best home broadband options?

ArrBee

MODS:
I thought I had started this inside the Midband forum.
Any chance this could be moved ?
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I've been using three mobile broadband for a few years and looking to see what else is out there as far as 4g products go.

The reason why I'm not just looking up the various operators marketing info is because I know that there are some loopholes available sometimes. I guess I am interested in these...

I have a locked huawei modem currently and would have no issue getting an unlocked one for the couple of years until NBI comes along.

I am a heavy data user. I would prefer to not have to think about a limit, but if there was a limit, I guess 300GB minimum would be OK. I would prefer at least 500GB.


Are there any "phone based all you can eat data" packages like the three PAYG one, where I can put the sim into a modem and feed the WAPs and Switches in the house?

johng906

I'm thinking along similar lines with getting mobile broadband to the house

Considering three, Vodafone and eir - router included and contract

Also interested in what folks think are best / best overall

happyplants

Similar position here. From what I can see Virgin is quite limited to 80GB per sim, even if coverage is good that's a negative. Eir have a product that's throttled at 750GB.


The problem, however, as with all is knowing the real-life speeds in a particular setting.

ArrBee

Well the particular setting has to be tested to be honest.
No one can tell you what performance to expect in your setting.


I have found three to be fine for my setting except for the congestion in the evenings.
As more houses jump on to the same cell it has gotten worse over time.

I would definitely recommend three as a product (value wise) depending on your setting.

The Eir plan looks interesting. It's unlimited with a 750GB FUP. which sounds OK.
My only concern is that it is Eir and a contract - which means cancelling after 12months could be a challenge....

happyplants

ArrBee wrote: »

Well the particular setting has to be tested to be honest.
No one can tell you what performance to expect in your setting.


I have found three to be fine for my setting except for the congestion in the evenings.
As more houses jump on to the same cell it has gotten worse over time.

I would definitely recommend three as a product (value wise) depending on your setting.

The Eir plan looks interesting. It's unlimited with a 750GB FUP. which sounds OK.
My only concern is that it is Eir and a contract - which means cancelling after 12months could be a challenge....

Yeah, I think I can get the brother in law's sim for three to test and I may just buy an Eir sim in the morning.


Its probably the best I can do on short notice (house purchase here), but at least I might get a view on Eir sim coverage for the purposes of seeing what the modem / router product could expect assuming I was able to host the sim on an outdoor 4G antenna etc.


Still from tests, I'm assuming between 15 and 20 (from testing virgin outdoors) and I'm not really sure if that is enough to run a household assuming I can even keep that up indoors. Not super keen on needing two or three different 4G systems to replicate the usability I have in Dublin, but I'm out of options unless Imagine work and I won't know that until I own the house!

ArrBee

@happyplants
every house will be different.

Make sure you have, or are borrowing a suitable modem/router when testing the SIM as they will be better than a phone.


In my situation I have young kids (so not using the internet yet) they only use Sky on demand downloads, the Mrs does the instagram thing and I download lots (100's of GB) but only really stream radio, spotify, and youtube and the occasional gaming.

Three used to give me up to 40Mb up/down (around the time the took on O2 customers), so the connection/reception can achieve that, but in the last few years it has been capped at 20Mb up/down.
most evenings I get around 2Mb down due to congestion, and occasionally sub 1Mb I guess due to network issues. (storms etc).
Upload always seems to be less effected by congestion - which makes sense.

This instability has lead me to not even consider streaming services like netflix.

With all that considered, I don't get complaints from the Mrs about slow net unless I am downloading in the evening.
I dont feel I will get anything good enough to stream 4k until NBI arrives, but I would like to get something that will give a minimum of, say, 10Mb so I can stream 720p always and 1080p sometimes.

I have tested vodafone to be 2-3 times better than three at my location during peak times and same/slightly better during off peak. But they dont seem to have a suitable plan available.
Unless, their "unlimited data plans for phones" works the same as the three PAYG plan where you can use it in a modem and effectively tether with limitless/high FUP.

If anyone has personal experience of doing this on vodafone I'd be keen to hear.

I will ask around to see if I can find an eir SIM to test with too as this could be a good option.

ED E

ArrBee wrote: »

Make sure you have, or are borrowing a suitable modem/router when testing the SIM as they will be better than a phone.

Disagree with this. Lots of the LTE routers floating about are CAT4 or CAT6 basic devices, loads of people have CAT20 devices in their pockets right now. As long as your phone isnt a potato it can be by far the best test platform.

ArrBee

ED E wrote: »

Disagree with this. Lots of the LTE routers floating about are CAT4 or CAT6 basic devices, loads of people have CAT20 devices in their pockets right now. As long as your phone isnt a potato it can be by far the best test platform.

Hence the "suitable" part of it.
My point was more about the that fact that phones tend to err on the side of battery preservation when it comes to reception.

I would have thought that if the bottleneck is the provider, increasing the category rating of your own device wouldn't improve performance??

ED E

LTE-A bypasses some of the congestion in some areas, so the difference can be marked.

ArrBee

ED E wrote: »

LTE-A bypasses some of the congestion in some areas, so the difference can be marked.

Does the cell and/or carrier's network need to support it or have it configured?

ED E

All the Irish MNOs have LTE-A(CA) enabled. In some areas you won't have coverage to use it, others you will. Your phone will show LTE+ on the status bar when its using it.

happyplants

ArrBee wrote: »

@happyplants
every house will be different.

Make sure you have, or are borrowing a suitable modem/router when testing the SIM as they will be better than a phone.


In my situation I have young kids (so not using the internet yet) they only use Sky on demand downloads, the Mrs does the instagram thing and I download lots (100's of GB) but only really stream radio, spotify, and youtube and the occasional gaming.

Three used to give me up to 40Mb up/down (around the time the took on O2 customers), so the connection/reception can achieve that, but in the last few years it has been capped at 20Mb up/down.
most evenings I get around 2Mb down due to congestion, and occasionally sub 1Mb I guess due to network issues. (storms etc).
Upload always seems to be less effected by congestion - which makes sense.

This instability has lead me to not even consider streaming services like netflix.

With all that considered, I don't get complaints from the Mrs about slow net unless I am downloading in the evening.
I dont feel I will get anything good enough to stream 4k until NBI arrives, but I would like to get something that will give a minimum of, say, 10Mb so I can stream 720p always and 1080p sometimes.

I have tested vodafone to be 2-3 times better than three at my location during peak times and same/slightly better during off peak. But they dont seem to have a suitable plan available.
Unless, their "unlimited data plans for phones" works the same as the three PAYG plan where you can use it in a modem and effectively tether with limitless/high FUP.

If anyone has personal experience of doing this on vodafone I'd be keen to hear.

I will ask around to see if I can find an eir SIM to test with too as this could be a good option.

Where abouts are you?

ArrBee

I'm in offaly.

Mikefitzs

I switched over to Vodafone X with the unlimited pack capped at 10mbps. It's better that Three off peak and I often see downloads over 20mbps. But evening peak time is just the same as Three, it falls back to between 1mbps and 5mbps making it unbearable at times. On the plus side it's doing better during the day and we tried it because the wife is now working from home so it's good that way.
Tried Three the other evening as I've noticed many of my neighbours have switched to Imagine, they have 5g in the area. Must say with so many gone from Three I was impressed with the service, 10mbps and over all evening. I'm going to test Three over this weekend and might switch back from Vodafone.

ArrBee

Mikefitzs wrote: »

I switched over to Vodafone X with the unlimited pack capped at 10mbps. It's better that Three off peak and I often see downloads over 20mbps. But evening peak time is just the same as Three, it falls back to between 1mbps and 5mbps making it unbearable at times. On the plus side it's doing better during the day and we tried it because the wife is now working from home so it's good that way.
Tried Three the other evening as I've noticed many of my neighbours have switched to Imagine, they have 5g in the area. Must say with so many gone from Three I was impressed with the service, 10mbps and over all evening. I'm going to test Three over this weekend and might switch back from Vodafone.

Thanks.
I have a Vodafone work number and was able to try 3 and Vodafone side by side one evening.
I found Vodafone about 3 times better but still congested. And during the day it was slightly better than 3.

This Vodafone X plan.
Is it like the 3 PAYG loophole?
Any problems putting it into a router and sharing it to everything in the house, or do they detect tethering?

Mikefitzs

ArrBee wrote: »

Thanks.
I have a Vodafone work number and was able to try 3 and Vodafone side by side one evening.
I found Vodafone about 3 times better but still congested. And during the day it was slightly better than 3.

This Vodafone X plan.
Is it like the 3 PAYG loophole?
Any problems putting it into a router and sharing it to everything in the house, or do they detect tethering?

No bother sharing it once you have an unlocked modem/router and set the apn for Vodafone.
Supposed to be capped at 10mbps but that’s not been my experience as I use Vodafone on my mobile and get speeds over 80mbps DL at work in Limerick.

Backstreet Moyes

Looks like I am going to be working from home until next year and I am finding on some Zoom calls i keep cutting out

Currently with three at the moment

Anyone have any suggestions - i am looking for broadband only on it's own

TimHorton

Nuts102 wrote: »

Looks like I am going to be working from home until next year and I am finding on some Zoom calls i keep cutting out

Currently with three at the moment

Anyone have any suggestions - i am looking for broadband only on it's own

Vodafone is the best in my area , About 3 miles from mast and using this in the attic https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00C1DGGKC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 , Get 50 to 60 during the day and 20 or so in the evening , Has not missed a beat since March and getting through 1 TB of data a Month , 2 x Business SIMs (Work Provided) that each allow 500 gb. Same experience using the Vodafone 4G 40euro/300 gb plan, Tried EIR and it was fast but several blips in 24 hours so reverted to Vodafone..

ArrBee

TimHorton wrote: »

Vodafone is the best in my area , About 3 miles from mast and using this in the attic https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00C1DGGKC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 , Get 50 to 60 during the day and 20 or so in the evening , Has not missed a beat since March and getting through 1 TB of data a Month , 2 x Business SIMs (Work Provided) that each allow 500 gb. Same experience using the Vodafone 4G 40euro/300 gb plan, Tried EIR and it was fast but several blips in 24 hours so reverted to Vodafone..

Do you have any info on the Eir plan you tried?
I'm interested in trying Eir but from what I can see it would be their contract plan with 750GB FUP. The allowance is fine, I'm just put of by a contract.

For non-contract options so far it looks like we have:
Three PAYG
Vodafone X

Also, which Voda plan was giving you 500GB per SIM?

TimHorton

ArrBee wrote: »

Do you have any info on the Eir plan you tried?
I'm interested in trying Eir but from what I can see it would be their contract plan with 750GB FUP. The allowance is fine, I'm just put of by a contract.

For non-contract options so far it looks like we have:
Three PAYG
Vodafone X

Also, which Voda plan was giving you 500GB per SIM?

I tried the EIR 750 gb one , 30/month , After 1 day of use I could see it was not going to be anywhere near as reliable as my Vodafone connection.

The company I work for are a large US company and these SIMS were handed out to everyone at the start of the Pandemic , I do not know what the Plan is called but you get 500 gb ,

Darc19

I wonder when Three will launch 5g routers and 5 g plans.

I'm about 1km from the transmitter with line of site and would get 6-10mb download in the evening and 20+ in mornings.

I have the option of fibre, but it does require some tree trimming and it's relatively expensive, so a 5g service would mean no requirement for fibre for my situation.

JTMan

Darc19 wrote: »

I wonder when Three will launch 5g routers and 5 g plans.

Adrian Weckler says Three will announce 5G broadband plans soon.

If there is no 5G indoor coverage, will an outdoor antenna be needed?

Darc19

JTMan wrote: »

Adrian Weckler says Three will announce 5G broadband plans soon.

If there is no 5G indoor coverage, will an outdoor antenna be needed?

Currently I put the router against the window and then have an extender that gives reasonable speed in all rooms.

I'd need better constant speed to work from home, hence the hope 5g option will be available soon

TimHorton

Darc19 wrote: »

Currently I put the router against the window and then have an extender that gives reasonable speed in all rooms.

I'd need better constant speed to work from home, hence the hope 5g option will be available soon

Check out Weckler's Twitter https://twitter.com/adrianweckler/status/1310631185014566912 Basically good when you can touch the mast - 5 Min walk away then drops to 4g speeds or less.

RIALTO1

Is there anything to stop me getting payg SIM with unlimited data, and putting it into a unlocked modem?

Mikefitzs

RIALTO1 wrote: »

Is there anything to stop me getting payg SIM with unlimited data, and putting it into a unlocked modem?

Your moral compass, that’s all 😂😇

choicer

We are with 3 and in an area where 3g is 'Good' and 4g is 'Fair' but each and every evening the signal drops to ****. I mean ranging from 0.2mbs to 1.1mbs. Many evenings Netflix doesn't even work (in Tipperary between Ardfinnan and Clogheen)

Vodafone apparently is 'Good' in the area so with my wife already with them, I switched my phone from 3 to VF. Its better but still I struggle to stream football. YouTube and Netflix are fine.

Went in to Vodafone store and asked could we get the broadband to try it out to see if its better and we were told the 2 week period only applies where there is little to no signal (if you average a certain daily speed this is deemed fine) or faulty equipment.

After many, many, many discussions with 3 I've been advised that our average speed meets their terms. If you hit 2.5mbs download at least once each day, they've met the contract. And they say our average speed is more than acceptable because early mornings we get 15-20mbs for a few hours so this totally skews the stats. Their support is beyond rubbish. Upgrade the routers is what I was told even though I told them they told me that 2 years ago and that new router made no difference.

I work from home pretty much permanently (have done for 6 years) and desperate for a good service. Many late afternoons the signal drops so poorly that calls I am on drop. 3 have told me to set up a second profile and then when the service dips:
- Change profile
- For each profile enable/disable roaming and try again
- Switch to 3g and try both profiles and enable/disable roaming

Having worked in customer support for 24 years, I can say the advice 3 give is some of the most idiotic I've ever heard. Yeh..'Sorry boss...just need 5 mins to drop of this call so I can play around with my internet settings'.

I'm ****in done with 3 but can't find another suitable provider. Many calls I have (because of our US office) go on till 7pm and joining those calls is getting more and more difficult.

Mikefitzs

choicer wrote: »

We are with 3 and in an area where 3g is 'Good' and 4g is 'Fair' but each and every evening the signal drops to ****. I mean ranging from 0.2mbs to 1.1mbs. Many evenings Netflix doesn't even work (in Tipperary between Ardfinnan and Clogheen)

Vodafone apparently is 'Good' in the area so with my wife already with them, I switched my phone from 3 to VF. Its better but still I struggle to stream football. YouTube and Netflix are fine.

Went in to Vodafone store and asked could we get the broadband to try it out to see if its better and we were told the 2 week period only applies where there is little to no signal (if you average a certain daily speed this is deemed fine) or faulty equipment.

After many, many, many discussions with 3 I've been advised that our average speed meets their terms. If you hit 2.5mbs download at least once each day, they've met the contract. And they say our average speed is more than acceptable because early mornings we get 15-20mbs for a few hours so this totally skews the stats. Their support is beyond rubbish. Upgrade the routers is what I was told even though I told them they told me that 2 years ago and that new router made no difference.

I work from home pretty much permanently (have done for 6 years) and desperate for a good service. Many late afternoons the signal drops so poorly that calls I am on drop. 3 have told me to set up a second profile and then when the service dips:
- Change profile
- For each profile enable/disable roaming and try again
- Switch to 3g and try both profiles and enable/disable roaming

Having worked in customer support for 24 years, I can say the advice 3 give is some of the most idiotic I've ever heard. Yeh..'Sorry boss...just need 5 mins to drop of this call so I can play around with my internet settings'.

I'm ****in done with 3 but can't find another suitable provider. Many calls I have (because of our US office) go on till 7pm and joining those calls is getting more and more difficult.

Have you tried Imagine Broadband?