Recommendations for failover internet providers?

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#2836726 22-Dec-2021 10:28

SumnerBoy:

Wondered if some of the mobile/data plans came with modems included.

Did a quick check and looks like 2D and Voda both include the modem on their Wireless Broadband plans... Spark's website says the modem is $106...

dt

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#2836727 22-Dec-2021 10:28

whos your service provider? a few of them around now on their business plans, which aren't to much more than residential you get 4g backup as apart of the plan.

Orcon also does 4g backhaul on any of their connections for an extra $15 per month.

SumnerBoy

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#2836731 22-Dec-2021 10:29

dt:

whos your service provider? a few of them around now on their business plans, which aren't to much more than residential you get 4g backup as apart of the plan.

Orcon also does 4g backhaul on any of their connections for an extra $15 per month.

I am with BigPipe, but that is very interesting - thanks for the tip - will have a look around!

insane

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#2836785 22-Dec-2021 10:38

SumnerBoy:

Yeah that is something I need to confirm - one YouTube video I just watched showed it failing back but a Reddit post seemed to suggest it did not...

Will look into 4G modems, thanks.

Wondered if some of the mobile/data plans came with modems included.

Yeah my quick google probably took me to the same Reddit article. A year or so ago encountered the same issue with Fortinet devices whereby they wouldn't consistently fail back from their 2nd WAN connections, damn annoying and expensive... which is why I asked the question :)

Perhaps stating the obvious but your IP address will change during a failover, so it's only a 'backup' and not a fully redundant connection for inbound connections unless between you and your ISP you're using BGP or similar and have your own address space.

I wonder when mobile providers will allow eSIM to share mobile data with the primary connection, then presumably with a eSIM enabled 4G modem and an endless/unlimited data plan you could have a pretty easy and bill shock protected 4G backed up connection. I know Orcon and some others already have modems that support 4G backup, but their data allowance is pathetic!

SumnerBoy

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#2836788 22-Dec-2021 10:42

Yeah that is a good point re. IP address.

Browsing around at the usual suspects it is looking like costing about $50/mth for a 4G data only contract.

That is far more than I am prepared to pay.

I could look at a pre-pay option plus 4G modem - but I think for now I have scratched the itch and can see this isn't going to provide a high enough cost/benefit!

insane

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#2836790 22-Dec-2021 10:59

SumnerBoy:

Yeah that is a good point re. IP address.

Browsing around at the usual suspects it is looking like costing about $50/mth for a 4G data only contract.

That is far more than I am prepared to pay.

I could look at a pre-pay option plus 4G modem - but I think for now I have scratched the itch and can see this isn't going to provide a high enough cost/benefit!

Just admit it, you got into trouble for buying the UDM pro in the first place and don't want to risk it just yet :P

Depending on your current mobile plan, looks like some mobile providers have companion plans, i.e first plan is Circa $60, and then $30 for plans 2,3,4 etc. It's still $30 p/m for something that you might use, that you could hotspot to get around.

I've thought of doing the same, but can't justify it. If my fibre goes down and I have to work from the office for a full week, I'll probably change my mind again!

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SumnerBoy

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#2836796 22-Dec-2021 11:09

SWMBO doesn't even know about the UDM Pro (shhhh!).

Yep - seems I have come to the same conclusion.

Cheers all!

nztim

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#2836858 22-Dec-2021 13:23

You can do Vital/Chorus Fibre or Chorus/4G where vital fibre is not available

Also Fibre with VDSL backup but would not recommend that now with chorus starting cooper withdrawal in some areas

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

PANiCnz

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#2836975 22-Dec-2021 16:37

Its a pity that Kogan allocate data every 30 days. Otherwise their Large or Medium pack would be ideal. Pay $125 or $165 once a year to have the data available in an emergency.

phrozenpenguin

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#2837100 22-Dec-2021 22:36

Appreciate you were just doing some exploring, but did you have any budget (hardware and ongoing) for this or what were you expecting?! If $50/month is way too expensive then I'm not sure what you were hoping for, given you didn't like the previous suggestions of using mobile hotspot for the rare occasion this scenario might happen, and started looking into a second fibre connection (I'm not aware of any fibre connection for <$50/month).

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#2837106 22-Dec-2021 22:50

phrozenpenguin:
Appreciate you were just doing some exploring, but did you have any budget (hardware and ongoing) for this or what were you expecting?! If $50/month is way too expensive then I'm not sure what you were hoping for, given you didn't like the previous suggestions of using mobile hotspot for the rare occasion this scenario might happen, and started looking into a second fibre connection (I'm not aware of any fibre connection for <$50/month).

Cool your jets.

When you're purchasing 4G backup at scale, on the assumption that it's not going to be used much, then you'd be rather surprised at how little you can get each sim/plan for which uses a pool of data or has unlimited data @ 1.2mbps data. (One provider was very interested to do a deal for my former employer)

It's a shame no one is buying those volumes and onselling them for strictly backup purposes like this. If having your staff work from home was important, I'd be paying the nominal fee for each staff member to have that 'insurance' in place. Loss of several days productivity is not cheap, and not everyone has the desire to try teather numerous devices to a mobile phone that you then have to leave at home for the family to also use.

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phrozenpenguin

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#2837113 23-Dec-2021 00:00

insane:
phrozenpenguin:

Appreciate you were just doing some exploring, but did you have any budget (hardware and ongoing) for this or what were you expecting?! If $50/month is way too expensive then I'm not sure what you were hoping for, given you didn't like the previous suggestions of using mobile hotspot for the rare occasion this scenario might happen, and started looking into a second fibre connection (I'm not aware of any fibre connection for <$50/month).

Cool your jets.

When you're purchasing 4G backup at scale, on the assumption that it's not going to be used much, then you'd be rather surprised at how little you can get each sim/plan for which uses a pool of data or has unlimited data @ 1.2mbps data. (One provider was very interested to do a deal for my former employer)

It's a shame no one is buying those volumes and onselling them for strictly backup purposes like this. If having your staff work from home was important, I'd be paying the nominal fee for each staff member to have that 'insurance' in place. Loss of several days productivity is not cheap, and not everyone has the desire to try teather numerous devices to a mobile phone that you then have to leave at home for the family to also use.

Apologies, didn't mean to cause any offence.

More wanted to understand budget considerations as they are likely tied to how "serious" a solution might be. There are already a lot of good points made in this thread - e.g. 4G may well be down if a significant event/fibre cut, Starlink is an option not dependent on local fibre. But the "low cost" or easiest solution for most people who want to stay connected for work in the event of a localised fibre issue is via the 4G connection they likely already have with their mobile phone.

jarledb

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#2837115 23-Dec-2021 01:14

One thing to consider if you want a backup is that things can fail at the ISP end. So if you use the same provider for your main connection and the backup and things fail on their end, the backup will not be of much use.

Has happened to me with 2degrees. Mind you only a couple of times at night (which does not help, since I work nights).

So now I have a backup SIM for Spark just in case.

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michaelmurfy

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#2837116 23-Dec-2021 01:44

I've considered Vodafone Cable as a viable alternative given it is Gigabit for $63/mo and also has a public IP address - this was something I seriously considered then decided to just get a work sim on Spark. I've had both my broadband and mobile (2degrees) go down at the same time, one of which was during a production change which seriously wasn't great.

Another viable option - have you got a friendly WISP that services around your area? It could be worth having a chat to them and asking them if you can connect as a backup connection only? They may cut you a deal given it is 100% profit to them.

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SumnerBoy

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#2837236 23-Dec-2021 10:05

Thanks all, have contacted a few of the local WISP providers to see if they will do a cheap backup only type plan.

Not holding my breathe tho.

Appreciate all the feedback.

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