using a mobile to get on the internet

I have used an ee sim card, attached to some sort of receiver high up on my roof, for a couple of years now to get an internet connection. It is costing me £140 a month. I need to find a technician (the company who sorted it out originally has gone out of business) who can check to see if I could now get a signal from any other provider, who might offer a cheaper deal. I thought about changing to a satellite, but as I use skype / zoom for work thought that latency might be a problem. Could anyone here recommend a technician, or does anyone have any comments about moving over to a satellite?
I live in the western Brecon Beacons.

Edited by wilderness (Fri 08-Jan-21 18:29:42)

Post in this forum, which is dedicated to your specific enquiry

https://forums.thinkbroadband.com/mobilebroadband.html

You seem to be paying an awful lot for a service that can be had pretty cheap these days.

A family member bought a router which takes a sim, the router provides the wifi, and the sim is around £20 a month I think.....

As you have been able to get Mobile broadband using EE Sim. This company maybe worth contacting
http://www.dyfedtelecom.com/.
Costs nothing to ask.

Edited by flippery (Fri 08-Jan-21 21:21:56)

EE should be £25 pm for 4G and Unlimited Data. Review your contract and switch as soon as possible.

- thanks. I'll try them on Monday. I've tried all routes to get a cheaper contract out of EE, but to no avail - it's because the signal can only be got from the roof, so I can't use their 4g wifihub.

What do you actually have on the roof? If necessary replace what ever is on the roof with a Mikrotik SXT-LTE6 kit

https://mikrotik.com/product/sxt_lte6_kit

However that should not be necessary, though it may well give you a better connection. There should be no requirement for the 4G WiFi hub for a cheaper contract. Worst case scenario is just remove the SIM card from their $G WiFI hub and stick into whatever you end up using.

What you are currently paying is outrageous frankly.

So I am clear, are you saying EE are charging you £140?, if so is this just for the sim or are you paying EE or someone else ongoing charges for the equipment as well?

Edited by dect (Sat 09-Jan-21 22:39:39)

I have a sim card from EE and that is the only ongoing payment I make - the start up cost for the kit on the roof was funded partly from a welsh govt grant. I pay EE so much as it is a mobile sim, and you can't get unlimited broadband from a mobile sim. I end up buying 200gig a month on average, and the cost is £70 per 100gig. I have tried their home hub, which would have been significantly cheaper, but it couldn't get a signal.

In reply to a post by jabuzzard:

Worst case scenario is just remove the SIM card from their $G WiFI hub and stick into whatever you end up using.

Yes - that was my thinking - but I'm not able to climb up on the roof. I've contacted the engineers recommended above - hopefully they will come up with some ideas. I know I'm paying a ridiculous amount, but ee is the only signal I can get - even from the roof.

In reply to a post by wilderness:

I have a sim card from EE and that is the only ongoing payment I make - the start up cost for the kit on the roof was funded partly from a welsh govt grant. I pay EE so much as it is a mobile sim, and you can't get unlimited broadband from a mobile sim. I end up buying 200gig a month on average, and the cost is £70 per 100gig. I have tried their home hub, which would have been significantly cheaper, but it couldn't get a signal.

Lots of people report on here they now use standard unlimited sims in there routers rather that mobile broadband specific sims. Hopefully others will explains more

Edit: It should only be costing you a max of £35 a month for unlimited on a good network not the crazy prices your paying.

Edited by dect (Mon 11-Jan-21 10:43:11)

Yes - that was my thinking - but I'm not able to climb up on the roof.

I would have thought that a local aerial installer would be prepared to go up there and change a SIM for a small charge.

In reply to a post by TimJ:

Yes - that was my thinking - but I'm not able to climb up on the roof.

I would have thought that a local aerial installer would be prepared to go up there and change a SIM for a small charge.

Indeed. I would have thought that installation of "rooftop" mobile broadband devices would be a nice sideline for any sort of reputable aerial installer. There is minimal additional equipment to buy (cable tester, crimp and punch down tools) and they are good to go.

Obviously there are the cowboys would won't know what a spectrum analyser was if it bit them in the backside (and are hence not reputable IMHO), but aerial/satellite installers are in general ideally placed for this sort of work.

Were you able to improve cost