Recommendations for a 4G Modem

lumencreative

lumencreative

lumencreative

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Joined
19 May 2014
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290
So, our internet provider have just told us that they cannot install our phone line/broadband for two months at least due to Coronavirus, and as an e-commerce company this is a big problem.

So, I wonder whether I could get some recommendations for a modem that I can connect to a regular network that will allow me to use 4G until our internet provider gets their act together.

What would be really helpful is if the modem can then work with our internet provider and use the 4G connection as some sort of backup.
 
The easiest device to recommend is something like the TP-Link MR200. They make a whole range of devices with built-in SIM cards and, as long as you have a strong 4G signal, they just work straight away with almost no configuration.
 
lumencreative said:
So, our internet provider have just told us that they cannot install our phone line/broadband for two months at least due to Coronavirus, and as an e-commerce company this is a big problem.

So, I wonder whether I could get some recommendations for a modem that I can connect to a regular network that will allow me to use 4G until our internet provider gets their act together.

What would be really helpful is if the modem can then work with our internet provider and use the 4G connection as some sort of backup.
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Given the forum has essentially been your unpaid IT consultant for more months than I can remember and we’ve spec’d switches, servers, screens, workstations, storage and backup strategy in that time that I can remember, have you moved premises or just never considered the possibility of a line going down/being unavailable? Just that doesn’t sound like it’s OR who needs to get it’s act together.

The openreach ban on internal works is to avoid a situations that could quite easily result in people becoming seriously ill or much worse.

Emergency 101: Tether/hotspot - check your data cap and if your plan permits tethering or you risk the plan being pulled/limited. This is likely OK for basic email, but you’ll want an large/unlimited plan if you’re moving a lot of data - some ISP’s may be willing to help here as several own/operate/virtually provision over an existing network on preferential terms.

Curve Ball: Is anyone local likely to consider allowing you guest wifi access?

Longer term: Realistically it’s likely to be months before OR lift its restrictions (the wrongful death liability is a massive concern for staff and the public liability is even more horrific), so what router have you got? What specifically does it support 4G wise? You could spend a chunk on a high end 4G router to replace what you have till you get a line, or a supported dongle for what you have. Huawei tend to be a reasonable option for dongles that are supported and they were relatively cheap, three had cheap routers and PAYG/contract deal going as well, most providers have decent sim only deals, what works best for you will be down to local coverage and how much you want to spend.
 
Avalon said:
Given the forum has essentially been your unpaid IT consultant for more months than I can remember and we’ve spec’d switches, servers, screens, workstations, storage and backup strategy in that time that I can remember, have you moved premises or just never considered the possibility of a line going down/being unavailable? Just that doesn’t sound like it’s OR who needs to get it’s act together.

The openreach ban on internal works is to avoid a situations that could quite easily result in people becoming seriously ill or much worse.

Emergency 101: Tether/hotspot - check your data cap and if your plan permits tethering or you risk the plan being pulled/limited. This is likely OK for basic email, but you’ll want an large/unlimited plan if you’re moving a lot of data - some ISP’s may be willing to help here as several own/operate/virtually provision over an existing network on preferential terms.

Curve Ball: Is anyone local likely to consider allowing you guest wifi access?

Longer term: Realistically it’s likely to be months before OR lift its restrictions (the wrongful death liability is a massive concern for staff and the public liability is even more horrific), so what router have you got? What specifically does it support 4G wise? You could spend a chunk on a high end 4G router to replace what you have till you get a line, or a supported dongle for what you have. Huawei tend to be a reasonable option for dongles that are supported and they were relatively cheap, three had cheap routers and PAYG/contract deal going as well, most providers have decent sim only deals, what works best for you will be down to local coverage and how much you want to spend.
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With respect, the forums are here for advice and recommendations are they not? I greatly appreciate the advice that you in particular have offered and while I am experienced enough to handle a network and install a network, there is nothing wrong with looking to people with much greater knowledge than I for advice and opinions on the best way to go about it. Having said that, if you don’t like my posts, don’t comment - simple. You are under no obligation to comment.

Now to answer your questions we are due to move at the end of April. I have spent the past few months sourcing IT equipment for our new premises in the anticipation of moving.

I have zero issue with the ban on works by openreach and am actually in favour of it, however, as a business owner, I still have to come up with a solution to mitigate the inconvenience. Just in the same way businesses across the world are having to come up with ways of mitigating the financial impact of coronavirus.

I can honestly say that in the 8 years we have been in business, we have never once had an internet outage and so rightly or not, it’s not something I had considered when speccing out the new network. I have a SIM card that has a 100GB mobile data limit which is fine but connecting to my mobile phone is not really a practical option which is why I was asking for advice on a modem to insert said SIM card into.

With regards to borrowing WiFi, as mentioned I have a SIM card but none of our computers have WiFi installed and we need to stay connected to the network / server and have internet access at the same time ideally.

Our current router is the business router/modem provided by our broadband provider and it has been fine as it never functioned as anything other than a modem. We are willing to spend money on the right solution so would like a modem or router to replace the basic one we have now that offers.

Thanks
 
I have been using a Cisco 819-4G-LTE alongside a wireless AP for the past 4 months. It has been very stable, acting as a DHCP server for up to 50 devices simultaneously and also NAT.

I normally get around 25Mbps downstream and 8Mbps upstream.

The only word of caution around using 4G for a business connection would be that you do not get a public IP address on the cellular interface (most mobile operators use CGNAT for their subscribers). So if you need VPN access INTO your premises you need to get creative with reverse tunnels etc.


HTH
 
I've been fairly impressed with the MikroTik Ltap LTE6, as I have been able to customise the configuration. RouterOS is a very steep learning curve though.

I'll have a read on that Three ip, as that would be handy.
 
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