Short notice, short term B/band connection

[didds]

background : my parents in law are very elderly and increasingly infirm, and my wife and I have been talking options for the time when "the phone call" comes because they are in a pickle and cannot cope. I'm not even talking about death here!. I work from home for an employer via the internet/broadband and vpns etc. I need to check this with my boss but I cant see any issue of I had to go and stay with my P-i-L for a while and work from there instead.

The fly in the ointment is that they don't have b/band, and the neighbours' position is unknown as yet. There is no 4G in their area so tethering off a mobile phone, or a dongle, probably is not an option. Having discussed putting in b/band "just in case" they have refused.

So my question is :

In the event of "an emergency" and me dashing up there (cos I am the most appropriate person - my wife works in a hospital) what options are there for "immediate" and short term broadband provision so that I can work? This is of course presuming that at THAT juncture they'll go for "permanent" b/band via normal means - but that will presumably take a short while (week? two weeks?) and in the interim some other provision will be required.

The obvious one is a piggy back off a neighbour but that situation is unknown as yet so Im looking at other possible short term options...

any ideas?

didds

[pochisoldi]

background : my parents in law are very elderly and increasingly infirm, and my wife and I have been talking options for the time when "the phone call" comes because they are in a pickle and cannot cope. I'm not even talking about death here!. I work from home for an employer via the internet/broadband and vpns etc. I need to check this with my boss but I cant see any issue of I had to go and stay with my P-i-L for a while and work from there instead.

The fly in the ointment is that they don't have b/band, and the neighbours' position is unknown as yet. There is no 4G in their area so tethering off a mobile phone, or a dongle, probably is not an option. Having discussed putting in b/band "just in case" they have refused.

So my question is :

In the event of "an emergency" and me dashing up there (cos I am the most appropriate person - my wife works in a hospital) what options are there for "immediate" and short term broadband provision so that I can work? This is of course presuming that at THAT juncture they'll go for "permanent" b/band via normal means - but that will presumably take a short while (week? two weeks?) and in the interim some other provision will be required.

The obvious one is a piggy back off a neighbour but that situation is unknown as yet so Im looking at other possible short term options...

any ideas?

didds

Do you really need 4G? What's the 3G and GSM signal like?

I would suggest a bit of free suck it and see:

Asda Mobile: Order online for free (or in shop for 50p). Get 10Mb of free data on startup.
Three Data rewards SIM: Order for free, get 200Mb free every month.

Asda uses EE (4G/3G/2G), Three uses 3G.

You might be able to get away with a 2G GPRS connection if you can work off line, restrict the amount of data being sent and connect as required to upload/download.

If you already have a tetherable phone and aren't on Three, then you can see if GPRS is usable at all by by restricting your phone to use GSM only and have a test drive with your current operator.

PochiSoldi

[AleisterCrowley]

I worked from home occasionally pre- broadband using a tethered 3G iPhone - perfectly useable

[didds]

just looked on the which netwoprk coverage onliune map... there's not even 2G! My wife was there last weekend and she confirms she couldn;t use data on her phone for FB etc.

My requirements would need to be online contantly - interacting with remote servers (command line) but via windows so there would be some graphical display needs etc. So I said 4G intially to maximise that opportunity, but as there isn;t even 2G (I am a tad suprised at that TBH) i think tethering is probably out ..

Vodafone's own site says wrt 3G "inside most modern homes, email and web should be fine; file downloads and watching videos online will be slower, and we don't recommend using your laptop, iPad or tablet."

bah.

didds

[AleisterCrowley]

If your parents-in-law don't want broadband you are a bit stuck, unless the neighbours will let you use theirs
What sort of area is it? Lack of decent mobile signal suggests it's semi rural (?) in which case broadband may be marginal due to distance from exchange.

There's always the satellite option ...not cheap IIRC

[UncleEbenezer]

For *very* short term, how about going out during the day and sitting in a wifi (or 4g) equipped public place? Can you survive a week or two on maybe just a couple of hours connectivity a day?

Or for a bit of nostalgia, do you have an old dialup modem sitting around anywhere (and maybe a serial-to-USB adaptor to connect it to a modern laptop)?

Any old stuff you have, take it with you next time you visit, and see if it looks likely to be any use there.

Medium term I'd be looking at one of the providers that offers a monthly contract - but I'm sure you don't need me to tell you that.

[AF62]

Having discussed putting in b/band "just in case" they have refused.
...
In the event of "an emergency" and me dashing up there ... what options are there for "immediate" and short term broadband provision so that I can work? This is of course presuming that at THAT juncture they'll go for "permanent" b/band via normal means - but that will presumably take a short while (week? two weeks?) and in the interim some other provision will be required.

I am aware that Virgin Media do 'self-install' packs which you can take away from store, plug in when you get home and it works straight away. However I would guess your pil are with BT so it would rule that out.

My experience of getting BT to turn on broadband on a line was it didn't take long, but it was a couple of weeks.

Also you would have to get over the hurdle of them needing to sort out broadband on their phone line, when if you have had 'the call' they may not be in the best position to deal with it then, and again just say 'no'.

I suggest the best option might be to go back to square one and explore why they don't want broadband. If it is cost because they think it expensive and a waste of money, the reality is the difference between phone line only and line with broadband is minimal these days. Nevertheless, could you arrange to pay for it as a gift together with something they might find useful to make use of it (my elderly parents love the use of the BBC iPlayer)?

[BobbyD]

Dial up?

https://freeola.com/dial-up-internet/

[didds]

yes semi rural .

I of course respect them not wanting Broadand - its just that when it goes pete tong for them, being already in place smooths our passage of being being able to step in and help "at the drop of a hat". They are somewhat in denial.

B/band is fine - via standard landline there. its the "immediate" alternatives that are of potential "need". Once a requirement I'm sure its provision etc won't be problem. Its being prepared that is the problem.

didds

[didds]

Dial up?

https://freeola.com/dial-up-internet/

that might have to be! Would dial-up support a VPN windows provision ie my windows laptop connecting to a windows desktop for windows based work, albeit much of it is CLI in a unix shell (putty sessions etc)?


didds

[didds]

I suggest the best option might be to go back to square one and explore why they don't want broadband. If it is cost because they think it expensive and a waste of money, the reality is the difference between phone line only and line with broadband is minimal these days. Nevertheless, could you arrange to pay for it as a gift together with something they might find useful to make use of it (my elderly parents love the use of the BBC iPlayer)?

that's the rub. They say "they don;t need it" and "they are all right".

They are clearly not "all right" - FiL couldn;t get out of the chair the other day, MiL fell over in trying to get to him, then had to crawl to her zimmer frame to get up, so she could attend to him.

But they are "all right".

Its not the cost - we have said we will pay for it. All they would know of its existence is there would be a router blinking at them from under the phone "seat". Eleectricity to run it? a pound a week? We'll pay that too!

Bascially they are in fear of not being in control.

Anyway - aside from the query wrt whether dial up will support a windows environment, I suspect we've done this to death... i suspected there isn;t really a "instantaneous" b/band connection availabilty solution in non 3&4G areas but just wanted to check. Cheers all.

didds

[gbaps]

Hi Didds

As already mentioned it might be difficult selling the idea of b/band being useful but noting your post where there was a fall etc., a useful tool might be a camera with 2 way audio.

Not only could you see them but also speak to them if necessary. I do realise it’s a difficult one getting the in-laws to release control though.

Now(TV) broadband do monthly contracts it says here https://www.broadbandchoices.co.uk/guid ... y-contract
Probably not quick to setup, it would likely be the same as any new install I guess.
I was thinking along similar lines for my parents.

Good luck

Gary.

[Infrasonic]

If they have a landline but are not going to budge on the BB front maybe a compromise solution here with a personal alarm via the landline?...https://www.ageuk.org.uk/products/mobil ... al-alarms/
You can save £60 with the self install option via the PDF guide, looks pretty simple.

My mum had one for a few years before she went into a care home, the peace of mind is worth having.
We had a keysafe put in on the outside too, just so third parties could have access if needed in an emergency (although that might be a hard sell if your relatives are very stubborn around 'control' issues...)

Good luck!