Is 5G home broadband a good replacement for WiFi?

Posted 21st Aug 2023

I WFH, don't game, barely watch TV, so probably have minimum usage but still want a decent speed for the thing I do especially WFH.

I've been with BT for a long time because I had a package with sports whilst my son lived with me. He moved out 6 months into my 2 year contract ‌ .

I'm a couple of months away from the end and the BT line was horrendous when I first moved in and again now since they've been working on a neighbours connection

So ideally would love something with a line.

I'm with 3 for my mobile contact and noticed they have a £20pm rolling contract so I won't be stuck with them. Seems like decent enough speed for me. And less than half what I'm paying now.

Any thoughts? Or anyone have any good/bad experiences?

TIA

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21st Aug
Just personal experience, I generally find 3 has really poor signal coverage. When I moved into my current house I tried to use one of their 4g internet dongles. It was a complete waste of time, when it worked at all I was getting 200kb/s at best, utterly unusable.
Author
21st Aug
That's the problem with 3 but I'm thinking, if I don't have an issue where I am with my 5g on my phone, then it shouldn't be an issue with a router surely!
21st Aug
Stand where you want the 3 router to be & do a speed test on your phone. (edited)
Author
21st Aug
Good thinking! To be fair I've never had a dropped signal on my phone or other devices when I've had to 'tether'
21st Aug
...with 3 but I'm thinking, if I don't have an issue where I am with my 5g on my phone...

Minimal cost solution = truly unlimited 4G/5G data £6/m 12m contract with 3,
plus benefit of business-level SLA to suit OP working from home.

Chuck SIM in spare / cheap handset & either hotspot to business device or USB-tether to business device,
although 5G speeds via USB will be limited by the max speed of the USB connection.
22nd Aug
I switched internet provider yesterday, and as a substitute during the switch I had mobile data on Lebara and on Giffgaff (so two different mobile networks). While the speedtests were good, neither could give me a consistent Teams call.

It's not just the data throughput (Teams is actually really efficient for just audio), it has to be consistent. Of course, it is all to do with service in your area, so as above use your phone tether as a test.
Author
22nd Aug
So just a quick update for anyone wanting similar advice. I've switched off my router completely because it dropped twice in 30 minutes! Using my 3 mobile data and its working fine with everything including MS Teams. I'm aware this won't be the same for everyone
22nd Aug
If your BT line is horrendous and £20pm is less than half of what you are paying then you really should contact BT about that, doesn't sound like you are receiving a satisfactory service and you are paying a very high monthly price for it
Author
22nd Aug
I'm pretty sure I know what the issue is. I'm near a canal and the line goes across it so a nightmare for engineers. So more often than not they look for an easy workaround. I had issues when I moved in a few years ago and an experienced engineer told me the line had snapped earlier and had to be repaired and not been right since. However he fixed it so no issues until now. A new flat has been built onto the building I'm in and needed a phone line. Instead of fitting a new one, he ripped an old one out of an empty flat. This is when my issues started. Probably disrupted my connection. But my contract ends in 2 months and don't really want to keep using the line because of its issues!
22nd Aug
I previously used relish which was 4g router and then got bought by three. All fine except for gaming when you need very low latency.
21st Aug
Don't do it to yourself mate! if U with BT move to virgin for new customer deal if U WFH You need a stable connection and if Three is not excellent it will be a horror for You 👌
21st Aug
Can the OP get Virgin?
21st Aug
Sorry if this is a "teaching to suck eggs" question but have you tried setting your phone as a WiFi hotspot so you can test how the connection performs on your pc ?
Author
21st Aug
Yeh that's exactly what I've had to do today when my WiFi kept dropping for work. It worked fine. Just wondered if it would be the same through a router. Probably sounds like a dumb question but idont want to be left without!
22nd Aug
A couple of businesses where I am have given up on BT and moved over to 3. They are getting consistent 470-500mbs using the internal antenna, but there is a mast on a block of flats just across the river so we get good signals for 3, EE, O2 but not Vodafone (which is a joke).
23rd Aug
The question doesn’t even make sense.
23rd Aug
It does if you read the thread