Sitrep: AT&T/TMobile Service Providers

[prideauxx]

Hi,

I have been reading a lot lately on the crackdowns/plan terminations going on throughout the community. I would imagine this will affect the setup I use sooner or later, as I would define my use as moderate to heavy (400-800GB/month, approximate).

I am currently using two MVNO's for TMobile and AT&T, The TMobile provider is SimplyMobile. The AT&T provider is Ubifi.net. The two ISP's are being used simultaneously in a somewhat load-balanced way via a Ubiquiti Edgerouter 4. From there, the broadband feeds a wireless mesh network and other things.

What spurred the secondary ISP (TMobile) was the truly terrible service AT&T was providing at the height of the COVID shutdown--though understandable given that tower use was likely heavy during that time. My wife and I were working remote, and the kids had school remotely as well. The situation was almost unworkable (killing services/TV's/IOT things when an important VTC meeting needed to take place, etc).

Since adding the secondary ISP (TMobile), things are quite manageable, but far from perfect. The AT&T plan suffers from the same issues many speak of (external service access via ports 80 and 443 not functional from time to time/VPN's fine). The TMobile plan has been solid, but I'm wary about it.

The reason for the post--I'm currently spending about $50 US/month for the TMobile plan and $80 US/month for the AT&T plan. I could likely (and somewhat easily) drop Ubifi.net for a less expensive reseller, or try an alternate route through AT&T directly--this would like cut the AT&T plan cost down by half, easily. If the initial expense of the hardware can be tolerated, perhaps it is time for many of us to consider a dual ISP plan (at around $100 US/month) to address overage-use issues and as a fallback when one of the ISP's goes sour for 15 minutes. Setting up loadbalancing via some of the commodity gear (like the Edgerouter 4) can be done via a high-level wizard, and does not require significant IT experience (also the web/forum support for the Edgerouter line is extraordinarily good).

Where I am headed: I have on order an Intel CPU-based router with some horsepower to attempt actual WAN bonding (not load balancing) as detailed on forum channels here on wirelessjoint.com. I will also likely be adding Verizon to the mix for a 3 ISP setup. The significant reason for doing much of this will be to get my overall Internet usage split three ways, so instead of 400-800GB/month for a single ISP and getting terminated, I'll be looking at 133/133/133-266/266/266GB/month.

Though I am uncertain at this point in time if this approach will help, the alternative is to do nothing, have no other options or fallbacks, and figure out how my wife and I will earn a paycheck and how our kids will get whatever they are calling school these days if/when my usage pops onto the radar of a TOS monkey.

Hope this helps someone. Though it may not be THE idea, it is an idea.

[MattB29]

It does not sound like a solution that would last. If you are that dependent on large data amounts to work, and school your children, you need either a hard wired internet provider or one of the few home wireless internet plans like the T-Mobile one. If those are not available where you live than you must needs to think about moving where they are available to you. Trying to break the TOS by using unlimited phone plans in anything other than you phone may cost you much and gain you little.

It might not meet all your needs but you could get Cricket's Simply Data only at 100Gb for $90 and have a setup for your kids and one for yourself or some kind of balancing setup.

[terryjett]

That is a lot of data and using 2-3 providers in load balance setup "might" get you through. The days of using phone plans as home internet is slowing closing down.

T-Mobile is on a witch hunt and taking action: https://nwida.org/t-mobile-removes-rura ... sive-usage

AT&T is right behind them...

[Yipzy]

Who do you use for personal cell phone plan? Are you using those 2 plans in cellphones via USB tethering?

I personally would ditch Ubifi.net and get the AT&T postpaid tablet plan unlimited for $20+tax. Use the money saved to buy hardware. AT&T will crack down but no one knows when but at least you will save money meanwhile. It's good idea to get Verizon and spread across all 3 providers with OMR if data is important and you want to stay under radar with usage.

[prideauxx]

Hello again,

A little clarification is likely in order here, as the first post was not an advice seeking column per se, but more sharing an idea to solve a problem very specific to a rural situation where few to no realistic/cost-effective alternatives exist, in light of the ever-changing landscape and cat-and-mouse games we must play (many of us are not doing this merely for the fun of it, or in an attempt to steal from or stick it to the capitalistic pigs, comrade). This may sound a bit defensive, but it shouldn't/hopefully does not (much if not all of how I operate in life is based on a deep sense of humor, albeit a dry one):

• The property in question is a very rural one, chosen on purpose. Nestled in mountains, defendable position, park-like scenery, paths, gardens, peace, and quiet (and yes, I do all the work myself). I've lived in the metropolis. I plan on living here until I am no longer living. Selling this to move to an area with fiber is not an option or even remotely a solution, but thank you for the valued advice/counsel
• Alternatives have been attempted and seriously approached for wired/land-based solutions. This includes a dedicated budget of approx $10K to convince/pay the local cable company to run 2.5 miles of cable along a public road with telephone pole access, and a signature file of neighbors who committed to tying into the extension as contractual, paying customers (myself included). I failed in this. Why? Simply put, the cable company, "Didn't want to."
• I am an engineer/scientist/inventor by trade and profession. I enjoy exploration with existing and new technologies. I like breaking things and taking them apart. So this endeavor is by far not my first rodeo regarding RF and working on realistic, if not uncommon solutions to problems
• Are these solutions temporary/short term? Likely yes. But for the time being they are also effective. There will come a day in the next 5-7 years where everything I have bought and invested time in is essentially worthless. I am OK with that. I am not (nor would) attempt to create a business model on such shaky footing; I'm not looking to sell or resell anything. I'm just looking to solve the problem at hand, and do so in a means that is as low profile and friendly to all as possible
• Can I budget data better than is currently being done? Absolutely yes. But that is part of the game, isn't it? Realistic, fault-tolerant solutions that allow modern day conveniences (robotic vacuums, intelligent thermostats, cameras with real-time remote access, streaming television, and remote work opportunities, to name a few). The initial post indicated (and this is my fault for not indicating) a worst case scenario of 400-800GB/month. Solving problems, I generally utilize worst-case scenarios when building a robust system. This isn't actual median use
• Am I willing to spend a lot more (monthly) for a solution that meets my needs? If I need to, yes. Part of the current game though is attempting to live on an estimated retirement income, for reasons. The sad truth of things remains--there realistically exists no solution for any of us, at any cost point, that do not and will not live in 5G coverage for the immediate and medium-term future. As much as I love and adore Elon, I'm a wait and see sort of person when it comes to solar roofs and low-latency, high-bandwidth, cheap satellite-based Internet. YMMV (keep on smoking)

In the meantime friends, enjoy your Crickets!

P.S.: Yipzy--Going to keep answers to your queries as generic as possible, because reasons. But here are a few:

• All solutions are router-based, leveraging Cat12 or above dedicated modems with parabolic grid antennas or similar
• You are correct about Ubifi. I'm torn on the decision, honestly. I've been with them a long time, they've been pretty decent to me, and they remain (not sure for how much longer) a realistic, legal solution. I have steered no less than 4 customers their way, and I sleep very well at night knowing I've done so. I'm not sure who I would be if I dropped them/did not support them (but the option remains)
• You did not ask, but I am quite excited to work on a channel-bonding solution to replace my current load-balancing solution. As soon as the quad-core, Intel-based, 8GB router solution (with SSD) arrives from customs (hopefully soon), I'll be doing a write up on it. I think I've got enough horsepower there, between us girls!

[MattB29]

Hello again,

A little clarification is likely in order here, as the first post was not an advice seeking column per se, but more sharing an idea to solve a problem ...

OK.

[tvecell]

Have you looked at doing a point-to-point wifi to a location where you have wired internet access? Could be to a friend's house where you could mount an antenna...

[prideauxx]

The TLDR for the original posting/thoughts:

• Folks are getting terminated for using too much data via unlimited data plans the way that carriers (by very gray definition) say is a violation of TOS
• One potential way to counter this may be to utilize several ISP's with a load-balancing router setup, or even better, a WAN-bonding approach, as described here on wirelessjoint.com
• The basic idea is to have your monthly usage spread over several ISP's to keep you off of a carrier's radar for excessive use
• Because the overall cost for some of these unlimited plans can be had in the $25-50/month range, monthly service fee totals does not make this approach unrealisitic (several plans from the same carrier may be feasible)
• Because the initial hardware investment for a multiple ISP setup with load-balancing/WAN bonding is not cheap (I'm currently at over $1000 in kit), and there are technical aspects to this that may be a bar too high, this portion of the solution may be unrealistic for some
• For those wanting to attempt this approach, there are a lot of resources here and excellent people that will assist--your limiting factor will be your own determination/perseverance