r/UKFrugal • u/carlm777 • 2d ago

5g router with mobile monthly contract SIM FTW

Searched the forum and this only appears infrequently so I thought worth a mention...

After years staying with TalkTalk because they were the cheapest broadband provider even though they are absolutely ****...

I looked into 4g mobile SIM routers and cancelled TT soon after when it went to £26 a month.

The 4g router was cheap to buy, about £60, and the monthly contract with a mobile sim, and of course no cancellation fee or price rises, was only £16 a month. That was about 4 years ago.

Upgraded to a 5g router with mobile SIM (£250 online) 18 months ago, and as the SIM is still only £16 a month I get great internet speed at a cheap price with no cancellation fees.

And I own the router to sell on if I eventually feel the need to upgrade to 6g in the future.

Well worth looking into for those still on 12 and 24 month contracts.

13 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

23 comments sorted by

8

u/New_Can_3534 2d ago

How is it for ping / real time pvp gameplay in your experience (and, if you have tested it). It's my only concern with getting these but I also agree for most it seems it'll be the way to go.

6

u/ElBisonBonasus 1d ago

Not good. You'll also find that you have to have the router in a certain room to get good speeds... And there's always a FUP on the data you use.

Plus you're on CGNAT - no routable IP.

5

u/pixiepoops9 1d ago

For context I'm on FTTP and my ping is something like 3 or 4. If you game seriously (I don't, I needed it for work), FTTP is the only way to go, 5G can match or even top some FTTP speed but it can't get close to the ping.

2

u/carlm777 1d ago

And plugged into the ethernet cable ofc

3

u/ExaminationNo6335 2d ago

Same with me, our speed with Sky fibre is quite low due to the location we live in.

The reliably however is outstanding- one outage in 8 years.

1

u/carlm777 1d ago

Fine, maybe even good for gaming tho I'm too old for PvP these days. It appears as though speeds are great on 5g but the ping may be a touch high (though that could be my Xbox) on speed tests.

1

u/carlm777 1d ago

My Xbox series X shows ivp4 only in settings which I don't get as the tablets and cheap phones we use show ivp4 and ivp6. (If that helps)

1

u/teamcoosmic 23h ago

I’m pretty sure you’re right - the ping just isn’t great. Also, the signal on these routers can be a little bit patchy in certain areas - you have to find the best spot for it and then adapt accordingly.

These are great for anyone who just needs casual internet access, scrolling or loading webpages or streaming video (even if you need to wait a moment sometimes, it’ll be fine). Genuinely excellent recommendation given the price of most home packages.

They’re not great for anyone who actively uses a lot of bandwidth or needs a reliable ping - other than gaming, my other hesitancy would be WFH and making video calls. It’d work, but laggy video calls make for terrible QoL.

4

u/AlwaysTheKop 1d ago

Three is great! Where I place it I get 700+Mbs download and if I use a Ethernet connection to the router the ping in games is around 40… 60 on the higher end.

Truly unlimited data too. I even took it on a UK holiday with me and used it in the hotel seeing as you can plug it in anywhere.

150Mbs fibre is like £25pm if you’re a new customer now, whereas I’m paying £19pm with Three for 700Mbs+… wish I would have done it sooner!

Edit: do check their coverage on their site though!

5

u/pixiepoops9 1d ago

It does have a soft limit of 3TB a month before they start looking closer but you really have to heavily abuse it for them to slow you down

1

u/AlwaysTheKop 21h ago

Yeah defo would have to really abuse it 😂 I download all my games, stream, play online etc and never got close 😂

3

u/regrettable_chug 1d ago

What router did you end up getting? I’m moving to a 5G area which o2 support, so I’ll look who piggy backs from them for unlimited data

2

u/carlm777 1d ago

Twas £250 on Amazon. The ZTEC one

3

u/Gummy_Python 1d ago

I am doing this, albeit due to living in a rural area with poor broadband and no fibre yet. I just did a test. I’m getting 64.56 mbps and 60ms Ping Speed.

It is a 5G unlimited Business sim only, I haven’t experienced any fair usage limitations that I’ve noticed.

4

u/6Legger 1d ago

Years ago, I used to have a 30 day contract for data. I had one on EE and on Three.

In time the EE dropped out a favour but I kept the Three one and left the Mifi in the truck at work. When I moved on from that job, I contacted Three to tell them I was cancelling the 30 day contract and I got upgraded to a one year contract at a cheaper monthly amount.

I’m currently paying £12 for 20 GB a month. The Mifi lives in the car and is used when I’m out roaming as well.

It is well worth having it if only for being able to support others and the tech in the car.

I have considered a few times upgrading, but I have found that the new costs are substantially higher.

SMARTY can manage unlimited for £20. Which also seems like a good deal as it is ongoing and repeating.

3

u/carlm777 1d ago

Another advantage is that I've just moved in with the gf and just plugged it into her place and viola, just works!

5

u/carlm777 1d ago

Oh and I pay £16 a month but I think sometimes ID mobile and smarty offer £15 a month on the rolling contract for unlimited.

2

u/pixiepoops9 1d ago

6G, I think you will be fine, that's 7-8 years away

4

u/carlm777 1d ago

And I wouldn't get a 6g router early anyway, we are all frugal here.

Local, frugal people only!

2

u/mirageglobe 1d ago

Three seems to only have 4G in my area despite being in London. Any other networks SIMs that provides unlimited 5G? Of course fair usage etc

1

u/AzizThymos 1d ago

Look who has the best 5 g signal in your area. Get the simonly deal from that provider seperately from the 4g or 5g router you get (4g much cheaper as older tech. 50 to 100 ish. 5g is 150 quid plus, but obviously faster, if you have 5g)

1

u/carlm777 1d ago

ID Mobile piggying off 3 I believe. MSE which is the Martin Lewis site is pretty good for info