3G with static IP

HiFi Guru

Has anyone heard of a 3G dongle / device that can provide a static IP address? I need to remotely access a device and can not put a phone line where the device is, so the only option I have is a wireless signal. As far as I am aware 3G dongles work on dynamic IP, which is useless for my needs, so any advise would be greatly appreciated.

PogMoThoin

Its definitely not possible to get static on 3g, although in the early days of O2 mobile I read of some that had dyndns working and updating fine. Today I'm fairly sure most of the providers don't even give a unique public ip to each device, its one big NATted LAN. A VPN is probably your only hope.

HiFi Guru

Cheers for the update Pog. I'm thinking of going with Imagine as their units are provided with a static IP address, may save all of the hassle, assuming I can get a signal in the first place!!

ted1

there are some companies that can offer static IP addresses.

If you tell us the device you need to access. I may be able to recomend a method.

http://www.3grouterstore.co.uk/3G/Fixed_IP_SIM.html

heres one company, havn't used thie particualr crowd, tryign to route around to find the name of th ecompany we have used in the past.

you could also look at something like http://www.dyndns.com/

HiFi Guru

Thanks for the reply Ted. I was thinking of using one of the "3" wireless (it's a Huawei B260a Wireless gateway) 3G routers as it has an Ethernet port and saves me having compatibility issues trying to use the USB port and a conventional dongle on the DrayTek 2820n router that the client wants to use.

http://tinyurl.com/6zoux8g

The sim cards with static IP look perfect, but having not used them I don't want to be caught on site field testing them for a day only to find out they don't work. Nothing more frustrating than wasting a day you'll never get paid for.

As for the dns method, I can't load the software onto the device and have it run in the background unfortunately, it would have been a simple solution too

kfdb

I wonder if this would be worth a sticky - it seems to be a really common question.

None of the providers in Ireland offer static routable IP's on their mobile broadband services. Vodafone and O2 offer a private static IP service thats good for these types of applications. The SIM attaches to a shared private APN and you get to assign it an address from your own LAN. It can then be reached as an extension of your LAN and/or you can use a VPN client to 'dial in' a smartphone/PDA or PC if you want to see it from out and about.

This works well for SCADA/Telemetry data, CCTV, alarms etc, provided you've got coverage of course. You can even route a subnet to a 3G SIM should you want to put a small LAN or multiple devices out in the field.

If it has to be on the internet, you need to get a SIM from one of the UK providers (Wireless Logic, Eseye etc) - they tend to be expensive and are always (to my knowledge) on an 18 month contact and direct debit. And the overage charges are pretty steep.

I've never had much success with DynDNS in Ireland although it should in theory work on O2's network. The others put a transparent firewall infront of their mobile clients that will drop packets not part of an existing stream.

K.

jor el

HiFi Guru wrote: »

I need to remotely access a device and can not put a phone line where the device is, so the only option I have is a wireless signal.

A 3G connection cannot be relied upon, and when it disconnects, you may need to have someone local reconnect. For remote control/access, 3G is a very bad idea. Even if you do manage to get around the IP issue, it may not work anyway.

HiFi Guru

Hi guys, thanks for the replies. I've been in touch with the company from the UK that supply the sim cards with static IP, just waiting for pricing now. I'm sure it ain't going to be cheap.

I always avoid wireless connections like the plague when I can, as it is never as good as an old fashioned cable plugged into the devise. Unfortunately that is not an option, hence the search for a wireless solution.

kfdb

jor el wrote: »

A 3G connection cannot be relied upon, and when it disconnects, you may need to have someone local reconnect. For remote control/access, 3G is a very bad idea. Even if you do manage to get around the IP issue, it may not work anyway.

To be fair, this is only partly accurate. If you are using a USB modem based solution, its unlikely to work as the modems aren't designed for always-on use (they overheat and change shape) and the software is worse than useless.

For real M2M/SCADA applications there are plenty of 3G/GPRS routers that are great at holding a signal and some offer multi-SIM resilience.

I agree that signal is the real issue - both local baseline and the variability as masts get busy or undergo maintenance. It might be argued that all shared mediums suffer from this to some degree.

There are plenty of day-to-day systems that depend on cellular connectivity - it can be done but its not as cheap as some people would like it to be. I build these for a living and if you aren't spending €300+ on a proper M2M gateway plus at least €25+ per month on a billpay tariff, you are likely better off with wireline broadband. For some, cellular is the only option.

K.

jor el

HiFi Guru wrote: »

Hi guys, thanks for the replies. I've been in touch with the company from the UK that supply the sim cards with static IP, just waiting for pricing now. I'm sure it ain't going to be cheap.

You'll be paying roaming data charges, which will cost an absolute mint. Good luck, but this should really be a last option. Have you looked into fixed wireless broadband providers in the area? Or are all fixed placement solutions out of the question?

HiFi Guru

I've looked at Imagine's wireless solution, which would need on site testing to confirm signal strength, etc, so it hasn't been ruled out just yet. I have a feeling it will not be a runner though. A reliable 3G solution seems the most logical, as the mobile networks are the most prevalent country wide, and logic dictates that their network infrastructure should only improve over time.

Thanks for all of the updates and advise guys, much appreciated!!!

kfdb

jor el wrote: »

You'll be paying roaming data charges, which will cost an absolute mint. Good luck, but this should really be a last option. Have you looked into fixed wireless broadband providers in the area? Or are all fixed placement solutions out of the question?

The point regarding roaming is specifically relevant - even if you are careful to run a decent firewall, any traffic directed at your device will come out of your agreed tariff/bundle. So, if someone decides to ping you, you pick up the tab. I've seen this go badly wrong and, as the SIM providers are on direct debit, the money is gone before you know it.

Using a local fixed wireless is usually best for a one-off implementation but the lack of a single ubiquitous provider means that its difficult to operate a deployment across many sites. If your requirement is (say) a vending machine at every bus stop or a kiosk in every Texaco, you'd be managing many different ISP relationships and several different types of local hardware.

K.

ingen

HiFi Guru wrote: »

Has anyone heard of a 3G dongle / device that can provide a static IP address? I need to remotely access a device and can not put a phone line where the device is, so the only option I have is a wireless signal. As far as I am aware 3G dongles work on dynamic IP, which is useless for my needs, so any advise would be greatly appreciated.

hi have you looked at the O2 managed/ private APN? this will allow you to have a static ip address on a sim, and also get real time data usage updates from each sim, you load software ( SSL gateway) on a pc that has internet access , and then this creates a secure connection from each sim over the mobile network , back to your lan ( the SSL GW) then you could have them connect to a proxy server on your lan for internet access? then you have full visability on each sim, in real time on data usage, and other stats and if a sim stops working you would notice it very quickly..

this is probably the better solution, rather than each device having a public ip address, using the SSL GW only you ( your ip subnet / ssl gw's ) can connect to the remote devices, and are more manageable, also only your sims would be able to access your private APN

subscribers cannot access private APNs that are not provisioned in their HLR subscription profile, which is managed by the operator..

one last point is the added security, ie you can lock a sim down to only work when in a device with a certain imei, so if someone takes the sim out, and sticks it in a different phone/3g modem, the sim wont work, and also there are other restrictions you can put on too.

depending on what way you are setting up your networking, this may or may not suit your needs.

asjarvis

Currently using a card in the UK from Orange with a public static IP which works perfect for our solution. I am wondering if anyone knows of a similar solution within Ireland which may have become available since this thread was started a couple of years ago.

Cheers

Antony

eirator

Still nothing. But afaik all the addresses used for Broadband (as opposed to Mobile Phones) are mostly public. For example I know for sure that the Broadband APN used by 3 is different to the phone APN and the phone APN uses NAT and a few IP addresses but the Broadband APN provides a unique but changable public IP address.

PHVideo

I currently have a client with the same problem, he's based on the border in the north but can only pick up southern networks, no 3G just fairly good mobile signal, you have any idea which router /sim would be best to go with?

ted1

O2 can provide SIMS witha static IP address for about 25 quid a month with a data bundle. these guys look after it for them asavie.com

or there are guys in th eUK who can give you a roaming SIM with a static IP that is cheap enough providing you don't need to much traffic.

BulliteShot

I've got around this myself by using a VPN. Once you're in the VPN then any other computers in your VPN can access your network through the tunnel it creates as if it was on it's own network.

I personally use and like the free version of Hamachi.

JohnMac1

We used Netcelero to get a static IP on a rural site on 4G.