A high bandwidth broadband solution for rural areas.

Requirements

  • 3G/4G mobile broadband routing
  • Redundant / bonded modems
  • Bandwith >=10Mbit

Actions

  • Dual LTE capable USB dongles supported by Rooter
  • Router platform with USB
  • Powered USB hub

Links

Options

Wifi Router with multiple USB slots

  • 2x USB dongles
  • Easy to upgrade the dongles
  • Multiple modem software support?

Software Support

Issues

  • Beware of burst current limit for USB devices
    • Solve with powered USB hub
  • WiFi 3G 4G interference
    • Solve with (high quality) USB extension cable or external aerials
  • PPP limited to 25Mbps?
    • Solve with Rooter project firmware

Rooter Project

Solves the PPP limit problem

Router Platforms

Device Radio Cost Notes
TP-Link WDR4900 450@2.4GHz, 450@5GHz   Immature OpenWRT support
TP-Link WDR4300 300 @2.4GHz, 450@5GHz £60 2xUSB
TP-Link WDR3600 300 @2.4GHz, 300 @5GHz £49 2xUSB
TP-Link WR1043ND 300 @2.4GHz £36 1xUSB
TP-Link WR841N 300 @2.4GHz £19 No USB, problems with v9

Modems

Alcatel L800

Description : 4G USB dongle

Cost : very £49

Protocols : HSPA+, LTE

Notes : Used by EE

ZTE MF730M

Description : 3G USB dongle

Cost : amazon £42

Protocols : DC-HSDPA 42Mbps

Notes : Used by Three UK

ZTE MF823

Description : 4G USB dongle

Cost : ~£65 unlocked

Protocols : DC-HSPA+ 42Mbps, LTE FDD 100Mbps

Notes : Used by Three UK

Link : ZTE MF823

Huawei E3256

Description : 3G USB dongle

Cost : amazon £42

Protocols : DC-HSPA+ 42Mbps

Notes : Used by Three UK

Huawei E5786

Description : Mobile WiFi bridge

Protocols

: FDD LTE CA(DL) 300 Mbps,
TDD LTE CA(DL) 224 Mbps,
High-speed LTE FDD (DL) 150 Mbps,
High-speed DC-HSPA+ (DL) 43.2 Mbps,
High-speed HSPA+ (DL) 21.6 Mbps,
High-speed HSPA (HSUPA/HSDPA)/UMTS (DL) 14.4 Mbps

Link : specs

UK Service Providers

Mobile

Current Offers 2016

Provider Network Terms Allowance GBP/GB1 Notes
EE LTE 1mnth 32GB 0.875 SIM-only, current, personal-only
Three LTE 1mnths 20GB 1.15 Direct-debit only.

Offers 2014

Provider Network Terms Allowance GBP/GB2 Notes
MobiData DC-HSDPA 3mnth 10GB 1.96 Sim only, NOT 20GB!
EE LTE 24mnths 20GB 1.80 60Mbps? Huawei E5776
Three LTE 24mnths 15GB 1.68 Setup £50
Three LTE 24mnths 15GB 1.42 Setup £35
Three 3G 24mnths 15GB 1.40 Included Mi-Fi. Limited offer £25 M&S voucher
Three DC-HSDPA 24mnths 15GB 1.33 Dongle. ZTE MF730M
EE LTE 1mnth 15GB 1.33 EE Buzzard
EE LTE 1mnth 25GB 1.20 EE Buzzard
Three LTE 1mnths 15GB 1.063  
EE LTE 24mnth 50GB 1.00 EE Buzzard

1 Total cost / total allowance ⇑

2 Total cost / total allowance ⇑

3 Anti-cancellation offer ⇑

Wireless ISPs

http://www.ispreview.co.uk/isp_list/ISP_List_Wireless.php

Purchased

2014-05-02: TP-Link WDR3600 for [£49 from Amazon][26].

2014-05-21: Purchased 2nd TP-Link WDR3600

SideBar