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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Rural broadband 1MB!

35 replies

Ihatehouseselling · 20/06/2018 20:58

This is the best BT offer and no plans on updating - they own exchange fully and paying is not an option

Satellite has poor reviews

Found 4G mobile broadband but most limited to 50 to 100 GB a month and we use 350GB but unlimited seems unavailable for dongle or mobile wi fi

Any ideas or suggestions?

OP posts:
Scrowy · 20/06/2018 21:04

We get 0.56mb from BT and have zero 3G/4G signal.

You don't know you are born Grin

54321go · 20/06/2018 21:05

Despite poor reviews probably satellite as there is no other real option.
I suspect satellite can be very 'patchy' so unless it is evaluated from YOUR property you can't predict whether it will be good or bad. It often depends on hills and buildings etc.

stayathomer · 20/06/2018 21:07

We're in Ireland and they couldn't even get a signal half the time and they took back the service apologising as they saw we never got internet. there are now companies set up especially for this if you go looking, they use satellite broadband I think?

Original poster
Ihatehouseselling · 20/06/2018 23:10

Remarkable isn't it? So poor and nothing being done really

OP posts:
Original poster
Ihatehouseselling · 21/06/2018 07:41

Does anyone know any networks that do unlimited 4G broadband on dongle or WiFi? Closest I have is Vodafone on 50

OP posts:
DuchyDuke · 21/06/2018 08:37

If you have a garden / land Virgin Media may offer to put in their cables. Ask them.

Original poster
Ihatehouseselling · 21/06/2018 09:27

Nope nowhere nr us

There is no chance of better wired broadband

Does anyone have satellite or private broadband like Blue wave or Resq?

OP posts:
PancakesAndMapleSyrup · 21/06/2018 09:33

We had this problem a few years ago. Dongles are shit the limit on them gwts used up so so quickly. I would reccomend the satellite wholeheartly. Its called Tooway. Yes it is fairly expensive however you own the dish and if you move can take it. It is also very comparable to broadband speed wise. Have a look at their website and see who the installers are in your area and have a chat to them. It really is the best option when very rural.

PancakesAndMapleSyrup · 21/06/2018 09:36

Oh also the dish is large (and white) it wont go on the house but somewhere in the garden on the ground.

gryffen · 21/06/2018 09:58

We were same and in Glasgow

Less than 1mb speed two years ago and we just complained and complained and now half our estate us on a new cabinet at 75mb speeds and rest whodidnt complain are still stuck.

Get complaints in and say your cancelling to sub standard service and they may wipe huge chunks off bills etc

Original poster
Ihatehouseselling · 21/06/2018 10:00

@PancakesAndMapleSyrup

How reliable do you find it to be? Any downtime during certain hrs or days?

They have already said nothing to be done - Open reach - they're not bothered that we are ditching BT

OP posts:
CluedoAddict · 21/06/2018 10:02

We had less than that in an inner city area. Had to upgrade to fibre.

RevRichardWayneGaryWayne · 21/06/2018 10:53

I'm, not sure if relish can help you? www.relish.net

They offer good speeds at a reasonable prices over 4g, but I believe they currently only really cover major cities - still work a look though.

BT openreach are a law unto themselves, I have to deal with them quite a bit for work and it's always a nightmare - there are no alternatives, who every you get a line from they always install, so as you say they just don't care.

britnay · 21/06/2018 11:15

We had satellite but it was very expensive and we got through the download limit very quickly.
We now have line of sight microwave/wireless internet and its really really good. We can download large files and stream movies. It works out very reasonably priced.

You should look into it in your area, or if there isn't one then maybe see if there is a company doing it nearby who may be looking to put up another mast if there are enough people interested.

thetemptationofchocolate · 21/06/2018 11:17

We have broadband speed of 0.3 MB per second. Also no mobile signal. This is why we have refused a smart meter for our electricity as we don't think it would ever be able to 'talk' to the supplier.

CrazyDaisy2018 · 21/06/2018 11:36

I feel your pain. It's unfortunately inevitable that more rural areas will be last to get the upgraded lines as there's no money in it for BT. They'll only do it when they're forced to.

My office is in a town that's a London borough and while better than 1MB we only get 5MB (if we're lucky). It's rather embarrassing when we have to try and hold a Skype/video conference call and our internet just can't cope with it. We have people that remotely access their office PCs when out on site, and if you have 2 people doing that the whole thing just gets SO slow! We can't even switch to fibre as that's not down the road either.

It's madness that they can get away with it in a town centre. I will be keeping an eye on this thread to see if any of the satellite options would work for us. Even the mobile phone signal's dodgy. My phone tells me it's on 4G, but then barely works. A speed test on that only says 0.6MB download, but 3.4 GB upload! What's that all about?? Confused

CatchIt · 21/06/2018 11:38

1MB?! Lucky! We range between 0.1 & 0.3. There's no way we can have more than 1 device on the internet at the same time.

It's shit. BT can't won't do anything about it. They offered us an upgrade but at an extra £20 for what I imagine is fuck all more, I declined!

Semster · 21/06/2018 11:55

I'm watching with interest in my parents' behalf. Also rural, no options for lines other than BT. 1Mb speeds.

Scrowy · 21/06/2018 15:12

Semster and Catchit Providing you have 4G signal there are a range of options offered by mobile operators for 3G/4G WiFi. It's worth looking at which mobile operators have the best signal and seeing what they could offer.

The OPs issue is that they have an extremely high monthly usage which is way above the limits that anyone will offer.

For example we stream a lot of stuff online to watch on Netflix/Now TV etc, sometimes two or three episodes or more a day of a programme or a film occasionally. We use the internet quite a lot for our farm business and it's used frequently during the day for general web browsing.

Our monthly internet usage is around 50-80GB. The OP has a monthly usage of 350GB.

@Ihatehouseselling EE can do 200GB for £60 a month for 4G broadband

shop.ee.co.uk/dongles/pay-monthly-mobile-broadband/4gee-router/details#choosePlanAnchor

It might be worth comparing that to satellite prices

HildaZelda · 21/06/2018 15:25

I grew up in the country. One supplier only and it's absolutely crap. basically there's no signal. It's one of the reasons I'd never move back there.

CrabappleBiscuit · 21/06/2018 15:29

My friend in Wales lives in an area that has just qualified through BT for extra govt funding. Lives miles down a lane as well. Worth asking again??

Semster · 21/06/2018 15:30

Thanks Scrowy - going to give my parents this info.

thecatsthecats · 21/06/2018 15:34

Just a message of hope for those stuck on rural lines - my parents and their neighbours fought for YEARS with BT to be told quite rudely to put up and shut up.

Then very suddenly (between Christmas and February) BT installed fibre with no warning. Their internet went from about 0.14 and unreliable to superfast overnight.

RoomOfRequirement · 21/06/2018 15:34

This is honestly one of those things I would have to move over.

I know not an option for everyone and I'm not necessarily suggesting you do, but I genuinely couldn't do it.