Mobile broadband

[arthurk]

Normally we have broadband that comes down the phone line, but we're heading for a situation where that's not going to be possible, so we're looking into using mobile broadband for a time. This is all new territory, so please excuse some basic questions.

1. We're going to have temporary use of a smartphone (this too is a new experience, though we're familiar with tablets), and I see this can be used as an internet hotspot (it's 4G, and signal strength looks OK), provided we have sufficient credit/data allowance. The phone manual says you can connect other devices by USB or bluetooth, and more than one bluetooth device at once. At least some of the time we're going to want to have two devices connected at once (laptops and/or iPads), so would doubling up with bluetooth mean significantly worse performance? It's very unlikely there'd be any streaming etc going on - just things like checking emails, looking at RootsChat and other fairly light internet use.

2. Alternatively, do mobile dongle/mifi/router devices have anything to recommend them? Cost isn't an issue, but do they offer better performance?

3. Security - all this will happen within the home, so will our existing laptop internet security packages be sufficient? Do we need to be looking at things like VPNs as well, or just making sure the smartphone has its own protection as well? It's possible that we'd need to do some online banking or other secure business.

That's all that occurs to me at present, but I can't guarantee there won't be follow-up questions as well.

[trystan]

Hi Arthur,

It does look like telecom companies forsee the exodus of landlines as we know them now, to more people using the internet exclusively via mobile networks. So you're one of the pioneers!

We have to use mobile data when we are away from home (which is not often currently), and we need reliability. So we have a 3g/lte/4g router from Huawei. It's pointless giving you the model number as there are newer versions of it now. It has proper 3g/4g aerials for a good solid signal, and you can connect many computers to it wirelessly (WiFi), and also via ethernet cable too. It uses a SIM card.

We bought an unlocked router, so it's not tied to any particular mobile provider, but you can get good deals if you are not worried about a device being locked to a network.

For additional reliablity, our mobiles can also be used as "Wifi Hotspots" if need be. They are on a different network to the Huawei router. That's useful incase there happens to be poor coverage in an area for a particular mobile provider.

You may need to check if tethering is allowed on whatever mobile network you are on. The last time we checked (which is a while back), that was not always the case.

To give yourself an idea of how much data you will need, you might be able to look at your usage history of your current broadband provider. If you can't see it, it's worth giving the customer services a call and ask them.

There's no need get additional security when using mobile networks for data. When you see the padlock on the website, it's secure from your machine to that website, irrelevant of how you connect to it.

For things like internet banking, I would always prefer a PC (or equivalent) rather than a tablet or smartphone - but that's down to device security only, not the broadband connection.

Trystan

[arthurk]

Thanks, Trystan, that’s quite reassuring.

Like you, I’m reluctant to use anything but a well-protected PC for internet banking, so if the mobile connection is just as secure as the phone line that should be fine. You spotted one thing I forgot to mention - the mobile company say that tethering is OK.

So if we can do all this with the smartphone, would there be any point in getting a separate mobile router? Is it likely to give better speeds and/or cope better with having more than one device using it at the same time?

[Michael J]

Are you with BT? When their line went faulty for a few days my package entitled me to a usb 4g router
which was delivered within 24 hours with free data & was just as quick as my normal line.

Michael.

[groom]

I have a a Huawei E5576  dongle I use when I'm at my caravan - you can connect up to 16 devices to it and either charge it up or keep it connected to the mains via a USB socket. I use an EE sim in it. The speed is fast and it is secure. However this probably wouldn't be worth it if it is a one off trip.

I also use my phone as a hotspot and tether both my laptop and iPad to it. That might be the better option for you.

[mike175]

If using a smartphone make sure your tariff has adequate data allowance as exceeding it can be a very expensive way to buy bandwidth 

Something else to be aware of is that the 4G signal strength can vary a lot (down to zero in some cases) in different parts of the house.

When we had a very slow landline I often found 4G was a lot faster.

[mazi]

If using a smartphone make sure your tariff has adequate data allowance as exceeding it can be a very expensive way to buy bandwidth 

Much of this, tethering, voip etc. is double dutch  to me as as I don’t have a smartphone, just a very dumb one as the signal can only be obtained by climbing a tree.

I am told that if I watch the snooker on my iPad I would very rapidly use a huge amount of data if I was doing so over the mobile network.

One question I have is if landline is to end, then why at this moment are gigaclear digging up miles and miles of road to give us fibre to the house.

As is see it landline is to continue, the only difference is that our phone conversations will be digital, not analogue, and a replacement handset is all that’s needed.

Someone correct me if I’m wrong as a new voip smartphone and unlimited data seems to remove about a tenth of my old age pension every month 


Mike

[trystan]

So if we can do all this with the smartphone, would there be any point in getting a separate mobile router? Is it likely to give better speeds and/or cope better with having more than one device using it at the same time?

The advantage of a dedicated 3g/4G/LTE Router is that they have improved capabilities as far as reception (with internal and external antennas), and are designed specifically for routing. A smartphone, on the other hand, has many functions, so I would expect the tethering to be a bit of a compromise.

The advantage of just using the smartphone for tethering is that you don't need a separate SIM card for a router, or the purchase of the router itself.

Perhaps just see how you go on.

Trystan

[andrewalston]

I don't use a landline.

My normal arrangement is to use the "hotspot" facility of my smartphone. I pay £90 for 3 months worth of unlimited data, voice and texts, using pay-as-you-go on 3.

I wander around with the phone during the day, turn on the hotspot when I get home, and plug in the charger. Of course I can also use the laptop when I'm out and about.

The phone allows up to 8 devices to connect using wireless, and the range is fine. I get speeds up to 14Mbps using 4G inside my house, which is fast enough to stream TV and still have a decent browsing speed.

I have noticed that 3 are in the habit of doing maintenance when I least want them to. Data will stop flowing just after midnight (when I've just located an interesting record), or just after 8 am.