4G Wireless High Speed Internet

[Hans_Moleman]

Re: EV-DO coverage - MTS has an interactive map. Remember to select CDMA, I'm surprised how much EV-DO there apparently is. I don't recall that much EV-DO from MTS (green)

http://www.mts.ca/mts/personal/wirel...itoba/manitoba

[gbittner]

Do not go with CDMA. There very little EVDO outside of Winnipeg and it does not work reliably in Winnipeg. lots of modem lock ups requiring resets, etc. i used to be on CDMA with my phone data tethered outside Winnipeg. 4 to 5 bars of signal and most of the time too many disconnects to be usable unless i ran a continuous ping to the DNS server. now i have an Iphone4 on HSPA on Rogers (same coverage as MTS) and it works well with the same signal strength as my CDMA signal was and up to 5 MBits/sec. Where you locate your internet stick is VERY important. likely it is plugged into the side of a laptop sitting on a desk with metal drawers, etc all around it killing the signal. Get a USB extension cable and mount the Stick as High up as possible away from all metal stuff around it (including house wiring in the walls) If the building you are in has stucco remember that the stucco is full of wire mesh which will kill the signal so try it taped to the middle of a large window (Not a Low E coated window as the coating is essentially a sheet of metal that kills all radio signals) Also try rotatating the stick as the signal pickup may me much better from one direction on the stick compared to other directions depending on which direction it is to the closest cell tower. Another test you can do is try it outdoors on each side of the building because you may find that the signal is much better on one of the sides versus the other sides. Also some buildings have been insulated with a aluminum foil coated or backed insulation which will also kill all signal inside so a test outside might be well worth the time. Good luck.

[codwif]

MTS's EVDO coverage outside of the city is pretty brutal. I travel in the Steinbach/Landmark/Niverville area daily, and the speeds out this way are garbage. Normally I get speeds around 100-300 kbps outside of Winnipeg and 1000-1500 kbps in the city. With HSPA, same speedtest on an iPhone 4, in this area gets around 4000-5000kbps.

[DummyBuy]

CDMA high speed eh? I'll look into that; not sure if MTS towers are EVDO outside Winnipeg. Anyone know? Also, the dealer rep said that I didn't need a router if I'm just using one computer in the same place; what benefit does getting router have in this situation?

You do not need the router if just using 1 computer but the router is highly recommended,

1) Your house can restrict signal depending where you are like the basement, metal roof, etc.
With the router, you would find a spot in your house with the best signal and put the router there with the stick in it

2) If you keep the stick in your pc like a laptop, there is a good chance that at some point, you may end up breaking it is you have it on your lap and it slides down.

3) The router will allow you to connect other RG45 network devices if needed

4) If your pc is running slow, you can slow down the connection. With the MOFI3500-3GN, you will get the maximum speeds possible out of the stick

5) If you have friends over, they will be able to connect to the internet if you wanted them to easily

6) You can use the router to set up a network to hook up other devices like a printer so that you do not have to have it connected to your pc

Your main goal is to get the best reception possible and for you to have that in most areas of your home and with the router, it will make this possible,

[mrjg]

Well, I had some success with the hi speed stick today. I stuck my computer half way out my bedroom window (I know lol) , and got 1 sometimes 2 bars of reception. It said connected at 7.2 mbps at the bottom of my computer screen. It downloaded at an avg of 40 kbps (dialup is about 5kbps)...is this good? Since I'm used to dial up, anything is an improvement. It was nice to have the luxury of using a computer the way 99% of the population can use one. I may just have to sink some $$ into a booster now; since I've tasted high speed, i'm addicted!

[codwif]

ah the feeling of having high speed internet for the first time. my room mates and i made sure that our modem activity light didn't stop for almost an entire month. good times.

[mrjg]

Do not go with CDMA. There very little EVDO outside of Winnipeg and it does not work reliably in Winnipeg. lots of modem lock ups requiring resets, etc. i used to be on CDMA with my phone data tethered outside Winnipeg. 4 to 5 bars of signal and most of the time too many disconnects to be usable unless i ran a continuous ping to the DNS server. now i have an Iphone4 on HSPA on Rogers (same coverage as MTS) and it works well with the same signal strength as my CDMA signal was and up to 5 MBits/sec. Where you locate your internet stick is VERY important. likely it is plugged into the side of a laptop sitting on a desk with metal drawers, etc all around it killing the signal. Get a USB extension cable and mount the Stick as High up as possible away from all metal stuff around it (including house wiring in the walls) If the building you are in has stucco remember that the stucco is full of wire mesh which will kill the signal so try it taped to the middle of a large window (Not a Low E coated window as the coating is essentially a sheet of metal that kills all radio signals) Also try rotatating the stick as the signal pickup may me much better from one direction on the stick compared to other directions depending on which direction it is to the closest cell tower. Another test you can do is try it outdoors on each side of the building because you may find that the signal is much better on one of the sides versus the other sides. Also some buildings have been insulated with a aluminum foil coated or backed insulation which will also kill all signal inside so a test outside might be well worth the time. Good luck.

Thx for the info...i think that I'll go the booster route. Is there one that u recommend? I know that MTS sells them, but I haven't had a chance to inquire yet. (Plus, I'm sure that I can probably do better on ebay, if i know what to look for) And also, is there a booster/repeater that boosts both CDMA and HSPA? My cell is CDMA, and I don't plan on changing any time soon.

[dxintel]

Most booster will boost cdma and GSM. They actually boost the frequency that they run on. (Cdma and GSM/4G all at 800 MHz) if you are in the rural you could save some money by looking at a single band booster (800 MHz) is most common the other is a dual band that will do 800 + 1900 MHz. 1900 is used in cities mostly. I prefer Wilson cell boosters but anything should work. For a simple installation look for a kit that has a omni directional outside antenna with a Indore panel antenna. This will cover a entire house. One thing to also consider is you may need 50 feet of separation between the two antennas for a setup like this.

Sent from my Nexus S using HowardForums

[gbittner]

if you get a booster and know which direction the closest or least active cell tower is from where you are using it then you can improve your signal more than with an Omni directional antenna. Also vertical separation is better than horizontal separation of antenna's. Getting the outdoor antenna as high as possible above and away from the indoor antenna give the best chance of the amplifier not oscillating. Also if using a directional outdoor antenna it should be aimed in a direction away from the indoor antenna, not looking over it so a little planning can go a long way to having it work a lot better. Most newer amplifiers have a circuit to detect oscillation and shutdown when it happens so that does not help at all.

[gbittner]

Personally i have a Wilson booster at my cottage. If you are in a weak signal area it can do magic. but they are expensive. $500+ There are a couple of cheap ones out there but the coverage from them is a lot less than the more expensive ones. Using an Omni antenna is easier but will give slightly less coverage due to lower gain. Using a directional antenna gives better coverage but it needs to be aimed for best signal during install. Finding out how much signal you have where you intend to install the outdoor antenna would help you determine which one you need. to find how much signal you have most phones have a test mode that allows you to display how much signal the phone is receiving. Google for phone test mode or factory test mode for instructions on how to do it. Also because the repeater is a radio transmitter it needs to be registered with MTS as to the location it will be installed. If it causes interference they know where to look first.

[Brian693]

I realize this is an old post, and you likely have already got your MTS internet. Here is a warning. I was not informed about this by MTS until too late, so I'm hoping people find out through this.

MTS has a new excessive use policy. There are very few details on their website, but here is the rest of the infomation. It has changed from the 10GB soft cap to a much more excessive "cap" if you hit the new limit. If you hit 15 GB in your billing period, you will now be throttled 24/7 to 256kbps for the next 30 calendar days, regardless of your billing cycle. However, your data counter will reset to 0 at the start of your next billing cycle, not at the end of the 30 day punitive period.

Essentially, MTS internet is truly "unlimited", but only at an excessively slow speed. It is adequate for basic surfing, but if you download anything, watch video, use Skype, go to any graphics intensive sites (even Facebook is painful), you will be thinking that you are back in dial-up times.

15GB is still a huge limit for wireless, no question. However, just be warned that the punishment for exceeding it is much more severe than it was at the 10GB point they used to have.

[Derfel]

I don't think I could ever get close to 15GB in 30 days. I have topped 10GB before, mind you...

Sent from my A501 using Tapatalk 2

[radmacks]

Just to add I do not think VOIP would work on MTS. Its not as true direct 2 way connection to the internet. After spending hours talking to dozens of people MTS will not provide a private IP address making it impossible for anything to find its way back past MTS to your computer. My friend has MTS 4g at his place and you would be amazed how much stuff does not work. No VPN is a pain.

[prairielad]

Just to add I do not think VOIP would work on MTS. Its not as true direct 2 way connection to the internet. After spending hours talking to dozens of people MTS will not provide a private IP address making it impossible for anything to find its way back past MTS to your computer. My friend has MTS 4g at his place and you would be amazed how much stuff does not work. No VPN is a pain.

I use the MTS 4G for my entire house. Plugged the Novatal MC998 into a Mofi3500 router. Works like a charm.
If you got this route make sure you get the Version 2 of that router. The latest firmware works great.

I use it for Skype video calls everyday. Xbox Live works fine, PS3 NAT comes up as NAT3(becuase of the private/public IP). Facetime works on my Apple products.

The biggest downer is the change to the excessive use policy,,the old 10Gig soft cap was fine(I used the net the least from 4pm-midnight, which was the throttling hours) now with the 24hr throttle I'm a little pissed at them.

They may be in breach of the Throttling rules and network Neutrality.. ITMP cannot change the nature or content of the internet, so my thoughtsa re if I can't check the CBC.ca website(full of images) or do online banking(times outs) then they are breaking the rules

VPN--I have not played with it yet.