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][3][?][3] 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][1][?][1] 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][10][?][10]

Description : 3G USB dongle

Cost : amazon £42

Protocols : DC-HSDPA 42Mbps

Notes : Used by Three UK

ZTE [MF823][12][?][12]

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][3][?][3] 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][18][?][18] 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][10][?][10]
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][23][?][23]

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

Purchased

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

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

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