Wireless Nation modem

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13 posts

Geek

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#2681021 26-Mar-2021 12:53

With 4G, to determine fidelity of the connection between the modem and the tower, I prefer to log into the admin interface of the modem. In my case this is http://192.168.1.1/ where I can then see that my RSSI is -55dBm and I am on 1770MHz channel using 4G+ protocol. To me, these metrics indicate a high quality of connection between me and the tower.

I am glad some geeks have noted the time-wasting nature of rebooting a modem when it's obvious that the problem is a contractual issue with the upstream provider not buying enough bandwidth for peak times.

That said, WN's unlimited add-on is not a bad deal, even if the connection is only usable between midnight and 5pm. For me the problem is that it can only be used in their modem which adds to my power budget and reduces my ability to control the routing and data. They don't, for example, allow setting the DNS servers to be used in the provided modem.

As a full time roaming geek, I just called Vodafone and asked how to get more than 100GB. They explained that the companion plans each come with 100GB. This means that I have ordered 3 sims that each have 100GB for a total of 300GB at the reasonable cost of $160/mo.

For me having multiple sims isn't that big of an issue because I am putting them into a Pepwave MAX Transit Duo which allows me to configure rules for when and how to use any of the 4 sim cards that its 2 LTE-A modems can access.

On heavy work days I will use 15GB of data. I am happy to pay for it but it's difficult to find anyone that sells mobile data for less than $10/GB. For a while I was using Spark's 24hr unlimited data boost on work days. That's basically unlimited data for $200-300/mo but it's tedious to have to buy the add-on each day and make sure to time it while I am not in a meeting.

Vodafone have really broken away from the pack with their Extra Large monthly plan. The current setup is $0.53/GB compared to 2degrees $8.25/GB in their ($99 for 12GB data add-on).

In case you are wondering: I already tried load balancing with two sims that were throttle at the end of endless data. While it is 2.x Mpbs, it also seems like the latency is artificially increased. I don't have metrics to prove that. It was just a perception.

If you are still reading this and have any suggestions then please share. Unfortunately, I can't used fixed wireless due to the nature of my living situation.

Thanks!

ageorge

626 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2681051 26-Mar-2021 13:30

//http://192.168.1.1/ where I can then see that my RSSI is -55dBm and I am on 1770MHz channel using 4G+ protocol

Thanks for the tip; mine displays quite a bit worse:

The above shows a higher RSSI but actual download/upload were only 6Mbs/2Mbs

The below shows lower RSSI but dowload/upload were 20/4Mbs

Notice the cells are different due to lower signal being on other side of house but clearly not as congested.

Al.

ageorge

626 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2681513 27-Mar-2021 17:21

For a day roughly, I had access to the slightly lower signal, but much higher performance (50Mbs/10Mbs) Spark cell as reported above, but today thats gone and sadly, I cant configure the Huawei to stay with one cell only, so now Im back to about 1-2Mbs down and the same up and Wireless Nation doesnt seem to be providing any further support/no response.

ive spent a couple of hours moving the (outside) aerial around the house, but now the single cell seems sticky.

Cheers,

Al.

ageorge

626 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2681856 28-Mar-2021 09:07

This morning the faster cell is back on checking Spark https://www.cellmapper.net/ I find the cells are:

Cell 318597 eNB ID 1244
Cell 318595 eNB ID 1244

So they are both coming from the same place, but significant difference in speeds with the lowest signal strength being the fastest by far.

Anyone have any ideas why this should be?

Thanks,

Al.

Linux

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#2681860 28-Mar-2021 09:12

Same cell but different sector, Simple answer one sector has more users attached to it

ageorge

626 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2681867 28-Mar-2021 09:28

Linux:

Same cell but different sector, Simple answer one sector has more users attached to it

Any idea what decides which sector a user is allocated? Is it tower logic or able to be defined manually?

Thanks, Al.

Linux

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#2681876 28-Mar-2021 10:00

Your location to the serving cell if the serving cell is 3 sectors and 2of the sectors just overlap then you could be in the middle of 2 of them

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ageorge

626 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2681984 28-Mar-2021 12:00

Linux:

Your location to the serving cell if the serving cell is 3 sectors and 2of the sectors just overlap then you could be in the middle of 2 of them

Appreciate your valued input. Im not sure what to do but its hopeless with cell 318595 its basically the same as Skinny 4g mobile unlimited 1Mbs.

Cheers, Al.

cyril7

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#2681999 28-Mar-2021 13:14

ageorge:

Linux:

Your location to the serving cell if the serving cell is 3 sectors and 2of the sectors just overlap then you could be in the middle of 2 of them

Appreciate your valued input. Im not sure what to do but its hopeless with cell 318595 its basically the same as Skinny 4g mobile unlimited 1Mbs.

Cheers, Al.

Maybe go back to exploring wireless p2p options to get you closer to the VDSL cabinet at the end of your road, 4G is always a heavily congested media with lots of network related details that are out of your control (ie what sector you are on), so maybe not the best solution for you.

Cyril

ageorge

626 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2682001 28-Mar-2021 13:28

cyril7:

Maybe go back to exploring wireless p2p options to get you closer to the VDSL cabinet at the end of your road, 4G is always a heavily congested media with lots of network related details that are out of your control (ie what sector you are on), so maybe not the best solution for you.

Cyril

Hi there Cyril.

Sorry I dont understand what you mean?

cyril7

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#2682008 28-Mar-2021 13:43

Hi, I think we have discussed in the past both in this thread and several others of the folly of using 4G as if it were a replacement for a fixed wired connection where the performance, contention and in particular line stability is more of a certain.

As I recall there is ADSL available at your location, according to Choru's web site 179 and 199 Rea rd both enjoy 17/1.2 Mb/s on ADSL, assuming the lines are in good nic and with these connections <2km ADSL will reliably and consistantly do this all day and every day, where as a 4G connection that is shared with goodness knows how many others and as you have found network variabilities out of your control.

Other options are to us a WISP as opposed to 4G, typically a WISP can provide as service that is more like a fixed line with better control of network topology.

Cyril

gardner

13 posts

Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#2682448 29-Mar-2021 12:23

ageorge,

In the modem that I have, the R818, you can select 4G and 3G. That is the only frequency control that they give you in the admin interface. When 4G is saturated, I did find that forcing the modem to 3G would sometimes actually be faster than using 4G.

Cyril is right: A WISP is a good solution if you live on land. It's basically a fixed wireless connection where they push a dish on your roof that is highly focused and points at their own tower. These operate in the public ISM bands so they generally use the 5GHz range because it doesn't propagate well which means it is generally a pretty clear channel for line of sight connections.

If you live on a hill and you can see a building where they can get DSL or fibre then you can set up your own fixed wireless connection. Check out the Ubiquiti devices. They basically replace an ethernet cable with a wireless connection. You can go 10k+.

I just canceled my Wireless Nation plan. The only thing worse than no internet is bad internet. :)

As a side note, they did mention that: If you modem's IMEI number would have started with 867193/864005/866854 it would have worked. So if you are wondering how their sims are locked to a device range, that was the current response as of March 2021.

Good luck in your search for a high fidelity connection.

ageorge

626 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2682518 29-Mar-2021 14:12

Wireless Nation got back with their reply from Spark which says that I should be receiving Tower 1 which has plenty of bandwidth, but Im defaulting to Tower 2, which is running out of resources.

(Just seems odd that one of the cells in Tower 2 has plenty of bandwidth)

My external aerial is not directional so I will replace with a Yagi and point NE to Tower 1 instead of NW to Tower 2.

Hopefully that will sort the issues.

Can anyone confirm that polarization for the cell towers is Vertical?

coffeebaron

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#2682561 29-Mar-2021 15:05

You need 2x antenna on opposing 45 degree angle or one of these: https://www.gowifi.co.nz/ant-228.html

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ageorge

626 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2687632 7-Apr-2021 07:41

WN gave me a static IP and Spark were meant to apply some filter so that my modem would default to Tower 1 but whatever Spark did, if anything, was not successful.

Its the vagaries of UHF but Im line of sight to Tower 1 & 2.

Bandwidth is great on Tower 2 but only on one cell of the tower.

Sadly my modem defaults to the wrong cell most of the time and hence sometimes 1Mbs up/down. Spark admits that cell has few resources.

Im hoping WN will provide a directional antenna which should sort the issue out once pointed at Tower 1. They have tried, but are dependent on their Spark provider.

Will keep posted.

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