Newbie Here, trying to get Rural Connectivity

[Evilkaneevel87]

Hello all. I am new here. I stumbled on this site by accident, and have been looking and reading for a few days now. To say I am overwhelmed is an understatement, lol. Anyway. We live in a rural area. We used both Hughes net and Viasat in the past and have been severely disappointed in both. We gave a local company a try back about June. They use a cell based modem/router which runs on the ATT network. Att is terrible in our area. Verizon work great, and the coverage map of Tmobile looks promising.

I guess what I am getting around to, what is the best option for me? I see all the routers/modems etc. There has to be a better option. We are only 15 minutes from a bigger city, but our area is "remote". Just trying to have something better for streaming, occasional gaming for my 12 year old, and web surfing.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated. I am decently tech savy. So I can usually do most things with a little instruction. Thanks,

[Dr-BroadBand]

The hardware is the easy part. The trick is getting a SIM/Data Plan

The cheapest way is to get a SIM for an iPad

Verizon has the best network but has hardest to get on to their network

T-Mobile band 71, 600MHz works the best for rural settings

Use https://www.cellmapper.net to help you map out your best options.
Click on the dots to see which way the tower is pointed and what band they are using.

What cell phone and carrier are you using now?

[Didneywhorl]

T mobile is likely the easiest for getting on the network with your own gear. Verizon is a pain, but not un-doable.


My favorite router modem setup right now is the WiFiX NEXR5GO router with a Sierra Wireless EM7565 modem. Or if you want/need bands 14 AND 71 then the Sierra EM7411 is the one. It has great wifi that is faster than the LAN ports.

If you want gigabit LAN ports, then the WiFiX WG3526-P is my go to. The Wifi is meh, in speeds, but I use dedicated wifi access points on mine anyway. Same modems.

If you want to go with Verizon, you may be better with the Quectel modems. The EM12G is the same level of modem as the Sierra EM7565.

Parts list to look over:
https://thewirelesshaven.com/shop/routers/lte-routers/wg3526-p/
https://thewirelesshaven.com/shop/pcie-m-2/mini-p ... card-slot/
https://thewirelesshaven.com/shop/modems/sierra-w ... m-2-modem/
1 of these: https://thewirelesshaven.com/shop/cables/pigtail- ... ail-cable/
and 1 of these: https://thewirelesshaven.com/shop/cables/pigtail- ... ail-cable/

You can also have a cellular site survey done for your location, by The Wireless Haven: https://thewirelesshaven.com/shop/tower-survey/ce ... y-reports/

[Dr-BroadBand]

You may also want to see if T-Mobile home internet is in your area.

https://www.t-mobile.com/isp/eligibility

[toddw]

I'm also in a rural area and can attest to T-Mobile Band 71. I have not found better upload speeds than this band unless I'm closer to town, so in a WFH scenario, its has been key for me. I also run the 7411 on it and will watch it often carrier aggregate band 71 and 66 yielding some nice speeds at low latency.

Just got two NEXR5GO's for testing and quite happy with the build quality and wifi performance.

[gscheb]

I'm also in a rural area and can attest to T-Mobile Band 71. I have not found better upload speeds than this band unless I'm closer to town, so in a WFH scenario, its has been key for me. I also run the 7411 on it and will watch it often carrier aggregate band 71 and 66 yielding some nice speeds at low latency.

Just got two NEXR5GO's for testing and quite happy with the build quality and wifi performance.

Hello,
Confused about EM7411 and carrier aggregation. How many bands does it combine? Can it combine bands 2, 12, 71 for T-Mobile.

[Didneywhorl]

The EM7411 can only aggregate 2 bands, but can do so in the uplink side as well as the downlink side.

Here are the specs for the EM7411, it has the downlink CA combos listed, as well as uplink.

41113694 EM7411 Product Specification r2.pdf

[Evilkaneevel87]

You may also want to see if T-Mobile home internet is in your area.

https://www.t-mobile.com/isp/eligibility

Just checked, their home internet isnt available in our area yet. Its honestly insane. With how close we are to the "big city", we can't get anything in our area.

[Evilkaneevel87]

The hardware is the easy part. The trick is getting a SIM/Data Plan

The cheapest way is to get a SIM for an iPad

Verizon has the best network but has hardest to get on to their network

T-Mobile band 71, 600MHz works the best for rural settings

Use https://www.cellmapper.net to help you map out your best options.
Click on the dots to see which way the tower is pointed and what band they are using.

What cell phone and carrier are you using now?

I have att, my fiance has Verizon. WIth att, im lucky to get one "bar" of service in my house and 2 outside. Verizon is great down there, and Tmobile coverage map looks promising. We also have internet through a local rural provider which uses ATT towers. RIght now I dont know what is going on with the network. It has been terrible. Never really got over 6mbps Down and 2mbps up. Right now im getting .2 and .1. That is with the ookla speed test on my iphone

[Evilkaneevel87]

I have a modem (no name on it, just c4r400) that I purchased when we signed up with the rural provider. It currently is on the ATT network. The owner is supposed to be bringing me a "business class" router tonight.

[Evilkaneevel87]

I am also now looking at the cellmapper. I finally figured out how to get the towers to pull up. Its odd, the Att/Tmobile towers seem to be in the same location. And the verizon towers are by themselves. Anyway, I am closer to the att/tmobile towers but verizon gets better service. Now, I have no idea what else im looking at on the mapper lol.

[gscheb]

Even if you don't have good service with a phone can be amazed what a outside antenna can do.

[Evilkaneevel87]

I dont mean to spam. I am on the mapper, so I am basically right between two att\tmobile towers. I am clicking on the cells, and one from one tower ends basically in the middle of my house, but the speeds that are on there are not even close to what I get. The other tower is a touch closer. and all of the cells cover my house. One of the cells that ends directly behind my house has slower reported speeds, which are close to what I get, but the other cell, that covers the one cell plus some as some great speeds. I dont understand any of this at all. Any insight?

[Evilkaneevel87]

Even if you don't have good service with a phone can be amazed what a outside antenna can do.

Plugged directly into the modem correct?

[gscheb]

Well directly to the router that the modem is in.

IMG_20200412_151149236_HDR.jpg

IMG_20200709_143748415_HDR.jpg

[Dr-BroadBand]

A “bar” is a place that one day I dream of going again to have a beer.

The group works better off hard data!

On an iPhone call this number *3001#12345#*
That will place your phone into field test mode.

The important numbers are

What is the
RSRP dBm (Reference Signal Received Power)
RSRQ dB (Reference Signal Received Quality)
SINR dB (Signal to Interference &Noise Ratio)

[Evilkaneevel87]

Well directly to the router that the modem is in.
IMG_20200412_151149236_HDR.jpg
IMG_20200709_143748415_HDR.jpg

I will have to take pictures of my equipment when I get home. I have the "normal" residential currently. I placed an order through our provider for the upgraded "business class" and it will be here when I get home. Im sure that will help more for yall to be able to lead me in the right direction.

[Evilkaneevel87]

A “bar” is a place that one day I dream of going again to have a beer.

The group works better off hard data!

On an iPhone call this number *3001#12345#*
That will place your phone into field test mode.

The important numbers are

What is the
RSRP dBm (Reference Signal Received Power)
RSRQ dB (Reference Signal Received Quality)
SINR dB (Signal to Interference &Noise Ratio)

I will have to do this when I get home. I am currently at the office. But I have loads of time to play while here lol.

[Didneywhorl]

I have a modem (no name on it, just c4r400) that I purchased when we signed up with the rural provider. It currently is on the ATT network. The owner is supposed to be bringing me a "business class" router tonight.

Wonder what you get

[Evilkaneevel87]

Wonder what you get

I will update tonight when that happens

[toddw]

I have a modem (no name on it, just c4r400) that I purchased when we signed up with the rural provider. It currently is on the ATT network. The owner is supposed to be bringing me a "business class" router tonight.

That router I think is a CAT 4 and can't see the newer bands, just the usual 2, 4, 17, 12 etc. I have one laying around somewhere when I first got started. Hopefully the business class router they bring you supports carrier aggregation on ATT and/or Band 14.

[Evilkaneevel87]

This is my speed test. It’s the same in the house a d outside. Strictly on LTE. Not even worth connecting to my wifi as it’s non existent right now until the new modem/router comes in.

[Evilkaneevel87]

A “bar” is a place that one day I dream of going again to have a beer.

The group works better off hard data!

On an iPhone call this number *3001#12345#*
That will place your phone into field test mode.

The important numbers are

What is the
RSRP dBm (Reference Signal Received Power)
RSRQ dB (Reference Signal Received Quality)
SINR dB (Signal to Interference &Noise Ratio)

[Evilkaneevel87]

So I’m 3.1 ish miles from one tower and 4 from another. One tower my house literally gets cut in half by the edge of one of the cells (farther) and that other I’m right in one (closer)

Here is some info of the cell I’m in. Trees are the main obstruction as we are pretty flat here.

[Evilkaneevel87]

And here is my speeds on the wifi network(att sim) through a rural provider. Old modem. Waiting on née one to arrive any minute.

[Evilkaneevel87]

So here is my new device. They took my old one in on trade in and charged me $100 for this one. We are getting better speeds. But watching Netflix last night, and it started buffering and lagging. With nothing else connected. I moved the device outside in the rafters of my porch. Same thing.

[Dr-BroadBand]

See link

https://wirelessjoint.com/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=2175

[BillA]

Down and 2mbps up. Right now im getting .2 and .1. That is with the ookla speed test on my iphone

So here is my new device. They took my old one in on trade in and charged me $100 for this one. We are getting better speeds. But watching Netflix last night, and it started buffering and lagging. With nothing else connected. I moved the device outside in the rafters of my porch. Same thing.

Based on your older post stating that "I'm getting 0.2 and 0.1", those seem to be throttled speeds since you got the same results indoors and out. While your new equipment provides around 3Mbps down which should be sufficient for video, it's not unusual for carriers to also throttle video streaming (they can tell by the URL and/or packet content). To bypass video throttling you can use a simple proxy or VPN, alternatively you can switch to another carrier which has the ability to disable video throttling (ex. Tmobile/SimpleMobile).