Budget-friendly LTE Modem with Gigabit Port & External Antenna for Rural Connectivity

I warmly welcome,

I am looking for an LTE internet router with a 10/100/1000 port and an external antenna for it. I live in the countryside and the range in the area is average, and I want good connections. The issue of Wi-Fi in the modem does not matter to me, because I have a good quality TP-Link router and I would like to stay with it.

The whole installation would look like there will be an antenna on the roof from which the antenna cable will go to the modem, and from there the ordinary Ethernet will go to the router. And then Wi-Fi. That is why I need something more than a 100 MB port in the modem, because LTE supports higher speeds, and it is supposed to be equipment for several years.

The budget is quite limited. I would not like to spend some money on it, so I would be grateful for proposals with a smaller budget. Thank you very much in advance!

What operator, location? What are the parameters of the LTE signal and on which band, what speeds, did you do any tests? What is this TP-Link router?

Orange, but I would like Plus to work as well. The town is Poklatki (approx. 25 km from Poznań). At the moment, I do not have LTE internet there - I want to use it, but I do not want to buy the device from the operator - only my own. The range on the phone is average overall. The router is TP-Link Archer C1200.

Coverage in Orange from NetWorks BTS Kleszczewo 23 and bugaj. LTE1800, LTE2100 and LTE800 Orange work on each of them and aggregation of these 3 LTE bands. The minimum is the purchase of a router with aggregation of two LTE bands, i.e. B525, E5186, MF286, cost about PLN 300. Huawei routers can be used to enforce specific LTE bands and aggregations using HManager or Toolbox. On the MF286 in the WebGUI. After purchasing the router, LTE band tests and antenna selection based on them. cost 300-300 PLN. The directional antenna will allow you to force each of these BTSs in turn and choose the optimal one. In Plus, do not count on much, the only BTS in the area is Kleszczewo with LTE1800Aero2 and 4 months of LTE800Sferia. Are these offers and operators subscriptions? Do a test outside on Orange and Plus cards on an LTE phone with the network Cell Info application, the DATA tab will show the ECI, BTS eNB and signal parameters. Plus speed tests.

Thank you very much for information. If the range of Plus is so weak, the only alternative will be Orange. There is no other internet solution than there is in this area. This is not the Internet for me personally, but for my brother-in-law, so I am not able to do the tests yet.

What specific device would you recommend? I only want a port above 100 MB, that it will be a device for several years, and when the Internet is faster there, it will be possible to send full speed to the router. Please also provide the antenna model. Since there are not many BTS in the area and there, it will probably be a better option to choose one, which should give better power, i.e. a directional antenna will be perfect.

I will be grateful for providing the model and antenna in the budget up to PLN 400 - 500 in total. We are not able to allocate more. Do you think that such a set is enough to receive a link in good quality?

The brother-in-law tells fairy tales and the choice of operators is there, everyone has LTE coverage. Orange's subscription offer for T-Mobile is weak and expensive. In T-mobile LTE / 3G internet without data limit and with DL up to 20Mb / s costs PLN 49 per month and in the subscription there is a router with LTE-A 6 cat, i.e. B525 worth PLN 300. It is taken for 14-day tests, it checks signal parameters, LTE bands, aggregation and speeds. If it is OK, then you need to buy a directional antenna and that's it. And if it is too expensive, you use the LTE internet without a limit, without a contract in Play, on your own LTE-A router, and here it makes sense to buy it. The cost of the service is PLN 5/15 per month. You chose the operators the worst you could. T-mobile only subscription and Play only pre-paid. The range in T-Mobile is the same as in Orange, from the same BTSs and also on its own LTE1800, LTE2100 and LTE800 with their aggregation. Play range on LTE1800, LTE2100, LTE800 with aggregation with BTS Play Kleszczewo-Średzka 8, less than 2 km from my brother-in-law. These Networks for Orange, T-Mobile and Where to Find Plus is at the station 500m away, probably even the masts can see through the window. Always purchase an antenna after testing.

Thank you very much! This is valuable information that I will pass on. You really helped me. Just tell me what model of directional antenna to aim at?

In T-Mobile, in the subscription for 29.99 I have a 30 GB package, which can be extended for PLN 30 to "unlimited" (100 GB in fact). And about PLN 100 surcharge for the device. In Play, I will also get 100 GB and a device (Huawei B310 - B310s22) for PLN 60 at no extra charge. The downside is that from what I checked, the Huawei B310 does not support an external antenna. Why do you think that it is worth taking pre-paid in Play?

At T-Mobile, it is not worth taking such offers because they are weak and expensive. Only home internet is available with no data limit http://www.t-mobile.pl/internet-domowy/cat10034.chtml for PLN 49 / month with DL up to 20Mb / s or, if the conditions allow, with DL up to 60Mb / s for PLN 65. The subscription price includes the B525 router. The subscription at Play is weak and expensive, for PLN 60 you have 100GB for then immediately a 1Mb / s funnel /. This weak B310 is not worth much (PLN150-200), a router without LTE-A. It is obvious that you take pre-paid where for 15 or even 5 PLN / month you can have a minimum of 100GB on LTE with the maximum speed available at your place, and then a possible 2Mb / s funnel. In practice, transfers over 200GB without a funnel. I have had several such cards for 5 years, in July I used one 1.1 TB of data at the cost of PLN 5. This service is free LTE Internet with no limit on the RBM card for Card 5 with RWK, without the RWK, the cost increases to PLN 15 / month. With such costs for the Internet, the purchase of your own LTE / LTE home router for PLN 150-300 is a small matter. In order not to be groundless, here you have a screen from Play24

This internet in T-Mobile looks really cool, with a package for PLN 65. There is really no transfer limit, are there any hidden limits?

I would then aim at the Huawei B525s device and the question of what antenna to buy for this to enjoy the best speed?

For PLN 65, it is DL up to 60Mb / s and first you need to test whether there are conditions in this location to get such a DL. You can always change to these 20Mb / s for PLN 49 / month. There are 2 weeks for testing, B525 is a good choice. BTS has 3 LTE 2100, LTE1800 and LTE800 bands, B525 aggregates two bands, you can use it with LTE1800 + 800 or LTE2100 + 800, it does not aggregate LTE2100 + 1800. These two bands are aggregated by B715, and there is also the aggregation of 3 LTE bands 2100 + 1800 + 800. Purchase of an antenna after testing these bands. But most likely broadband at 800-2600MHz. It will also work with LTE2600 if the operators launched them on these BTSs.

Thank you very much for your help! We will take T-Mobile for tests and check everything after connecting the computer to the modem. Just tell me what type of tests should I do so that I can choose the best antenna?

B525 works with Hmanager for Android. Download http://www.mediafire.com/file/79obbe81eufdt7t/Huawei_Manager_1.2_PL.apk/file you install on your phone. You connect via WiFi to the B525, you log in to it in this application at 192.168.8.1 and you have the option to choose LTE bands and LTE-A aggregation. You check LTE1800, LTE2100 and LTE800 in turn, and then LTE1800 + 800 and LTE2100 = 800 aggregations. HManager will show BTS's CID and signal parameters. You check DL / UL on each band. You show the results. B525 preferably outside the window.

Thank you very much! I will send the test results as soon as everything can be arranged. I am really grateful!

Approx. I did all the tests - first I did the test in the Huawei application, then 3x speedtest and finally the Huawei application again. The router was placed in the best possible place - I was sitting with the phone very close to the router.

The router has connected to T-Mobile's BTS LTE800 in Bugaj, signal parameters are weak. Home or outdoor test? The speeds are not bad, the LTE1800 + 800 aggregation did not turn on. Check also LTE1800 by forcing only this band in HManager.

Hello, I am also looking for an external antenna for the modem (with sim card) I already have an operator, (nju) I just want someone to tell me what to buy best, I do not have a modem, so I am interested in the suggestion regarding the antenna and modem, preferably in the set, the town is Lipczynek, voivodeship, Pomeranian Voivodeship. I will be grateful if someone sends you a link to the auction or something, thanks for your help

The location is very difficult, there is no chance for fast internet, the nearest NetWorks Nowa Brda base station works only on LTE800, it's 10MHz band, usually clogged. Make a test on this nju card on the phone outside with the application https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=cz.mroczis.netmonster&hl=pl and show a screen from it and speedtest.

Hello, I am sending photos, the speed varies depending on the weather, I had a maximum of 14 m, now it's linden. I generally mean that the range should be from the lte antenna and not from h + or edge, and I have the latter two inside the building, outside will be the range yellow so it will be better, thanks for your help

Hello, I would like to connect to the topic. My location is Letnisko Nowy Jadów. The nearest transmitter is t-mobile (about 3 km) in Jadów, but for some reason Orange works better, although both the closest transmitters are about 6 km away. In addition, the forest around. I am not looking for anything but a stable connection. At the moment, about 1-2 Mbit / s is working, in a moment 10-15 Mbit / s in a moment the signal disappears for 15 seconds and the People's Republic of Poland again ... I want to lead the antennas outside. In addition, my router (DWR 921 D-link), after the last change of the card from Orange to T-Mobile (for the test, I changed back to Orange), started to go dumb. LAN works, I can connect to the router via LAN, but the internet disappears on the computer, although the router lights up that the internet is on and the panel reports full signal range at -75dbm. I can change the router. I can buy antennas. I just want to not get upset about it. I plan to move there and although it will probably be difficult to get used to 100 Mbit / s, I need this internet to be there. It can be free, but keep it stable. The question is what I can have in the category of quality / price or how much should be added to make it simply good. I would like to buy the antennas at www.dipol.com.pl, thank you in advance for your answer

The NetWorks station in Jadów works on LTE2100 + 1800 + 800 for Orange and T-mobile, then you have T-mobile and Play with your LTE2100 + 1800 + 800 is also hanging on it. You should test these operators on their cards on the phone outside and show screenshots from the application https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=cz.mroczis.netmonster&hl=pl and evening speed tests. DWR-921 is a museum and it is not suitable for these operators, why a bad idea to buy in Dipol?

dipole = discount
I will do the tests when I am on the plot, I will throw in the screenshots
The 6km did not suit me a bit, but the BTS map that I found showed only T-mobile and play in Jadów
the question is whether I can look for some equipment or only after the tests?
greetings

The price does not always work miracles, a bad Dipol antenna and it will be like teraZ, which is bad, in addition an old router, so the set is as it looks. The minimum router is B535 with aggregation of 2 LTE bands, including LTE2100 + 1800, is it worth something more expensive to Orange / T-mobile, then the test will show. The antenna is basically at 1800-2100MHz, i.e. Dual LTE 1800-2100MHz, unless you choose equipment with aggregation of 4/3 LTE bands, then broadband to use LTE800. CPE LTE MF258K or WF830 are also at stake, and the basics are always tests.

I'm going to the plot today and I'll post screens in the evening. What is the best question to do these tests? 18-19 20-21 ??

Added after 11 [hours] 3 [minutes]:

@ matek451
After testing. There will be only a small problem with the speed test, because I have an English operator card (which connected Orange) and I think the ping was to the server in Northampton. Tomorrow I will be on the plot again (although I would like to go there with the equipment and install it) I can also improve these tests. The good news is that I made two sets for comparison (one at home, the other on the roof at a height of about 1.5m from the roof) and the latter values were incomparably better. In addition, I noticed that when I mount the antennas at the desired height, they will probably 'see' the BTS, I am hopeful as well. Pics below