I am new to Mikrotik and looking to get get internet via 4G instead of ADSL, using MikroTik hardware. I want internet via 4G mainly due to cost (half price based on on-paper specs) and potentially speed as well, but I wanted to ask around here first for some purchase and hardware advice! (Fibre is not quite here yet, so I expect this to be an intermittent solution for 6-12 months until it arrives, however, sometimes temporary solutions become the most permanent…)
I live in suburban UK and already have a hAP ax2 as my main router currently. I have the option to either use a. an outdoor modem/router with an antenna mounted on the roof, e.g. hAP LTE with an mANT LTE, or b. get an indoor Chateau 6 or 12 router, with no outdoor antenna. c. Any other recommendations?
What I would like to achieve and a bit of background:
I am looking for at least 80 Mbit/s download and 25+ Mbit/s upload (kind of ADSL equivalent speed) but I am particularly keen on getting as high an upload speed as possible.
The nearest cell tower is 300 metres away, the line-of-sight from my roof is blocked by a line trees. The next tower, of the same carrier, is double the distance.
My phone measured ~100 Mbit/s download and ~9 Mbit/s upload indoors, on 4G.
Also my phone measures an RSRP of ca. -114 dBm indoors, this improves somewhat when I go higher in the house, maybe -100 dBm. I cannot test at the height of the “to be” antenna location, but I would expect improvement.
All buildings in the area are (semi)detached houses with the roof of the same height, old TV antenna masts reaching above the roofs. Sparse trees reaching above roof heights.
So I guess my general, simplified questions are:
Do I have better chances, specifically for keeping high upload speeds, with an outdoor modem and antenna of LTE cat6, or with an indoor LTE of cat 12? I am fully aware that speeds are influenced by many, many factors, however, for high upload speeds intuitively I would think that better broadcast signal would be more beneficial. Due to signal penetration/strength this leans me towards an external antenna setup. Or could better carrier aggregation of LTE cat12 achieve better results?
What is a real-world upload speed one can expect from 4G cat4/cat6 with the theoretical being 50 Mbits/s? Is my expectation of ~ 25 Mbit/s upload unrealistic within this technology category?
Replace hap ax2 with Chateau LTE18. Or keep the AX2 and use Chateau LTE12 as a modem only (disabled wireless, “bridge mode” like) on ether1 (wan port commonly) of your AX2.
I know you’ve only mentioned 4g, but is 5g available on the mast near to you, as another option if it is would be the Chateau 5g R16, some people have put these in a waterproof plastic box and powered it over POE with 2 of the Mikrotik Gigabit POE adapters. You could then get it up high on a pole which if 5g is available will likely give you a sniff of some n78 and some serious speed.
You can also use an app called cellmapper on your mobile phone to find out where your nearest masts are from each provider. It will also give you an idea of what bands are available on the mast. The best providers for data in the UK are usually Three, then EE, Vodafone and then O2 is the slowest of them all and will usually throttle you if they realise you are using one of their sims in a router. With Three you can use the three internet apn and get a proper routable ip address, ie you won’t be stuck behind cgnat. They also have the most 5g bandwidth available 100mhz of n78 + another 40mhz of n78 with carrier aggregation. I’ve seen speeds of around 535mbit download and over 100mbit upload with the original Chateau 5g on Three.
This is in the outskirts of a city, unfortunately 5G seems to be still in the future. Cellmapper.net does not show any signal nearby, nor does my phone pick up anything apart from a bit of 4G signal.
Straight to the highest category LTE router I see where this is going. Do you have some personal experience with indoor LTE modems being so much superior?
If the feeling is that LTE category this much outweighs signal strength, I may do a trial with a local operator that offers an indoor LTE18 modem as part of a monthly plan, which is still half price of my current ADSL connection. If the speed is good, I can switch to MikroTik hardware.
Check with cellmapper what bands are available on the mast that you wish to connect to. As if it only offers a couple of useable bands then no point going above cat 6 as that can aggregate 2 bands. I believe cat 12 can do 3 and cat 18 is 4 or 5 bands. So you need to weigh up if it’s worth spending the extra on a higher category chateau router. You should be able to do some tests with your phone and check with an app like netmonster to see what bands are being carried aggregated.
Well, the higher the LTE category the better. Key is Carrier Aggregation. The more bands you can “aggregate” the more likely you get serious speed. Forget the DL/UL max numbers of the LTE categories. It is all about CA first place. And regarding LTE12 vs LTE18 Chateaus: it is an 60€ upgrade you get a) higher category modem b) 128mb instead of 16mb flash and c) wifi6 instead of wifi5. Worth every eurocent.
If you have good signal indoors - why get an external antenna? Sure, you can mount an ATL LTE 18 on a pole as well. Signal strength is better for sure.
I see where this is going. Do you have some personal experience with indoor LTE modems being so much superior?