Internet - what you might want to know

Ok, so there is a back story to this little bit of info. It's a story about BT and their poor approach to customer service and the service they offer. It's to do with the new cottage we live in but I'll save the full story until I have been through the Ombudsman process.

Bottom line is we moved here to our bit of rural tranquility and brought the EE mifi device off the boat to maintain that all important internet.

Now the history of my internet for the boat was I was paying over £15 for 15gb of internet on a rolling contract (November 2016) A fellow boater flagged up a deal link here for 32gb per month for £14.50 ..... I jumped on it, cancelled my old rolling contract and got double for a quid less. I was happy and have been using this 32gb allowance all winter on the boat and now in the cottage.

The 4g in the cottage is still useable to stream and for all other stuff, just the 32gb limit was getting tested and a couple of months I was running out towards the end and having to top up at £15 for an extra 10gb, that was lost at the start of the next month frustratingly.

All the problems with BT and the extra cost when running out saw me look around and it seems the big two (for me) are now doing home Broadband via 4G with better 4g routers

• 40gb with 3 is £24 per month 
• 50gb with EE is £40 per month

I was tempted but knew from Cruising the cut's Vlogging he was paying £27 for 50gb !

So I phoned EE.... they were brilliant as I said I was thinking of leaving to go to 3 (when I undertake such exercises I always have my expectation agreed with myself and I was targeting 64gb for £30)

.... they made me two offers 

1. 64gb for £24 per month on a 12 month contract
2. 64gb for £17per month on a 24 month contract

24 months is a good timing for us  for reasons soon to be blogged about so I jumped at this. Very happy.

Now info part 2 that may be of interest......

We get a decent speed on the mifi unit 

However I wanted something that had a ethernet port on the back to pass the internet through the house and direct to the PC (in case I could get a gaming ping) and the TV downstairs on the freeview recorder box.

So I opted for this  - TP-Link AC 750 4GLTE Router 

My well used and much valued MIFI unit is below the box....

I ran the same speed test with the unit in the same location and got this ....

Now that is faster than the fibre I used to get in Derby and three time faster than the best BT could offer me with fixed broadband, at pushing 30 quid a month !

Now I know it is 4G and will have possible weather interference, but equally I think where I live I'll have little by the way of contention from other users of the tower/mast. Bottom line  is time will tell but for now I am saving a decent wad of cash, and getting a lot more for my money.

In case you have a hook up or have a rich supply of electricity the TP link is a decent bit of kit and no doubt as it is mains powered it gets more from the antennas to pick up the 4g signal.

Hope that helps someone get better internet ......