Can I use 4G for home broadband?

[BobE1]

Hi, I am responsible for a building which has ADSL broadband but the performance is really awful.  On a good day less than 3mbs down and less than 1 up.

I friend of mine has tried a 'MiFi' device with a 4G SIM card, and measuring at the building with my phone 4G is giving me perhaps 10 times the ADSL speed - 30mbs down and 10 up!

I can either get a PAYG data only SIM (£90 for 120GB) or pay a monthly contract which could work out cheaper than ADSL.

I'll need a 4G LTE router at less than £100?

Whole project looks worth pursuing, but are there any gotchas I might come across, or alternatively has anyone tried this?

Thanks

[-Richie-]

If your speeds are below 10 mbps then the Universal Service Obligation might be worth looking into, more info at www.bt.com/USO

[imjolly]

@-Richie- 

As @BobE1 can get a 4g connection giving about 30mb then surely USO does not apply

[BobE1]

Thanks, I hoped I could use this, but the supplier says 'you can upgrade to FTTC' which will provide you with this quality of service.  But we can't justify the cost of going fibre, for the amount of use required (really no downloading of videos, apart from the occasional YouTube, and little or no streaming music).

So I think technically 'our area' is capable of 10mbs, but we don't want to pay that much.  It just means that the 'cheap and cheerful base broadband' of ADSL is virtually useless.

Have I understood the USO correctly?

[NigelB72]

@BobE1 the USO also covers mobile connections. So if you're able to access the Internet with a connection speed above the threshold by any method, the USO doesn't apply. 

You can quite happily use 4 or 5G as a broadband connection as long as you have an unlimited plan data plan with no restrictions. 

Another option is to look into a Starlink satellite system.

[-Richie-]

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@imjollywrote:

@-Richie- 

As @BobE1 can get a 4g connection giving about 30mb then surely USO does not apply

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I'm not 100% sure mate, the USO has other benefits like affordability and usage, the 4G option has to be 100GB or more and under a set amount, the OP said £90 for 120GB which is expensive so the USO would be cheaper and offers unlimited usage on set speeds, I don't know which network has to provide that, maybe EE don't cover that location well, maybe other networks are checked.

It's a freephone number and an option not everyone is aware of, if it's a multiple dwelling the costs can be split, either way it's another avenue to look at.