5G Home Broadband?

Yep had 3 5g home broadband since last december. It very rarely misses a beat. My mrs works from home and connects directly to the 3 wifi 6 router and reports very few problems. We can get around 400mb to 600mb downloads at peak times and 100mb upload at all times. 3 did do or still do a one month rolling contract where they give you the free 5g router. I'm still on that but the bill went up to £27.42 per month. I have the router in a upstairs bedroom window where i have line of sight of the mast about 1/2 mile away. I'm always looking to head back to virgin as i think eventually will the speeds slow but as of yet i have not jumped. I even bought the same router with the idea of going on the £15.00 all-inclusive smarty internet. Just be careful though as the t&c's of smarty it says something about not being a permanent substitute for Homebroadband.
 
Yep had 3 5g home broadband since last december. It very rarely misses a beat. My mrs works from home and connects directly to the 3 wifi 6 router and reports very few problems. We can get around 400mb to 600mb downloads at peak times and 100mb upload at all times. 3 did do or still do a one month rolling contract where they give you the free 5g router. I'm still on that but the bill went up to £27.42 per month. I have the router in a upstairs bedroom window where i have line of sight of the mast about 1/2 mile away. I'm always looking to head back to virgin as i think eventually will the speeds slow but as of yet i have not jumped. I even bought the same router with the idea of going on the £15.00 all-inclusive smarty internet. Just be careful though as the t&c's of smarty it says something about not being a permanent substitute for Homebroadband.
As you know im going this route very shortly.

Ive been doing some research, even though smarty terms and condition say that, it still seems to be working fine for the majority of users.

I guess im going to find out, although ill try a couple of months on 3s rolling contract before i do.
 
As you know im going this route very shortly.

Ive been doing some research, even though smarty terms and condition say that, it still seems to be working fine for the majority of users.

I guess im going to find out, although ill try a couple of months on 3s rolling contract before i do.
I might have to dig my smarty sim out and try it again. Maybe it was the week the mast went live so it could have been teething issues.
 
I might have to dig my smarty sim out and try it again. Maybe it was the week the mast went live so it could have been teething issues.
Apparently, you need to take the router out of auto channel mode and manually select certain bands.

I'll try to find the info later.
 
Been using it for years but not by choice as it's my only option for better than 10mb.

It can be great but beware there are a lot of factors that need to be taken into account for it to be fast and reliable.

Distance to cell,
Different bands,
Line of sight to cell,
Congestion,

Currently I have a Huawei H112-372 router with a iskara p60 antenna. Bought these when 5G first came about 4-5 years ago and cost about €500 in total.

I get around 250-350Mb most of the day up until 6pm and then it drops to around 50Mb. This is due to congestion. Worse thing about mobile broadband is that it can randomly just go to c**p. At least once a month there can be hour period where I can not get than 10mb regardless of how many different cell towers I try. Up until a few weeks ago I never got faster than 8Mb upload which made teams video calls a nightmare. They must of updated the cell recently as now I get about 35Mb upload.

Most important thing I can recommend is to get a decent router that allows you to select the cell bands. The difference can be insane. Some bands I don't get over 30Mb on but once or twice I got nearly 700Mb on band 2100. Unfortunately the router I have only allows me to choose bands. if It allowed me choose cell towers it would be even better.

I would test with a 5G before you invest in anything and also have a look at cell mapper you will be able to see all the cells in your region. Take the speeds it provides with a pinch of salt though.

Personally think a decent wired connection will always beat mobile broad band as it will be reliable. Reliability is the most important thing as you don't the wife and kids barking at you why the internet is down/slow etc..
 
Last edited:
I might have to dig my smarty sim out and try it again. Maybe it was the week the mast went live so it could have been teething issues.
Try this mate with ya smarty sim

Under "Brand Management" set the "Band Auto Selection" to OFF ...and then check/select "B20" and most importantly "n78" and save the settings.
 
Is the main reason you're going 5G due to limitations with FTTC/P cable etc? I toyed with the thought of 4G and then 5G when it finally arrives this far as it gives you flexibility but price wise there isnt that much in it really - not from what I can see anyway.
 
Is the main reason you're going 5G due to limitations with FTTC/P cable etc? I toyed with the thought of 4G and then 5G when it finally arrives this far as it gives you flexibility but price wise there isnt that much in it really - not from what I can see anyway.

No Virgin or BT Full Fibre to house here, so the best I can get at the moment is about 65Mb download. (on a good day)

Got good 5G coverage though, but the more I read, the more 'ifs and buts' I'm finding about 5G broadband.
 
No Virgin or BT Full Fibre to house here, so the best I can get at the moment is about 65Mb download. (on a good day)

Got good 5G coverage though, but the more I read, the more 'ifs and buts' I'm finding about 5G broadband.
did you check 5G speed? coverage strength and speed dont really align with mobile broadband
 
I found some slightly different virgin deals here, they have 500mb and bigger tv for £41.99 i wonder if the local virgin rep could nock a few quid off.

Postcodes
 
I've also got 5g Three router and had it for about 2 years. When I moved in the speed was around 50 meg but when they put a new 5g mask up, I'm now getting 600 meg. Currently paying £18 a month unlimited with them. Never had issues with them.
 
Just been chatting with a nice set of lads sorting my area out with City Fibre. 3 months for my street they reckon.

So a rolling contract with 3 is what i need to tide me over when i cancel Virgin.

I've been told next 6months to year since 2015.

I hope it happens for you.
 
Well i thought i would dig out my smarty sim tonight and tests it again. Seems though i cannot find it so i had to order a new one. Only problem is you cannot order a new sim unless you have a valid package so i had to pay the £15.00 to get a new sim. Delivery 1-2 days.
 
Well i thought i would dig out my smarty sim tonight and tests it again. Seems though i cannot find it so i had to order a new one. Only problem is you cannot order a new sim unless you have a valid package so i had to pay the £15.00 to get a new sim. Delivery 1-2 days.
Bloody hell hope it does now work for you bud.
 
Bloody hell hope it does now work for you bud.
I maybe put that wrong the monthly cost is £15.00 for the unlimited data and the SIM is free. I don't use smarty for normal everyday use as I find when you go out walking and get off beaten track the signal disappears. It works at the football ground though 😂
 
Back
Top