Advice please on the best simcard setup home wifi/network

[Leanne Mcguigan]

Hi everyone, thank you for taking the time to read my post. I would really appreciate your advice on my internet supply to a new house.

We are building a house in the county side that doesn't have fiber and receives bad land line signal.

I've had very good success in the past at other properties with my archer mr400 so I'm thinking of maybe a sim card set up for this new house.

So my question is what set up you think is best to go with? This would be for a family home set up... but over time I'd like to build it into a pretty smart home running on a fair bit of WiFi with enough left over to stream movies, games etc all together even if you think that's possible. An electrian has suggested that because the house has concrete between the floors and is well insulated that the signal won't travel between rooms so can you also suggest Boosting box options too please.

Really looking forward to hearing your thoughts

 

[BigT]

If you’re building a house then it’s very simple in terms of WiFi distribution. Install Ethernet cables into every room running back to a central location patch panel. Then you can just add access points (APs) where you need them for full coverage. If you don’t mind the look then you should get some cables run to ceilings where APs are best placed for coverage, upstairs and down if you think the concrete floors are a problem. Your electrician should be able to do this. How many and where to place them is guesswork from anyone here though without a floor plan and even then building materials may affect it, but having cable runs to every room means you can mitigate the risk of dead spots by adding more APs later.

And while building the house consider if you’re using 4G where your nearest mast is and getting an external antennae or something like a Mikrotik router mounted high on the house and appropriate cables run from your central location there to support it. Depending on budget maybe also look to Starlink which has been designed specifically for your situation. Whether it’s worth the money over 4G (both initial cost, subscription and power) only you will know.

The one thing I can say with certainty though is planning on using “boosters” on a new build with the opportunity presented is the worst idea.

 

[Leanne Mcguigan]

Thank you so much for your reply Big T.

What you've said is my plan yes. I looked at the Mikrotik attenna yesterday. I was really hoping someone could drill down into details and tell me which antenna, router, types of cables, types of ap etc to get the best speeds.

 

[BigT]

So let's try and help with that.

• With regards to a router for your 4G signal, hopefully @WJA96 will be along to recommend something from Mikrotik because they're the best devices at a reasonable price point and he knows lots about them. Until then maybe read a little on this thread https://www.overclockers.co.uk/forums/threads/4g-router-recommendations.18894827
• Cables, make sure your electrician gets solid core and not Copper Clad Aluminium (CCA) from a reputable brand like Excel. Personally I can't see you needing to use anything higher grade than cat5e which is easier to work with but some here will recommend cat6. I think the solid core matters more than anything else.
• Access Points, I'd personally go with Ubiquiti NanoHDs because i think it is too early to invest in WiFi6 plus if your house is being built as you say then it's never going to send those high speed signals beyond the room it's in. Equally you could go for the TP-Link Omada range or other prosumer targeted devices. Just make sure they are 4x4 APs so they will cope with the mix of clients well without slowing things down.
• I'd probably then go for a PoE capable switch from the same manufacturer to use the same management system. So for Ubiquiti something like the US-16-150W. They do bigger ones if you need more ports and power.
• Patch panels, wall sockets, racks and things I'm clueless on.

 

[WJA96]

Mikrotik LHGG LTE6 is the optimum combination of speed and price at the moment but it’s external mount only and you can either use the built-in Mikrotik RouterOS Router or just switch off the router and pass the data in modem mode to another router.

I would probably couple it with a PoE switch and, as @BigT suggested, a couple of Unifi UAP-NanoHD access points. Do not buy Mikrotik access points. They’re.... not great.

 

[gpuerrilla]

Not much to add except I have a Mikrotik SXT LTE6 kit and live in rural where BT twisted copper is useless. I have got by with a couple of TP-link APs that are entry standard but they have coped with working from home and three kids hammering the wifi. I recently aquired a UB uap pro but not being a wifi guzzler I cant say I notice much difference and the wife thinks its worse lol.

I wired the house myself mostly with cat5e except the fireproof garage I ended up using PLC to get devices connected for time being.

Im on 3 as they were cheapest (by quite a margin) and a few months was on Smarty (same network). EE and voda are likely better but your paying the extra tenner a month - your mileage may vary on towers and vendor deals they have on.