After reading this prior post that discussed mobile hotspots (which mentioned this other post), I took the plunge and ordered a hotspot through 4gcommunity.org. Since there wasn't a lot of background on what to expect, I thought it would be worthwhile to share my experiences.
This all has the huge caveat of YMMV based on your local cell coverage, of course.
Previously, I had still been on DSL and getting ~2.5-3 Mbps download speed for ~$45/mo. The only other option in my area is Comcast, and I was doing my best to never sign up with them, but the slow speeds of DSL were getting ridiculous for modern browsing/streaming.
Most of the mobile hotspot plans worked off the Sprint network (although there was one that had plans for all the major carriers). Since I have a phone that can connect to Sprint, I was able to check my signal levels. Reception at my house was usually around -100db through -120db on Sprint (~3 bars). I was unsure if that would be enough for a stable connection, but figured that was what the evaluation period was for.
I ordered the Premium (Pocket Wifi) membership from 4gcommunity and it arrived in ~3 days. Setting up the PocketWifi was really easy, and I got our desktops connected within a few minutes. My desktop is wired in through USB, and the wireless reaches into the next room where my husband's Mac can pick it up easily. My desktop now speedtests at ~30-40 Mbps, and my last Steam download pulled ~2.7 MB/s (whereas I had previously maxed out at ~300 KB/s on DSL). (I am really frickin' excited to not have to spend 3 days downloading the next game I buy. Seriously.)
However, the wireless put out by the PocketWifi is not very strong, and does not reach the main level of my (not very large) house. My Roku or my phone could not sustain a stable connection from the ground level of the house.
I contacted 4gcommunity support and got a response within a few minutes. They suggested a wireless -> ethernet bridge and standard router. I bought both for ~$70 and set them up. The router's wifi signal is much, much stronger than the Pocket Wifi signal. It seems kind of elaborate to have the Pocket Wifi broadcast a wireless signal that gets translated by the wireless->ethernet bridge to wire into a router, which then broadcasts another wifi signal... but it works.
After a bit of playing around with channels and physical placement, I get a speed of ~7 Mbps in my living room. However, that's still much better than previous. My Netflix streaming is much smoother and clearer, and I don't have to wait 30 seconds to load pictures while browsing reddit. I might mess around with it more, but I'm content with where it is now.
All of this, even including purchasing the extra hardware, is CHEAPER than my previous DSL payments.
4g community 12-mo Premium membership: $398
Extra hardware (wireless->ethernet adapter, router): $70
Total: $468
First year: $39/mo
Second year renews at $255 for a 2nd-year cost of $21.25/mo.
This also has the pro of being able to pick up the hotspot and take it with us for any travelling. I don't use much mobile data usually, so my phone has a metered plan instead of an unlimited plan, so this would allow me to stream music, etc in my car for free. It would also allow us to use wireless-only gadgets (e.g., ipod touch) in the car or while travelling.
Caveats:
-
as mentioned above, the wireless signal from the PocketWifi is not especially strong and will require a router or other extension to cover a whole house
-
all the acrobatics with the wireless->ethernet bridge were necessary because the PocketWifi ONLY has a USB port, for connections to wireless-less computers. It does NOT have an ethernet connection.
-
The PocketWifi only allows a max of 10 devices to connect. If you have a lot of gadgets, or a lot of friends who all want to connect a phone, this would not be the best solution to that use case. (I'm not sure if the router counts as 'one' device and things connected to the router are all one, or not?)
freedata.io is another supplier that seems to be offering the same service (PocketWifi on Sprint network) as 4gcommunity and is another option. freedata.io has a 30-day evaluation period, as compared to 4gcommunity's mere 7-day period. However, they were also more expensive. I figured the extra 3 weeks of evaluation weren't worth the $150 difference in price.
The threads linked in my preamble paragraph referenced a few other vendors as well.
June 11, 2017 at 12:39PM
