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[bogof]

I'm just about to ditch my FTTC line as the FTTP has been up a couple of months and is faultless it seems.

Wondering what SIM folks are using for this kind of connection that hopefully will never be needed, but nice to have in the background?

At the moment I'm leaning towards a 24GB preloaded SIM from 3, which lasts up to 24 months, for £60.  Already have the 4G router to put it in.  At £2.50 a month this seems pretty hard to beat for emergency use.

Any better deals out there?  Other strategies?

[tubaman]

Probably being a bit controversial but it depends what you class as an emergency. My definition of an emergency is when the house is on fire and I can't phone for the fire brigade. My broadband not working would be classed as an inconvenience but that's just me.
 

[bogof]

Probably being a bit controversial but it depends what you class as an emergency. My definition of an emergency is when the house is on fire and I can't phone for the fire brigade. My broadband not working would be classed as an inconvenience but that's just me.
 

Hehe.  In this case the emergency would be me getting it in the ear from the wife as she can't do her work from home...
Already have the router on the shelf from a previous connection for something else.

[meritez]

Smarty Mobile can be switched on and off by removing the payment details.

So you purchase a Smarty Mobile Sim on the lowest package, which according to Uswitch is £5 for 2GB, after activating, change the package to £10 for 30gb and remove the payment details.

Sim will be dormant until required, and you can then activate the sim and get 30gb data for £10 immediately after payment

[tubaman]

Hehe.  In this case the emergency would be me getting it in the ear from the wife as she can't do her work from home...
...

I think that is classed as a major emergency...

[Alex Atkin UK]

Smarty Mobile can be switched on and off by removing the payment details.

So you purchase a Smarty Mobile Sim on the lowest package, which according to Uswitch is £5 for 2GB, after activating, change the package to £10 for 30gb and remove the payment details.

Sim will be dormant until required, and you can then activate the sim and get 30gb data for £10 immediately after payment

Are you sure?  Every mobile provider I've seen says if you do not use the SIM for a while it will be removed from the network and require you to order a new SIM.

As for which is best as a backup, well it depends entirely on which networks have the best performance in your area.

I had a 24 month contract with Three and for about 20 months of that they were dire, speed would drop as low as single digits and latency would increase to a point where it would be unusable for something like VoIP.  Switched to Voxi and they have been great.  But it basically depends on which provider has a good signal and if they are oversubscribed in your area.

[Weaver]

Andrews and Arnold do 4G data SIMs for £1 per month or so (can’t remember exactly) and you can turn the meter on/off if you’re not using them at all. See https://www.aa.net.uk/voice-and-mobile/data-sims/

[meritez]

Are you sure?  Every mobile provider I've seen says if you do not use the SIM for a while it will be removed from the network and require you to order a new SIM.

As for which is best as a backup, well it depends entirely on which networks have the best performance in your area.

I had a 24 month contract with Three and for about 20 months of that they were dire, speed would drop as low as single digits and latency would increase to a point where it would be unusable for something like VoIP.  Switched to Voxi and they have been great.  But it basically depends on which provider has a good signal and if they are oversubscribed in your area.

I'm sure, mine's currently off

[bogof]

Andrews and Arnold do 4G data SIMs for £1 per month or so (can’t remember exactly) and you can turn the meter on/off if you’re not using them at all. See https://www.aa.net.uk/voice-and-mobile/data-sims/

Thanks.  Sounds tempting til you do the sums...

£10 for SIM + £2 / month + 1.75p /MB, all +VAT.

So compare to 3 - 24 month / 24GB / £60 prepaid inc VAT:

(10 + 2*24)*1.2 = £69.60 with no data for the 2 year rental plus SIM.
If I needed 24GB over the 2 years:  + £504! (crikey!  I just had to re-do that calc, and it is right...).
So best case a little more expensive, worst case... a LOT.

[bogof]

Are you sure?  Every mobile provider I've seen says if you do not use the SIM for a while it will be removed from the network and require you to order a new SIM.

As for which is best as a backup, well it depends entirely on which networks have the best performance in your area.

I had a 24 month contract with Three and for about 20 months of that they were dire, speed would drop as low as single digits and latency would increase to a point where it would be unusable for something like VoIP.  Switched to Voxi and they have been great.  But it basically depends on which provider has a good signal and if they are oversubscribed in your area.

I'm lucky I guess, City Centre and there appears to be plenty of capacity.

I had used 3 previously for the office broadband on an unlimited SIM (hence having the router already).  It worked very well here, was nearly always above 30Mb/s in both directions.

It's sounding like 3 at the moment.  Even better, only £45 for the same SIM from Amazon!
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Three-Mobile-Pay-Broadband-Data-Black/dp/B01M3VJ2B2

[Weaver]

> best case a little more expensive, worst case... a LOT.

Exactly! When I was in hospital once, I racked up a £50 bill for downloading movies in just a few hours.

But for emergency backup, I find them ideal.

[bogof]

I guess so.  It would be nicer if I could get some kind of lower cost subscription service that would always be there but costing very little on a monthly basis - with the Three service it will run out at the end of 24 months and then I guess I'm into getting another 24 month deal (or whatever is available at the time).  But the price has to be reasonable if I do need it. 

The 3 deal, bought for £45, is equivalent to less than £2 a month for 1GB service that effectively rolls over, which is incredible.

[aesmith]

Smarty Mobile can be switched on and off by removing the payment details.

If you switch off auto renew, Smarty closes the account after a few months.  I was trying to see if I had anything saying how long that is.  An alternative might be Three themselves if they still work the same way, their PAYG SIMs top up with 200meg per month free of charge which is enough to keep the SIM live, and would be enough for routing protocols or IP SLA etc as well.  But the onus would be on you to put some cash in when you want to use it for real.  200meg disappears pretty quickly.

[meritez]

I've activated a giffgaff sim for mobile backup, 100gb for £20, and then if you contribute on their forum you can get payback, last payback was £30, covered the cost of the sim.

[Alex Atkin UK]

I think Three is still the most practical, they give you 200MB/month so long as you actively use it at least once every six months I believe.  Theoretically that could keep it active just by being connected to the WAN at all?