Advice on short-term 4G option in Bay of Plenty location

Forums › New Zealand Mobile and Wireless › Advice on short-term 4G option in Bay of Plenty location

scottatron

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#280714 5-Jan-2021 22:18

I have just arrived from Melbourne and am staying at a place just outside Tauranga for the next 3-4 months.

Was crossing my fingers that the connection would be great, but it's a rural location and there's no fibre—only VDSL—and the 4G signals are pretty weak.

I'm getting just under 1 Mbps up on the VDSL and really only getting 1-2 bars on both connections on my iPhone (Vodafone uSIM and Spark eSIM) which amounts to almost nothing worth using for tethering.

Give that I'm going to be here for a little while I'm considering my options to boost my connectivity and am considering investing in a 4G router and external antenna, but I haven't set one up before and was hoping to see if anyone had any tips before I sink some money into it.

I spoke with Wireless Nation today and their offering seems straight forward, however if I'm going to buy a router I would probably prefer going for a Mikrotek or something similar as I imagine the Huawei's are less flexible.

One option I'm considering is this: https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/MODMKT4601/MikroTik-RBLHGGRR11e-LTE6-3G4G-LTE-CAT6-Modem-with as it seems like a reasonable price for a router/antenna combo.

I did also see a mention of https://www.gowifi.co.nz/cellularrouters/rbd53g-5hacd2hndtceg12-ea.html in another thread, although adding an external antenna would push the price up a little, so I'd want to be confident it's going to work first.

Would anyone have any other device suggestions or recommendations as well as any tips for determining if I'll actually be able to achieve some decent connection speeds if I do take this approach?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Linux

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#2630851 5-Jan-2021 22:20

If you are getting that speed on VDSL then request a move back to ADSL2+

Put your address into the Chorus NZ address checker

https://www.chorus.co.nz/tools-support/broadband-tools/broadband-checker

scottatron

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#2630859 5-Jan-2021 22:49

Yeah that was my thought too, although I'm now actually a little uncertain if it actually is VDSL as it's with Nova and their Netcomm router appears to be locked so I can't really interrogate it. I'll have to chase this up with the friend whose house we're staying in.

The Chorus address checker says that ADSL and VDSL are available but with inconclusive results (as do the other ISP's address checkers I've tried). Does ADSL mean ADSL2+ as far as the checker is concerned?

Either way, I'm really hoping to see if I can get anything better than xDSL as I work in tech and I lose some bandwidth connecting to my corporate VPN. I can probably work around the need to push & pull large amounts of data to my machine, but joining Zoom/Teams calls are going to be next to impossible on these speeds (although it might be a good excuse to avoid some meetings 😂).

I figured a 4G setup might be something I could buy outright and hopefully provide better speeds for the duration of our stay.

scottatron

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#2630865 5-Jan-2021 23:45

scottatron:

One option I'm considering is this: https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/MODMKT4601/MikroTik-RBLHGGRR11e-LTE6-3G4G-LTE-CAT6-Modem-with as it seems like a reasonable price for a router/antenna combo.

Misread this one and realise now it's only the antenna and modem, not a router.

liquidcore

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#2630884 6-Jan-2021 07:57

scottatron:
scottatron:

One option I'm considering is this: https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/MODMKT4601/MikroTik-RBLHGGRR11e-LTE6-3G4G-LTE-CAT6-Modem-with as it seems like a reasonable price for a router/antenna combo.

Misread this one and realise now it's only the antenna and modem, not a router.

Also looks like it doesn't support band 28?

MaxineN

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#2630928 6-Jan-2021 08:16

liquidcore:

Also looks like it doesn't support band 28?

Correct it doesn't so it's almost useless in some rural areas.

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SATTV

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#2630929 6-Jan-2021 08:16

FYI - Wireless Nation use Vodafone so your 4G on your phone will not be the same as you said it was Spark.

Look at the Vodafone 4G maps for a better idea.

I was with Netspeed and they also used Vodafone but you got a static IP which was great.

Depending on your setup the B618 might be OK as it is more configurable than the B315.

There is a Mikrotik Kit that does do 4G and Band 28, It is something you have to assemble, I will have to dig out the details.

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nztim

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#2630932 6-Jan-2021 08:31

1mbps on VDSL? you probably should have never have been connected to VDSL you cant put in a no RSP router with FWA as the SIM and IEMI are locked (long bugbear of mine)

Any views expressed on these forums are my own and don't necessarily reflect those of my employer.

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Spyware

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#2630933 6-Jan-2021 08:37

scottatron:

scottatron:

One option I'm considering is this: https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/MODMKT4601/MikroTik-RBLHGGRR11e-LTE6-3G4G-LTE-CAT6-Modem-with as it seems like a reasonable price for a router/antenna combo.

Misread this one and realise now it's only the antenna and modem, not a router.

It is a router (with a single Ethernet interface) and even runs an OS named RouterOS.

Spark Max Fibre using Mikrotik CCR1009-8G-1S-1S+, CRS125-24G-1S, Unifi UAP, U6-Pro, UAP-AC-M-Pro, Apple TV 4K (2022), Apple TV 4K (2017), iPad Air 1st gen, iPad Air 4th gen, iPhone 13, SkyNZ3151 (the white box). If it doesn't move then it's data cabled.

wratterus

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#2630936 6-Jan-2021 08:45

Punch a few of the neighbour's addresses into the Chorus address checker and see what they are getting. Will at least give you an idea.

SATTV

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#2630939 6-Jan-2021 08:54

The other thing to look at is that Full flavour have some wireless options in the area.

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coffeebaron

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#2630941 6-Jan-2021 08:58

I will reply to your PM. First thing would be to check you VDSL. Secondly, see if we can get you on RBI - there are a few stop sells in the area. As for using own hardware, most providers the SIM is locked to the approved range of hardware, but this can be overcome with some RBI resellers.

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#2630992 6-Jan-2021 09:16

If VDSL is only getting 1 Mb/s then it sounds like it could be a wiring fault, and if you're there for a few months then it'll probably be worth getting it checked out. I can't comment on 4G options.

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#2631042 6-Jan-2021 09:37

https://www.chorus.co.nz/tools-support/broadband-tools/broadband-checker

as posted before, it will tell you what connection you are on and give the current speed you are connected at, it will also tell you what you could get on the other type of DSL connection

Its a start at least

chevrolux

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#2631088 6-Jan-2021 11:40

Get a Vodafone RBI connection from the likes of Netspeed, wireless nation, etc.
Yep, you will get a Huawei router, but its totally sufficient for a home network. If you need site-to-site VPN or something, just stick a baby Mikrotik behind the Huawei to do that.
The Huawei web gui only hides the deeper admin functions with javascript, so a couple of very basic lines in the developer console and you unlock all the settings in the router.
And no, you can't take the SIM out of the Huawei and chuck it in to a Mikrotik.

scottatron

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#2656543 15-Feb-2021 11:36

Thanks for all of your responses. I've ended up trying a Full Flavour connection and I'm now getting slightly better speeds (~20MBps/~2MBps) using the standard Huawei B525 without any external antenna.

I'll probably do okay on these speeds given the timeframe that I'm here, but I'm also pondering the potential for squeezing a bit more speed out of the connection and the merits of a Mikrotik Chateau (since it's a Cat. 12 device) vs getting an external antenna installed.

IMO, the Mikrotik is money better spent, as I can repurpose it after I leave. However, I'm unsure if the jump from the Cat. 6 device to the Cat. 12 device will make that much of a difference. Does anyone else have any experience in making a similar upgrade?