PSA: Cord Cutters

[stomachmonkey]

T Mobile is rolling out a home high speed internet service.

Based on reports I've read bandwidth currently can be 150/50 or greater. (or lower) I have to check a bit more but I believe those are 4G LTE speeds and if you have 5G coverage then speeds should be greater.

For some of you who just need standard internet for browsing, email, streaming Netflix it is more than sufficient unless you are operating a BnB and happen to have the Lithuanian Tap Dance and Bag Pipe Corps staying with you.

It's self install no contract straight up $50.00 a month all in.

Cheap enough to give it a try for a month and see if it suits your individual needs.

https://www.t-mobile.com/isp

[bivenator]

Will look into that. Cut the cord, went with Xfinity and the price is creeping up to the "corded" days.

[masraum]

I have something similar. I'm using T-mobile via 4G for Internet connectivity out at our property. I did buy a SOHO/Enterprise class device to receive the service and then give me wifi. The cost is nearly the same, I think, $50 or 55 for 100G/mo. When this comes available, I may switch.

[tadd]

How do you think this compares to starlink? Maybe this is in response to starlink? Supposed to be another 6 mo before service comes to my area, but I put a deposit as it is first come, first serve.

I am stuck as cable/fiber doesn't come to my street. Promised for near a decade, and nothing yet.

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by tadd

How do you think this compares to starlink? Maybe this is in response to starlink? Supposed to be another 6 mo before service comes to my area, but I put a deposit as it is first come, first serve.

I am stuck as cable/fiber doesn't come to my street. Promised for near a decade, and nothing yet.

Different tech but probably comparable in terms of performance.

The T Mobile offering will likely be subject to issues standard to cell signals, congestion but I think they are applying some priority algorithms to the service so maybe not?

Starlink will suffer some of the standard weather related issues that plague dish networks.

Toss up, Chevy or Ford type of deal most likely.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by tadd

How do you think this compares to starlink? Maybe this is in response to starlink? Supposed to be another 6 mo before service comes to my area, but I put a deposit as it is first come, first serve.

I am stuck as cable/fiber doesn't come to my street. Promised for near a decade, and nothing yet.

I got an email from starlink yesterday that they were accepting orders in my area. It's beta, they said some folks may get 50-150mb, but that there would be short periods of no service. $500 for equipment and $99/mo plus another $50 or something like that. I passed.

Usual satellite service (like Viasat or Hughes) has huge latency so you can do voice and/or video, but because of the delay, you'd almost have to say "over." If you are a gamer, the latency is way, way too high for gaming even if you get high bandwidth.

Starlink is a Low Earth Orbit (vs geostationary) so the latency can be very, very low (similar to DSL or Cable).

My guess is that T-mobile has enough bandwidth since they merged with Sprint, and are now selling Internet via cell. They already sell "hotspots." This is probably the same basic service, but a tiny bit more focused.

And yes, it is in some ways competition for Starlink. Starlink needs to have satellite "aimed" at your location to work. T-mobile needs towers close enough to cover your location.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by stomachmonkey

Different tech but probably comparable in terms of performance.

The T Mobile offering will likely be subject to issues standard to cell signals, congestion but I think they are applying some priority algorithms to the service so maybe not?

Starlink will suffer some of the standard weather related issues that plague dish networks.

Toss up, Chevy or Ford type of deal most likely.

Exactly, and there are the similar limitations of "is there a satellite broadcasting to your area" vs "is there a tower close enough to your location."

[Gogar]

I'm "this close" to doing the century link fiber 900/900 here to replace my Comcast 300/12.

$65 "forever price" which I don't really believe

[porsche4life]

Seems like a great option if you have good T-Mobile coverage. I’m happy with our cable Internet, but we’ve been looks at buying property in a rural area, so I’m excited to see this or starlink be a real option for us!

[masraum]

Originally Posted by porsche4life

Seems like a great option if you have good T-Mobile coverage. I’m happy with our cable Internet, but we’ve been looks at buying property in a rural area, so I’m excited to see this or starlink be a real option for us!

There are a bunch of different offerings in our area, but we are in the perfect location to NOT be able to use several of them. Fortunately, we've got enough decent options to get by and more coming.

[Sooner or later]

I was on Sprint and since the T Mobile takeover my LTE speed has increased significantly. I am up to 25 mbps down and 8 up, an increase from 10 and 3.

I'll take it since I share Sling from my phone/tablet to my smart TV. No other internet or TV service (other than OTA).

[mgatepi]

Well we just signed up for it. My son (degree in Computer Engineering and self proclaimed nerd) called T Mobile and asked if this shared their existing mobile phone network.....they said no and it is a 5G system.
So......not 100% sold but it is contract free and they waived start up fees because we are a new customer.
I will update once we receive the unit.

[id10t]

Coworker has one of their units to test/compare with his cable service. He's reporting 25ish MB up and 50mb down. His phone connects via 5g at the same location on the same T-Mobile, and he's getting 10 or so mb up and 25mb down there.

If you have good cell coverage, and aren't dependent on things like having a real IP and no blocked ports, etc. it would be a great option for connectivity.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by mgatepi

Well we just signed up for it. My son (degree in Computer Engineering and self proclaimed nerd) called T Mobile and asked if this shared their existing mobile phone network.....they said no and it is a 5G system.
So......not 100% sold but it is contract free and they waived start up fees because we are a new customer.
I will update once we receive the unit.

Excellent, I signed up to be notified when it's available in my area.

[71T Targa]

From my phone, wireless over cable is 97.6 down 11.9 up.
Turning off wireless and using Sprint/T-Mobile 5G and I drop to 38.8 down and 5.2 up.
It may be worth it since I currently pay @250 a month for cable internet and phone.

[Sooner or later]

I thought 5G was supposed to be a hell of a lot faster. Here is my LTE

[71T Targa]

I am out in the sticks, so that may play a part in my speeds.

[flipper35]

We are out in the sticks but last fall the provider asked if it was OK to bring fiber to the house. Should be finished up in the spring sometime as they just got done burying the main fiber and finished the manhole covers.

[stomachmonkey]

34 down and 25 up on 4/5 bars of LTE on T Mobile

That's useable.

Cell data is always going to be a bit all over the place for a variety of reasons but for the most part if you get a good signal where you are it should remain relatively consistent.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by 71T Targa

From my phone, wireless over cable is 97.6 down 11.9 up.
Turning off wireless and using Sprint/T-Mobile 5G and I drop to 38.8 down and 5.2 up.
It may be worth it since I currently pay @250 a month for cable internet and phone.

You've got 2 things impacting you on cell, 1 is signal strength which will vary and impact your speeds, and the other is how much bandwidth T-mobile has to your tower/area. Here at my location in town with a strong signal from my cell phone, I see 140+Mb down and 65+Mb up. Since it's in Houston, it's setup for tons of folks and is probably very near a large network hub. Out in the sticks, I usually see 20-30Mb down and 1-4Mb up over the same device. We are also at the farthest reaches of the cell towers that we are closest too, and they probably haven't invested tons of money in super high speed connectivity in the sticks for a few folks or people passing through on the Interstate.

Originally Posted by Sooner or later

I thought 5G was supposed to be a hell of a lot faster. Here is my LTE

You may also get better speeds in different rooms or different locations around your house/yard. My connectivity varies from room to room in our rural property. I've been experimenting with locations in the house to get the best connectivity.

Originally Posted by 71T Targa

I am out in the sticks, so that may play a part in my speeds.

Yes, "out in the sticks" is probably a big part of the problem.

any wireless connection (satellite, wifi, cellular, etc...) is going to have the same issue, the strength of the signal/connection is going to impact your speeds. So, if you knew where your cell tower was, and you positioned yourself at the right spot, you'd likely maximize your speed. If you then drove to the farthest extent of a good connection from that tower, and there were no other towers, then your speed would be much slower even though you were connected to the same tower.

Most of us have probably had the same experience with wifi, works great in a certain part of the house, but some far away corner of the house or the back yard doesn't work nearly as well.

Satellite is very similar.

You'll usually connect at lower speeds or experience lower speeds due to having to replace missing traffic. Like trying to carry on a conversation with someone in a loud night club. If you constantly have to say "WHAT?" and have them repeat themselves, your exchange of information will proceed more slowly. There are levels of error correction in the modulation of the signals as well as at higher layers (TCP) or even higher layers.