Mobile broadband? Tethering?

[GarraGee]

I want to set up a broadband connection in my flat, with the following criteria:

It will be fairly low use, so I'm figuring a PAYG deal might be the best.

There are many devices available and I understand that tethering might also be an option....this uses a mobile phone??????

Can anyone offer advice or share their experience?

Thank you.

GG

[Infrasonic]

I've been doing it for four years now with 3 on an 'all you can eat' 4G phone data, 12GB per month tethering allowance deal. £18 a month SIM only 12 month contract, works fine for me.
They do a 30GB a month tethering deal for more money.

The only real caveat is in my case the 3 transmitter is less than 100m from my flat, if you are further away or out in the sticks it may not be practical.
Peak hours tend to be variable on bandwidth as contention ratios play a part, but off peak I've regularly hit 60 Mbps downstream and 30 Mbps up, which is better than many fiber BB/landline connections (the one I'm posting from now is 35 down 10 up...)

[Itsallaguess]

I want to set up a broadband connection in my flat, with the following criteria:

It will be fairly low use, so I'm figuring a PAYG deal might be the best.

Depending on what you mean by 'fairly low use', then keep this option in your back-pocket -

1. Huawei E5330 (£26.15) - Portable Mi-Fi device - allows multiple device connection to wifi broadband network (3G, but 4G options are available, but they'd need to match the SIM cards...) -

https://www.amazon.co.uk/HUAWEI-E5330-G ... B00INXBW3U

2. Three 'Data Reward' SIM - Free 200MB per month -

https://www.three.co.uk/Free_SIM_MBB/Order

3. For more data, there's a few options for data SIM's, for example - Three Mobile Pay As You Go Mobile Broadband 12 GB Data SIM -

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Three-Mobile-P ... D4VKC?th=1

The 12GB (£29.99) and less SIM cards will last for 12-months from first-activation, but the 24GB (£44.48) SIM option will last for 24 months.

I don't think they run out if not activated, so you can keep a spare if needed.

I've been very happy with the network coverage when using the above set-up around many parts of the UK, but of course you should always check the local coverage for the type of situation you're specifically wanting here. There's a THREE coverage map below, but most of the data-providers will have their own if you're looking for different options -

http://www.three.co.uk/Discover/Network/Coverage

I've been using the above set-up for years, and they are brilliant, especially given that a number of devices can connect to the MIFI at the same time.

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

[Alaric]

There are many devices available and I understand that tethering might also be an option....this uses a mobile phone?

I think tethering means using the computer's broadband connection on the phone. The opposite, which I think is what you want is "Mobile hot spot". In this, the phone broadcasts a wi-fi signal which your computer connects to, so you need a computer that's wi-fi enabled. You get internet through the 3G/4G connection on the phone. You would need a phone contract/deal with a decent data allowance and one that permitted "pass through".

I use Mobile Hot Spot if away from home and there's no local wi-fi. Also at home if the conventional broadband is out of action for any reason.

On my relatively new Android, it's under Settings, "Network & Internet", "Hotspot & tethering"

[GarraGee]

Thanks, at the risk of being a pain, I meant to ask If one can use EITHER an IPad (2, vintage 2011) or a W10 laptop?

As you can see, this is all new stuff to me.

Can one have a telephone line connection but without the voice part?

[Infrasonic]

Thanks, at the risk of being a pain, I meant to ask If one can use EITHER an IPad (2, vintage 2011) or a W10 laptop?

As you can see, this is all new stuff to me.

Can one have a telephone line connection but without the voice part?

Anything that has WiFi capability should be able to connect to a WiFi hotspot (smartphone tethering) or MiFi dongle (mobile BB.)

[Alaric]

At a more general level, there are perhaps four methods of getting data to and from your property.

There's the copper land line ("traditional"), the fibre equivalent, cable (as in Virgin) and through the mobile phone networks.

On all of these you need some device to be able to talk to both the internet and your user device. Mobile phones can double up both as your user device and internet connection, but there are also dedicated devices using the mobile networks as mentioned by others.

On landlines, the fashion seems to be to package a cheap broadband offering with compulsory expensive line rental.

[Infrasonic]

Can one have a telephone line connection but without the voice part?

https://www.broadbandchoices.co.uk/guid ... phone-line

How do I get internet without getting line rental included in the price? It’s a question we’re asked all the time. If you want broadband without a phone line, there are several ways to go about getting it, but be warned - it might not actually work out cheaper…

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/phone ... broadband/

[GarraGee]

Thanks for all the input, v.much appreciated.

GG

[UncleEbenezer]

I've been doing it for four years now with 3 on an 'all you can eat' 4G phone data, 12GB per month tethering allowance deal. £18 a month SIM only 12 month contract, works fine for me.

I have a broadly similar deal from EE. £21/month for 15Gb allowance, which suits my usage (other deals are available for different data allowances). Connection speeds in the same ballpark as Virgin Cable when the latter was working well, and much more consistent/reliable than Virgin's pot-luck. A decent solution if the signal is right, but not really cheaper than a regular broadband deal unless you also dispense with land-line phone altogether (as I do - my landline number is VOIP).

Note that a 4G signal may suffer more latency than regular broadband (ADSL or up), which can affect the quality of real-time communication. You might find 'phone calls over the 'net less-than-ideal, especially video calls like skype. My mobile is with O2, and their data signal here if I turn wifi off is fine for regular 'net use but not always for VOIP - especially videoconferencing.

[gt94sss2]

I've been doing it for four years now with 3 on an 'all you can eat' 4G phone data, 12GB per month tethering allowance deal. £18 a month SIM only 12 month contract, works fine for me.
They do a 30GB a month tethering deal for more money.

FYI - 3 are having to remove their limits on tethering (12/30GB etc) that they have had for the past few years. In future, you will be able to tether as much data as your phone contract allows.

See https://www.ofcom.org.uk/about-ofcom/la ... s/cw_01218 for more details.

[Alaric]

In future, you will be able to tether as much data as your phone contract allows.

From the link

allow customers to connect (or “tether”) to the internet using equipment of their choice (e.g. create a personal hotspot with their mobile phone so they can connect their laptop or tablet to the internet) and to use their full data allowance to do this.

[vrdiver]

1. Huawei E5330 (£26.15) - Portable Mi-Fi device - allows multiple device connection to wifi broadband network (3G, but 4G options are available, but they'd need to match the SIM cards...) -

https://www.amazon.co.uk/HUAWEI-E5330-G ... B00INXBW3U

2. Three 'Data Reward' SIM - Free 200MB per month -

https://www.three.co.uk/Free_SIM_MBB/Order

3. For more data, there's a few options for data SIM's, for example - Three Mobile Pay As You Go Mobile Broadband 12 GB Data SIM -

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Three-Mobile-P ... D4VKC?th=1

The 12GB (£29.99) and less SIM cards will last for 12-months from first-activation, but the 24GB (£44.48) SIM option will last for 24 months.

I don't think they run out if not activated, so you can keep a spare if needed.

We also use the Huawei E5330 with a Three Data sim (when traveling). It works very well (connecting an ipad, an android phone and a Chromebook simultaneously).

I check the price of the sim cards with both Amazon and my.memory.co.uk (e.g. https://www.mymemory.co.uk/3-payg-4g-tr ... -data.html ). Currently, Amazon is the better deal for the 24Gb card whilst my.memory is cheaper for the 12Gb one. The last card I had sat in the drawer for 6 months before I installed it - the 12 months expiry started from the day I connected it to the phone network.

VRD

[vrdiver]

I have a 40 Gb 4g allowance per month.
<snip>
It has turned out to be a good, cost effective option for me.

For people wanting continuous usage, month in, month out, I agree that type of solution is probably the best alternative to a land-line, and can be cheaper than the LL depending on usage etc.

For those with time-variable requirements (e.g. use heavily some weeks, then very little if at all for a month or two, repeating with variation over the year) having a monthly fee is annoying for those months it's not required. In my case, we use about 15-20Gb a year, so on the face of it, a 2 or 3GB monthly plan would suffice. Problem is, our usage is skewed to 6 or 7 weeks weighted towards Spring and Summer use, with peak month of about 6Gb.

The data sims work well for my sort of usage, the monthly plan for yours. Hopefully the OP has a fair idea of their own usage pattern and one or other type of solution will meet their needs!

VRD

[Infrasonic]

Note that a 4G signal may suffer more latency than regular broadband (ADSL or up), which can affect the quality of real-time communication. You might find 'phone calls over the 'net less-than-ideal, especially video calls like skype. My mobile is with O2, and their data signal here if I turn wifi off is fine for regular 'net use but not always for VOIP - especially videoconferencing.

The EE fibre BB I ping tested last night was 11ms, and my 3 connection was around 25ms.
Be interesting to know what sort of caching the 4G infrastructure uses (if any?) to try and optimise VOIP/Video performance going forward.
Smartphone RAM cache anyone?...

[Infrasonic]

FWIW, I have just now finished Skyping Mrs Bloggs. We chatted for 1.5 hours in good quality video/speech. I am in Australia and she is in the UK. At my end I am tethered to 4g. Simply no issues. A great way to keep intoch even from the other side of the world.

It's going to be hardware dependent too I would have thought. Video Skypeing on a cheapo smartphone won't go too well I would imagine, I've never had an issue on my Nexus 5 though.

[Infrasonic]

FWIW, I have just now finished Skyping Mrs Bloggs. We chatted for 1.5 hours in good quality video/speech. I am in Australia and she is in the UK. At my end I am tethered to 4g. Simply no issues. A great way to keep intoch even from the other side of the world.

It's going to be hardware dependent too I would have thought. Video Skypeing on a cheapo smartphone won't go too well I would imagine, I've never had an issue on my Nexus 5 though.

Surprise surprise. At my end I have a cheapo 4G Nokia handset, acting as a hotspot to a three year old ASUS laptop by WiFi. The other side of the world, Mrs Bloggs is using an iPad on WiFi from a BT home hub. Nothing exotic. But it DOES improve things greatly if Mrs Bloggs sits near the WiFi router.

In that case the laptop hardware is doing the Skype codecs though, not the phone which is just a 4G conduit. I was on about actually doing a Skype video call directly on the phone, where hardware specs will play a part. I wonder how low spec you could go before it becomes too rubbish?

[Infrasonic]

Surprise surprise. At my end I have a cheapo 4G Nokia handset, acting as a hotspot to a three year old ASUS laptop by WiFi. The other side of the world, Mrs Bloggs is using an iPad on WiFi from a BT home hub. Nothing exotic. But it DOES improve things greatly if Mrs Bloggs sits near the WiFi router.

In that case the laptop hardware is doing the Skype codecs though, not the phone which is just a 4G conduit. I was on about actually doing a Skype video call directly on the phone, where hardware specs will play a part. I wonder how low spec you could go before it becomes too rubbish?

Yes, indeed. The phone is just the piggy in the middle between the laptop and the outside world. I do use a GBP 99 Lenovo tablet sometimes to exactly the same thing and that works just fine too. So I guess you don't need exotic hardware to Skype across the globe in decent fidelity video with pretty decent lip sync on the audio. Key for us has been get close to the WiFi router at home for Mrs Bloggs. Across the other side of the house just doesn't cut it even though the signal is showing as strong.

Good to know about the Lenovo tablet, I've had a play with them in PC World and they get good reviews, more tempted now... Is the iPad on 2.4 or 5Ghz WiFi? N or AC?

[UncleEbenezer]

In that case the laptop hardware is doing the Skype codecs though, not the phone which is just a 4G conduit. I was on about actually doing a Skype video call directly on the phone, where hardware specs will play a part. I wonder how low spec you could go before it becomes too rubbish?

No problem with skype on my cheapo Moto-G. At least, not until MS updated skype and stopped it working altogether (along with other platforms like a middle-aged macbook). I doubt a smartphone with inadequate processing power exists.

[Infrasonic]

In that case the laptop hardware is doing the Skype codecs though, not the phone which is just a 4G conduit. I was on about actually doing a Skype video call directly on the phone, where hardware specs will play a part. I wonder how low spec you could go before it becomes too rubbish?

No problem with skype on my cheapo Moto-G. At least, not until MS updated skype and stopped it working altogether (along with other platforms like a middle-aged macbook). I doubt a smartphone with inadequate processing power exists.

Even if such a device exists, you can now download and use Skype "lite".

Is that generally available or region blocked though? Many of those 'lite' Android apps are for India and other DN. Whenever I've tried to get hold of them in the app store I get region blocked, and I can't be bothered doing VPN or spoofing for the sake of an app...