Max range for mobile broadband?

ttm

Just been checking up where the nearest 3 mast is to me and the only one I can find at http://www.askcomreg.ie/mobile/siteviewer.273.LE.asp is about 12 Km away. I'm fairly sure that is the nearest mast I can use as when I can see it line of site I get 5 bars on the modem control panel and when I move to just where I can't so its hidden by the side of a hill I get zero to one bars. The connection speed via this mast (if it is the one I'm using) isn't bad apart from the fact I need to walk 200yards down the road for it to work. So my question is, is 12Km is a workable range as that seems far to far to me and is there anyway to be sure that it is the mast I'm connecting to? OR is the askcomreg.ie site list out of date and there's a nearer mast I don't know about yet?

watty

12km is possible but is fairly rubbish. I'd be surprised if you could get 5 bars @ 12km. Signal is 1/4 or less with every double of distance. The dreaded inverse square law and Shannon-Hartley limit to speed of data for given bandwidth, power and noise level. Ye canna beat Physics, Capt'n

2km is a more reasonable max distance.

How do you know it's a phone mast? Some phone masts would be visible at 12km, most would not. A ruler at arm's length makes RTE Woodcock hill look like less than 1cm high. That's about 12km to 13km from me.

An actual Mobile phone aerial on a Mast or chimney looks like a small column loudspeaker. The local pub could have three (pointing different directions) on it's chimney (painted to match) and you'd hardly notice them. Such a pub should of course be on Comreg's site as a "mast". Comreg's site could be very inaccurate.

ttm

Well there in lies the problem Its not a rubish signal, gets a regular 2.5Mb download, but last time I tried about a year ago it was the usual contended on off landline speed 3 type conection. 3 as you would guess have always said the area has an excellent signal :rolleyes:

The mast is 12K ish away I've measured it on an OS map and I can see the actual mast that is marked on the askcomreg site. It would be a poor location for an antenna if it wasn't high up on a very large mast as its next to a wood. I'd give you my exact location but have some very good reasons for not doing so

According to the locations on the askcomreg site there are other masts 8Km and 12 Km away from me but if the signal doesn't bend around hills (I know it doesn't ) then they aren't the ones I'm using.

It is however possible that there are very few people using that sector of the cell as my line of site is along the coast across 11Km of water so some of the sector has to be pointing out to sea. Just wondering if the signal is boosted by being reflected off the sea The reason I fairly sure of the mast location is that there is nothing much along the coast except cliffs and when I move so the cliffs are between me and the probable mast the signal goes straight away, I can literally move 2m one way and have what looks to be a good 5 bar signal and back again to no bars showing on the connection software.

watty

• There may be a mast some place else.
• Yes signal does travel well across water, if that's it you will lose it when there is storm (too much wave reflections). I can't see you getting 2Mbps + across 12km of land, still even sea is unlikely, not sure.
• They don't normally waste money transmitting out to sea, or uninhabited mountains. This is why there is Marine Radio and people can't call for help up mountains. But sometimes there inexplicably is a signal out to sea.
• Maybe you are very lucky

clohamon

watty wrote: »

• There may be a mast some place else.
  

Try the Local Authority (eg County Council). They should be able to do a focused search in your area. If they won't help, you might get lucky with the online planning enquiry system. Mast installations generally require new applications for retention every five years. Search under all providers names, as they maybe sharing masts. Its not exhaustive by any means, garda stations may be hidden for security reasons or the applicant may be the just the owner of the property which is being used for mounting the panels. I believe some councils don't even require a new application where extra panels are being attached to an existing mast.

An enquiry under the guise of health and safety might get some results from the RPII. (It will probably be handed on to Comreg).

Depends how far you want to go with it.

ttm

Thanks watty I rather hoped you'd reply again

Well its a real poser? I went back and topped up a 3 modem when one of my neigbors said 3 was working OK for them. I tried outside their house and got a very poor conection as I expected but what do you expect in a valley :rolleyes:, still faster than dialup. A year ago there was no connection at that location at all, so something has changed? If I go up the hill I can get a good connection still nearst mast would be 8Km and the line of site would be good to the mast 12K away. The valley area has no site line to a mast anywhere that I know of, you can only see a couple of houses from anywhere in or around the valley and the connection speed is poor but better than nothing. I certainly wouldn't be suprised if there was a new mast not on the askcomreg site list but if it is on anyones house or on the local pub, on the church spire etc it would be localy known about and subject to comment and gossip.

On your last point anyone getting a good connection with 3 should consider themsleves lucky . I'd feel lucky if the good connection was just a bit nearer the house :rolleyes:

jay93

i have a grand connection with 3 where i am in meath..
i have to say you are very lucky to even get a service at all at 12km the range may be so good as there are probably not much people at all on the mast if it was over contended the range shrinks as far as im aware..
im less than 2km from vodafone and 3 mast both same location. i moved a few years ago before that i could see the mast when i left my house it was just right across the field from me i get a max of 2.80mb download at my current distance ive tried o2 they are also great 4mb/s after peak hours but o2's scabby 5GB allowance forced my to switch back to 3 which i have no problems with must not be a busy cell..had vodafone 3G and it was dire no more than 0.60mb/s all day..on comreg site it shows 3 have 2 masts in my area now its shows the extra cell is on the old 3 mast i noticed by looking at the mast recently that a antenna has been added to the top maybe that is the new cell???currently all privoders are in this area.
meteor,o2,3,vf all have 3G signal :D

Sponge Bob

You must be the only user in the sector apart from when a cruise ship waddles past, are both you and the mast well above sea level...30m plus ???

ttm

Sponge Bob wrote: »

You must be the only user in the sector apart from when a cruise ship waddles past, are both you and the mast well above sea level...30m plus ???

Not the only user but the only one who has bothered to look up where the mast might be and made any effort to get more than the usual so so 3 connection. Much good it will do me :rolleyes:

Checked the OS map which was good as it made me confirm exactly where the mast was and its base is over 200m above sea level and its tall enough to easily see 12km away .The best signal and speedtest seems to be the same anywhere between 1m and 20m above sea level.

I've just taken a hike up our valley up the hill and can get another good signal and good speed from higher ground inland (60m) and again I don't get to that sweet spot untill there is line of site to the mast in question again the distance would still be 12Km ish.

Untill I started checking where I was getting a signal from I would have assumed anything beyond 4k would be pointless due to the dreaded inverse square law. If a user at 4k is getting 1/16th of the signal of a person less than a k away then at 12k I'm getting 1/144 of the signal - think thats how it works

watty

yes 1/9th, so 1/16th, then 1/9th = 1/144th

But terrain can affect things.

So you need a tent and solar panel to use it from best spot?

ttm

watty wrote: »

So you need a tent and solar panel to use it from best spot?

Correct :mad: