Agri-broadband, Farmer DIY 4G

Zebb · 18-08-2015, 12:57

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-33956576

A farmer from Wiltshire has built his own 4G broadband mast after getting frustrated with slow internet access at his home.

Richard Guy, from Salisbury, built the mast using two solar panels to power a 4G adaptor.

purple bunny · 18-08-2015, 13:20

Rock on, my son. Rock on!

mogzyboy · 18-08-2015, 13:25

Just shows how inept and slow Openreach are that people have to do a DIY job just to get the Internet.

Good work, though.

corf · 18-08-2015, 13:44

Is he breaking the law? i.e. transmitting on frequencies he doesn't have a licence for.

If not where can I get a copy of his design lol.

Pedro_C · 18-08-2015, 13:50

Some of us have been using 3G/4G setups for years...

Usually the best way is to use a Huawei B593 as a modem/router and then affix antennas to it. Dongles are notoriously bad at picking up signal, so not completely sure why he hasn't used a better receiver and a smaller 'mast'.

enapace · 18-08-2015, 13:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by corf

Is he breaking the law? i.e. transmitting on frequencies he doesn't have a licence for.

If not where can I get a copy of his design lol.

It's not exactly a mast as you would normally call them as its a receiver which then uses Fibre cable to relay the Internet to his house.

moox · 18-08-2015, 14:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by corf

Is he breaking the law? i.e. transmitting on frequencies he doesn't have a licence for.

If not where can I get a copy of his design lol.

It sounds very simple - some sort of solar power to charge a battery and to power a bog standard 4G router (and ethernet or probably wifi to get it to where he wants to use it). Maybe an external 4G antenna too.

Nigel Goodwin · 18-08-2015, 15:07

I notice it doesn't make any mention of how much it costs him per month for the 4G

SkipTracer · 18-08-2015, 16:43

He could have dispensed with the optic cable and all that digging and used a couple of TP-Link CPE210’s to link to the house.

I use a couple of these to connect my local network to my daughter’s network 100 metres down the road with 100% reliability and downloads speeds of 40 MB with even higher speeds no doubt possible with the 5 GHz version and they are legally capable of much further distances if there set up properly.

cooler · 18-08-2015, 17:00

Wouldn't he have had to dig under public roads or paths to fit the cable because for that distance of about 1.3 km it's unlikely that there would just be private land between his house and the farmland where he built mast.

corf · 18-08-2015, 17:53

so this is just a large aerial with a 4g SIM card and appropriate tech in it? not what I would call a 4g mast.

moox · 18-08-2015, 17:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by corf

so this is just a large aerial with a 4g SIM card and appropriate tech in it? not what I would call a 4g mast.

Not even the BBC national news can cover technical stories particularly well. It doesn't help that their technology editor has absolutely no technical training at all, which is probably why they obsess over anything Apple and Samsung do, or some wanky web 2.0 thing.

Using 3G or 4G as a main internet connection is of course what a lot of people do, but the BBC thinks it is magical. I guess in leafy North London there are not too many issues getting "first world" broadband?

Gigabit · 18-08-2015, 18:20

How has he connected a fibre-optic cable to a dongle?

d123 · 18-08-2015, 18:22

The Mirror actually managed to get the facts a little clearer in their story.

Quote:

Mr Guy, who has worked in IT since the 1980s, had found that the strongest 4G signal was on farmland miles away from his house.

He fitted a 4G dongle, which is a type of adaptor, inside a waterproof toolbox two thirds of the way up a pair of wooden poles.

The adaptor, which is powered by a 12V battery topped up by two small solar panels, then converts the internet signal into a form that allows it to run along relatively cheap fibre-optic cables to his home.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-n...ternet-6267278

Chris1973 · 18-08-2015, 19:00

Quote:

How has he connected a fibre-optic cable to a dongle?

Something like this perhaps

http://www.sitech-bitdriver.com/products/usb.htm

Either way, its good to see the fact that some of us in rural areas do have to rely on 3G / 4G to provide a usable internet connection publicised. I hope his business does well from it.

moox · 18-08-2015, 19:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gigabit

How has he connected a fibre-optic cable to a dongle?

If it is actually a 4G modem with an ethernet port, rather than a dongle, he could just use a copper to fibre ethernet converter at both ends of the fibre. Not that expensive.

He could also be using a router with a USB port to connect a 4G dongle, along with the same converter

Mass Corona · 18-08-2015, 19:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by moox

If it is actually a 4G modem with an ethernet port, rather than a dongle, he could just use a copper to fibre ethernet converter at both ends of the fibre. Not that expensive.

He could also be using a router with a USB port to connect a 4G dongle, along with the same converter

Doesn't LAN/Ethernet cable in itself do quite long distances without having to have fibre involved?

moox · 18-08-2015, 20:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mass Corona

Doesn't LAN/Ethernet cable in itself do quite long distances without having to have fibre involved?

Theoretically 100 metres without a repeater/switch/something in the middle, but you probably wouldn't want to get too close to that limit if you can help it.

Fibre can go much further - depending on your budget. Another reason to do fibre is that it is immune to a lightning strike - you won't fry something in your house because the cable was hit, or if the 4G equipment itself was struck. In this case the guy seems to want to go a full kilometre, which is achievable with relatively cheap equipment

If I were doing it, and if there were line of sight, I'd probably use wireless

oilman · 18-08-2015, 20:42

What typical responses. The guy does a great job, and innovates, and all people say "I would have done it like this"

It's his thinking "out of the box" that sorted his issue. How many of you would have even thought of such a solution, faced with slow broadband.

Well done sir - you are a true genius.

moox · 18-08-2015, 20:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by oilman

What typical responses. The guy does a great job, and innovates, and all people say "I would have done it like this"

It's his thinking "out of the box" that sorted his issue. How many of you would have even thought of such a solution, faced with slow broadband.

Well done sir - you are a true genius.

You can look in this very forum for examples of people using 3G or 4G as permanent internet connections, due to the lack of quality conventional internet access. Some of them may well have "innovated" by installing an antenna outside their house, y'know, like you would for TV.

He is not really "thinking out of the box" for doing the same.

The only interesting bit is the use of a long stretch of fibre to get the connection into the home.

It is a good solution to his problem, but it is neither newsworthy or earth shattering.

Chris1973 · 19-08-2015, 08:51

I'm fortunate that I get a good 3G and 1 bar of usable 4G inside a building using dongle only. I tried a Yagi type 4G antenna outside in the hope of improving the 4G signal, but it made little difference to the speeds. However the 1 bar that I do get gives 30mbps so I can't really complain.

The biggest difficulty with using 3G / 4G as a full time Home Broadband connection is, of course, the limited monthly data allowances, I can quite easily manage with 15GB - 25GB a month on the current MBB tariffs, but that probably wouldn't be the case in a household with a large family.

EE got off to a good start with their 4GEE Home tariff, intended to bring 4G to households with poor ADSL speeds a few years ago, however that seems to have died a death.

Mass Corona · 19-08-2015, 13:35

So basically, all he is doing is using mobile broadband, just at the end of a very long cable/fibre to get the aerial to where the signal is. Plus he owns the land to do it.

For me to get 4G on Three, currently I'd have to run fibre all the way though my town centre out the other side for about 4 miles and then set up a tower there. Can't see the council being too pleased with that idea.

M1kos · 19-08-2015, 15:02

Hope his got planning permission for his 'mast' lol

Minardi · 19-08-2015, 21:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by M1kos

Hope his got planning permission for his 'mast' lol

Doesn't the 15m exemption still apply with regard to planning permission for comms masts?

Stereo Steve · 20-08-2015, 00:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by Minardi

Doesn't the 15m exemption still apply with regard to planning permission for comms masts?

Only if someone sees it.

18-08-2015, 12:57	#1
Zebb Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2014 Posts: 652	Agri-broadband, Farmer DIY 4G http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-33956576 A farmer from Wiltshire has built his own 4G broadband mast after getting frustrated with slow internet access at his home. Richard Guy, from Salisbury, built the mast using two solar panels to power a 4G adaptor.

18-08-2015, 13:20	#2
purple bunny Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2013 Posts: 1,853	Rock on, my son. Rock on!

18-08-2015, 13:25	#3
mogzyboy Forum Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Wales Posts: 4,554	Just shows how inept and slow Openreach are that people have to do a DIY job just to get the Internet. Good work, though.

18-08-2015, 13:44	#4
corf Forum Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 1,458	Is he breaking the law? i.e. transmitting on frequencies he doesn't have a licence for. If not where can I get a copy of his design lol.

18-08-2015, 13:50	#5
Pedro_C Forum Member Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: Surrey, UK Posts: 660	Some of us have been using 3G/4G setups for years... Usually the best way is to use a Huawei B593 as a modem/router and then affix antennas to it. Dongles are notoriously bad at picking up signal, so not completely sure why he hasn't used a better receiver and a smaller 'mast'.

18-08-2015, 13:54	#6
enapace Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Posts: 4,249	Quote: Originally Posted by corf Is he breaking the law? i.e. transmitting on frequencies he doesn't have a licence for. If not where can I get a copy of his design lol. It's not exactly a mast as you would normally call them as its a receiver which then uses Fibre cable to relay the Internet to his house.

18-08-2015, 14:16	#7
moox Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 14,645	Quote: Originally Posted by corf Is he breaking the law? i.e. transmitting on frequencies he doesn't have a licence for. If not where can I get a copy of his design lol. It sounds very simple - some sort of solar power to charge a battery and to power a bog standard 4G router (and ethernet or probably wifi to get it to where he wants to use it). Maybe an external 4G antenna too.

18-08-2015, 15:07	#8
Nigel Goodwin Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: North Derbyshire Posts: 41,789	I notice it doesn't make any mention of how much it costs him per month for the 4G

18-08-2015, 16:43	#9
SkipTracer Forum Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: The City and County of Bristol Posts: 2,623	He could have dispensed with the optic cable and all that digging and used a couple of TP-Link CPE210’s to link to the house. I use a couple of these to connect my local network to my daughter’s network 100 metres down the road with 100% reliability and downloads speeds of 40 MB with even higher speeds no doubt possible with the 5 GHz version and they are legally capable of much further distances if there set up properly.

18-08-2015, 17:00	#10
cooler Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 11,177	Wouldn't he have had to dig under public roads or paths to fit the cable because for that distance of about 1.3 km it's unlikely that there would just be private land between his house and the farmland where he built mast.

18-08-2015, 17:53	#11
corf Forum Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 1,458	so this is just a large aerial with a 4g SIM card and appropriate tech in it? not what I would call a 4g mast.

18-08-2015, 17:55	#12
moox Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 14,645	Quote: Originally Posted by corf so this is just a large aerial with a 4g SIM card and appropriate tech in it? not what I would call a 4g mast. Not even the BBC national news can cover technical stories particularly well. It doesn't help that their technology editor has absolutely no technical training at all, which is probably why they obsess over anything Apple and Samsung do, or some wanky web 2.0 thing. Using 3G or 4G as a main internet connection is of course what a lot of people do, but the BBC thinks it is magical. I guess in leafy North London there are not too many issues getting "first world" broadband?

18-08-2015, 18:20	#13
Gigabit Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 2,887	How has he connected a fibre-optic cable to a dongle?

18-08-2015, 18:22	#14
d123 Forum Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 3,993	The Mirror actually managed to get the facts a little clearer in their story. Quote: Mr Guy, who has worked in IT since the 1980s, had found that the strongest 4G signal was on farmland miles away from his house. He fitted a 4G dongle, which is a type of adaptor, inside a waterproof toolbox two thirds of the way up a pair of wooden poles. The adaptor, which is powered by a 12V battery topped up by two small solar panels, then converts the internet signal into a form that allows it to run along relatively cheap fibre-optic cables to his home. http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-n...ternet-6267278

18-08-2015, 19:00	#15
Chris1973 Forum Member Join Date: May 2013 Posts: 667	Quote: How has he connected a fibre-optic cable to a dongle? Something like this perhaps http://www.sitech-bitdriver.com/products/usb.htm Either way, its good to see the fact that some of us in rural areas do have to rely on 3G / 4G to provide a usable internet connection publicised. I hope his business does well from it.

18-08-2015, 19:42	#16
moox Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 14,645	Quote: Originally Posted by Gigabit How has he connected a fibre-optic cable to a dongle? If it is actually a 4G modem with an ethernet port, rather than a dongle, he could just use a copper to fibre ethernet converter at both ends of the fibre. Not that expensive. He could also be using a router with a USB port to connect a 4G dongle, along with the same converter

18-08-2015, 19:58	#17
Mass Corona Inactive Member Join Date: Aug 2015 Posts: 713	Quote: Originally Posted by moox If it is actually a 4G modem with an ethernet port, rather than a dongle, he could just use a copper to fibre ethernet converter at both ends of the fibre. Not that expensive. He could also be using a router with a USB port to connect a 4G dongle, along with the same converter Doesn't LAN/Ethernet cable in itself do quite long distances without having to have fibre involved?

18-08-2015, 20:10	#18
moox Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 14,645	Quote: Originally Posted by Mass Corona Doesn't LAN/Ethernet cable in itself do quite long distances without having to have fibre involved? Theoretically 100 metres without a repeater/switch/something in the middle, but you probably wouldn't want to get too close to that limit if you can help it. Fibre can go much further - depending on your budget. Another reason to do fibre is that it is immune to a lightning strike - you won't fry something in your house because the cable was hit, or if the 4G equipment itself was struck. In this case the guy seems to want to go a full kilometre, which is achievable with relatively cheap equipment If I were doing it, and if there were line of sight, I'd probably use wireless

18-08-2015, 20:42	#19
oilman Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Posts: 3,854	What typical responses. The guy does a great job, and innovates, and all people say "I would have done it like this" It's his thinking "out of the box" that sorted his issue. How many of you would have even thought of such a solution, faced with slow broadband. Well done sir - you are a true genius.

18-08-2015, 20:47	#20
moox Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 14,645	Quote: Originally Posted by oilman What typical responses. The guy does a great job, and innovates, and all people say "I would have done it like this" It's his thinking "out of the box" that sorted his issue. How many of you would have even thought of such a solution, faced with slow broadband. Well done sir - you are a true genius. You can look in this very forum for examples of people using 3G or 4G as permanent internet connections, due to the lack of quality conventional internet access. Some of them may well have "innovated" by installing an antenna outside their house, y'know, like you would for TV. He is not really "thinking out of the box" for doing the same. The only interesting bit is the use of a long stretch of fibre to get the connection into the home. It is a good solution to his problem, but it is neither newsworthy or earth shattering.

19-08-2015, 08:51	#21
Chris1973 Forum Member Join Date: May 2013 Posts: 667	I'm fortunate that I get a good 3G and 1 bar of usable 4G inside a building using dongle only. I tried a Yagi type 4G antenna outside in the hope of improving the 4G signal, but it made little difference to the speeds. However the 1 bar that I do get gives 30mbps so I can't really complain. The biggest difficulty with using 3G / 4G as a full time Home Broadband connection is, of course, the limited monthly data allowances, I can quite easily manage with 15GB - 25GB a month on the current MBB tariffs, but that probably wouldn't be the case in a household with a large family. EE got off to a good start with their 4GEE Home tariff, intended to bring 4G to households with poor ADSL speeds a few years ago, however that seems to have died a death.

DS Forums

Agri-broadband, Farmer DIY 4G

19-08-2015, 13:35	#22
Mass Corona Inactive Member Join Date: Aug 2015 Posts: 713	So basically, all he is doing is using mobile broadband, just at the end of a very long cable/fibre to get the aerial to where the signal is. Plus he owns the land to do it. For me to get 4G on Three, currently I'd have to run fibre all the way though my town centre out the other side for about 4 miles and then set up a tower there. Can't see the council being too pleased with that idea.

19-08-2015, 15:02	#23
M1kos Forum Member Join Date: Jun 2014 Posts: 499	Hope his got planning permission for his 'mast' lol

19-08-2015, 21:50	#24
Minardi Forum Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Midlands Posts: 502	Quote: Originally Posted by M1kos Hope his got planning permission for his 'mast' lol Doesn't the 15m exemption still apply with regard to planning permission for comms masts?

20-08-2015, 00:04	#25
Stereo Steve Forum Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 1,378	Quote: Originally Posted by Minardi Doesn't the 15m exemption still apply with regard to planning permission for comms masts? Only if someone sees it.