Based on those experiences, my assessment is that the FTTP link can be expected to suffer an outage lasting a couple of weeks every couple of years. It doesn’t help that my property is at the ‘end of the line’ in terms of the FTTP distribution topology and so defects which only affect my service tend to be assigned a low priority for repair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The mitigation is to have a secondary Internet connection and to switch to that when the primary connection fails. There’s decent 4G (and now 5G) mobile reception in the area so that’s the obvious technology to choose, although a satellite-based solution would also be a possibility. As a very temporary measure it’s possible to ‘tether’ specific WiFi clients to a mobile phone – but that leaves any wired Ethernet clients offline, and some of them complain (in particular the alarm system takes objection to the fact that the secondary connection to its monitoring centre has gone away). A better option is to connect a mobile broadband Internet link into the same router as is used for FTTP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some domestic broadband routers make provision for this and some ISPs (notably BT and Vodafone) offer integrated fall-back to a mobile broadband service – albeit with several constraints that make them unsuitable for my requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In broad terms, the solution needs to consist of four distinct sub-components:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- A hardware ‘gateway’ device which makes the mobile broadband Internet connection available in an easily-consumable fashion – ideally presented as a fibre or copper Ethernet interface<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- An antenna for the hardware device of a suitable design and in a suitable location to receive a good signal – which is a complex enough subject to cover separately from the device itself<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- A suitable mobile broadband subscription\n
- \n
- This sounds easy but the complication is having a little bit of data quota available all the time then a lot of data quota available (as cheaply as possible) when the FTTP goes down<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Experience also shows that some mobile networks impose restrictions which prevent some IoT devices from connecting to their servers<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- An automated means of detecting when the FTTP connection has gone away and switching to the mobile broadband – and then switching back again\n
- \n
- This also needs some way to notify that it has switched (and is starting to consume mobile broadband data) so that the FTTP fault can be reported – although my ISP does already monitor the FTTP link and sends an SMS whenever it goes down (and comes back up)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
Gateway Hardware<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The fundamental requirement is for some sort of hardware interface device which:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Acts as a ‘gateway’ between a Mobile Broadband service and a TCP\/IP network<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Has a socket for a SIM card (or potentially provision for an e-SIM)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Has an antenna for communicating with the mobile phone network – either built-in or (preferably) external, attached via some sort of standard RF connector<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Connects to a computer network via Ethernet (or potentially fibre) rather than USB<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
The 3G mobile networks are all being closed down and 2G is destined for retirement in a few years (2033 or thereabouts) so 4G and 5G are the only options available. Network devices which support 5G are still relatively rare and quite expensive so in 2026, 4G still feels like the most practical option for a backup solution. (SMETS2 Smart Meters are currently being migrated from 2G to 4G ahead of the 2G switch-off, which tends to confirm 4G will be around for many years to come.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Previously I’ve used a simple USB ‘dongle’ that takes a SIM card and connects directly to a broadband router or other computer. While these can work OK, I’ve had problems getting good enough reception from their internal aerial (especially since they need to be close to the host computer – ideally attached directly) and finding the right drivers for their interface chips can be problematic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With the likelihood of having to make regular use of this fall-back, I opted for a more ‘professional’ solution using the Teltonika TRB140<\/a> purchased from UK mobile broadband specialist Solwise<\/a>. This provides very good functionality and ticks a lot of boxes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- The mobile signal antenna connects via an SMA connector<\/a> so the supplied aerial can be replaced with an alternative model – or moved further from the device<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- The network connection is via an RJ45 10\/100\/1000 Ethernet interface<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- While it does not support industry-standard Power-over-Ethernet, it can use passive PoE over a single cable for power and data<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- There are several options for outdoor enclosures available with an integrated antenna (e.g. see here<\/a>) which enable the whole unit to be mounted outdoors, with just a single Ethernet cable connecting back to the network and passive PoE source<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Its main limitations are that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- It only supports 2G, 3G, and 4G – not also 5G<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- It uses a SISO (Single-In, Single-Out) antenna, rather than MIMO (Multi-In, Multi-Out) which can run with multiple parallel 4G data streams for higher throughput<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- It only accepts a physical SIM card and the PCB must be removed from its aluminium case in order to access the SIM card<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
By default, the TRB140 operates as a network Router and Firewall and adds an extra NAT hop to the IPv4 traffic routing, but it can be placed in either Bridge or Passthrough mode instead. There’s more information about the differences between those modes here<\/a>. Passthrough mode is a hybrid setup that assigns the ‘mobile’ IP address to the downstream router – thus avoiding double-NAT – while still allowing access to the TRB140’s web interface (provided the routing to the TRB140’s ‘local’ IP address is set up correctly).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mobile Broadband Antenna<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The quality of the mobile broadband signal is sensitive to the properties and placement of the antenna. The TRB140 is supplied with a small omni-directional antenna for internal use only and I found that gave poor results inside the House. Upgrading to a larger, outdoor-grade omni-directional Poynting OMNI-280<\/a> (used indoors) helped a bit and I relied on that for a couple of years but the completion of the Outbuildings provided several options for locating an external antenna in a more accessible location than would have been possible outside the House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While researching the cell tower location (see Appendix 1 below) I kept changing my mind about whether a Directional or Omni-Directional antenna would be preferable, but having concluded that the nearest cell tower is indeed hosting the Three network – and there’s clear line-of-sight to that tower – I was keen to take advantage of the much better gain delivered by a Directional antenna (and to take the risk of issues if that tower is ever out of service).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The TRB140 is clearly a popular choice for mobile broadband reception and there are several third-party options for integrated antenna enclosures which can hold the TRB140 device too – the principal benefit being that the cable length between the antenna and the TRB can be very short, for minimal signal loss. The range of integrated enclosures for the TRB140 from QuWireless<\/a> looks particularly comprehensive – with models available for mounting the ‘bare’ TRB140 PCB or the PCB within its normal aluminium case. (Despite the outdoor enclosures being IP67 rated, having got a TRB140 with an aluminium case my preference is to retain that case inside the enclosure, for a bit of extra protection.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I settled on the directional QuWireless A140M-A Antenna QuMax for TRB140 with housing<\/a> for \u00a345.90 from Solwise<\/a> (who are my preferred supplied for mobile broadband technology). The choice of a directional antenna like this brings an implicit assumption that I will continue to use a mobile subscription which is hosted by the nearby cell tower – which probably means using Three or Vodafone (and not O2 or EE).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.marshflattsfarm.org.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_5384-768x1024.jpg\")
QuWireless A140M-A Directional Antenna enclosure containing Teltonika TRB140 4G Gateway<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n Typically the signal quality metrics when using the OMNI-280 antenna located in the Comms Room (at the South-West corner of the Second Floor of the House) were as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- RSSI of -73 dBm which is declared to be \u201cGood”1<\/a><\/sup><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- RSRP of -113 dBm which is declared to be \u201cPoor”2<\/a><\/sup><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- RSRQ of -20 dB which is declared to be \u201cPoor”3<\/a><\/sup><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- SINR of -5 dB which is declared to be \u201cPoor”4<\/a><\/sup><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
The ‘ping’ times from the connection health quality checks performed by the OPNsense router typically reported RTTs of well over 100ms and RTTds often over 50ms (i.e. quite a slow and unstable network connection).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Using the directional A140M-A instead, pointing directly at the cell tower, these improved to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- RSSI of -45 dBm which is declared to be “Excellent”<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- RSRP of -74 dBm which is declared to be “Excellent”<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- RSRQ of -11 which is declared to be “Good”, occasionally improving to -10 which is declared to be “Excellent”<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- SINR averaging around -18 dB which is declared to be “Good”, occasionally improving to -20 which is declared to be “Excellent”<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
The ‘ping’ times improved to RTTs of less than 50ms and RTTds around 10ms. On balance I think this is a worthwhile improvement for an investment of around \u00a350.<\/p>\n\n\n
- RRSI stands for Received Signal Strength Indicator \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li>
- RSRP stands for Reference Signal Received Power \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li>
- RSRQ stands for Reference Signal Received Quality \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li>
- SINR stands for Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n
Mobile Subscription<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The ideal characteristics for the mobile network subscription would be:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- One that accommodates multiple Gigabytes of usage per day when the FTTP link is down and the mobile broadband link is providing all the Internet connectivity\n
- \n
- This rules out many of the cheap, long-duration ‘IoT’ subscriptions since those have restrictive limits in terms of either bandwidth or data quota<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- One that is affordable, both in terms of any ‘standing charge’ when in standby mode and also data quota when in active use<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- One that does not block any TCP\/UDP ports or servers required by any of the devices in normal use, challenging devices being found to include:\n
- \n
- The Texecom SmartCom unit for remote management of the alarm system<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- The MyEnergi Zappi EV charge point – which means Intelligent Octopus Go doesn’t work<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- The Octopus Energy Home Mini SMETS2 CAD for the Smart Meter<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- The Hildebrand \/ Glow SMETS2 CAD for the Smart Meter<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- One that never expires, such that it is not necessary to periodically replace a physical SIM card<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- One that supports both IPv4 and IPv6 network addressing – though is more of a nice-to-have<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Unfortunately those requirements seem to be mutually exclusive and some sort of compromise is necessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In recent years, a fixed-term pre-paid data-only SIM card for the ‘Three’ network has proved to be a decent option for around \u00a316.50 per year, with the main limitations being:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- The connection is subject to CGNAT and the ‘challenging’ IoT devices do not work<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- A 25GB monthly data quota is not sufficient to cover a two-week outage that entirely falls within one month and there is no (easy) way to add extra quota if required<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- The physical SIM needs to be replaced every 2-3 years, when it expires<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- No IPv6 connectivity<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
See Appendix 3 below for some comparisons of the costs of different subscription options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Automated Fail-Over<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
This turned out to be very straightforward by virtue of using the OPNsense<\/a> software for the network router. OPNsense treats all Internet connections as ‘upstream gateways’ and each of those is configured with:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- A ‘priority’ setting, where a lower number is considered ‘better’<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- A set of options to control how the router should respond when gateways become (un)available<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
The FTTP ‘gateway’ is configured with a low-ish priority (100) so this gets used by default. Since this connection uses the PPPoE protocol to connect to my ISP, the virtual PPPoE device disappears when the connection drops and the gateway becomes ‘defunct’ when that happens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The most important configuration setting is to tick the box on the settings page for the backup gateway which says:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
If another gateway comes up with a higher priority than this gateway, force clients to reconnect by killing states associated with this gateway. This option requires “default gateway switching” to be enabled, or this gateway assigned as part of a gateway group to trigger. The common use case for this option are metered connections over LTE that should only be used when no other gateway is online.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Miscellaneous Other Considerations<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- One downside of using a Directional antenna and pointing that at a specific cell tower is that if that tower is out of action for any reason there probably won’t be an alternative tower within range of the antenna\n
- \n
- A further complication is that this nearby cell tower is connected to the exact<\/em> same FTTP infrastructure as the House (clearly evident because the fibre is running overhead)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- The fibre feed to the tower branches off the fibre run about 1\/3 of the way along the overhead section and to date all of the damage has been on the remaining 2\/3 of the run – but there is definitely a shared overhead section (and a shared underground section – and maybe even a shared OLT port at the Exchange) and so some risk of an Openreach failure affecting the ‘backup’ service too<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- The tower appears to have some microwave antenna dishes installed, so perhaps those get used as either its primary or secondary backhaul communications channel – in which case the tower might keep operating in the event of a fibre fault<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- In the event of this being a problem the plan would be to re-point the Directional antenna at the next-nearest cell tower – or to temporarily swap back to an Onmi-Directional antenna<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- The TRB140 has its physical SIM card mounted on its main PCB, meaning the PCB must be removed from its aluminium case for access to the SIM card – and if the case is installed within the antenna enclosure it must be removed from that too\n
- \n
- A ‘SIM extension’ cable is available which moves the SIM card to a port accessible from outside one of the QuWireless enclosures<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- For ease of maintenance, it is more convenient to use a non-expiring SIM card (or to choose a different model of gateway which can operate using e-SIM cards instead)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- On a device like a Smartphone, being connected to the Internet via a 4G network typically suspends data-intensive activities such as uploading photos to Cloud servers or downloading OS or App updates, resuming those when connected via WiFi instead. However, there’s no easy way for a device to detect it is using a WiFi connection which actually connects via 4G in the background – so there’s no automated reduction in data usage.\n
- \n
- It’s easy enough to communicate to users that the FTTP link is down and have them avoid streaming audio and video – but that doesn’t prevent devices attempting OS updates and suchlike<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
Appendix 1 – Cell Tower Location Resources<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The TRB140’s web interface provides comprehensive information about the currently-connected mobile telephony ‘cell’. With the TRB140 and its antenna positioned at the South side of the House, these show as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Cell ID: 647496\n
- \n
- This a unique ID for the logical Cell the device is connected to, where one cell tower typically supports several of these cells<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- TAC: 2521\n
- \n
- This is the \u201cTracking Area Code\u201d where a \u201cTracking Area\u201d defines a group of Cells in the same geographic area which make it more efficient for the operator to manage the network – e.g. when a handset moves from one Cell to another within the same Tracking Area<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Physical cell ID: 184<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- EARFCN: 76<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Mobile country code: 234<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Mobile network code: 20<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
(With the TRB140 and its antenna temporarily located at the North side of the House, Cell ID 647431 was typically connected instead.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Looking up the EARFCN at https:\/\/tools.pedroc.co.uk\/earfcn\/uk\/<\/a> shows that corresponds to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Network: Three<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Technology: LTE<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- (NR\/E\/U) ARFCN: 76<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Band: 1<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Notes: 15MHz bandwidth L2100\/B1 typical sector\/cell IDs: 71\/72\/73<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
This matches some of the details listed under “Data transmission” from the TRB140 web interface. LTE Band 1 runs at 2100MHz, which is relevant in terms of compatibility with a suitable antenna – although all \u20184G’ antennas ought to support this frequency as standard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
UK communications regulator OfCom previously maintained a map of cell tower locations but it appears that has been discontinued in favour of a simpler \u2018coverage map\u2019 – which is no use to check where to point a directional antenna. However, the https:\/\/findcellid.com\/<\/a> website does show a location for a cell<\/em> on a map, based on the Cell ID. It seems that the combination of Mobile country code & Mobile network code & TAC & Cell ID is enough to uniquely identify a cell tower anywhere in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.marshflattsfarm.org.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Screenshot-2026-08-17-at-12.45.38-1024x585.png\")
Screenshot from FindCellID.com for Cell 234\/20\/2521\/647516<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n There is also an open database of cell locations hosted at https:\/\/opencellid.org\/<\/a> which shares (some of) the same location data and provides more information about how this cell data is obtained and maintained (crowd-sourced from people running an Android smartphone app).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I initially assumed the location pin on the FindCellID map showed the location of the cell tower<\/em> but the explanatory text at OpenCellID confirms that instead it’s an attempt to show the centre of the cell<\/em> and gives few clues as to the location of the cell tower<\/em>. I then incorrectly assumed the cell was probably hosted on a known cell tower a few hundred metres to the North and after a test when I moved the TRB140 and its antenna to the North side of the House – when it picked a different Cell – I was more confused.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This confusion was addressed by finding the https:\/\/www.cellmapper.net\/<\/a> website which includes much more detail about cell towers<\/em> and the cells they host – for which I can forgive their annoying ‘Marketing’ popup window.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.marshflattsfarm.org.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Screenshot-2026-08-16-at-16.01.47-1024x584.png\")
Screenshot from CellMapper.net for Cell 234\/20\/2521\/647516 (shaded in green)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n With this additional detail, the picture becomes clearer:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- The cell is hosted on the cell tower with eNB ID 2529, visible 1km to the South-West of the House<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- This cell covers a large area and its centre is not really as shown by FindCellID \/ OpenCellID, beyond the House to the North-East – although the location they show is within the cell<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- This is listed as “Cell 72” on this tower which matches the “typical sector\/cell IDs: 71\/72\/73” note from the EARFCN lookup<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
This detail gave me the confidence to order a Directional antenna, rather than relying on an Omni-Directional antenna (with much lower gain).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Appendix 2 – Gigabit Passive PoE<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The TRB140 is supplied with a 9V power adaptor, which is what I had been using with the indoor antenna. Its connection to the device is via a 4-pin plug, rather than the more normal coaxial barrel jack connector; actually only two of the pins are used for power (the other two are for a digital Input and Output). However, the TRB140 also accepts ‘passive PoE’ via the LAN port – which is appealing when the TRB140 is mounted inside the same enclosure as its antenna, both being located some distance up a pole. The documentation makes it very clear this is not<\/em> standard 802.3af-compliant 48V DC PoE but a dedicated DC power feed on two of the pairs of the Ethernet cable. There\u2019s a good diagram on the Teltonika Wiki page for the TRB140\u2019s power options<\/a>, showing that the DC+ feed is on the Blue pair (pins 4&5) and the DC- feed is on the Brown pair (pins 7&8).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This seems to be an almost universal configuration for Passive PoE – presumably because the Blue and Brown pairs are not used for 10\/100 Mb\/s Ethernet data (and hence these are what are used for standard 802.3af “Mode B” PoE – which Passive PoE devices seem to align with). UniFi devices which use Passive PoE follow the same convention and PC Engines single board computers also follow this<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The catch is that most Passive PoE injectors are only built for 10\/100 Mb\/s usage and never allow data on the Blue and Brown pairs – which blocks their use for Gigabit communications. I tested a couple of variants of 24V Passive PoE injectors which had been supplied with UniFi devices and the TRB140 only connected at 100Mb\/s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some more advanced (or more recent) Passive PoE injectors are constructed to also pass data on the ‘power’ pairs. The Ubiquiti INS-3AF-I-G PoE ‘converter’ (which supplies 24V Passive PoE from a 48V ‘active’ PoE feed) does this – and mains-fed PoE injectors can do this too. Generally these have model numbers with a “-G” suffix (G for Gigabit-capable, presumably) and are not particularly expensive; Solwise sell their POE-24-24W-G for \u00a310 inc VAT<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Appendix 3 – Mobile Data Subscription Cost Comparisons<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
As of August 2026, the pre-paid ‘Three’ SIM card from Scancom is still active (until 8th Feb 2027) and there is no reason to swap to a new mobile subscription until that expires – but a decision on a new subscription will be required in January 2027.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Experience during the recent FTTP outage showed mobile broadband data usage of around 2GB per day of download and also 2GB per day of upload – despite efforts to avoid streaming media and any other ‘optional’ usage. That probably warrants further investigation in an attempt to reduce the ‘baseline’ data quota required since it would indicate a monthly quota of 50GB or more would be required.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A monthly cost of less than \u00a35 would be a good target, since after all this is only ‘insurance’ for FTTP outages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2024-2027 Pre-Paid ‘Three’ SIM<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
As a reference, the mid-September 2024-to-early-February 2027 solution was a pre-paid ‘Three’ network SIM card from Scancom (via Amazon), giving a fixed monthly quota of 25GB for a one-off up-front cost of \u00a339.99. Overall this was active for 29 months and so worked out at \u00a31.38 per month. (My understanding is this price was discounted because the ‘clock had started ticking’ on the expiry. Similar options available in Summer 2026 appear to be rather more expensive for rather shorter durations.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
AAISP Data-Only SIM<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The easy-but-expensive option would be to use my FTTP ISP’s mobile data solution which is a pay-as-you-go scheme with a modest monthly ‘standing charge’ (\u00a32) and then a per-MB charge for actual usage. While this is transported over the ‘Three’ network (using Three \/ Vodafone cell towers) they specifically do not block any TCP\/UDP ports and even assign a fixed IPv4 address, with none of the CGNAT usually seen on mobile broadband networks. The downside is the per-MB charge of 1.75p+VAT (in either direction) so some aggressive data usage reduction would be required to keep this affordable in the event of an FTTP outage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alternative Options<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
An alternative would be to use a normal pre-paid SIM as I have been doing, with a fixed monthly quota lasting for two or more years. The issue of some ports \/ servers being blocked by the mobile network could potentially be addressed by routing all traffic via some sort of network tunnel to a connection point on a ‘better’ Internet link – perhaps a WireGuard tunnel to a low-specification virtual server in the Cloud, or some type of VPN.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Introduction After making do with 10 Mb\/s of Internet bandwidth delivered using ADSL2 over a traditional copper telephone line for several years, the opportunity to swap to Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) instead – with the prospect of Gigabit speeds if required – … Continue reading
- Cell ID: 647496\n
- It’s easy enough to communicate to users that the FTTP link is down and have them avoid streaming audio and video – but that doesn’t prevent devices attempting OS updates and suchlike<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
- A further complication is that this nearby cell tower is connected to the exact<\/em> same FTTP infrastructure as the House (clearly evident because the fibre is running overhead)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- One downside of using a Directional antenna and pointing that at a specific cell tower is that if that tower is out of action for any reason there probably won’t be an alternative tower within range of the antenna\n
- RSRP stands for Reference Signal Received Power \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li>
- RRSI stands for Received Signal Strength Indicator \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li>
- RSRP of -113 dBm which is declared to be \u201cPoor”2<\/a><\/sup><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- RSSI of -73 dBm which is declared to be \u201cGood”1<\/a><\/sup><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- The mobile signal antenna connects via an SMA connector<\/a> so the supplied aerial can be replaced with an alternative model – or moved further from the device<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- This also needs some way to notify that it has switched (and is starting to consume mobile broadband data) so that the FTTP fault can be reported – although my ISP does already monitor the FTTP link and sends an SMS whenever it goes down (and comes back up)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n