moeburn Posted October 10, 2013 Share Posted October 10, 2013 Here at my home, the fastest wired internet speed we can get is 10mbit ADSL over phone wire, from Bell Sympatico. Despite being in the Greater Toronto Area, fiber optic lines haven't reached my neighbourhood yet. And we really only get about 6-8mbit of that 10. However, I just performed a few speed tests on my phone's 4G/LTE connection (I don't really know what it's called, or what any of those 3G/4G/LTE terms really mean, so heretofore I'll refer to it as "radio"), and I can sustain 50mbit for a 200 megabyte file, peaking at around 75mbit. So we're now at the point where, at my particular location, the wireless internet connection is faster than the wired connection. I'm wondering if it wouldn't make sense to just completely stop paying for wired ADSL, and just buy one of those radio USB sticks that Bell sells, and plug it into my router (which explicitly states being compatible with those radio USB sticks), and use THAT as my main internet source. Has anyone ever done this before? I haven't done the end-bill cost comparison of the two services, but aside from the price difference, would this be a good idea? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger H. Veteran Posted October 11, 2013 Veteran Share Posted October 11, 2013 People have done that already but don't they have caps? What good is 75Mbps with a 5GB cap? If you don't have caps then go to town on it then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moeburn Posted October 11, 2013 Author Share Posted October 11, 2013 People have done that already but don't they have caps? What good is 75Mbps with a 5GB cap? If you don't have caps then go to town on it then. Well yeah, some plans do. But they also sell unlimited plans. But most ADSL connections have bandwidth limits too. Except mine :D The biggest loss with switching to this radio method, would be the loss of my free unlimited bandwidth. See, I only pay for 30GB per month, but due to an account error, we have never been charged for going over that limit since we got the service over 5 years ago. I use about 300GB per month, and I never get charged more than the usual $30/month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
remixedcat Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 I hope you don't have a low cap becuase that is going to be decimated in no time. I blow thru a GB in a week on my phone. Are there any WISPs there in your area? Some of those on average are around 10-15Mbits/sec. You would need to get a bridge-client type router and not a standard one unless your router's firmware supports it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moeburn Posted October 11, 2013 Author Share Posted October 11, 2013 I hope you don't have a low cap becuase that is going to be decimated in no time. I blow thru a GB in a week on my phone. Are there any WISPs there in your area? Some of those on average are around 10-15Mbits/sec. You would need to get a bridge-client type router and not a standard one unless your router's firmware supports it. See my above post regarding the bandwidth caps. Not sure what you mean by WISP. A wireless internet service provider? Isn't that exactly what we are talking about? And my WNDR3700v2 has client bridging mode, as well as every other mode imaginable, thanks to the OpenWRT I put on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
remixedcat Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 You posted the same time I did.. LOL. I meant WISP and those work more over wifi or 900Mhz rather then 3G/4G. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleNeutrino Veteran Posted October 11, 2013 Veteran Share Posted October 11, 2013 it would cost you a fortune however, i do not see any issue with using a radio for your standard internet connection. The company i work for has a few dozen locations that are Conex Trailers they are using for offices on customer sites while they do the work. We use Verizon UML290 4G/LTE aircard (USB MODEMS) connected to a Cradlepoint MBR95 at more locations. Some locations we use CradlePoint IBR600 devices which are essentailly a Cradlepoint router with a built in Verizon LTE Card. and that is the main internet connection for dozens of people Cradlepoint routers are standard Wireless routers that allow for the use of a USB modem for an internet source. that you can then spread to other users via Wifi or a LAN network with ethernet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vcfan Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 check teksavvy in your area, they might have 30+mbps cable with unlimited plans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crisp Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 Get an outdoor antenna for better reception. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts