LTE and the RBI

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tangerz

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#152315 23-Sep-2014 14:14

With Vodafone rapidly expanding their LTE network, what impact will this have on the RBI (fixed wireless) service?

Will the RBI services transition to include LTE (700/1800) frequencies?
Will it mean increased speeds?
More importantly will it mean increased data caps?

I know that with wireless you're dealing with a finite resource and Vodafones move to a 30GB cap on the current RBI plan is a move in the right direction. But unfortunately it's still not quite enough to make VOD services (Lightbox, Netflix etc) feasible for those of us outside the range of fibre, VDSL, or even a decent ADSL connection.

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#1134579 23-Sep-2014 14:20

Some RBI sites are already live with Band 28 700Mhz and band 3 1800Mhz 4G

wellygary

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#1134582 23-Sep-2014 14:22

I think the Answers are
Yes
Yes
Eventually Yes, - but caps are going to be ultimately decided by demand and price

tangerz

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#1134590 23-Sep-2014 14:31

@johnr: So does this mean that those upgraded sites will already be seeing increased speeds? Or does there need to be a change to the customer equipment to LTE capable gear?

johnr

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#1134601 23-Sep-2014 14:46

tangerz: @johnr: So does this mean that those upgraded sites will already be seeing increased speeds? Or does there need to be a change to the customer equipment to LTE capable gear?

Mobile users will be attaching to the 4G still working on the RBI 4G hardware as I understand

grant_k

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#1134605 23-Sep-2014 14:51

tangerz: ...
Or does there need to be a change to the customer equipment to LTE capable gear?

A new modem/router and a different Yagi antenna will be needed for migration from 3G/900 to LTE/700 services.

Fortunately I have 50GB of Off-Peak data on my RBI plan, so by using a scheduler and downloading rather than streaming, I've been able to pull down a good amount of HD programming this month.

Does Lightbox allow downloading rather than streaming?

If everybody tries to stream video through cellsites at the same time during the evenings, it is going to create massive problems, so the idea of downloading makes an awful lot of sense IMO.

tangerz

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#1137462 25-Sep-2014 13:28

@grant_k: So is that HD programming coming from legit sources or *other* sources. I've found this the biggest hurdle to overcome when trying to stay legit on a slow connection.

Legal sources are mostly streamed so often don't work, or work very poorly. I could download with the slow connection but then it ain't legal...

grant_k

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#1137470 25-Sep-2014 13:34

tangerz: @grant_k: So is that HD programming coming from legit sources or *other* sources. I've found this the biggest hurdle to overcome when trying to stay legit on a slow connection.

BBC iPlayer. No doubt I'm breaking the T&Cs by using it, but it's not illegal.

Watching one hour programmes with no adverts is truly blissful and they have the best selection of programmes that are of interest to me. Other UK channels like 4OD and ITV cram in 5 ad breaks per hour, and the quality is nowhere near as good as the Beeb.

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tangerz

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#1137494 25-Sep-2014 13:53

Thanks Grant! Have you used any of the streaming services (Netflix, Hulu, Lightbox etc) over your RBI wireless connection. Just interested in the performance if you have?

grant_k

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#1137503 25-Sep-2014 14:06

tangerz: Thanks Grant! Have you used any of the streaming services (Netflix, Hulu, Lightbox etc) over your RBI wireless connection. Just interested in the performance if you have?

No, not at this stage.

Early on, I wasn't able to stream BBC iPlayer in HD, but when I tried the other night, it worked fine. Since signing up for RBI, Vodafone have upgraded our local cellsite 3 times and installed Fibre Backhaul about 2 years ago now. Here are the speeds I'm getting when things are quiet:

Speedtest Result

lookout

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#1151664 11-Oct-2014 06:19

We have just got RBI in my community. I believe our tower (Awhitu) is 4g enabled at 1800. We were told the current antenna and modem they supply are capable of LTE at 1800. So when they make the switch to 4g hopefully it will be a simple sim card change?.

Very happy with the RBI speeds we are getting. (~25mbps during quiet times). Its hard enough staying under 30gb with those speeds, let alone 4g speeds!

johnr

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#1151665 11-Oct-2014 06:24

4G is not SIM card related you have a SIM card from 1993 (Bellsouth day) and 4G would still work

coffeebaron

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#1151686 11-Oct-2014 07:58

You can get RBI plans with 100GB data caps.

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