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Ping times on mobile broadband - always worse than fixed line?

gypsymoth

Super Pro Member
Really not up for spending £££ on expensive Openreach full fibre bb - EE etc are just out of my budget. No sign of alt nets yet either - been speaking to them for months.

So I'm looking at mobile broadband options - buy a SIM, buy a router with a SIM tray etc. Seems more affordable and buys me 6-12 months until the altnets perhaps turn up.

Not done a huge amount of research yet, but overall, is the ping time on a SIM significantly worse than a fixed line? I game occasionally but am definitely not a pro gamer.

Any advice appreciated
 
Compared to an Openreach line you’ll find it has higher latency.

Compared to cable from Virgin, I’ve actually seen 5G do better in good conditions though.

As long as you can get 5G, get a good signal, and the network isn’t stupidly congested then you should get a very usable connection, even for gaming.

By the time you buy a 5G router though (especially for only temporary use) and pay each month for unlimited data is it really going to save you much? The reliability and stability of a fixed line surely won’t cost you too much more as long as you don’t want the fastest speeds available. There’s more than just BT/EE out there on Openreach and it’s a fairly competitive market.
 
@gypsymoth

I would try one of the price comparison sites.

If you are after just connectivity and your location is served by full fibre that will be the most reliable option.

Assuming no alt nets show signs of installation and you don't think you will be moving in the near future then the typical 2 year contract for fibre won't leave you with a long overlap when you might have had an alt net service.
 
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Compared to an Openreach line you’ll find it has higher latency.

Compared to cable from Virgin, I’ve actually seen 5G do better in good conditions though.

As long as you can get 5G, get a good signal, and the network isn’t stupidly congested then you should get a very usable connection, even for gaming.

By the time you buy a 5G router though (especially for only temporary use) and pay each month for unlimited data is it really going to save you much? The reliability and stability of a fixed line surely won’t cost you too much more as long as you don’t want the fastest speeds available. There’s more than just BT/EE out there on Openreach and it’s a fairly competitive market.
Appreciate the feedback and info

At present I've got a rolling Now Broadband package thats about £22 a month for 70down/18 up. Latency is about 20ms. It serves its purpose for 4K streaming etc but I have a new business doing video and audio editing, so around 500meg down is my preference.

At the moment, the cheapest 500meg deal seems to be Vodafone - wife gets a small discount + cashback - but I'm aware of those CPI+3.9% price rises.... one this April then one in 2025.

Don't want to seem tight - honestly I'm not - but I'm just annoyed that altnets are so close locally and we're stuck with OR pricing. Or perhaps I've missed something.
 
@gypsymoth

I would try one of the price comparison sites.

If you are after just connectivity and your location is served by full fibre that will be the most reliable option.

Assuming no alt nets show signs of installation and you don't think you will be moving in the near future then the typical 2 year contract for fibre won't leave you with a long overlap when you might have had an alt net service.
Thanks for the reply

I might have to bite the bullet on a 2 year contract tbh - just riles me that neighbouring streets have got symmetrical 1gb speeds on Community Fibre etc, but the various altnets arent installing on a couple of streets including mine

Had a chat with a G Network guy recently - super helpful - who said they are changing their rollout strategy so doing less digs and more piggybacking on openreach ducts. Fair enough. But it slows rollout signifcantly it seems
 
@gypsymoth

As far as Community Fibre are concerned tyey are a bit "picky" about where they serve. If you currently have a copper connection overhead they might be coming your way if they are a few streets away (it does no harm to call up and ask them) but they seem less keen on underground fed locations unless it is a block of flats so the work gets multiple possible customers.

If you really want to try 5G I would buy second hand equipment so you can resell it and get a SIM with a limited commitment.
 
@gypsymoth

As far as Community Fibre are concerned tyey are a bit "picky" about where they serve. If you currently have a copper connection overhead they might be coming your way if they are a few streets away (it does no harm to call up and ask them) but they seem less keen on underground fed locations unless it is a block of flats so the work gets multiple possible customers.

If you really want to try 5G I would buy second hand equipment so you can resell it and get a SIM with a limited commitment.

You make a good point about CF - they do seem quite selective about their installs, their local partnerships etc. Guess it works for them

The only other option is Hyperoptic locally and their installs don't see to be happening soon

Good idea about the 2nd hand gear - will do some shopping around for a basic modem!
 
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Thanks Carl

What sort of numbers are you getting down/up/ping?

Obviously mine will differ but interested
240-350 down
80-100 up
39-59 ping

I play online games via PlayStation and it’s never once had an issue.

The higher speed is more after 9pm but never goes less than 200 even on a Saturday (I’m city centre Wrexham).

Got my NR5103E from CeX £150, pretty much brand new.

Don’t regret it at all.
 
I should add my own experiences, I tether occasionally from my O2 unlimited data allowance and play Nintendo games online, never any issues with ping

Do get occasional disconnections though

Average is usually 12-50mbps down when I tether, 42ms on my most recent test
 
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240-350 down
80-100 up
39-59 ping

I play online games via PlayStation and it’s never once had an issue.

The higher speed is more after 9pm but never goes less than 200 even on a Saturday (I’m city centre Wrexham).

Got my NR5103E from CeX £150, pretty much brand new.

Don’t regret it at all.
thats impressive when you consider the price - will investigate! Thanks
 
I should add my own experiences, I tether occasionally from my O2 unlimited data allowance and play Nintendo games online, never any issues with ping

Do get occasional disconnections though

Average is usually 12-50mbps down when I tether, 42ms on my most recent test
Should also mention that I mostly use overcapacity masts lol

Not sure how cheap you'd be able to get with O2, it's £6.79/mo for me but it's not a mobile broadband SIM.

Also, I would recommend getting PAYG SIMs before you commit to a network, your experiences will differ
 
Might be a daft question but are the modems - such as Zytel - more capable of getting higher speeds than say my iPhone 15 Pro?

Btw ran a quick speed test in the living room with my EE and my wife’s Vodafone sims. Hers wins hands down!
Screenshot 2024-01-04 at 22.17.48.webp
 

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@gypsymoth
I am using Three 5G on a Zyxel NR5103E (the router Three provided). I have line of sight to the 5G mast that I connect to, which is around a mile away.

I get decent speeds in the range of 500 to 1000Mbps depending on the time of day and my ping times in gaming are generally in the 20 to 30ms range playing on UK/EU servers. Below is from my Asus routers dashboard; these ping times are aligned to what I see in games. Speedtest pings are similar to what you're seeing on your wife's Vodafone. I find it servicable for the games I play, such as MOBA, FPS, etc (although I can feel a difference in some games compared to my previous Sky FTTC connection where I had around 10 to 15ms pings).

It's worth noting that Three turn off 5G on my mast from 02.00 to 06.00 and the service runs in 4G+ mode. Speeds are slower and pings are around 10ms higher. I'm not sure if other providers do this or what time you'd be looking to game, but maybe worth taking into account.

Can't comment on the Zyxel Vs mobile as I didn't do any extensive testing when the sim was in my phone (it was slower using it in the same position as the router, but the Pixel 7 Pro is not known for having a great modem).

1704408778924.webp
 
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@gypsymoth
I am using Three 5G on a Zyxel NR5103E (the router Three provided). I have line of sight to the 5G mast that I connect to, which is around a mile away.

I get decent speeds in the range of 500 to 1000Mbps depending on the time of day and my ping times in gaming are generally in the 20 to 30ms range playing on UK/EU servers. Below is from my Asus routers dashboard; these ping times are aligned to what I see in games. Speedtest pings are similar to what you're seeing on your wife's Vodafone. I find it servicable for the games I play, such as MOBA, FPS, etc (although I can feel a difference in some games compared to my previous Sky FTTC connection where I had around 10 to 15ms pings).

It's worth noting that Three turn off 5G on my mast from 02.00 to 06.00 and the service runs in 4G+ mode. Speeds are slower and pings are around 10ms higher. I'm not sure if other providers do this or what time you'd be looking to game, but maybe worth taking into account.

Can't comment on the Zyxel Vs mobile as I didn't do any extensive testing when the sim was in my phone (it was slower using it in the same position as the router, but the Pixel 7 Pro is not known for having a great modem).

View attachment 10045
Thanks for the feedback

Interestingly they've installed a MASSIVE Three 5G mast near the end of my road in November last year. I checked the Three website and it says their 5G broadband service isnt active in my postcode, which may suggest it isn't activated yet.

Not sure who at Three could give me some info, because if I know its imminent, I'll get on that Three deal potentially
 
Pings on mobile networks, for both 4G and 5G connections, tend to be around the 35-65ms mark. This will obviously vary a lot between locations and gaming servers. In theory, 5G should be much faster, but on the upstream side most networks (latency) are still hobbled by the involvement of some 4G.

In my area, I've generally found more in the 30-45ms range on Three UK, which is fine for most games. But with mobile the signal quality and congestion can vary quite a bit, so you're much more likely to experience the odd lag spike.

Once more operators start deploying true end-to-end 5G networks (5G Standalone) then all of this should improve, which will put 5G mobile more on par with FTTC and FTTP for gaming. But that will take time to deploy and not all devices support it yet.

By the way, this discussion is perhaps more suited to the mobile broadband forum:

 
If your use case is moving video files around as the way you earn money, and you have concerns about latency then I don't think you should be looking at anything other than a fixed line FTTP service.
 
At present I've got a rolling Now Broadband package thats about £22 a month for 70down/18 up. Latency is about 20ms. It serves its purpose for 4K streaming etc but I have a new business doing video and audio editing, so around 500meg down is my preference.

At the moment, the cheapest 500meg deal seems to be Vodafone - wife gets a small discount + cashback - but I'm aware of those CPI+3.9% price rises.... one this April then one in 2025.

Don't want to seem tight - honestly I'm not - but I'm just annoyed that altnets are so close locally and we're stuck with OR pricing. Or perhaps I've missed something.
500/75 on FTTP compared to any 4G/5G service, unless you're right next to the mast, will be like night and day for consistency, reliability and latency.

Honestly, if you think mobile broadband would be good enough for your purposes, a 150/30 FTTP connection would probably give you equivalent throughput and a far better overall experience. If you have a business, and you can actually make use of 500M down, then it'll be worth paying the few quid extra for that.

If you think an altnet might be arriving soon then I'd suggest you go with Aquiss: 12 month contract, £45 per month for 300/50 or £50 for 500/75, with first 6 months half price, no setup fee, and no baked-in price rises either mid contract or at the end. Static IPv4 and IPv6, and responsive UK-based support. You have to provide your own router though.
 
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