Broadband solutions for those who has no fiber lines yet

alex_r

Hello guys,

Has any of you in Tolka Vallery Business Park(that's in Dublin)? We are moving in next week and we need to set up a decent internet. we are a small sign and printing company and we need decent broadband. However, for some weird reason, this business park isn't linked with Fiber lines yet. So we are limited either to copper lines(4-5mb max) or 4g modem(unstable 15-30mb customer grade internet).

Any ideas? That won't break our bank?

We talked to microwave and other wireless and direct fiber guys but the costs are 150-600 per month. That's too much for us.
Something in a range of 40-60 would be fine.

Thank you
Alex

M.T.D

I got a 4g modem that has an option for an external arial, I then put the external arial (like an old TV arial but smaller) high up on the wall outside pointing at the local mast. Turned my wireless broadband from a flakey 2 bars to a solid 4. Biggest down side is no fixed IP address

Axwell

Did you ask any of the companies around you what they are using? Best option is to ask them as suggestions of 4G etc are totally dependant on location. The best people to ask are the companies there who have the same problem.

alex_r

M.T.D wrote: »

I got a 4g modem that has an option for an external arial, I then put the external arial (like an old TV arial but smaller) high up on the wall outside pointing at the local mast. Turned my wireless broadband from a flakey 2 bars to a solid 4. Biggest down side is no fixed IP address

wow, that's great to hear. When we check with our phones we get 2-3 bars as well.
What type of 4g modem and provider is it?
I wonder can I buy my own 4g modem and gear and use it with Vodafone or Three?

Axwell wrote: »

Did you ask any of the companies around you what they are using? Best option is to ask them as suggestions of 4G etc are totally dependant on location. The best people to ask are the companies there who have the same problem.

We did ask a few. Some use old Eircom lines, some Three, some just are tethering from their phones. Not much news as for now tbh.

Axwell

You can buy your own 4G/LTE Modem online on Amazon if you go down that route. Can't speak for what sort of speeds you would get in Dublin but I had to look at options for a while for rural broadband. Three is slow but steady, but a lot of people just get a rolling 30-day contract sim for a phone and stick that in the modem as its all you can eat data with Three on that - the problem is with so many people using it the speeds arent fantastic.

Went with Vodafone but its a 2 year contract with them using their equipment, the service and speed was great to start with then turned appauling a few weeks in. Had many back and forths with them on their forum here about it as did others, they eventually seemed to fix whatever was going on after months of hassling them and the speeds were better. I used an antenna as was mentioned above and could get 50MB on a good day but again it depends on a couple of factors.

You can get vodafone and return it within 2 weeks I think it is if you arent happy with it. Best thing to do is get someone with a vodafone sim and check what sort of signal you get around the office and that will give you a good indication of the signal strength and if its viable or not.

Its by no means a replacement for decent fibre broadband but in a rural location where broadband was needed it was better than anything else available. It might be worth contacting Eir where you are and see if there is any indication of them upgrading the lines in the next few months.

alex_r

Alrite I see. Thanks Axwell.

Im leaning towards Vodafone to be honest. I'm with them myself and their broadband is with a 150gb data cap. the Three All You Can Eat plan is not really all you can eat. It's capped at 60gb by their fair usage policy and they reserve the right to limit your service.

I never used 4g modems or dealt with antennas. I guess I have to research that what providers allow that and what and where to buy all this gear. What would be the best forum for that?

Its by no means a replacement for decent fibre broadband

The biggest disadvantage for me is the lack of fixed IP.. I need to connect to my office from time to time. but I guess I could use some dynamic dns services for that

It might be worth contacting Eir

I did. And they couldn't give me any straight answer. Really weird. I could FTTH cabinets around our area, no idea what they can't be used.

Axwell

Three is capped by the fair usage but not enforced which is why people are using them in 4G modems. Vodafone you can buy an add on for 10 Eur for an extra 100Gb.

If you go with Vodafone then it's the Gigacube they give you which is a Huawei b528. You could check the signal speed without an antenna first, it's not always necessary depending on location. If you need one then this omnidirectional will do the job - https://www.irishwireless.net/xpol-a0001, you need a set of pigtails then as the fitting on the antenna cables is different to the modem.


Your other option might be Imagine - they have an LTE service also with the number of users per mast limited. Around there there may not be a lot of people using it and you might be able to use their service. Worth looking into as another option.

The midband forum is where most of the rural broadband/4G talk goes on and is the solution you are looking at.

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=1147

Trojan

I'm in this situation, fibre coming soon and I needed a temporary solution to get me through 6-12 weeks waiting.

I looked at all the Vodafone & Three 4G offers.

It's either 24 month contract - with potential for you to suddenly and completely unexpectedly drop speeds after you pass the cooling off period. I'm sure it's absolutely coincidental that that same thing happens so often to so many people.

Or Pay as You Go with crazy data caps, and it gets expensive quickly.

In the end, I bought a TP Link 4G router from Argos for ~€100, and tried a few different pay as you go SIMs.

In the end, I am getting a very solid 3G signal on both Tesco Mobile and 48months, who are piggybacking on Tesco. Tesco is 15GB for €15, 48months is 25GB for €15, so that's what I'm on now. It's good enough for video conference most of the time.

Here's a speedtest from right now on 48months:



That goes down to 1.5-2Mb down, 0.5-1Mb up when it's busy, but it's ok for now. I'm using around 40-50GB a month so this is ~€30 with no lock in.

HTH.

Axwell

Tesco mobile uses the Three network anyways, so the speeds are going to be pretty much the same for both but with Three if you buy a sim and your own router it's basically all you can eat data but with the lower speeds like Tesco/48 due to congestion.

If the OP needs higher speeds and multiple users in the office its probably not going to cut it. Vodafone will give better speeds (again check your location for coverage) but you are locked to their contract. As regards the speed drops after the cooling off period that was an issue and I had back and forth with them on their own forum on here over it but eventually, after a lot of hassling them we got them to make changes and it seems to be stable since then so while not guaranteed its certainly better than it was.

If there isn't likely to be any other options in place during that time it may be the best solution as you are limited to 4G/LTE broadband unless Eir plan an upgrade.

EdgeCase

The speeds on Tesco Mobile and 3 are not the same. They're a dull MVNO with their own backhaul infrastructure. They only use 3's radio network.

If you've good Eir signal they're also a very decent option.

alex_r

We are going to try three sim only plan and see how it goes.

I am looking to buy Huawei B525 router. But I just read on Amazon one comment complaining about lack of bridge mode. It doesn't exist there.
Could someone confirm that, please?

Axwell

Can't confirm but a quick google brings up this https://forum.huawei.com/enterprise/en/B525s-23a-Where-did-the-bridge-mode-go/thread/443553-863

Trojan

Just noting a couple of other things:

With Tesco, you lose the balance of data when you renew, e.g. I lost 3GB when I renewed at 12GB used, leaving 15 not the 18 I hoped.

With 48months, when you renew, the renewal date is still at the end of the month, and doesn't replenish data immediately.

Here's a speedtest from Tesco Mobile 3G coverage right now (10:55am on a Tuesday) outskirts of Westport town: