News Virgin unveils plans for mobile masts at home

Virgin plans to alleviate saturated WiFi with home mobile masts for smartphones and tablets.

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2011/12/05/plans-unveiled-to-install-mobile-phone-mast/1

 

Virgin offers 100meg now in most areas now

 

I prefer to use my wifi at home and mobile data when I have to (ie no wifi connection available). I am assuming that the use of the 4G signal at home would come out of your data allowance for mobile........

 

Yes it would. Just like all data (apart from Wifi) that is charged on mobile contracts currently.

I wouldn't mind having a transceiver - can't see the harm.

 

I would accept the transmitter if it came out of my home broadband limit, especially as I use a web bolt on and so have a very limited data usage and so use my home wifi to get updates.
I think part of the issue here is the low quality wifi setups provided by the free hubs you get with the contract.

 

Low quality wifi setup?

The router's built in to the Superhub's is the same as is found in most router's that people use, the only difference being it has a modem built in to it.

If you are on about the drop out's on WiFi then that was fixed for I would guess 99% of customer's when the last firmware was released.

I really wouldn't need one of these transmitter's though, because I use the WiFi on my 100mb Superhub only for my phone, and I am the only person who uses it as everyone in the house uses the other 100mb Superhub that we have.

Even if I didn't have my own connection though my phone wouldn't use the WiFi because I would just use the normal data connection that I get, at home on my phone because I can do everything I would need to on the mobile data network perfectly fine, and if there was a update then I would just do it at work on the WiFi.

 

Wait, im confused. Virgin mobile shares masts with Vodafone if I remember correctly so their routing data over wifi instead of using masts or is this a problem with hotspots when out and about and they're copying BT and creating hotspot access using BT home hubs (after a person signs up)?

 

No Virgin Media use the T-Mobile network, which uses there own transmitters on the mast's that Orange have.

This is not though about giving WiFi to people out and about like what BT do, it's more about boosting the Data access in your home so you don't need to use WiFi for your mobile phone at home.

I do know that Vodaphone and maybe Orange did/do a similar thing, where it uses a box that connect's to your broadband to boost you signal on your phone to enable those people in low coverage areas to actually make and receive phone call's in there house on a mobile phone.

I had a similar problem with a Iphone at my house on Orange, where I could not make a phone call on my phone unless I went a mile away from my house because the mast's were breaking everyday and Orange basically were not interested in fixing it so I left and went to Virgin and bang full signal all day with no problem's.

 

I tend to use wifi for my phone as my home connection has a better data allowance than my 3G contract and is also quicker - using 3G here (when you can get it) is like watching paint dry.

 

That's why I am glad I am on Virgin where I live because I get the "HSDPA" I think it is meaning I get about 1.5mb - 2mb download speed and about 500kb upload speed so I can, watch youtube and download music on my phone with no problem's whilst no on WiFi.

 

Yes, they are LOW quality, I've had mine replaced twice for overheating problems and the wifi signal is as poor as i've EVER seen, I have to connect a seperate OLD netgear wireless router to it, in order to get a signal out of the room that the so called 'Superhub' is situated in, and i'm not alone in having to do this.

 

As I said 99% of people the issues have been resolved with but there are some who still have issues, I have a few myself but not related to the WiFi side of it simply because I barely use it.

When I do use it though I can get signal on my phone at the end of my street from my Superhub, but my old Netgear router I couldn't.

I just wish I could get a modem instead of Superhub.

 

...and how long before the pseudo-scientific crackpots start screaming about the dangers of "wireless radiation" - wireless masts are bad, therefore a wireless mast at home must be even worse, m'kay?

 

You can put the superhub into modem mode now can't you?

 

I don't see how using 3G/4G is better than 100Mbit/300Mbit WIFI ?

Standard Wifi 'g' is 108Mbps, 'n' is around 300Mbps. (at best, in both cases).
If you're already saturating that, No 3G/4G 'extra' connection is going to help you out.
Not unless they are promising 1Gbps with the new connection ? I thought not.

This is just so that they can share the connection with people up to 100m around your home, and make their networks much better in built up areas.

 

So, pretty much what Vodafone does with Sure Signal already? Stupid idea - extra overheads of cellular data are silly. The better solution is wider spectrum allocation for wifi, smarter radio transmission in wifi base stations (minimising the transmission power to reduce the interference with other networks while retaining adequate power to give the connected devices a solid signal; some base stations are even now doing directional transmission to improve on this further), improvements in building design to improve transmission within a property and improve rejection of signals from outside, and increased adoption of 5 GHz wireless, which suffers greater attenuation at physical boundaries (like the walls of your house) to achieve the same thing.

 

Folks on the other side don't just plug wireless routers into their cable modems?

 

Why would I use the poxy amount of data allowance a mobile provider gives me in my own home when my ADSL is unlimited?

 

I know its meant to be about the modem line, but if you're saturating 50Mbps Internet line, you're not doing it right. I have to live with 2Mbps/400Kbps D/U and have no choice, since there is nothing better.

I would love a 100Mbps line, it just ain't going to happen, aand no way i'm going to be waatching TV or films over 3G/4G.