Mobile Broadband advice needed!

[jdobrien123]

Hello all!

I am new to the forum and am not very technically savvy. I have a question re: mobile broadband. I am investigating this as an option as, despite being in a town (though on the edge of it), due to my distance from the nearest cabinet (1.4km), my current VDSL speeds are typically 6-8 down and 0.5-1 up and this is just not fast enough for me to conduct Zoom calls, etc., without lots of issues. There are no signs of Eir upgrading us to FTTH anytime soon and the NBP wont get to us until 2023 I think. 

I am about 1.5km away (as the crow flies) from a local 4g mast that is shared by Three and Eir (Meteor). I am a Three mobile phone subscriber. Within the house, on my mobile phone, I typically get 2 bars of signal on Three 4g. When I run a speed test on the Three 4g signal via my phone I typically get 20-25 down and 4-5 up. However, if I go upstairs and put my phone out a velux and point it in the direction of the mast, I get full bars of signal and a speed of about 80-120 down and 20-25 up (which would be amazing if I could get it for broadband)!

My question is, if I subscribe to Three mobile broadband (and get a Huawei router, B535) and then get an external antenna and point it in the general direction of the mast and connect it to the router will I get similar speeds? Or does the phone typically give much stronger speeds? Thanks for any help/advice!

Best,

jd

[Seán]

I suggest start by ordering Three's broadband. You can either go with their Huawei B535 router or purchase your own network unlocked router such as on Amazon. If you choose Three's router, they provide it free, but you will be tied into a 24 month contract, which could be an issue if some other broadband service comes long before then.

If you choose to get the router on Amazon, I suggest going for the B818 if you can afford it. This supports aggregating 3 or more cellular bands, so should provide at least what your phone delivers. There's a good chance you'll get this even with the B535 as 120Mbps is well within the capability of band 3+20 carrier aggregation that many Three masts provide.

I would need to see the signal readings from the router to see if an antenna would be worth getting afterwards. If your signal readings are very good with the router upstairs (e.g. SINR reading above 20), an antenna will not offer any improvement in speed. If however router's Wi-Fi performance is poor on the ground floor with it being upstairs, you could use something like a Tenda MW6-2 mesh kit to improve the ground floor Wi-Fi coverage.

[jdobrien123]

Hi Seán,

Thanks so much for the super-fast and useful reply!

First, I should clarify that when I mentioned the first speed test I did on my phone I actually did it in the upstairs room in which I then stuck the phone outside the velux.

Thanks for the advice re: Three. I was thinking of doing that anyway and will try and bundle it with an update to my mobile phone account as it is due for renewal shortly. I may get a discount! 

I think I'll sign up for the 24 months contract as I checked the price of the B818 and it nearly works out the same as a year of the contract. I don't think I'll see any other broadband service coming in the next 12 months so if one does arrive in year 2 and I look to cancel with Three, the cost would be similar to the cost of the B818.

Actually, the most likely upgrade will probably come from Three themselves as the local mast is now live for 5g and the coverage looks good (I'll probably upgrade my phone to a 5g compatible one to take advantage). It's just that they haven't done the necessary to make it supportive of 5g broadband but their website says they are 'working on it'.

Once I get the router, I'll test and send on the signal readings.

Thanks again!

Best,

jd

[Seán]

Sorry, I missed that bit where you held your phone outside the window. I still suggest giving the router a try first on its own upstairs as the router is usually more sensitive than what the phone picks up, so may still pick up similar speed inside.

If your phone is Android based, you can download the App huaCtrl, which displays a live signal reading from the router. Position the router where it shows the highest SINR reading as this indicates the signal quality. You can then post the Band #, RSRP, RSRQ and SINR readings here. To show the band #, touch the top-left cell icon to show/hide the cell details.

Unfortunately, the Three's broadband checker shows "We're still working on 5G" no matter what the addres. As a test, I put an Eircode from the nearby village Carrick and it showed "We're still working on 5G in your area." There's no Three signal to even make a phone call in Carrick, never mind 4G or even 3G.

[jdobrien123]

Sorry, I missed that bit where you held your phone outside the window.  I still suggest giving the router a try first on its own upstairs as the router is usually more sensitive than what the phone picks up, so may still pick up similar speed inside.

If your phone is Android based, you can download the App huaCtrl, which displays a live signal reading from the router.  Position the router where it shows the highest SINR reading as this indicates the signal quality.  You can then post the Band #, RSRP, RSRQ and SINR readings here.  To show the band #, touch the top-left cell icon to show/hide the cell details.

Unfortunately, the Three's broadband checker shows "We're still working on 5G" no matter what the addres.  As a test, I put an Eircode from the nearby village Carrick and it showed "We're still working on 5G in your area."  There's no Three signal to even make a phone call in Carrick, never mind 4G or even 3G.

Thanks again Seán,

I was speaking with a neighbour and they have recently cancelled a contract with Eir for mobile broadband. He now has a Huawei B818 which he does not need. Could I just get a Broadband SIM from Three and place it in the router? Or is there some 'unlocking' needed?

[Seán]

Unfortunately, that router is very likely network locked to the Eir network. He can contacting Eir to see if they will provide an unlock code for it, although so far I haven't anyone having any luck getting a network operator to unlock anything other than a phone.

From a quick search, it costs around €60 to purchase an unlock code from an independent phone/router unlocker.

[jdobrien123]

Unfortunately, that router is very likely network locked to the Eir network.  He can contacting Eir to see if they will provide an unlock code for it, although so far I haven't anyone having any luck getting a network operator to unlock anything other than a phone.

From a quick search, it costs around €60 to purchase an unlock code from an independent phone/router unlocker.

Once again, thanks so much Seán for all your help. Well, I went ahead and ordered 4G mobile broadband from Three. The router (B535) is now set-up and I've tried a few locations around the house. 

At the best location (on window sill in kitchen), I can typically get 4-5 'bars' of signal with the following typical readings:

RSRQ of -12.0dB; RSRP of -91dBm; RSSI of -71dBm and SINR of 9dB. 

This results in speeds of typically 40-45 down and 15-20 up, which is great! However, I still wonder would an external antenna give me a bit more speed?

[Seán]

Based on the SINR value, you should be able to improve the speed further with an outdoor antenna. The signal strength (RSRP) is good.

The following are a few suggestions, which you can find on Amazon, Novatel.ie, etc. These cost around £120 including delivery.

Poynting 4G-XPOL-A0002 - Mounts on a standard TV aerial bracket and comes with 5m of leads that attach directly to the B535 router. Very good built quality.

LowcostMobile PAN5G-MIMO-2021 (Amazon UK) - Comes with longer 10m leads.

There are cheaper antennas, but unfortunately many perform no better than the B535's own built-in antennas. In the meantime, you can see how well you get on with the current speed, particularly in the evening when the network is at its most congested.

[Patrick]

Unfortunately, that router is very likely network locked to the Eir network.  He can contacting Eir to see if they will provide an unlock code for it, although so far I haven't anyone having any luck getting a network operator to unlock anything other than a phone.

From a quick search, it costs around €60 to purchase an unlock code from an independent phone/router unlocker.

My neighbour got unlock code for their B525 when out of contract with 3