Utilizing 4g Connection out in the sticks.

gigeorge

gigeorge

gigeorge

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So currently my friends farm relies on satellite, which is patchy and gives high latency -a recent visit to the farm showed that my EE phone had 4g signal there, weak, but a signal..

I read online that some chap not too farm away on Salisbury Plain had utilized, presumably some 4g dongle, and sent that 4f signal via presumably a router > fibre back to his farm..

Could you advise what would be needed to create such a connection, I'm thinking:

1x Cradlepoint COR IBR650 ,
1 x EE sim with enough GB to last a month
1 x box to mount the cradlepoint in
1 x power source ? Solar powered?
2 x fibre convertors, (their farm already has fibre due to distance from satellite to house)
1 x length of fibre
X x associated cat 6 cables, connectors, perhaps a router etc.

I think the hardest bit will be getting a solar setup / battery / mounting it all on a suitable mast to get the best signal..

Has anyone any experience of this and could they assist/advise?

Thanks
 
Wouldn't a mifi device with an external aerial work? Or are you trying to mount it a distance from the house where the signal is better?
 
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the last time i looked at this issue, i was looking for 4g routers that would take a sim card directly and then run a long lead to the external aerial

but the cost was too much so they didnt go ahead with it
 
The loss over coax cable to run an antenna is going to be huge compared to having power up a pole and only having to run network back to the house.

I'd go one further and buy a 4G router that takes a USB modem so you can take advantage of faster speeds by just swapping the dongle. Pepwave make some really good ones.
 
That's crazy money, cool idea though. Do any other network providers have masts in the area? All you really need is a decent 4G router and a few meshed AP's
 
Caged said:
I'd go one further and buy a 4G router that takes a USB modem so you can take advantage of faster speeds by just swapping the dongle.
Click to expand...

If youve got a dongle plugged into it, how would the speed change if you swap the dongles?

Also, I was looking at routers that had a sim card slot built in as i thought they would have less overhead than a dongle which then has to talk to a router.

OP: when i was looking into it before, the guy on the phone suggested a "Proroute H820" becuase it would take a 4G sim card and then you could connect an aeriel with a long cable outside
 
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Because the modem is in the USB dongle so if your network starts using more frequencies you can just swap the dongle out. Not sure what's not to understand.
 
Caged said:
Because the modem is in the USB dongle so if your network starts using more frequencies you can just swap the dongle out. Not sure what's not to understand.
Click to expand...

Id still be more inclined to get one with a built in modem.

Considering we are trying to get hold of the faintest whiff of mobile internet, the fewest losses are vital. I reckon a decent router manufacturer will be able to get more out of the built in modem than a usb modem.

I would like to see if anybody has tested that though :)
 
I would try the cheap option first of a router supporting usb 4g modem (e.g., asus routers) with external antenna plugged into the usb modem.
It's how I connect to the internet myself, rock solid and fast.
 
Before you try and build a tower to pick up a 4G signal, have you tried picking up 4G at the house with a directional antenna? As long as you have line of sight to a transmitter then there shouldn't really be an advantage in moving a few hundred metres closer to the mast.
 
How much height do you need ?

You can run a longer USB lead from a router to a dongle

There are external aerials for dongles

You need to quantify the issue first!
 
First thing I would do is run speed tests on as many networks as you can and then look at different dongle deals. Last time I checked, Three did the best dongle sims.

You can also use bonding devices to merge several connections to one connection, even on different carriers to give you some redundancy though I am not sure how this will effect latency.
 
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