The real story on 3G in the UK

Post by Peter
A bit of context is here
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/networking/usb-dongle-for-a-router-for-fttp-backup/
but almost nobody there is in the UK.
I wonder if anybody here has ever played with this?
I had the MF100 (3G only?) dongle working around Dec 2024, so this
must be a recent thing.

Very recent, for those without a time machine ;-)

I don't think all 3G is gone yet - I'm not up with all the networks' plans,
but I think some still have it.

Post by Peter
Also is the "4G/DHCP" anything whatsoever to do with 4G? Surely, once
the device dials out with ATDT*99# then it gets a TCP/IP connection
and that's it. It is WAN network type transparent.

The options being '3G/4G PPP' and '4G DHCP'.

The first type operates like a USB dialup modem - ATDT, listen for
'dialtone', start PPP and get your IP address, and all the packets are
encapsulated in PPP to go down the 'serial line'. This is how 3G dongles
operated originally, since dialup was popular at that time.

The second type looks like a USB ethernet card - the network comes up and
you use DHCP to get your IP address, and then push packets like any regular
ethernet device. This is more CPU efficient than doing PPP and so you can
get higher speeds, which is why it's used on 4G (and 5G?) dongles.
Sometimes there can be a mini NAT router implemented inside the dongle, ie
you don't get a public IP, you get 10.whatever issued by the DHCP inside the
dongle and then a web page on it you can connect to to change settings like
APN.

Since they operate differently, you need to tell the router which type of
interface you have (or maybe it can autodetect from the USB side of things).
Some dongles can do both modes, either with different firmware or switchable
by changing a setting somewhere.

Theo

Andy Burns

2024-10-01 17:33:15 UTC

Post by Theo
I don't think all 3G is gone yet - I'm not up with all the networks' plans,
but I think some still have it.

EE and voda have finished the shutdown
Three will be done by end of 2024
O2 will start shutting from 2025

Post by Theo
The options being '3G/4G PPP' and '4G DHCP'.
The first type operates like a USB dialup modem - ATDT, listen for
'dialtone', start PPP and get your IP address, and all the packets are
encapsulated in PPP to go down the 'serial line'. This is how 3G dongles
operated originally, since dialup was popular at that time.

There's lots of white lies involved though, the PPP "server" your router
is talking to, is inside the dongle, not over the air at the ISP end.

Java Jive

2024-10-01 17:23:23 UTC

I think there must be a typo there, or are you in the Tardis? If so, in
what follows, all bets are off.

Post by Peter
so this
must be a recent thing.
Also is the "4G/DHCP" anything whatsoever to do with 4G? Surely, once
the device dials out with ATDT*99# then it gets a TCP/IP connection
and that's it. It is WAN network type transparent.

I'm not sure that I can answer your question exactly, but I can confirm
a few things, particularly that various 4G dongles should work with a
DrayTek Vigor router. There used to be on the DrayTek site a list of
USB devices that had been tested with their routers. You could try
searching for that.

I used to have a DV2830 router, which I had more or less successfully
set up to use a Huawei E3372s 4G USB dongle as my main internet
connection. However, occasionally I'd find that the connection had
dropped, and the only way to get it back was to reboot the router -
not ideal. Eventually the WiFi on that router died.

Next I reflashed a BT Home Hub 5A router with a WRT build, and currently
am using that with a BT 4G Assure USB dongle, a re-badged Huawei E3372h.

Initially the connection was via Virgin Mobile, but they did the usual
thing of upping the cost by well more than the rate of inflation, which
behaviour I will not tolerate on principal, so I jumped ship, and was
for several years on the Three network, which was satisfactory, but now
I'm with iDMobile. This is also quite good, except with newsgroups -
for some unknown reason, it keeps losing the connection with Eternal
September, and I have to wait for it to timeout, then try again to
download/read or send a post. When briefly I tried the old Three SIM
again, the problem went away, so it's definitely something to do with
the iDMobile network.

The dongles I've tried more or less successfully are:

Alcatel IK40V: Not sure whether this was 3G only or is 4G compatible;
still have it, but haven't used it for a while and can't remember much
about why I stopped using it.

Huawei E3372s (s=serial version): Worked very well for a while, but
then started overheating and dropping the connection.

ZTE MF823: Worked fine for years until it seemed to be affected by a
thunderstorm and afterwards stopped working reliably.

BT Assure, a rebadged Huawei E3372h (h=hilink version): Needed
unlocking, but working satisfactorily ever since.

--
Fake news kills!

I may be contacted via the contact address given on my website:
www.macfh.co.uk

Peter

2024-10-01 21:18:40 UTC

Post by Java Jive
I'm not sure that I can answer your question exactly, but I can confirm
a few things, particularly that various 4G dongles should work with a
DrayTek Vigor router. There used to be on the DrayTek site a list of
USB devices that had been tested with their routers. You could try
searching for that.

Yes - got that list and I posted it in that eevblog link. The E3272
seems the obvious choice since it is listed for both PPP and 4G/DHCP.

Post by Java Jive
I used to have a DV2830 router, which I had more or less successfully
set up to use a Huawei E3372s 4G USB dongle as my main internet
connection. However, occasionally I'd find that the connection had
dropped, and the only way to get it back was to reboot the router -
not ideal. Eventually the WiFi on that router died.

The E3372 is listed as good only for 4G/DHCP.

Post by Java Jive
Next I reflashed a BT Home Hub 5A router with a WRT build, and currently
am using that with a BT 4G Assure USB dongle, a re-badged Huawei E3372h.
Initially the connection was via Virgin Mobile, but they did the usual
thing of upping the cost by well more than the rate of inflation, which
behaviour I will not tolerate on principal, so I jumped ship, and was
for several years on the Three network, which was satisfactory, but now
I'm with iDMobile. This is also quite good, except with newsgroups -
for some unknown reason, it keeps losing the connection with Eternal
September, and I have to wait for it to timeout, then try again to
download/read or send a post. When briefly I tried the old Three SIM
again, the problem went away, so it's definitely something to do with
the iDMobile network.
Alcatel IK40V: Not sure whether this was 3G only or is 4G compatible;
still have it, but haven't used it for a while and can't remember much
about why I stopped using it.
Huawei E3372s (s=serial version): Worked very well for a while, but
then started overheating and dropping the connection.
ZTE MF823: Worked fine for years until it seemed to be affected by a
thunderstorm and afterwards stopped working reliably.
BT Assure, a rebadged Huawei E3372h (h=hilink version): Needed
unlocking, but working satisfactorily ever since.

I've bought a 3272 on Ebay and will report my findings :)

PPP doesn't need to be slow because with USB FS if you implement CDC
(virtual COM port) you can get megabit speeds easily. OK, not full
fibre speed but good enough for a backup.

Java Jive

2024-10-01 22:48:06 UTC

[Java Jive wrote:]
Alcatel IK40V: Not sure whether this was 3G only or is 4G compatible;
still have it, but haven't used it for a while and can't remember much
about why I stopped using it.
Huawei E3372s (s=serial version): Worked very well for a while, but
then started overheating and dropping the connection.
ZTE MF823: Worked fine for years until it seemed to be affected by a
thunderstorm and afterwards stopped working reliably.
BT Assure, a rebadged Huawei E3372h (h=hilink version): Needed
unlocking, but working satisfactorily ever since.

I've bought a 3272 on Ebay and will report my findings :)

Note that there are two different types of Huawei E3372, those ending s,
like my first one above, behave like a modem and should be configured
accordingly, and those ending in h, like my second one above, setup a
local subnet, usually on 192.168.8.1, and should be set up to use DHCP.

--
Fake news kills!

I may be contacted via the contact address given on my website:
www.macfh.co.uk

Andy Burns

2024-10-02 03:55:29 UTC

Post by Java Jive
Note that there are two different types of Huawei E3372, those ending s,
like my first one above, behave like a modem and should be configured
accordingly, and those ending in h, like my second one above, setup a
local subnet, usually on 192.168.8.1, and should be set up to use DHCP.

You can convert one to the other, but it's a rather hairy process!

<https://www.0xf8.org/2017/01/flashing-a-huawei-e3372h-4g-lte-stick-from-hilink-to-stick-mode/>

I've had mine working on a BT HH5a with openWRT and a Vigor, but the
Three SIM which used to give 500MB of free data, enough to do a monthly
4G test (and I could have chucked a few quid credit at if ever needed
due to a broadband outage) has stopped working.

Peter

2024-10-07 12:05:44 UTC

I am happy to report that this E3272
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/145804607846
is working fine as the 4G backup, with the A&A supplied SIM.

The old issue remains i.e. they are still not rerouting the whole IP
bundle via this, so we get just one IP, so "outgoing" internet access
only. This used to work years ago and then stopped and despite much
communication they were never able to find anybody there who knew how
to make it work. So our VOIP phones go dead, and any servers in the
office (we still run a machine for testing stuff) are also
inaccessible. But that is OK.

I am using the PPP mode, not the "4G/DHCP" mode.

Post by Andy Burns

You can convert one to the other, but it's a rather hairy process!
<https://www.0xf8.org/2017/01/flashing-a-huawei-e3372h-4g-lte-stick-from-hilink-to-stick-mode/>
I've had mine working on a BT HH5a with openWRT and a Vigor, but the
Three SIM which used to give 500MB of free data, enough to do a monthly
4G test (and I could have chucked a few quid credit at if ever needed
due to a broadband outage) has stopped working.

Graham J

2024-10-07 15:31:24 UTC

Post by Peter
I am happy to report that this E3272
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/145804607846
is working fine as the 4G backup, with the A&A supplied SIM.
The old issue remains i.e. they are still not rerouting the whole IP
bundle via this, so we get just one IP, so "outgoing" internet access
only. This used to work years ago and then stopped and despite much
communication they were never able to find anybody there who knew how
to make it work. So our VOIP phones go dead, and any servers in the
office (we still run a machine for testing stuff) are also
inaccessible. But that is OK.
I am using the PPP mode, not the "4G/DHCP" mode.

I remember you working on this several years ago. Worrying that A&A
don't have anybody there who can make it work!

--
Graham J

Theo

2024-10-07 16:35:50 UTC

I remember you working on this several years ago. Worrying that A&A
don't have anybody there who can make it work!

You could presumably do it by running their L2TP tunnel over it, but I
suspect that a routed public netblock isn't something the 4G network is
really set up to do. Most mobile connections are over CGNAT to begin with.

Theo

Graham J

2024-10-07 17:58:51 UTC

Post by Theo

I remember you working on this several years ago. Worrying that A&A
don't have anybody there who can make it work!

The A&A setup is supposed to be more sophisticated. Over the
landline/fibre you get one or a block of static IPs. The 4G system is
supposed to be a completely transparent backup: when the landline/fibre
fails the 4G provides exactly the same single or block of static IPs.

Which according to Peter it did once but now doesn't.

--
Graham J

Peter

2024-10-07 21:41:05 UTC

Post by Theo

Post by Graham J
I remember you working on this several years ago. Worrying that A&A
don't have anybody there who can make it work!

Yes; 2020. I even sent them a 2955 router but it disappeared :)

Then at some point the 3G backup died but this was not discovered
because FTTP was so reliable. Until the other day.

That is another interesting thing. A&A told me the cellular rules have
changed and the network will kill the SIM card after about 2 months.
Is that really true? I've made a note to test it every month. But it
seems odd that the old 3G one would work fine after a year or more.

Post by Theo
You could presumably do it by running their L2TP tunnel over it, but I
suspect that a routed public netblock isn't something the 4G network is
really set up to do. Most mobile connections are over CGNAT to begin with.

The A&A setup is supposed to be more sophisticated. Over the
landline/fibre you get one or a block of static IPs. The 4G system is
supposed to be a completely transparent backup: when the landline/fibre
fails the 4G provides exactly the same single or block of static IPs.
Which according to Peter it did once but now doesn't.

Correct.

Graham J

2024-10-08 07:10:58 UTC

Peter wrote:

[snip]

Post by Graham J
The A&A setup is supposed to be more sophisticated. Over the
landline/fibre you get one or a block of static IPs. The 4G system is
supposed to be a completely transparent backup: when the landline/fibre
fails the 4G provides exactly the same single or block of static IPs.
Which according to Peter it did once but now doesn't.

Correct.

Which begs the question of how to provide a high reliability internet
connection.

If it were electricity, you could install a suitable generator with
auto-failover. I've known of businesses that have done that. And
certainly hospitals do so for supplies to operating theatres. Yes, it's
expensive; but not compared with the cost of paying staff to stand
around doing nothing, or losing a patient mid-operation.

But what alternative is there to FTTP?

You could buy your own, but the cost is likely to be £100k plus NRE
charges at £15K per mile - particularly if you want an alternative route
to the one taken by the Openreach fibre to allow for the risk of the
road being dug up. Satellite is probably a non-starter because of latency,

Probably better to consider a hosted server with backup in another
location - country even - for critical work.

--
Graham J

JMB99

2024-10-08 07:32:18 UTC

Post by Graham J
If it were electricity, you could install a suitable generator with
auto-failover. I've known of businesses that have done that. And
certainly hospitals do so for supplies to operating theatres. Yes, it's
expensive; but not compared with the cost of paying staff to stand
around doing nothing, or losing a patient mid-operation.

And often get caught out by testing by running up the generator then
switching over to it!

Java Jive

2024-10-08 09:15:25 UTC

Post by Graham J
If it were electricity, you could install a suitable generator with
auto-failover. I've known of businesses that have done that. And
certainly hospitals do so for supplies to operating theatres. Yes,
it's expensive; but not compared with the cost of paying staff to
stand around doing nothing, or losing a patient mid-operation.

And often get caught out by testing by running up the generator then
switching over to it!

Yes!

I've posted this tale to one of the uk.* ngs before, but it was quite a
while ago, so I'll tell it again ...

I used to be IT Support Person in residence for a large business office.
One day, an engineer arrives unannounced at reception and I am
summoned. He flashes his credentials at me, and says he has come to
test the UPS.

I take him up to the Equipment Room (you know, where the air is nice and
cool), and he busies himself over the UPS while I do one or two chores
like change the backup tapes. Eventually he says: "Yes! That all
seems to be in order. It just remains to test it!"

"Ok!", says I, expecting him to attach some sort of electrical load.
After a pause pregnant with significance, he adds: "Er, you have to do
that!"

"Right ho!", I say, unusually slow at sensing danger, "What's to be done?"

"You throw this switch here!", he says, pointing to the electricity
supply to all the cabinets.

Aghast now, I make frantic phone calls trying to find someone a little
more senior to confer with! "Surely this can't be right?", I query, but
was told that it was normal procedure.

So I throws the switch, and there's a collective groan from all the
cabinets as all the disks spin down, eerily followed by echoing groans
from the office outside as staff begin to realise that the network had
gone down and they were in danger of losing their work.

After bringing the system back up, the first thing I notice when I
examine the UPS for myself is that the casing of the battery is split! I
write a stern email to my superiors about the stupidity of such a test
taking place during office hours, and suggesting that in failing to spot
the split battery, the engineer was incompetent.

I am not popular for a while, but, on the bright side, never again are
any of us asked to repeat such a damned-fool test during office hours!

--
Fake news kills!

I may be contacted via the contact address given on my website:
www.macfh.co.uk

JMB99

2024-10-08 10:39:06 UTC

Post by Java Jive
I am not popular for a while, but, on the bright side, never again are
any of us asked to repeat such a damned-fool test during office hours!

Isn't better to find out that your backup generator or UPS cannot
support the load, or has a fault, when there are people around rather
than when there is a real mains failure on a unattended site in the
middle of the night? It was so important that we had permission to test
during the day (after notifying the relevant people).

It was common at one time to 'warm up' the generator before switching
over to it!

BT had one major fault (i.e. big exchange off) because of a small wire
being missing. Can't remember the details but it was something to do
with monitoring the presence of mains.

We had a contract where we found most of UPS batteries had not been
changed for years. All seemed OK if you changed over whilst the UPS was
powered from mains. They were on hill top sites with no track mainly.

We tested by pulling the main incoming breaker.

And there is the famous case of someone doing some work at TV Centre
during the night and told that BBC2 finished at 0100 so could start
then. Unfortunately he forgot to check with anyone and did not know that
BBC2 was running late (it used to be only channel to have a later finish).

Java Jive

2024-10-08 11:50:46 UTC

Post by Java Jive
I am not popular for a while, but, on the bright side, never again are
any of us asked to repeat such a damned-fool test during office hours!

Isn't better to find out that your backup generator or UPS cannot
support the load, or has a fault, when there are people around

Not if those people are actually using the system that you are testing.
That sort of testing should be done outside of office hours, so the
number of users affected is minimised.

--
Fake news kills!

I may be contacted via the contact address given on my website:
www.macfh.co.uk

JMB99

2024-10-09 05:54:02 UTC

Post by Java Jive
Not if those people are actually using the system that you are testing.
That sort of testing should be done outside of office hours, so the
number of users affected is minimised.

And possibly not all systems running at night so not checked they can
survive a mains failure.

Java Jive

2024-10-09 10:21:07 UTC

Post by Java Jive
Not if those people are actually using the system that you are
testing. That sort of testing should be done outside of office hours,
so the number of users affected is minimised.

And possibly not all systems running at night so not checked they can
survive a mains failure.

The load consisted of cabinets of servers and network communications
gear, and was to all intents and purposes unaffected by the number of
people in the office.

--
Fake news kills!

I may be contacted via the contact address given on my website:
www.macfh.co.uk

Rupert Moss-Eccardt

2024-10-09 08:49:10 UTC

Post by Java Jive

Post by Java Jive
I am not popular for a while, but, on the bright side, never again are
any of us asked to repeat such a damned-fool test during office hours!

Isn't better to find out that your backup generator or UPS cannot
support the load, or has a fault, when there are people around

Not if those people are actually using the system that you are testing.
That sort of testing should be done outside of office hours, so the
number of users affected is minimised.

However you do need to test with as full a load as you would expect,
for real, otherwise the test is limited in utility

Theo

2024-10-08 11:54:28 UTC

Post by Java Jive
I am not popular for a while, but, on the bright side, never again are
any of us asked to repeat such a damned-fool test during office hours!

I think it was Tesco that used to regularly pull the main switch in their
primary datacentre on a Friday afternoon, to confirm that everything would
fail over to their backup datacentre. Given the constant transactions going
through tills, they needed to ensure that nothing got lost in the
transition.

But I imagine that had slightly more prep, not least to be on standby to
clear up the mess if it didn't work.

Theo

James Heaton

2024-10-08 20:15:26 UTC

Post by Java Jive
I am not popular for a while, but, on the bright side, never again are
any of us asked to repeat such a damned-fool test during office hours!

My father was with BT for many years; his final job (early 90s) was the
grand sounding 'Income Integrity Manager' - basically put onto anything
that was costing the company money, to find out why.

An exchange - possibly Cambridge - was going through large numbers of a
certain (very expensive) component - these were about £80 a pop.

Dad discovered purchase orders from a different supplier, at a
significantly lower cost. He paid them a visit to enquire how they were
doing them so cheaply. The reply - 'we buy the seconds from Racal'...

Returned to Racal direct supply and the fail rate returned close to
normal immediately. Someone with good intentions, and unintended
consequences!

James

Graham J

2024-10-08 09:22:59 UTC

JMB99 wrote:

[snip]

Post by JMB99
And often get caught out by testing by running up the generator then
switching over to it!

One of our customers had several UPSs to support their servers and
network infrastructure. These would email us whenever they were on-line
to cover for a mains failure.

They also had a generator which was supposed to auto-start and switch
over whenever the mains failed.

On Monday mornings at 10 am they would cut the mains power and watch
carefully. One Monday the generator failed to start! So we received
lots of UPS email alerts - and rang them to find out what went wrong.

They restored the mains power and called out the generator repair people.

Regular testing pays!

This was a pre-press business supporting several weekly trade
publications, with about 35 production staff. So more than a few
minutes down-time would have caused significant disruption.

--
Graham J

Bob Eager

2024-10-08 09:45:39 UTC

Post by Graham J
[snip]

Post by JMB99
And often get caught out by testing by running up the generator then
switching over to it!

One of our customers had several UPSs to support their servers and
network infrastructure. These would email us whenever they were on-line
to cover for a mains failure.

On a slight tangent...

When we had our ICL 2960 installed, they had surveyed the site and made
various recommendations/requirements.

One was that the OCP (CPU to most people) was too long to fit round a
corner into the machine room door. The corner was duly modified, and
remains so to this day.

The other was that we needed a motor generator to smooth out mains
glitches etc. One was installed in a nearby outbuilding, and cabled up.

We paid a hefty amount to ICL for maintenance on the MG. It took people
about 5 years to realise that no one had EVER looked at it, and it had
been running for that time, 24/7, with zero problems.

We got a refund on those years, and they came and did a major overhaul,
which included lifting out the armature and spindle and changing the
bearings; it was a big beast, too. They did it all in 8 hours, very
impressive.

David

2024-11-08 20:51:11 UTC

Post by Bob Eager

Post by Graham J
[snip]

Post by JMB99
And often get caught out by testing by running up the generator then
switching over to it!

One of our customers had several UPSs to support their servers and
network infrastructure. These would email us whenever they were
on-line to cover for a mains failure.

On a slight tangent...
When we had our ICL 2960 installed, they had surveyed the site and made
various recommendations/requirements.
One was that the OCP (CPU to most people) was too long to fit round a
corner into the machine room door. The corner was duly modified, and
remains so to this day.
The other was that we needed a motor generator to smooth out mains
glitches etc. One was installed in a nearby outbuilding, and cabled up.
We paid a hefty amount to ICL for maintenance on the MG. It took people
about 5 years to realise that no one had EVER looked at it, and it had
been running for that time, 24/7, with zero problems.
We got a refund on those years, and they came and did a major overhaul,
which included lifting out the armature and spindle and changing the
bearings; it was a big beast, too. They did it all in 8 hours, very
impressive.

Ah, memories!

2900 series running in a data centre with MA sets to smooth out the mains.
They didn't always manage that, and to this day I am very sensitive to
minor power dips.
Back in the day, if the lights flickered you were running towards the
machine room because the systems would have gone down.
Lights flicker now and I still twitch slightly.

Happy days!

Dave R

--
AMD FX-6300 in GA-990X-Gaming SLI-CF running Windows 10 x64
--
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
www.avast.com

Bob Eager

2024-11-08 22:36:34 UTC

Post by David
Ah, memories!
2900 series running in a data centre with MA sets to smooth out the mains.
They didn't always manage that, and to this day I am very sensitive to
minor power dips.
Back in the day, if the lights flickered you were running towards the
machine room because the systems would have gone down.
Lights flicker now and I still twitch slightly.
Happy days!

Here at home, all the critical stuff is one one of three UPS units. I
don't worry so much now. We do get a lot of discontinuities in the mains
supply (the house is 120 years old and was wired up quite early).

Tweed

2024-10-08 09:11:11 UTC

Post by Graham J
[snip]

Correct.

Which begs the question of how to provide a high reliability internet
connection.
If it were electricity, you could install a suitable generator with
auto-failover. I've known of businesses that have done that. And
certainly hospitals do so for supplies to operating theatres. Yes, it's
expensive; but not compared with the cost of paying staff to stand
around doing nothing, or losing a patient mid-operation.
But what alternative is there to FTTP?
You could buy your own, but the cost is likely to be £100k plus NRE
charges at £15K per mile - particularly if you want an alternative route
to the one taken by the Openreach fibre to allow for the risk of the
road being dug up. Satellite is probably a non-starter because of latency,
Probably better to consider a hosted server with backup in another
location - country even - for critical work.

Starlink doesn’t suffer that much latency (25 to 60 milliseconds according
to their website) and isn’t that expensive for a business budget.

Peter

2024-10-10 14:19:29 UTC

Post by Graham J
Probably better to consider a hosted server with backup in another
location - country even - for critical work.

Starlink doesnt suffer that much latency (25 to 60 milliseconds according
to their website) and isnt that expensive for a business budget.

Yes I was going to suggest Starlink.

But none of these will maintain your current IP or IP block. Only your
ISP can do that, via a SIM card + 4G/5G. Of course they "could" route
it via a tunnel via whatever WAN connection, e.g. Starlink. But until
they do, you can't do it.

If you just want a backup for "office internet" the best way might be
to buy a second FTTP service.

Tweed

2024-10-10 14:53:21 UTC

Post by Graham J
Probably better to consider a hosted server with backup in another
location - country even - for critical work.

Starlink doesnt suffer that much latency (25 to 60 milliseconds according
to their website) and isnt that expensive for a business budget.

Yes I was going to suggest Starlink.
But none of these will maintain your current IP or IP block. Only your
ISP can do that, via a SIM card + 4G/5G. Of course they "could" route
it via a tunnel via whatever WAN connection, e.g. Starlink. But until
they do, you can't do it.
If you just want a backup for "office internet" the best way might be
to buy a second FTTP service.

Probably not so JCB resistant

Graham J

2024-10-10 15:35:45 UTC

Post by Tweed

Post by Graham J
Probably better to consider a hosted server with backup in another
location - country even - for critical work.

Starlink doesnt suffer that much latency (25 to 60 milliseconds according
to their website) and isnt that expensive for a business budget.

Yes I was going to suggest Starlink.
But none of these will maintain your current IP or IP block. Only your
ISP can do that, via a SIM card + 4G/5G. Of course they "could" route
it via a tunnel via whatever WAN connection, e.g. Starlink. But until
they do, you can't do it.
If you just want a backup for "office internet" the best way might be
to buy a second FTTP service.

Probably not so JCB resistant

A second FTTP service via a different geographical route would work,
particularly if your router supports BGP (Border Gateway Protocol) and
you configure it correctly. This is what the big ISPs do.

How important is having an always-on connection that is available to the
outside world?

--
Graham J

Theo

2024-10-10 15:10:58 UTC