4G vs wifi for on-line and email

[brightncheerful]

For my office relocation, which is intended as a temporary arrangement, I do not want to incur the capital expenditure of a telephone line and a router and a broadband set-up. Instead I am considering upgrading the existing plan for my iphone to unlimited data. That would enable me to use the personal hotspot for wifi.

I am told that the maximum number of devices permitted by Apple for using personal hotspot is 3, excluding the iphone itself. If I got a Mifi box instead I could run 10 devices but from my experience of having had a wifi I would also need to connect it to the computer or mains power to ensure it is always fully charged so if I have to do that then I might as well use the iphone and keep that on charge.

According to my ISP, my existing fibre broadband data usage is about 300GB a month but I reckon the bulk of that is Mrs Bnc connecting the tv so she can watch Amazon prime movies, etc. At a guess, I should think that without the TV connection my monthly usage would be about 20GB. An unlimited data plan on my iphone would cost just over twice as much a month as I'm paying now and provided my iphone is within 10m of the tv Mrs Bnc could use that connection. (If the phone is further away then Mrs Bnc would be content with not connecting the tv to the internet.)

I've read about the pros and cons of using 4G rather than wifi or broadband but would welcome any comments.

[brightncheerful]

Correction:

I am told that the maximum number of devices permitted by Apple for using personal hotspot is 3, excluding the iphone itself. If I got a Mifi box instead I could run 10 devices but from my experience of having had a mifi I would also need to connect it to the computer or mains power to ensure it is always fully charged so if I have to do that then I might as well use the iphone and keep that on charge.

[PhaseThree]

Have you looked at the HomeFi offerings from Three ?
I've been using this for the last year or so primarily due to a complete lack of land line internet availablity where I am.
My experience is that it works pretty well but can get slow in peak periods.

http://www.three.co.uk/Discover/Devices ... lour=White

[UncleEbenezer]

It would seem odd for your iphone to restrict sharing, though the terms of your current deal with your telco might.

If you have a decent signal, 4G is a perfectly viable option. You can get (I did, for about £20) a device that receives 4G and gives you a wifi hot-spot, and then subscribe to whatever telco offers good 4G where you are. If you have devices with no wifi, you might want to pay a little more for a device with ethernet connections in addition to wifi: from my experience you'd be ill-advised to rely on USB for anything that matters. Telcos have data-only deals that offer a direct alternative to wired internet service, as well as phone-oriented deals that might restrict sharing.

(I have 4G internet from EE as well as regular phone service from O2, and am happy with both. I don't treat them as interchangeable, though they could largely serve as emergency backup for each other if one went on the blink).

[swill453]

You can get (I did, for about £20) a device that receives 4G and gives you a wifi hot-spot, and then subscribe to whatever telco offers good 4G where you are.

Presumably that'll be the mifi device mention in the OP (well the subsequent correction anyway).

Out of interest, can you share where you can get a 4G one for (about) £20?

Scott.

[doug2500]

I use 4G as I can't get landline broadband.

I've used EE for the last year, using one of their mini devices. It worked well but needs to be on a charger most of the time. They charged me £35 for the device on a monthly contract and were helpful in unlocking it when I cancelled it. You can get a business deal offering 20GB for about £14 a month right now.

Then I tried 3 because I wanted unlimited. It was okay but noticeably slower. Interestingly doing speed tests showed no difference between EE and 3 but you could feel the difference. Because I bought online I could cancel within 14 days. I did, although the service wasn't that bad.

Now I have a home router from EE that is designed to be plugged in all the time and has ethernet connectivity. It's even better than their mobile mifi device.

[UncleEbenezer]

You can get (I did, for about £20) a device that receives 4G and gives you a wifi hot-spot, and then subscribe to whatever telco offers good 4G where you are.

Presumably that'll be the mifi device mention in the OP (well the subsequent correction anyway).

Out of interest, can you share where you can get a 4G one for (about) £20?

Scott.

Mine was an emergency measure, when Virgin let me down (at my previous address, and five years ago). Went into Currys in search of *any* connection, and ended up with EE 4G including a phone-sized Alcatel device that does the job. From memory, it was about £20.

Then it turned out the a whole lot better (well, more reliable) than the Virgin cable. Though the device itself isn't: I regularly have to reboot it. But at least I can reboot it, as opposed to wait months for Virgin to do anything when their line goes down.

[stewamax]

...my existing fibre broadband data usage is about 300GB a month but I reckon the bulk of that is Mrs Bnc connecting the tv so she can watch Amazon prime movies, etc. At a guess, I should think that without the TV connection my monthly usage would be about 20GB

Have you factored in the cost of the divorce?

[Infrasonic]

I don't know if they still do them but you used to be able to get free trial SIM's with limited data allowance from the networks to see what reception and real world bandwidth was like.
If you've got an unlocked phone or mifi device that might be a good way to see how feasible it is first, before commiting to a contract.

I have noticed since a plethora of new flats have gone up in my immediate area that my median 4G bandwidth on 3 has steadily gone down, especially at peak hours, presumably contention ratio based.
I might have a look at the EE option myself if there is no improvement.

[Infrasonic]

https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2 ... ators.html

[brightncheerful]

On Saturday last, I experimented with 4G v (my) broadband. I have two iMacs and two separate broadband set-ups, (each iMac has its own router): one fibre (just checked speed: download 52, upload 15), the other ordinary wifi (download 3, upload 1).

Using my iPhone on 4G (EE data plan 5GB a month), Personal Hotspot to link to an iMac, according to EE, I had unused approx 3GB on my data plan to start with. Over the course of about an hour, I installed an OS update, synced via Dropbox a database of about 12,000 items, and generally browsed on-line, a few emails received. At the end of the experiment, EE usage indicated circa 998MB remaining. 4G was much faster but as I've said used about 2GB data.

I wouldn't expect to update the OS that often but sync the database is a regular occurrence, I assume that the sync process includes first checking all files. Generally browsing I tend to avoid movies, video, etc. Since the experiment, my iphone data remaining is approx 940MB. As I usually have the iphone connected to my fibre wifi and only use 4G when out and about, I wouldn't expect much inroad into the remaining data. Also, I have disabled many of the apps on my iphone that consume data whilst I'm not using them.

The mobile phone shop I use can arrange via EE unlimited 4G for about £60 a month. As I'm currently paying about £25 pm for 5GB (old plan, holding over), the difference of about £35 pm is worth it.

[swill453]

The mobile phone shop I use can arrange via EE unlimited 4G for about £60 a month. As I'm currently paying about £25 pm for 5GB (old plan, holding over), the difference of about £35 pm is worth it.

Hmm, what exactly are they giving you for the £60/month? An unlimited plan direct from EE costs £34/month https://shop.ee.co.uk/sim-only/pay-monthly-phones

Scott.

[brightncheerful]

The mobile phone shop I use can arrange via EE unlimited 4G for about £60 a month. As I'm currently paying about £25 pm for 5GB (old plan, holding over), the difference of about £35 pm is worth it.

Hmm, what exactly are they giving you for the £60/month? An unlimited plan direct from EE costs £34/month https://shop.ee.co.uk/sim-only/pay-monthly-phones Scott.

EE plan is for new connections only.

[swill453]

An unlimited plan direct from EE costs £34/month https://shop.ee.co.uk/sim-only/pay-monthly-phones Scott.

EE plan is for new connections only.

So get a new one.

Scott.

[brightncheerful]

Which would mean getting a new phone.

Also, having just skim-read the small print: SIM Only: Offer ends 30.07.19

[swill453]

Which would mean getting a new phone.

No, it's SIM only. Get the SIM, put it in your phone. If you want to keep your number, you may have to transfer it to another provider (using a free or almost-free SIM) and back again.

Also, having just skim-read the small print: SIM Only: Offer ends 30.07.19

Notwithstanding, the site will let you buy it now.

Scott.

[SalvorHardin]

EE plan is for new connections only.

I changed my plan in the local ee shop a few weeks ago. No need for a new SIM, new number or new phone. I didn't have to complete any paperwork.

I've been a SIM only pay monthly customer of ee for several years (ever since they closed Orange). The change of plan was from £22 per month for 10GB to £24 per month for 50GB. The unlimited data offer was available at the same time for £34.

[Infrasonic]

For those with the EE 4G data/tethering deals, what kind of median bandwidth down/up are you getting at peak hours?
And is that city/town/village in the sticks?

TIA

I

[SalvorHardin]

For those with the EE 4G data/tethering deals, what kind of median bandwidth down/up are you getting at peak hours?
And is that city/town/village in the sticks?

I'm fairly rural (small village, couple of miles from town) but ee's coverage at home is excellent (decent fibre broadband as well).

Daytime speed is excellent. I can't say exactly what the speed is as I've never bothered to check it but when I use it to stream Amazon Prime / Netflix it is fine. If downloading files on the laptop via the mobile the speed is around 7 MB per second.

Early evening (from about 6.30pm) there's some buffering some of the time. This generally gets worse as the evening and around 10.30pm I lose streaming roughly one night in three. Laptop download speed typically drops to around 1 MB per second at 10.30pm. Coverage is never so bad that I can't get a decent connection for mobile internet, except for limited streaming.

[Infrasonic]

^^ Thanks for that SH, it doesn't look like peak 4G bandwidth is significantly better with EE than I am currently getting with 3.
I noticed today that my new Pixel 3a phone is getting much better figures than the old Nexus 5, so I'll stick with what I have for the moment.