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Budget friendly temporary solution

Brumski

ULTIMATE Member
All being well FTTP will be installed in "Spring" albeit it has already been pushed back from September so I'm not holding my breath. In the interim I'm looking for another option to replace, or supplement, our flaky and slow VDSL connection.

As a result I'm exploring mobile LTE options and I think I've found a stop-gap setup for a relatively wallet friendly price. Using the coverage checker on the OFCOM website, as well as their own checker, it appears that Vodafone has "Good indoor and outdoor" coverage at our location. As it happens my work mobile, an old Samsung A8 has a Vodafone sim in it so I proceeded to walk around the house conducting speedtests and on the top floor (3 storey house) if I rest it on a certain windowsill I was averaging 60Mbps.

I appreciate this isn't a very scientific test but if I was to buy a Voxi simcard and a Tp-Link MR600 (I can't stretch to a Huawei B818 yet) would this represent a fairly budget friendly solution to see me through the next six months or is there a better sim/router combination that you would recommend?

TIA
 
Screenshot_20201122-094729_Network Cell Info Lite.jpgScreenshot_20201122-094805_Network Cell Info Lite.jpg
 
Your Samsung A8 is CAT11, the MR600 is CAT6 so you'll be lucky to get half those speeds with it. Personally I'd use the mobile as a hotspot as a stop gap.

I can't recommend any 4G for home broadband at all. All the carriers are too contended, none of them implemented their installs properly in the first place (providing enough spectrum and/or back-haul) and there is far too many variables (interference/signal power etc) to provide a "solid home broadband experience". (IMHO)
 
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+1 on using the/a phone if you can't afford a better solution.

4G can be an option, some areas are better than others. Been with EE for a few months now, great service so far.
 
Your Samsung A8 is CAT11, the MR600 is CAT6 so you'll be lucky to get half those speeds with it. Personally I'd use the mobile as a hotspot as a stop gap.

I can't recommend any 4G for home broadband at all. All the carriers are too contended, none of them implemented their installs properly in the first place (providing enough spectrum and/or back-haul) and there is far too many variables (interference/signal power etc) to provide a "solid home broadband experience". (IMHO)
I think that's a bit of an over-generalisation. I've been using 4G (EE) for home broadband for the last couple of years - it's fast and reliable, and even at the most congested times it's still delivering way better perfomance than the fixed line options available to me. It's plenty good enough to support 2 people working from home, stream 4k, etc.
 
I appreciate this isn't a very scientific test but if I was to buy a Voxi simcard and a Tp-Link MR600 (I can't stretch to a Huawei B818 yet) would this represent a fairly budget friendly solution to see me through the next six months or is there a better sim/router combination that you would recommend?

TIA
Would try and aim for the B818 if you can - the MR600 won't deliver the same performance as your phone.

Definitely a viable solution; has replaced FTTC running at 35Mbps/5Mbps here with a steady 70-75Mbps/35Mbps on Vodafone. Can't however vouch for Voxi as traffic might be subject to other constraints or shaping etc. compared to "native" Vodafone.
 
Thank you all for your input so far.

All the points have been noted. I'll see if I can find a B818 in stock at a reasonable price.

Do the screenshot attached show anything 'favourable' about my local Vodafone mast(s)?
 
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Thank you all for your input so far.

All the points have been noted. I'll see if I can find a B818 in stock at a reasonable price.

Do the screenshot attached show anything 'favourable' about my local Vodafone mast(s)?
The Band 1 mast is not great, it's just okay. You're maybe a bit too far away from it to get excellent performance. Though with a good network even these kind of levels can perform quite nicely.

The Huawei B535 is significantly cheaper than the B818, and is better spec'd than the TP-Link one.
 
All being well FTTP will be installed in "Spring" albeit it has already been pushed back from September so I'm not holding my breath. In the interim I'm looking for another option to replace, or supplement, our flaky and slow VDSL connection.

As a result I'm exploring mobile LTE options and I think I've found a stop-gap setup for a relatively wallet friendly price. Using the coverage checker on the OFCOM website, as well as their own checker, it appears that Vodafone has "Good indoor and outdoor" coverage at our location. As it happens my work mobile, an old Samsung A8 has a Vodafone sim in it so I proceeded to walk around the house conducting speedtests and on the top floor (3 storey house) if I rest it on a certain windowsill I was averaging 60Mbps.

I appreciate this isn't a very scientific test but if I was to buy a Voxi simcard and a Tp-Link MR600 (I can't stretch to a Huawei B818 yet) would this represent a fairly budget friendly solution to see me through the next six months or is there a better sim/router combination that you would recommend?

TIA
I was in a similar situation, needing a good connection, as my ISP provision is 10m on a good day! I managed to get hold of a second hand router (B535) and then tried a range sims, from my family members phones ! I ended up buying a Three unlimited SIM in the end, as it was as good as any. The results i get with the router are very satisfactory, in the 24-40m always.

I noticed on a forum recently you can get a smarty SIM for £15/month unlimited data, its a 30 day contract. That may suit you until the "spring"!
 
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