On Thu, Mar 3, 2011 at 18:33, Rob Malpass <linux@???> wrote:
> In short - if I buy a SIM card from three.co.uk for £15.99 a month and stick
> it in _any_ 3g router that accepts SIM cards, I'm told I will get what I
> need. However their sales guy wasn't quite forthcoming when I asked why
> I'd need a usb dongle if I have a router which accepts sim cards.
provided the router isn't locked to an alternative network, then yes
you should be able AFAICT to use a three simcard within that device
without requiring the 3 dongle. Think of it as a telephone, you are
free to take a mobile phone from provider to provider as long as it is
unlocked.
> Question 1: [2] seems to be the device I need. As far as I can tell, I put
> the SIM card into this, hook it up to power and the rest of my LAN via
> ethernet and bingo. Therefore if ADSL goes down, I have a backup.
> Correct?
your backup would not be able to be an automated failover unless you
have a third router with two WAN ports connecting to both external
routers. a more appropriate solution would be something like [3], but
this particular one requires the addition of a usb dongle, and
presumably also a wired switching hub if you want to connect more than
a single wired device.
> Question 2: I currently have a wireless ADSL router. Any known issues to
> worry about here? For example, the routers would likely be next door to
> each other. I don't need 2 Wifi networks, could I just switch the wifi
> network off that's associated with the 3g connection?
yes, you can turn off the wifi on one router easy enough. The issue is
gateway routes - if you have both devices on the same LAN segment then
each will be advertising via DHCP their own default route. These two
advertisements will conflict; hence my suggestion for a WAN+3G with
auto failover such as [3]. (Note, I'm not endorsing [3], merely using
it as an example.)
> Question 3: Most of these routers assume you want to share the 3g connection
> wirelessly with the rest of your LAN via WiFi. I don't. Therefore
> providing I buy a router with an ethernet LAN port, I'm fine aren't I?
I don't see any issue there.
> The reason I'm cautious is the sales guy wanted to sell me a USB dongle and
> while I can see there may be routers out there that effectively use the
> dongle as an antenna - I can't see why I'd need one if the router itself
> accepts SIM cards.
Don't forget the sales people in mobile phone shops are likely on
commission-based earnings and therefore if they can get you to pay an
extra £49 they improve their monthly take-home pay vs. if you just opt
for the sim-card only.
> From what I can tell, [1] for example, is pretty much what I need but a) why
> can't I get one that just accepts a SIM card - no faffing with USB modems
> and b) it looks to run off batteries - I want something always on. Any
> issues here?
you should be able to find desktop routers such as the aforementioned
[3] that are always-on while still hooking into the 3g network of your
choice.
> [1] http://www.maplin.co.uk/zoom-3g-wireless-n-travel-router-351516
> [2] http://www.broadbandbuyer.co.uk/Shop/ShopDetail.asp?ProductID=10205&Submit=GO
[3]
http://www.maplin.co.uk/zoom-3g-wireless-n-desk-top-router-with-auto-failover-351517
Hopefully others will chime in with their views. I'm only a hobbyist
and therefore my opinions only go so far before I'm just inventing
random things while pretending to know what I'm talking about. :-p
--
Regards,
The Honeymonster aka Daniel Llewellyn
