming the router allows) what mast(s) it is connecting to. If you are in variable signal it might be switching between slower masts with better signal, and faster masts with lower signal strength. Depending on what frequencies these operate on it could grind to a halt.

If it's always the same masts despite the speed variation then as Chris says it's more likely to be congestion.

It might be worth trying out some of the SIMs from the virtual operators. Lebara use Vodafone, and currently are offering an unlimited data SIM for £9.99 a month for 3 months (no minimum contract). Lyca Mobile use EE, and are doing the same for £8.99 for 3 months (500GB fair use policy, and again no minimum term).

Both would offer ample data for speed testing at various times of the day and night.

[SnoopZ]

I know my post won't help but if I was moving to a new location the first thing I would check is how good or bad internet connectivity is, and if it was next to useless I would avoid if possible.

[Lacking]

Unfortunately the move is due to work, so not able to decide where.

This is all really useful information. Thank you all! We are in quite an urban area, and not too far from the station. I'll have a look at the patterns.

Does that mean I could potentially use my current phone SIM in the router to test it on Vodafone?

[jfman]

Any SIM you have, and speeds you experience on a phone (assuming it’s not on 5G) you could reasonably expect from a 4G router. If you have friends or family members on other networks as a sniff test you could see what they get - it’s not necessarily definitive for a number of reasons but it gives a sense of who has infrastructure in the area.

Originally Posted by Lacking

Unfortunately the move is due to work, so not able to decide where.

This is all really useful information. Thank you all! We are in quite an urban area, and not too far from the station. I'll have a look at the patterns.

Does that mean I could potentially use my current phone SIM in the router to test it on Vodafone?

Yes, *but* there are a couple of caveats.

1. If you have an iPhone there’s a risk that Apple’s servers will deregister your SIM if you use it in a non-Apple device. This will lock you out of iMessage and Find My for a time; while it should correct itself fairly quickly I have heard of people needing help from Apple to restore it.

2. If the SIM bay in your router is not the same size as the one in your phone you will need an adapter - either to put it in the larger SIM bay in your router, or if your router requires the smallest size and you have to push out the plastic surround you would then need an adapter to get it back into your phone.

Neither of these is a deal breaker, but just be aware you can cause yourself complications.

Before you take any physical actions in the real world, use cellmapper.net to establish which, in theory, is the network with the strongest, most local coverage.