Suggestions for Rural Setup

[ecubed]

My parents are moving to a rural area. Their only options for traditional internet service are satellite and from my experience that is shaky at best. They are moving from town where they had Comcast/Xfinity, so they are used to fairly decent speeds. They stream Hulu Live and Netflix for TV and their internet usage is mostly surfing and email.

I know of CradlePoint and Sierra Wireless modems through my work. From the research I've done online it seems like the Netgear Nighthawk MR1100 is a possibility.

Does anyone have any suggestions they can provide on an LTE setup that would work for their situation? I'm looking for hardware ideas as well as the best options for unlimited data service.

[BillA]

My parents are moving to a rural area. Their only options for traditional internet service are satellite and from my experience that is shaky at best. They are moving from town where they had Comcast/Xfinity, so they are used to fairly decent speeds. They stream Hulu Live and Netflix for TV and their internet usage is mostly surfing and email.

I know of CradlePoint and Sierra Wireless modems through my work. From the research I've done online it seems like the Netgear Nighthawk MR1100 is a possibility.

Does anyone have any suggestions they can provide on an LTE setup that would work for their situation? I'm looking for hardware ideas as well as the best options for unlimited data service.

Keep in mind, every carrier's data speeds will vary depending on lots of variables, including type of equipment used (most importantly the modem's CAT#, the higher the better), antennas used, distance from the tower, congestion due to peak hours, etc. For example on Tmobile using a CAT-6 modem, about a mile aways from the tower I get an average of 50Mbps speed, while with a CAT-18 modem I've seen as high as 300+Mbps. Everyone's experience will vary, and there's no better way to tell than actually trying it.

Here's all you need to get started.

Mobile data service
https://wirelessjoint.com/viewtopic.php?p=5790#p5790

Mobile router/modem
https://wirelessjoint.com/viewtopic.php?p=6272#p6272

Antennas
At first you can try your service with the "stubby" antennas which comes with the router, and if you'd like to improve your signal/speed, you may want to get a pair of high gain external antennas.
https://thewirelesshaven.com/product-category/antennas/

[ecubed]

Thanks.

Will the EM12-G CAT12 or EM20-G CAT20 work with that same modem adapter?

[BillA]

Thanks.

Will the EM12-G CAT12 or EM20-G CAT20 work with that same modem adapter?

Yes as long as it's an M.2 modem connector.

[prideauxx]

Hello,

This originally was going to be a DM to BillA, but likely due to the newness of my membership here, I cannot yet do this.

First time poster; just joined. I live out in the sticks at the intersection of VA/MD/WVA. I'd been using an Ubifi-MVNO-based Internet solution (using AT&T's networks), but things are beginning to break down, almost to an unusable level, and I need to sort this quickly for my work (as well as my wife's).

I'm an engineer by trade, so not too terribly unhandy. Currently running a Mofi 4500 v2, with a couple of Wilson flatpanels to help with trees. Right now I'm peaking at about 5MB/s--averaging much lower than this. Believe it to be congestion/deprioritization, or after reading some of the current posts here regarding AT&T's latest shenanigans, perhaps this is my new future. FYI--was at about 20-25MB/s down and 12MB/s up.

I'd like to give a shot at a TMobile based solution (actually just purchased an EdgeRouter 4 I was going to use for multi-WAN loadbalance/failover between two cellular ISP's, before this all got away from me). I read from one of BillA's posts (quoted below) the ability to address video throttling/etc., and wanted to inquire as to a decent solution to an additional cellular modem/router setup to use with this TMobile based solution. Alternately, I can likely shoehorn the TMobile SIM temporarily into the Mofi 4500.

BillA, Feb 20, 2020:
"You can purchase a PagePlus (red packet) or SimpleMobile (green packet) activation sim kit from BestBuy, Target, Walmart or online on Amazon or Ebay. If you don't have a compatible phone to use for activation or just want to activate it quickly and anonymously, I can help you activate it remotely, disable video throttling, make a test call and test the data in a router before switching the service to your sim card. I can also help you out with any setup issues, all you have to do is simply insert the sim into your router, and it should be good to go. If interested, just send me a private message."

I'm wanting to pull the trigger on this quickly; any help is greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Justin.

[BrandonDillon]

Yes as long as it's an M.2 modem connector.

I'm in the same boat as poster above unable to DM. Seeking assistance activating PagePlus SIM for router.

[BillA]

I'm in the same boat as poster above unable to DM. Seeking assistance activating PagePlus SIM for router.

If you need some help activating your service with video throttling disabled, click on the contact icon below my profile pic. Just make sure you have a new unused sim card available for PagePlus (red packet) or SimpleMobile (green packet) which you can get at BestBuy, Target, Walmart or online on Amazon or Ebay.