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Author Topic: Why isn't 4G+ a viable broadband choice?  (Read 2834 times)

Bowdon

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Why isn't 4G+ a viable broadband choice?
« on: September 05, 2017, 11:40:28 AM »

I'm not very familiar with 4G+ services. I only know that with all mobile companies they seem to like to charge for data.

My questions are;

Does 4g+ (and other over the air technology) suffer congestion like regular broadband?

Why are mobile companies pricing themselves out of competing with regular broadband companies because they keep their prices to high?

The reason I'm asking these questions is I've just seen a post on facebook were a guy is saying how his 4G+ is twice as fast as his BT connection, I'm assuming its an fttc connection. The 4G stats were: Ping 27ms , Download 134.94Mbps , Upload 44.87Mbps (he's on EE)

So why arent mobile phone companies a viable option for people who want broadband?
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d2d4j

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Re: Why isn't 4G+ a viable broadband choice?
« Reply #1 on: September 05, 2017, 11:53:23 AM »

Hi Bowden

Good question but I myself do not think most would achieve that speed. I certainly do not, albeit I only use 4G on mobile when out

I have included 2 pictures to show the throughout from 4g and wifi. The lower speed is 4g

Many thanks

John
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j0hn

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Re: Why isn't 4G+ a viable broadband choice?
« Reply #2 on: September 05, 2017, 03:17:29 PM »

You answered your own question. It's the cost of data.
I know a few people who use a 4G for their broadband, but they have to be very careful how much data they use.

Data is MUCH more expensive for mobile operators. The backhaul to the masts may cost the same, but then there's the equipment to send it wireless to our phones.

There's a 3G/4G site near me that has 8 huge street cabinets. At the end of the row of mobile operator cabinets there's a OpenReach Huawei 288. It looks tiny in comparison to all the other equipment.
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PhilipD

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Re: Why isn't 4G+ a viable broadband choice?
« Reply #3 on: September 05, 2017, 03:33:28 PM »

Hi

I'm not very familiar with 4G+ services. I only know that with all mobile companies they seem to like to charge for data.

My questions are;

Does 4g+ (and other over the air technology) suffer congestion like regular broadband?

Why are mobile companies pricing themselves out of competing with regular broadband companies because they keep their prices to high?

The reason I'm asking these questions is I've just seen a post on facebook were a guy is saying how his 4G+ is twice as fast as his BT connection, I'm assuming its an fttc connection. The 4G stats were: Ping 27ms , Download 134.94Mbps , Upload 44.87Mbps (he's on EE)

So why arent mobile phone companies a viable option for people who want broadband?

It is completely usable, I was getting around 40 up/down on 4G using a 4G modem, so upload speeds better than most broadband connections, I moved and still used it when officially there was no 4G signal, and so even with no bars it still gave around 10 up and down, although could disconnect for no reason, but bridged the gap until I got VDSL installed.

The issues are two fold:  Can you get a decent signal, and can you afford the amount of data you need?  Of course for people doing gaming where latency is an issue it wouldn't be the best choice, but otherwise it can replace a more typical wired connection if available.

Regards

Phil

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broadstairs

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Re: Why isn't 4G+ a viable broadband choice?
« Reply #4 on: September 05, 2017, 04:21:14 PM »

My 4g speed using a speed tester on my mobile gives me 69+ mbps down and about 18 mbps up, that's at home here. the d/l speed is faster than I get with my home broadband which is usually around 54mbps at most. The issue as others say is data.

Stuart
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WWWombat

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Re: Why isn't 4G+ a viable broadband choice?
« Reply #5 on: September 05, 2017, 08:05:13 PM »

Why are mobile companies pricing themselves out of competing with regular broadband companies because they keep their prices to high?

So why arent mobile phone companies a viable option for people who want broadband?

The scarce resource in any mobile telecoms is the spectrum - shared amongst all the users covered by the cell. The 20MHz of spectrum (for example) transmitted by a cell is all that can be used - whether there is 1 user or 100 users.

We often see that 4G LTE has some huge peak speeds ... and we can experience these if we are the only user, and close to the mast. But the cell must share usage amongst everyone, and is often limited by the most distance users at the cell edge, not the ones who are closest. Average throughput in a well-shared cell is much lower than the oft-quoted peaks (much like shared wifi). Perhaps only 20% of the peak, according to one Motorola white paper.

The efficiency of spectrum usage is set when the specifications are written. You see step changes in cost per Mbps (or per GB) when a new technology turns up, with a new allocation of spectrum, but otherwise there is little scope to reduce the cost.

Why?

An operator can initially make the cells large using higher power, to cover more ground, but also to cover more people. As he gets more subscribers, the speed each receives falls. Upgrades are needed...

He can choose to install more cells (with more backhaul to each one), use lower power for each, less ground coverage to each, and fewer subscribers to each. Each user's experience gets better again - but it cost a lot more to install all those extra cells, and all that extra backhaul.

As demand increases (more subscribers, higher usage), the only thing that a mobile operator can do is to keep adding more capacity - installing more masts, with more backhaul. Or to buy more spectrum, and start installing more transceiver hardware at the masts.

If a mobile operator dropped his prices (or usage caps), then he'd get too much business, and everyone's speeds would drop. More masts would be needed, but there'd be no money to pay for them. And we can only cope with a certain density of masts before interference starts becoming a problem.

4G can act as viable broadband for those with no choice, but the prices need to be set such that those with a choice never choose it. The price has to be high enough to scare such users away.
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Chrysalis

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Re: Why isn't 4G+ a viable broadband choice?
« Reply #6 on: September 05, 2017, 09:46:44 PM »

The main reason is usage limits, 4G has I would say caught up with wired DSL services for speed (at least prior to g.fast), but it has usage limits akin to what we may have expected 10 years ago for home broadband.

A secondary reason is the providers have managed to get away in some areas to not having a signal that can penetrate a property, when I am in my home I get 3-4 bars of LTE, and speeds are very nice, upload in particular which is faster than my VDSL, but not everyone is that lucky when at home.

Also that CGNAT is a very common config so things like gaming would be awkward.
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tubaman

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Re: Why isn't 4G+ a viable broadband choice?
« Reply #7 on: September 06, 2017, 03:10:33 PM »

Some of us can't even get 2G voice indoors let alone 4G data - and I live about 2 miles as the crow flies from a city!
 :(
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