LTE router any good for home internet?

[Stefan1024]

So I may move to a new flat with no wired internet. However, I have 4G LET coverage (signal strength 2/5).

 

Does anybody have any expereince with an LTE router? Is the latency reasonable and what speed do you get?

Can you recommend a good LET router? I only need a very good RF frontend for the LTE connection and an RJ45 port.

[kuzimins]

I'm using a Huawei LTE router. Ping <20.

[goodtofufriday]

So. I run a network in Manhattan with multiple 4g routers connected to a central location via VPN. I think I'm qualified to answer this. 

 

It depends on your carriers throughput at your location. 

I use Cradlepoint ibr 600lpe models. They are great as you can flash the 4g modem for any carrier. 

They are extremely robust and you can program most any functionality you'd need. 

There is even a version with a wireless ap built in. Ibr650 I believe. 

 

I have most of these in basements and the buldned antennas typically get -50dbs which is an amazing connection. 

For areas where signal is not so great there are tons of alternative options for antennas and cables. In one location I have an antenna coneccted 200ft away from the router. 

 

It has a wan and LAN Jack. The wan can be programmed as a LAN as well. 

 

Any questions I'm happy to answer. 

[ZetZet]

LTE is fine if you can get it without data caps, data caps are cancer. 

 

Huawei is a good value brand for anything 4G.

[thekeemo]

My experience with them was

1. Unreliable

2. Extremely high latency

3. Expensive

The tower was fairly far away so that will impact it also plans in the EU are better so expensive might not apply to you.

[Claryn]

I have a Huawei 4G Router. Works fine. I get around 20-30ms ping. Very reliable and good. 

[Stefan1024]

10 minutes ago, goodtofufriday said:

- snip -

Thank you for the detailed information. I will have a look at the Cradlepoint  products.

2 minutes ago, ZetZet said:

LTE is fine if you can get it without data caps, data caps are cancer. 

 

Huawei is a good value brand for anything 4G.

An unlimitted plan costs about 85$/month here. It's expensive but doable.

 

2 minutes ago, thekeemo said:

My experience with them was

1. Unreliable

2. Extremely high latency

3. Expensive

The tower was fairly far away so that will impact it also plans in the EU are better so expensive might not apply to you.

It's the only option there. It's going to be a very nice place to live, but it also has some downsides.

[Stefan1024]

3 minutes ago, Claryn said:

I have a Huawei 4G Router. Works fine. I get around 20-30ms ping. Very reliable and good. 

How is the signal streng in your location?

[thekeemo]

24 minutes ago, Stefan1024 said:

Thank you for the detailed information. I will have a look at the Cradlepoint  products.

An unlimitted plan costs about 85$/month here. It's expensive but doable.

 

It's the only option there. It's going to be a very nice place to live, but it also has some downsides.

No phone or cable lines?

[Stefan1024]

2 minutes ago, thekeemo said:

No phone or cable lines?

There is a phone line from the 1960s (with a connector that is 3 generations old), but none of the ISP is able to deliver internet service on this line as the adress is not registered in thier database.

I will try to get more information as the line my be bound to an other adress. But I assume the cable itself is so old that I get better speed with LTE.

[thekeemo]

18 minutes ago, Stefan1024 said:

There is a phone line from the 1960s (with a connector that is 3 generations old), but none of the ISP is able to deliver internet service on this line as the adress is not registered in thier database.

I will try to get more information as the line my be bound to an other adress. But I assume the cable itself is so old that I get better speed with LTE.

The age of the wire shouldnt affect it. I used a cable that was so old it was before they had connectors..

[Stefan1024]

9 minutes ago, thekeemo said:

The age of the wire shouldnt affect it. I used a cable that was so old it was before they had connectors..

The age is not that much a problem, but back in they day they didn't use properly shielded or twisted cables, so they are bad for higher frequencies. My ISP had to replace about 50 meter of cable from it's last acces point to my flat for free, as it was to old and my connection allways dropped.

[thekeemo]

Just now, Stefan1024 said:

The age is not that much a problem, but back in they day they didn't use properly shielded or twisted cables, so they are bad for higher frequencies. My ISP had to replace about 50 meter of cable from it's last acces point to my flat for free, as it was to old and my connection allways dropped.

I see. Well in the end it is up to you.

[Stefan1024]

Just now, thekeemo said:

I see. Well in the end it is up to you.

Oh when the cables are able to deliver minimum 10 MBit/s, I will choose them over wireless for sure. But I need to have a backup plan before I move there and not ending up with terrible internet speed.

[thekeemo]

22 minutes ago, Stefan1024 said:

Oh when the cables are able to deliver minimum 10 MBit/s, I will choose them over wireless for sure. But I need to have a backup plan before I move there and not ending up with terrible internet speed.

If your phone supports LTE it might be worth testing it first.

[Stefan1024]

3 minutes ago, thekeemo said:

If your phone supports LTE it might be worth testing it first.

It does and I have 2/5 bars signal strength. Sadly I forgot to read out the actual value in dBm or running a speed test.

I did some reseach and based on statistics (provided by the government and they have usually very accurate data)  I have a >90 chance for a >2 MBit/s wired connection and 10-50% for >10 Mbit/s.

[Stefan1024]

@thekeemo

I managed to fiugure out the name of connection point. Usually it is the same as the adress, but this one is different.

With this information I can get the speed information. Only one ISP with overpriced plans delivers wired internet with 3 MBit/s up and 0.2 MBit/s down speeds - for 59$/month.

No way I will pay them that much for such a slow speed.

 

[thekeemo]

16 minutes ago, Stefan1024 said:

It does and I have 2/5 bars signal strength. Sadly I forgot to read out the actual value in dBm or running a speed test.

I did some reseach and based on statistics (provided by the government and they have usually very accurate data)  I have a >90 chance for a >2 MBit/s wired connection and 10-50% for >10 Mbit/s.

If you are buying or renting the place chances are you will go there at least once more before signing so you can get some solid numbers. Especially since ADSL is out of the question now.

[Stefan1024]

1 minute ago, thekeemo said:

If you are buying or renting the place chances are you will go there at least once more before signing so you can get some solid numbers. Especially since ADSL is out of the question now.

We rent and we where there yesterday to visit the flat. It's about a 1.5 hour ride (one way) from where I'm now. I'm not in the mood to drive 2.5 hours and do a 20 minutes boat trip (you can only reach the place by boat as it is sandwiched between a lake and mountains) for a 30 seconds speed test.

 

But to be honest, the internet speed test will not change our opinion.

We move because it is a remote location with only 50 inhabitants that is car free. It is a perfect place to destress and slow internet even helps to get "offline". However, I like to have fast internet in general.

 

 

 

It's funny that people allways want to have things we don't have. As a person working with tech all day long I feel the need for nature and some "non-tech stuff".

[goodtofufriday]

5 minutes ago, Stefan1024 said:

We rent and we where there yesterday to visit the flat. It's about a 1.5 hour ride (one way) from where I'm now. I'm not in the mood to drive 2.5 hours and do a 20 minutes boat trip (you can only reach the place by boat as it is sandwiched between a lake and mountains) for a 30 seconds speed test.

 

But to be honest, the internet speed test will not change our opinion.

We move because it is a remote location with only 50 inhabitants that is car free. It is a perfect place to destress and slow internet even helps to get "offline". However, I like to have fast internet in general.

 

 

 

It's funny that people allways want to have things we don't have. As a person working with tech all day long I feel the need for nature and some "non-tech stuff".

The cradlepoint with a high dbm antenna would solve your issue. I can point you in the right direction of you want. 

[Stefan1024]

4 minutes ago, goodtofufriday said:

The cradlepoint with a high dbm antenna would solve your issue. I can point you in the right direction of you want. 

The cradlepoints are pretty expensive

Also I have the map with the antenna tower locations and I know where to point at. But thank you for the offer.

 

The next tower is about 3 km away and I have a direct line of sight.

[thekeemo]

28 minutes ago, Stefan1024 said:

We rent and we where there yesterday to visit the flat. It's about a 1.5 hour ride (one way) from where I'm now. I'm not in the mood to drive 2.5 hours and do a 20 minutes boat trip (you can only reach the place by boat as it is sandwiched between a lake and mountains) for a 30 seconds speed test.

 

But to be honest, the internet speed test will not change our opinion.

We move because it is a remote location with only 50 inhabitants that is car free. It is a perfect place to destress and slow internet even helps to get "offline". However, I like to have fast internet in general.

 

It's funny that people allways want to have things we don't have. As a person working with tech all day long I feel the need for nature and some "non-tech stuff".

I need stress to function.. when I have no stress I go insane and become destructive (just look at the hard drives in my trashcan). Also wouldnt helicopters work?

[goodtofufriday]

11 minutes ago, Stefan1024 said:

The cradlepoints are pretty expensive

Also I have the map with the antenna tower locations and I know where to point at. But thank you for the offer.

 

The next tower is about 3 km away and I have a direct line of sight.

That they are. 600$ for it. Plus 200$ for the high dbm antenna. 

[Stefan1024]

8 hours ago, thekeemo said:

I need stress to function.. when I have no stress I go insane and become destructive (just look at the hard drives in my trashcan). Also wouldnt helicopters work?

Temporary stress boosts my perfromance, but permanent stress is killing me. And the helicopter is meh, teleportation is better.

8 hours ago, goodtofufriday said:

That they are. 600$ for it. Plus 200$ for the high dbm antenna. 

Professional gear allways is. But it requires a good amount ef engineering to develop a really good RF frontend. So the price can be justified.

[thekeemo]

23 minutes ago, Stefan1024 said:

Temporary stress boosts my perfromance, but permanent stress is killing me. And the helicopter is meh, teleportation is better.

Professional gear allways is. But it requires a good amount ef engineering to develop a really good RF frontend. So the price can be justified.

But then you die a horrible death while a newly formed clone of you takes your place.