Project 4G

In the last few days, I’ve successfully switched my parent’s home broadband over to 4G mobile network. In a nutshell the results of this project (which has not fully ended yet) has not been what I can expected. The long and short of it is that the download speeds aren’t quite living up to what I was hoping for. On the ADSL line we were getting about 11 Megabits per second. Now on 4G mobile signal we get a small, modest improve of about 5-10 Mbps – better, but still was hoping for that 30 Mbps speeds. On the plus side though I’ve increased our upload speed about 10 times or more. From a measly 1 Mbps to 12-14 Mbps. This of course helps with video uploading which I occasionally do and screen-sharing on various platforms. I have even thought about Twitch streaming, although I don’t know if that really appeals to me. Still the option is nice!

I started thinking about this project back in the early Spring when I thought of various means to get our speeds up to the fibre standard. Local and national fibre services have not been willing to extend their lines to my little village despite two villages on which have it. The online demand for it locally also isn’t there. So that’s where I began exploring our options. Soon enough I found we could get speeds that rival our broadband through the mobile network. That’s when I set out a plan to deliver these speeds to our household.

The process was relatively simple for anyone with the technical knowledge or will to learn.

1. Understand where on your property you get the best mobile data signal using various mobile apps.
2. Research around on 4G SIM routers and home antennas.
3. Think about how the Local Area Network (LAN) will come to together, with ethernet cables running to Wi-Fi access points inside the house.
4. Decide on what network to go with the SIM.
5. Mount the antenna to the optimal location.
6. Connection up the router with the SIM inside to the coaxial cable from the antenna inside the house.

There are a few things I need to happen with this plan though. One was to get our electrician out to install a power outlet in the attic, where the router will sit. Also find someone who would be willing to install the antenna on the outside. My first plan to was paid a company that installs TV aerials, but in foresight I got my brother, a thatcher, to do it for us.  

I’m only a few days into using this new network. I’ve since repurposed my old modem/router into an access point for various devices on the other side of the house and I also plan to ring up my mobile data supplier to see if they can optimise anything on their end; they say we should be getting about 10 Mbps more, roughly.

So, would I do this all again? Absolutely! It has cost me a bit of money, plus that of a monthly charge for the SIM service. But it’s been a great project to involve myself with, especially during the human malware invasion of 2020. I feel like this is another accomplishment of mine which other people will really benefit from, also potentially added value to this household. Plus a feather in my hat as an IT apprentice.

I do wonder if in the future we’re looking more towards 5G powered households, where old infrastructure exists which costs too much to install high quality fibre and in places which are remote.