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Author Topic: Move from FTTC to 4G - sanity check please  (Read 3891 times)

IBeAdam

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Move from FTTC to 4G - sanity check please
« on: September 01, 2020, 09:07:28 AM »

I’d really appreciate input on whether this seems a good idea, or not.

Currently I have FTTC which up until October last year was stable, if slow. 26 down, 2 up.

I then started getting regular daily (but random) drops and after getting no help from my (then) ISP I moved to A&A. I’ve had many engineers out and spent a huge amount of time (and money) proving it’s not my wiring, equipment etc. Issue has been tracked to degraded cable from pole to ground, however OpenReach will not repair it within any timeframe.

Then almost 3 weeks ago we totally lost internet. Sync ok but no ppp handshake. Error is “ Out Of Sync Fail:GTC_FTTC_SERVICE_1400 DSL port, splitter or Tie Pair issue found most likely near to DSLAM. Continue submitting trouble report.” Despite A&A chasing we still have no internet!

I purchased a Huawei 535 and used the included Three SIM to get us up and running quickly. 4G is more variable and I’ve not yet made any effort to site the router in an optimal location, but at the least we get 26 down, 15 up.

I used the VPN service from A&A to get a fixed IP address and bypass CGNAT.

I have tried my EE SIM and get around 50 down, 45 up.

Initially my thoughts were to use the 4G connection as a backup or load balanced connection. However, I’m now thinking why bother? Why not just go for EE, use A&A VPN and that’ll still save me £10/month in to the bargain.

Summary-
A&A FTTC 26/2 but random drops and currently no internet.
Three + A&A VPN 26/15 minimum, would save £15 month
EE + A&A VPN 50/45 minimum, would save £10 month

Does this sound sensible?
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banger

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Re: Move from FTTC to 4G - sanity check please
« Reply #1 on: September 01, 2020, 11:00:44 AM »

Sounds good to me.
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Tim
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https://www.thinkbroadband.com/speedtest/1502566996147131655

Alex Atkin UK

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Re: Move from FTTC to 4G - sanity check please
« Reply #2 on: September 01, 2020, 11:44:51 AM »

My personal experience, granted on Three, is on a good day it can be 50-100Mbit, on a bad day it can be 2Mbit, average is 20Mbit but as it fluctuates second to second, it can still be a pretty crap experience for anything other than web browsing.  I also don't find it always works that well with a VPN.

For the same reason, its very rough load-balancing with my VDSL with the 4G, as if the 4G is performing poorly it holds back performance of the VDSL.  I do have my games consoles set to load balance across all my WANs, but only because I don't really game online.  Mostly its the two VDSL lines doing the heavy lifting though, 4G barely adds anything 99% of the time, it only reaches good speeds in the early morning when everyone is asleep.

It really depends on your local mast, it can be brilliant but it can be all over the place.  I'd definitely never consider going 4G exclusively personally, but some people use it without problems.
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IBeAdam

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Re: Move from FTTC to 4G - sanity check please
« Reply #3 on: September 01, 2020, 12:07:22 PM »

Thanks for the replies.

I’ve been monitoring 4G (Three) for the last two weeks, running a Speedtest hourly. It’s never gone below the speed of my FTTC connection. Hopefully EE will be equally as good.

My FTTC connection has been so unreliable, and as I say has been totally down almost 3 weeks now!

I would load balance, but the speeds will be so different (especially upload) I’m not sure it’d work well.  I’m also trying to save money - A&A is currently £46/month and for that I get 26/2 and VOIP line.

I could move to Zen, and save £16/month and use that towards a 4G plan. Or stay with A&A for 4G only and use their VPN. Zen+4G would be £55/month (without VPN on 4G). 4G+A&A VPN+VOIP would be £36/month.
« Last Edit: September 01, 2020, 12:11:27 PM by IBeAdam »
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Alex Atkin UK

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Re: Move from FTTC to 4G - sanity check please
« Reply #4 on: September 01, 2020, 12:25:35 PM »

All I can say is I hugely regret signing up for a 24 month contract on Three, but then partly that is because of the pandemic I'm not taking it with me once a month to meet with friends in a pub where the WiFi hardly ever works and partly as my VDSL works fine.  So you definitely have a fair point as at LEAST it works.

It really depends how much traffic you use as PAYG can be a good option for a backup, its how I will probably keep 4G in the future.
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dee.jay

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Re: Move from FTTC to 4G - sanity check please
« Reply #5 on: September 02, 2020, 12:09:06 PM »

I tried a speedtest on my 4G at home the other day - upstairs where my office is I was astonished to get over 120Mbps

Am tempted to try and find some way of piping that into my wired network and load balance across that too - for bulk downloads that would put me at 250Mbps between that and my 2 x FTTC circuits. I have unlimited data with EE, but I believe this is subject to "12 regular devices" on tethering. Not sure how they see that though. I usually tether my two laptops when I'm away though.
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Weaver

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Re: Move from FTTC to 4G - sanity check please
« Reply #6 on: September 03, 2020, 10:47:51 AM »

Just a thought: Have you thought about ordering a second DSL line and then ceasing the first one?
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meritez

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Re: Move from FTTC to 4G - sanity check please
« Reply #7 on: September 03, 2020, 05:38:58 PM »

Just a thought: Have you thought about ordering a second DSL line and then ceasing the first one?

This, also how much data do you use a month?

Smarty, three's mvno has much better pricing than Three, 30 day contract and if you still use A&A vpn you will avoid their peering and CGNAT.

What coverage have you got locally, https://cellmapper.net would be able to show what lte bands are available to you
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IBeAdam

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Re: Move from FTTC to 4G - sanity check please
« Reply #8 on: September 04, 2020, 07:58:13 AM »

It’s now 3 weeks that my DSL line has been down.

I’ve been trialing Smarty/AAISP VPN and it’s better than my DSL line (when working) anyway.

I’ve ordered an EE £25/month unlimited plan as signal is better than 3 in this area. As a nice surprise it came with a swappable benefit (which wasn’t advertised) so I’ve picked Apple Music and cancelled my Spotify subscription. Prefer the latter but £10/month saving is welcome.

I usually keep data to < 300gb/month as that’s the AAISP limit, however mobile companies include upload in their calculations, so unlimited is better. It isn’t actually unlimited of course, but 1tb. I don’t know how they get away with advertising it as such.

Need to call AAISP today as £46/month for a broken broadband line is just too much!
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Alex Atkin UK

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Re: Move from FTTC to 4G - sanity check please
« Reply #9 on: September 04, 2020, 10:30:32 AM »

It isn’t actually unlimited of course, but 1tb. I don’t know how they get away with advertising it as such.

I'm not 100% sure but I think they throttle your traffic if you go over, rather than charging a fee or cutting you off.  So they get away on a technicality.
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Chrysalis

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Re: Move from FTTC to 4G - sanity check please
« Reply #10 on: September 05, 2020, 06:12:43 PM »

go with ee over three, complete no brainer
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IBeAdam

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Re: Move from FTTC to 4G - sanity check please
« Reply #11 on: September 06, 2020, 09:21:32 AM »

Router up and running on EE. To say I’m pleased is an understatement.

Gone from 26/2 when working (which it hasn’t been for 3 weeks) with daily random drops to this.

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burakkucat

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Re: Move from FTTC to 4G - sanity check please
« Reply #12 on: September 06, 2020, 05:59:40 PM »

That looks really quite good.  :)

It would be interesting to know how the service behaves over 24 hours, then, say, a week . . .
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Weaver

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Re: Move from FTTC to 4G - sanity check please
« Reply #13 on: September 07, 2020, 01:37:28 AM »

What worries me is the unreliability of the service and the fear of congestion which is completely out of your control. All it takes is one greedy neighbour. But let’s just be positive and if it works well then fantastic. Just don’t tell anyone else about 4G lest they also switch to it.  ;)
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Alex Atkin UK

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Re: Move from FTTC to 4G - sanity check please
« Reply #14 on: September 07, 2020, 07:13:25 AM »

I had hoped they would roll out 5G here so all the heavy users upgraded, freeing up 4G for me to hog.   At least until FTTP.
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