4G Dongle Test - surprising good results for boat connection to net

Nigelpickin said:
Three have all you can eat data and smart phone tethering as standard so no need for a dongle...I'm getting through around 40gb per month, all from use on the boat streaming Skygo, Netflix etc with now problems.

Down stream is around 6mbs in Falmouth Marina and Ive had no problems, other than wife and child stealing my hotspot!
When they roll out a reasonable 4g coverage I imagine EE, O2 et al will have to follow suit....
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Don't forget that Three might be unlimited, but they reserve the right to throttle the speed between 3pm and midnight, calling the throttling "Traffic Sense", and making out it is a benefit to customers :(
 
Richard10002 said:
Don't forget that Three might be unlimited, but they reserve the right to throttle the speed between 3pm and midnight, calling the throttling "Traffic Sense", and making out it is a benefit to customers :(
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Long time user, never had any problems. You'd have to be using lots of peer to peer networking to have an issue, or really intensive traffic
 
Nigelpickin said:
especially having used their European unlimited roaming recently....
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Nigel please can you explain that one a bit more please?. I'd love to buy a 4G SIM card in the UK with a contract I understand ie in English, and have say 50Gb /month EU roaming. I don't mind if it costs a bit so long as it isn't a £1k per month kinda thing, and so long as it can properly stream Netflix et al onto smart TV
 
Hi John,

The Netflix issue has 2 parts, one is the network and the other is that Netflix may not ne available in France? if this is the case you have to spoof Netflix into thinking you are in the UK.. You can do this by configuring your on board router to connect to your UK house router and then on to Netflix using VPN technology. Sounds complicated but your Router supplier should be able to configure it for you. Helps if you have the right kit at both ends and from same manufacturer, then just call support and ask them to configure both ends. I have this set up for my house in Spain which has the same issue with Netflix. The VPN connection via the UK works fine. PM me and I can explain more if you like..
 
Sorry John,

Should have said...with Three the European roaming is £5 per day but doesn't allow tethering :(
Very good for general use though. A week in France was costing me around £200 on O2 but that was just for business use and general messing around, not streaming.
Martin is absolutely right, you would need a proxy server for Netflix and in my experience even more bandwidth, so a proper grown up solution and a bit of techie magic for that :(

I tend to do Bluray Box sets when away and once I actually read a book...:)
 
Just to clarify ..the extra bandwidth would be needed at the UK end, because its adding all the boat Netflix data to the data generated by anyone using the internet in the house... which is fine because the house connection is usually a cable connection with plenty of capacity. The mobile network traffic from the boat to Netflix will be almost identical whether using VPN to connect through your house and then on to Netflix or connecting direct to Netflix.
 
the tethering (I assume using your phone) is a good solution while on board, but if you want to have security webcam and remote access to PC while away from the boat you need to have a dongle or another mobile phone (plugged in permanently doing the tethering while you are away)

We leave Spain (and now the boat) permanently connected to the internet with VPN back to the house. All the media we buy goes to all three locations automatically as do photos etc and all PC's in all locations can be accessed by PC Anywhere if needed to make changes, do upgrades from anywhere (even office) while away from the boat. That way when I am on hols I am not faffing around doing techy stuff. All done and ready to go before I arrive.
 
martin said:
Hi John,

The Netflix issue has 2 parts, one is the network and the other is that Netflix may not ne available in France? if this is the case you have to spoof Netflix into thinking you are in the UK.. You can do this by configuring your on board router to connect to your UK house router and then on to Netflix using VPN technology. Sounds complicated but your Router supplier should be able to configure it for you. Helps if you have the right kit at both ends and from same manufacturer, then just call support and ask them to configure both ends. I have this set up for my house in Spain which has the same issue with Netflix. The VPN connection via the UK works fine. PM me and I can explain more if you like..
Click to expand...

Sorted.........http://www.primewire.mx/movies/top/all
 
martin said:
Hi Lisa

I have attached a picky of the test bench I set up. The dongle plugs into the router. The router runs a wifi for all wifi devices on the boat and several smart TV's, SONOS systems and Cameras connected by Ethernet cables.
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Thanks Martin.
L
:)
 
BrendanS said:
Long time user, never had any problems. You'd have to be using lots of peer to peer networking to have an issue, or really intensive traffic
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I've been using The One Plan since last January in Stretford, Manchester. No issues until September. Then I noticed significant buffering on Virgin TV Anywhere, which turned out to be only in the evenings. A bit of googling revealed Traffic Sense. I can watch a football match on Sky early afternoon, and all is fine. If I try to watch an evening match, the buffering is such that I now don't bother in the evenings.

I guess it depends where you are, and how many others are using the cell. Stretford is fairly dense residential.
 
In response to #26.

Oh yes it does actually, it will shut you off after 2 hours but all you need to do is re-connect the device by switching off and on again the wifi. used it recently for a week in france without too much of a problem. The T&Cs say you can't do it and they will tell you over the phone it won't work. £5 a day for all you care to eat data, nice.
 
wakeup said:
In response to #26.

Oh yes it does actually, it will shut you off after 2 hours but all you need to do is re-connect the device by switching off and on again the wifi. used it recently for a week in france without too much of a problem. The T&Cs say you can't do it and they will tell you over the phone it won't work. £5 a day for all you care to eat data, nice.
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Then that's brilliant, I will try it in a couple of months time...:) Was the speed ok?
 
I have 3 all you can eat and use it on the boat for the £5 per day.

I have tried to tether. Within about 1 minute the browser says " You seem to be tethering" and tells you to turn the phone off and on to reset it.

So if you get 2 hours you are doing very well!

We head to Phone House in Spain and buy the special of the day which is usually not too bad, and pop it in a MiFi
 
jrudge said:
I have 3 all you can eat and use it on the boat for the £5 per day.

I have tried to tether. Within about 1 minute the browser says " You seem to be tethering" and tells you to turn the phone off and on to reset it.

So if you get 2 hours you are doing very well!

We head to Phone House in Spain and buy the special of the day which is usually not too bad, and pop it in a MiFi
Click to expand...

I normally use the term "tethering" to mean I set my iPhone up as a hotspot then other wifi devices access the internet thru the iPhone

If I use a router with a USB slot, and stick the dongle in the USB slot, does the system also see/detect that as tethering?
 
Nigelpickin said:
Sorry John,

Should have said...with Three the European roaming is £5 per day but doesn't allow tethering :(
Very good for general use though. A week in France was costing me around £200 on O2 but that was just for business use and general messing around, not streaming.
Martin is absolutely right, you would need a proxy server for Netflix and in my experience even more bandwidth, so a proper grown up solution and a bit of techie magic for that :(

I tend to do Bluray Box sets when away and once I actually read a book...:)
Click to expand...
Thanks. I'm not that fussed about Netflix tbh, but what I'd really like is a set up where I can use multiple devices on one 4G connection (ipads, laptop) and do heavy duty work email (big documents) and browsing, say 20 or 30Gb would be ok per month, and not get a crazy bill (my bill last month based on a few weekends in France was £500).

The "no tethering" kills this idea completely, grrr!
 
jrudge said:
I have 3 all you can eat and use it on the boat for the £5 per day.

I have tried to tether. Within about 1 minute the browser says " You seem to be tethering" and tells you to turn the phone off and on to reset it.

So if you get 2 hours you are doing very well!

We head to Phone House in Spain and buy the special of the day which is usually not too bad, and pop it in a MiFi
Click to expand...

I guess it depends which roamed network you are on. I was in the French Alps and shortest period before it complained was 2 hours, I was getting unto 24 hours if using the USB cable as it didn't seem to realise I had another computer connected.
 
I use this software all the time when travelling http://www.connectify.me/

It basically allows you to share 1 connection among as many devices as you like. Get your laptop connected using whatever means you like, eg a USB dongle directly into the laptop and it then basically acts as a wifi router.

I use it alot on the boat and also in hotels that have stupid access codes everytime you want to get online.

http://www.connectify.me

Be warned the support is **** and if there is ever a popup suggesting you upgrade to latest version dont bother but the software is reliable and good.
 
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