Internet: 4g or fixed wireless

[Mrbikle]

So we are building a new home and have limited internet options. Comcast said they would run cable, but it would cost upwards of $46,000 which is not in the budget. They eventually should expand out to us though. Currently, we have a few options...

 

DSL: slow and garbage, not viable.

 

Telegia Fixed wireless: 30/5 plan is around $160 a month with a $200 install. Latency is single digits, next to no packet loss, and weather has to be extremely severe to mess with it (icing on the tower). We are 2 miles from the tower and have a direct sight line. Unlimited data and guaranteed speeds, you actually get ATLEAST 30/5, but normally 10% more. Customer service is excellent.

 

UbiFi: LTE wireless using AT&T infrastructure. Hardware is $300 bucks and $90/month with 'unlimited' data. Cell phone speed tests show 32/4.5 without a powered antenna, but 144/43 when I test a mile closer to the tower. The tower is 1.3 miles from the house site. The sales rep said even though its 'unlimited', ATT will go around them and kick accounts over 300gig's a month. I am currently using around 500gigs but can cut down.

 

 

Usage: Overwatch, Modern Warfare and streaming tv using Direct TV Now or Sling. House is wired with Cat6a to all rooms and terminated in a rack in the basement. 

 

Concerns: Knee-jerk choice would be Telegia fixed wireless due to no data limit and potentially a more stable/consistent connection, but the price and limited speed make me hesitate. LTE potentially could be MUCH faster and cheaper, but I would have to consider the 300 gig limit and potential stability issues.

 

Thoughts?

 

 

[Bombastinator]

300 Gigabytes or gigabits?  One is much smaller than the other. “Gig” is a vague word, and when by a salesman causes worry.

[Kilrah]

300GB obviously, nobody quotes data caps in gigabits.

 

LTE has garbage latency and availability.

[Bombastinator]

1 minute ago, Kilrah said:

300GB obviously, nobody quotes data caps in gigabits.

 

LTE has garbage latency and availability.

Unless they do.  Phone data is usually in gigabits as far as I’ve seen.  Or was.  There were complaints.  Might be worth checking though.

[Kilrah]

Just now, Bombastinator said:

Phone data is usually in gigabits as far as I’ve seen

Absolutely never seen that in any of the countries I've ever been in.

[Mrbikle]

300 gigabytes. So LTE is hot garbage to game on? I have seen mixed reviews that tend to correspond with service levels at the site.

[Mrbikle]

https://telegia.com/skyburst/

https://www.ubifi.net/

[Kilrah]

Yes, fully depends on service level. But it can and will fluctuate a lot based on the activity of people around.

 

With my phone when I travel I often get "full" 4G signal but no data coming through or at a snail's pace.

 

They have a trial, have a go and see if it works decently where you are.

[Bombastinator]

3 minutes ago, Kilrah said:

Absolutely never seen that in any of the countries I've ever been in.

Been to the USA?  One of those complaints was from me.  Like I said, they might not be doing it any more.

[Kilrah]

Yup.