# Mobile internet or land line?



## Andy in Germany (22 Oct 2022)

I'm back to square 1 in trying to get an internet connection, and I have asked this before, I think but what is the difference in experience between having a mobile receiver/router and one that connects to a land line? I used a dongle many years ago and back then it made my laptop work like a mobile phone with a "simple" version of websites and very... very... slow response. 

I suspect things have moved on since then; a local company is offering 100gb a month. I don't really know what that means: I watch YouTube videos, download podcasts and keep a couple of blogs running, and occasionally Skype or use Watts App video calls. Will that run through 100gb/month?

Also I notice they offer their land line on the basis of speed but don't seem to mention speed on this; does that mean it's much slower?


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## tom73 (22 Oct 2022)

Try this gives you an idea give and take how much data you use. 
https://www.vodafone.co.uk/mobile/data-calculator
Landline maybe slower without some info on speed both up and download its hard to tell. 
If it was anything half decent you'd expect them to open about it.


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## mistyoptic (22 Oct 2022)

When we had a share of a villa in Portugal, before Covid, we had a 4G router on a PAYG model. Worked very well for our needs and I rarely felt it was slow. Weren’t trying to stream video though

edit. I should add, we were up a mountain so there was no other option. The mobile signal varied a bit with the weather


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## classic33 (22 Oct 2022)

Currently using one of these(Huawei B535 932) at present, posting this,






I also have the use of two seperate MyFi devices. One unlocked, but otherwise they're the same device.

All three work over mobile networks. The speed you get is network dependent, but should give a decent download speed.

The one shown above is mains powered, with the advantage of no wired phone line. 

If needs be you can have a wired connection from it.


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## OldShep (22 Oct 2022)

I ditched the landline 18 months ago with no regrets. Currently using a TP Link Archer 500 4G router with a PAYG sim. Costs me £25/ month for 10Mb connection with unlimited data. Watch a lot of GCN and YouTube and usually use above 300 Gb every month.


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## classic33 (22 Oct 2022)

If going down the mobile route, find out when the 3G signal is being turned off in the areas you're in. And ask what will be the impact on the 4 & 5G systems.


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## Andy in Germany (23 Oct 2022)

I've been looking at the details, and it looks like the landline will be slower but significantly cheaper.

Landline (16 Mb/sec download, 1.2 Mbit/sec upload)

19.95€/ Month for 7 months: 139.65€
+
34.95€ / Mo for 17 months: 594.15€
+
6.95€ / Mo rental of router x 24 mo: 166.80€

Total: 900.60 € over 24 months.

- 100.00 € "Voucher" for the router.

=800.60€ effectively over 2 years.



Mobile (300mbit/sec upload, 50mb/sec download, limit 100gb /month:

35.95 € / Month x 24 Mo = 958.80€
+
1 x 39.95 € Extra =998.75 € over 2 years.

998.75 € - 800.60 € = 198.15 € difference over 2 years, so if I've read the sales pitch correctly (and I'll get a native speaker to check it) Landline is still a fair bit cheaper.

Also I won't have to worry about using "'Too much" bandwidth.


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## tom73 (23 Oct 2022)

Don't know how developed the market is in Germany. But i'd be looking for a bit better for that money Is that landline full fibre or only part fibre ? We've full fibre 100mb for not much more than you've been quoted.


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## Andy in Germany (23 Oct 2022)

tom73 said:


> Don't know how developed the market is in Germany. But i'd be looking for a bit better for that money Is that landline full fibre or only part fibre ? We've full fibre 100mb for not much more than you've been quoted.



Germany is a bot slow, to be honest: we're getting full fibre gradually. 

That's a DSL line, and unfortunately it's about the same whichever provider I go for. The apartment owner uses this company, although probably with a faster contract as he works in IT and he says they're pretty good at dealing with problems: he also made sure there's a connection in the building.


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## Arrowfoot (23 Oct 2022)

A fixed line means faster speed to download, upload and live streaming. Fibre optics technology etc. Cheaper for data as well. Hence households and companies tend to rely on it. They also normally charge for a fixed line phone which people increasingly do not use.

One good thing about fixed line is that it does not give away too much details privacy wise compared to the phone. Its rather complex. Purveyors of dark web, kiddie porn, illegal activities will never ever use the mobile dongle as the number can be easily be captured. For innocent normal folks if they are blocked by a unreasonable mod in a forum, a payment provider, or a website, you good as gone. Last thing one needs is your phone number on a blacklist which you are aware or unaware. Unless you change your mobile number which many people will never do.


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## tom73 (23 Oct 2022)

Sounds like your a bit of rock in a hard place which ever way you go. I'd try asking them for a better deal along the lines of I really like to go with you but... Never hurts to try. Forget the discount on the renting the router that just a sales gimmick. I'd want that to be totally free for a start. 

A landline should be more reliable in theory and money is aways better in your pocket then another. 
Have a look online and see what the real speed users are getting and what other think of the service also ask around.


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## IanSmithCSE (23 Oct 2022)

Good morning

I still use a dongle, although they now seem to be called 
MiFi – Wi-Fi on the go​and do a little bit more.

Although I live a coupled of hundred yards from the town centre I am still on 3G........ it faster and more reliable than 4G! Every so often I swap my SIM over, play with 4G for a while and then go back.

On a good day 3G will five 5 mega bits per second download

On a bad day it will give around 512 kilo bits per second, the same as 1st generation broadband over copper.

The other problem is the connection sometimes decides to switch between 2 local towers, this can cause change of network errors in certain programs which can stop downloads. If download is something like IoS that doesn't have restart and takes a few hours then it can be quite irritating.

With a 20GB per month limit I sometimes get close without any streaming, Microsoft's update to Windows and Visual Studio being particularly greedy. 

My conclusion being that mobile is very dependent upon individual circumstances.

Bye

Ian


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## Andy in Germany (23 Oct 2022)

tom73 said:


> Sounds like your a bit of rock in a hard place which ever way you go. I'd try asking them for a better deal along the lines of I really like to go with you but... Never hurts to try. Forget the discount on the renting the router that just a sales gimmick. I'd want that to be totally free for a start.
> 
> A landline should be more reliable in theory and money is aways better in your pocket then another.
> Have a look online and see what the real speed users are getting and what other think of the service also ask around.



The real speed users are generally using this company with a faster contract, which costs more.

Unfortunately it's pretty much the same whatever; if they give us a "free" router then they usually charge about 3-6€ more a month anyway, so it's the same result.

I'll double check with the IT specialist at work and see what he thinks before making any final decision.


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## dutchguylivingintheuk (27 Oct 2022)

I remember my first VDSL connection was in Germany, so how far they are behind differs greatly in area or did they roll out vdsl and then went into a slumber? (Bit the same as Belgium and in part the Uk) 
Anyway if you buy an router like the in Germany popular Fritzbox and then a model with usb-port you can add a dongle to that and have both options open, you can use it with either, cable, vdsl, etc. or you can put in usb 5/4/3g dongle and use that for your internet. (i say fritzbox because i known those are popular in Germany but there are many brans offering this option, you just need to check before buying)
Fttc often uses an external moden, so you would connect using one of the lan ports similar to cable.


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