Using 4G as primary home broadband?

[d000hg]

I've done it for a week or two at a time. I used to travel to my late parents' house to keep an eye on it, the phone and internet were disconnected but I needed to work and I RDP most of the time.

Even in the sticks, I got it working well after checking which operator had good signal. Initially I went with EE's little MiFi thing, then traded up to a better model.

I tried with 3 and EE which were the only two with coverage and it worked well... I could work freely, watch Netflix, etc. Mot the cheapest option but it worked. With more time to invest in an external antenna I reckon it would be even better.

[woohoo]

I've managed to work from home for a few days using 4g, including remoting in, vpn etc. It's ok for a short duration as a backup but thats it.

[filthy1980]

Our internet usage isn't massive, current fixed broadband is an old PlusNet deal with 40GB per month, rarely get close enough to receive the "reaching your limit" emails.

So, I reckon a 40GB/month package should be fine - more concerned about speed/service fluctuations so maybe 4G plus fixed ADSL as a backup might be the way to go for us.

Waiting to hear if our offer has been accepted on the property.

Thanks for all the replies.

@filthy1980 Did you get one of the 3rd party sim routers or go for Three's mobile hotspot devices?

used Three's it a Huawei router, did the job I needed it to

[Dark Black]

Three Ireland do 250gb a month for 70 Euro/m, 18 month contract. Not convince even that would be enough to use as normal consumer broadband without the eventual 'Dad, t'internet's not working.....' in the third week.....

Our internet usage isn't massive, current fixed broadband is an old PlusNet deal with 40GB per month, rarely get close enough to receive the "reaching your limit" emails.

So, I reckon a 40GB/month package should be fine - more concerned about speed/service fluctuations so maybe 4G plus fixed ADSL as a backup might be the way to go for us.

Waiting to hear if our offer has been accepted on the property.

Thanks for all the replies.

@filthy1980 Did you get one of the 3rd party sim routers or go for Three's mobile hotspot devices?

[stek]

100GB a month or for the 12 months?

I've got a 4G dongle and use it for backup, it's insane how quickly you can go though data these days

Three Ireland do 250gb a month for 70 Euro/m, 18 month contract. Not convince even that would be enough to use as normal consumer broadband without the eventual 'Dad, t'internet's not working.....' in the third week.....

[sal]

Before making any decision pick a PAYG phone SIM from a prospective mobile BB supplier and check the speeds/reception in your house for couple of days. As Stek mentioned 4G is a yo-yo even at the best of times by design you are sharing the bandwidth of the local mast with an untold, fluctuating number of strangers.

Data caps are another huge issue with mobile BB, with ever increasing number of "smart" kit at home it's hard to keep a lid on the traffic. If you have kids - forget it.

In reality you might need both if you work from home on a regular basis. 1 day lost billing, due to knackered connection is usually worth more than 1 year of secondary BB.

[filthy1980]

just bought one a couple of weeks ago from Three,

house moved got delayed by a couple of weeks and internet services had already been transferred over, tethering was getting too much,

think I bought the 40GB package on a monthly contract about £25 quid plus £50 upfront

works out of the box and really stable connection and speeds were fine even for youtubing, but this was suburbia not sure what coverage is like out in the sticks

[SimonMac]

Three have a deal in store with a 4g router and 100gb for about £25 a month. It would work provided you aren't insane regarding what you do...

Downloading a 4k movie is probably a no-no

100GB a month or for the 12 months?

I've got a 4G dongle and use it for backup, it's insane how quickly you can go though data these days

[stek]

Anyone done this?

Looking at buying a house out in the sticks where the only hardwired broadband is basically ADSL offering a claimed 2 - 5Mb.

4G looks a better (faster) option and the coverage at the property appears to be very good (at least on the provider I currently use).

So does anyone have experience of using 4G for home broadband?

Primary usage would be VPN (for working offsite), normal web surfing and email plus occasional streaming iPlayer. Don't currently use NetFlix although thinking it might be nice to have but not a deal-breaker.

Quite common here in Ireland, all the mobile shops offer broadband 4g solutions. My advice? Don't bother.

Speed fluctuates like mad, 85mbps one minute, bugger all the next. I get 15/15 at home but sometimes it's totally nothing. Also you are NAT'd inside their little world, with one route out which you can't tinker with - so no custom port forwarding etc.

The worst is the download bandwidth - goes just like that with PC's/Mac/Phones announcing their locations, checking for updates, downloading updates in the background, streaming, that's 1-2gb for one telly prog. Just checked my iphone stats and in 8 days I've used 43.1gb, and I don't use it at all as home broadband anymore.

To stand a chance you need to turn off all extraneous services on all devices, not have any oddball setups, no streaming at all and 20gb bandwidth allowance at least. Quadruple it with kids.....

[eek]

Anyone done this?

Looking at buying a house out in the sticks where the only hardwired broadband is basically ADSL offering a claimed 2 - 5Mb.

4G looks a better (faster) option and the coverage at the property appears to be very good (at least on the provider I currently use).

So does anyone have experience of using 4G for home broadband?

Primary usage would be VPN (for working offsite), normal web surfing and email plus occasional streaming iPlayer. Don't currently use NetFlix although thinking it might be nice to have but not a deal-breaker.

Three have a deal in store with a 4g router and 100gb for about £25 a month. It would work provided you aren't insane regarding what you do...

Downloading a 4k movie is probably a no-no

[Dark Black]

Anyone done this?

Looking at buying a house out in the sticks where the only hardwired broadband is basically ADSL offering a claimed 2 - 5Mb.

4G looks a better (faster) option and the coverage at the property appears to be very good (at least on the provider I currently use).

So does anyone have experience of using 4G for home broadband?

Primary usage would be VPN (for working offsite), normal web surfing and email plus occasional streaming iPlayer. Don't currently use NetFlix although thinking it might be nice to have but not a deal-breaker.