Replacement for Home Phone & Wi-Fi

[DClarke]

Hello everyone!

I was wondering if anyone in the community could help me find out if it would be possible to use a Public Mobile subscription to replace a home phone and internet.

My parents live in a remote town where the landlines are third party (cannot use DSL), no cable and no fibre-op. They currently use satelite internet for both the phone and internet but it is incredibly spotty and often entirely unavailable even with a booster installed. There is good cell service in one spot of the house, however, and they would like to install one of those cellular network routers that take a sim card and can give you phone and internet access. I'm guessing they will want the $40/month plan that includes 4.5 GB of 3G data.

1) Does anyone know if it is possible to use a Public Mobile sim card and subscription in one of these routers?

2) Does anyone know if there are specific plans for this kind of usage aside from what is listed on the site? I'm particularly worried about the low amount of data considering it is for an entire family to use (3 cell phones, 2 tablets, 1 PC) and it is quite expensive to pay per gig if needed ($30/GB).

3) Can you think of any other options besides this? We're currently paying a very high bill for something that is never avialable and Public Mobile seems to have the best options in terms of price but we would love any other suggestions or experiences that people have had doing something similar.

Any help, suggestions, or advice would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers

[smp99]

The modems I mentioned (B882 and ZTE MF275R) both allow you to turn off LTE and only use 4G. I actually do this because our LTE signal is low and the modem defaults to want to use LTE. 4G May be slower but it is more reliable and acceptable when LTE is weak. 

if you or your parents work for a major corporation you may qualify for Rogers discount. I get 30% off the 50GB unlimited plan. I work for a bank. 

if you are on good relations with your neighbour down the road with good service and if there is not too much in between, google CPE510

I also vote for a cellular voice solution over VoIP. 

[boundless]

---

@sheytoon wrote:

@farmbot the number of hops should be very similar to urban areas. As long as the LTE connection has low jitter, voip will perform well in any area.

The choice of voip provider is also very important. voip.ms is one of the better ones.

---

Yes, from my experience VOIP has performed well even in rural areas with LTE. You only start to get problems when the connection is degraded to 3G with much higher latency.

The voip.ms service is probably your best best with regards to fast and stable VOIP service in Canada. There are mobile softphone apps which you can use to connect to a VOIP service.

[sheytoon]

@farmbot the number of hops should be very similar to urban areas. As long as the LTE connection has low jitter, voip will perform well in any area.

The choice of voip provider is also very important. voip.ms is one of the better ones.

[farmbot]

I do not recommend voip apps over cellular signal in rural areas.

Too many "hops" results in poor performance in low signal coverage which u have.

Stick to cellphone # voice.

[farmbot]

The last mile of the service is the tuffest to complete.

[farmbot]

I have had these no performing internet connections with promises of remedy in my rural location. Once a service is oversubscribed or the signal deteriorates the service is junk. Your only remedy is to leave. If u can use Publicmobile cellplan in u r house 8 or 5 GB is more than the unusable # of GB that the other provider offers

Best and cheapest option to to try 5 gb plan thru cellphone hotspot plus u get text and phone #.  Take a temporary #.  Cancel any time.

$50 test and no contract.

[sheytoon]

@DClarke have a look at Bell. They're aggressively deploying LTE wireless home internet in rural areas:

https://www.bell.ca/Bell_Internet/Products/wireless-home-internet

Otherwise, your parents may have to give up internet usage and just use wireless home phone with a Bell or Telus provider. One option is to use an LTE modem and an ATA to use a voip based system with a provider like voip.ms. That should be very reliable and low cost.

[Anonymous]

I have Smarthub and Wireless Home Phone. I got Smarthub first. The phone part was disabled and I'm not sure they offer it on that box. Otherwise I wouldn't've bothered with WHP.

Still...good sleuthing @darlicious .

[darlicious]

@DClarke  Telus gives the impression that their smart hub is available in new Brunswick but the only way I could find any information is thru highland cellular. This is the authorized telus dealer the telus website directs you to....they have smart hub on their website but no access to plans. Telus is currently offering 100gb for $60 per month plus $10 for the zte device for purchase on a 24 month contract or $65 per month no contract and $270 outright for purchase. Try calling highland cellular to see if they can offer this service or enter your postal code online at telus to see if it's offered in your area. If it is that's a very reasonable price for home phone and internet service.

[CannonFodder]

---

@DClarke wrote:

Rogers can only offer landline service in our area. Unfortunately, there is absolutely nothing else. We had only just recently gotten cell phone service in our area and it's incredibly spotty. We can use our cells with full bars at the kitchen sink but nowhere else in the house. We also get a bit of signal out on the deck. If you go to the store 5 minutes down the road toward the local gas station, it's a dead zone but the same distance up the adjacent road is perfectly fine connection with all of the high speed internet you want.

WOW, and I thought our little area had crappy cell reception.... not even close to THAT bad! 😕 

It's an incredibly complicated area and no company has been able to even tell us if/when they plan to expand infrastructure to us, unfortunately.

---

And they probably won't, until such time as they're actually going to do it, at which point they'll have sales people knocking on your door every 2nd week.

[DClarke]

Rogers can only offer landline service in our area. Unfortunately, there is absolutely nothing else. We had only just recently gotten cell phone service in our area and it's incredibly spotty. We can use our cells with full bars at the kitchen sink but nowhere else in the house. We also get a bit of signal out on the deck. If you go to the store 5 minutes down the road toward the local gas station, it's a dead zone but the same distance up the adjacent road is perfectly fine connection with all of the high speed internet you want. It's an incredibly complicated area and no company has been able to even tell us if/when they plan to expand infrastructure to us, unfortunately. I guess because Xplornet can claim to offer the shoddy service that they do, the government is free to boast about their coverage 😕

[CannonFodder]

---

@DClarke wrote:

@CannonFodder @Anonymous We've had our Xplornet setup for about 7 years or so now, I think. We had their satellite internet installed first then got them to take over the phone as well. In the beginning, it worked quite well and was very reliable unless a storm was coming. The last few years it has been unbearably unstable, though. We've had them out countless times to look at, replace and/or fix the modem, wires, and dish itself but it never got any better.

That REALLY sucks, and quite frankly, makes no sense - you'd think that if it worked "quite well" before, there should be no reason it shouldn't still work quite well, other than SOMETHING wrong with some of the hardware in the equation.

Xplornet does say that our area is within their service range but it is only for their satellite deals and we live in a valley that is off of other main roads where infrastructure upgrades end up stopping just before getting to our highway.

All that to say yes, we have been on top of Xplornet like crazy about these issues and are at the point of being sick of dealing with them and wanting to switch which is why we are looking at other options like this mobile router using a PM account.

---

Totally understandable. Given what's been said here, it sounds like if you get the right combo of hardware, you may be able to get it done, BUT as @computergeek541  has said, I'd be hesitant, just on the data limits alone.

[Anonymous]

Well that's that then. Can't say as I blame you. Crappy to have so few options. I was very pleased when I learned about these Telus offerings. You have Telus/Bell there. What about Rogers? Do any of them have rural connectivity options for your area? Isn't the rural thing being mandated by the CRTC or something.

[DClarke]

@CannonFodder @Anonymous We've had our Xplornet setup for about 7 years or so now, I think. We had their satellite internet installed first then got them to take over the phone as well. In the beginning, it worked quite well and was very reliable unless a storm was coming. The last few years it has been unbearably unstable, though. We've had them out countless times to look at, replace and/or fix the modem, wires, and dish itself but it never got any better. Xplornet does say that our area is within their service range but it is only for their satellite deals and we live in a valley that is off of other main roads where infrastructure upgrades end up stopping just before getting to our highway.

All that to say yes, we have been on top of Xplornet like crazy about these issues and are at the point of being sick of dealing with them and wanting to switch which is why we are looking at other options like this mobile router using a PM account.

[CannonFodder]

---

@DClarke wrote:

---

Worst part is, 2 minutes down the road, Rogers just finished installing cable or fibre-op. I stopped their truck one time but told me they didn't have plans to keep going down the road. Just our luck 

---

Go talk to the closest neighbours, that have that Rogers hookup, offering to pay part of their bill, and go buy a couple of VERY large spools of cable, and there ya go! 😉 

Seriously, though, I've seen nothing mentioned in this thread about talking to Xplornet..... am just curious here - I assume someone in the family has chatted with them about their crappy service, and asked if they can do something about it? My sister used to live in a rural area, near 100 Mile House, in BC, and she had Xplornet there, and by all accounts, the internet speed was not what most people would call "good", but it was apparently quite usable. I don't think she had phone service through them, though.....

[Anonymous]

 @DClarke 

Maybe it's inappropriate to talk about a competing service here but XPlornet seems to boast a bit about coverage in NB. It uses their own LTE system.

But in this case I would look at those bluetooth phones connected to the cell as though it was a landline.

And the cell can be the hotspot.

[DClarke]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

---

Edit: Xplornet also offers terrestrial services...not just satellite.

---

Yeah, just not at my parents home. We don't have the infrastructure to support anything than a landline telephone (via 3rd party lines, therefore they can't even support a high speed DSL connection) and satelite. Worst part is, 2 minutes down the road, Rogers just finished installing cable or fibre-op. I stopped their truck one time but told me they didn't have plans to keep going down the road. Just our luck 

[Anonymous]

 @smp99 

Good to know. Thanks. fyi for the thread...

The WHP is a ZTE WF721. It has 2 phone jacks (and a USB)

The Smarthub is a ZTE MF279T. It has 2 phone jacks and 1 network. The phone jacks seem to be disabled.

They both work entirely well.

[DClarke]

Great, thank you so much!

Thank you to everyone who has helped me so far! I really appreciate that you'd take the time to follow and keep replying. Great community ^^

[smp99 · Accepted solution]

Hi @DClarke 

I have done exactly what you are asking.

I have used 3 different wifi modem models. Hauwei B882, ZTE MF275R and some other Rogers rocket hub. Go on Kijiji and look for the ZTE modem.  It is about 2yrs old but solid. Should be between $50 and $80 for the You can unlock these if needed.

PM is not what you want for this. I settled on Rogers Infinite plan. I paid extra for 50GB at full speed and then 512kbps unlimited data afterwards, plus unlimited CdaWide minutes. The plan works perfectly in either modem, you may have to adjust the APN setting in the modem. You get decent WiFi coverage, it has a LAN port and it has a regular phone jack that works and sounds just fine. Caller Display works perfectly.  I don't think Telus will let you use their unlimited plan in a wifi modem. I did test the LuckyMobile unlimted plan and it does work just fine, but the unlimited part is only 128kbps. But you can test LuckyMobile for a month with a temp number since it is prepaid. 

To answer your question though, PM does work in these modems, I also tested for a week or so. Both data and calls.

[computergeek541]

---

@gblackma wrote:

@computergeek541 wouldn't  it be possible to place the sim into the Huawei  device and call forward it to a another PM cellphone account torecieve calls? Thanks.

---

If the both cell phone plans include "talk", then yes of course, but this still doesn't get around the need to pay for 2 plans if wanting to use such a device for internet use and also have phone service.  It's really a matter of if the customer wants mobile service as well or only home service (only 1 plan would require the sim to always be in a phone device).

[Anonymous]

---

@farmbot wrote:

Telus wireless homephone and internet smart hub are locked by Telus to the Sim specific activation subscription. Move the sim to another device like a cellphone u will have no service.

---

Thanks. I was thinking the other way around. Put a PM SIM in and see what happens.

But I'm in another transition and so will most likely be stopping the WHP and maybe the Smarthub in a few months.

[farmbot]

Telus wireless homephone and internet smart hub are locked by Telus to the Sim specific activation subscription. Move the sim to another device like a cellphone u will have no service.

[Anonymous]

---

@DClarke wrote:

Oh, so it is possible?

I have been digging around my account to see if there was any options that could be used. Under "Plan and Add-Ons" I found a tab for "Change Phone Number". Under that I see the option to select "Transfer a wireless or a wireline number from another provider" or I can "Select a new phone number". So, if I choose that first option to transfer, would that mean that my current account uses both my existing PM number as well as the new number that I transfer or would it deactivate my current PM number in the process? I'm also assuming that the Xplornet account would have to be deactivated first to free the old phone number, correct?

---

It will overwrite the current PM number and cancel the source number account. The source needs to be active.

Another option is something like this.

I'm currently using the Telus Wireless Home Phone service for something like a landline where you plug in a standard wired phone cable. I'm also using the Telus Smarthub for 100gb of internet. But it does look like those services are only available out west. They use the cell system.

In May the 2 year agreement will expire and I'll get them unlocked and then I'll see if PM will work in them for fun.

Edit: Xplornet also offers terrestrial services...not just satellite.

[computergeek541]

---

@DClarke wrote:

@computergeek541 Darn! Okay, thank you for clarifying that for me. So it's not an option to have 2 phone numbers on one SIM card with PM.

So, back to the router option. That Huawei device that I linked earlier performed that exact function that you were mentioning in your previous post. It's no problem for us to get another PM account with a new email and all of that as long as we know it would work. The cap on the data isn't optimal but it's better for us than no internet at all and if we can at least use it as a phone, that would already be much better than we currently have. The idea would be to get a new PM account and SIM card, plug it into the router, plug in a portable phone to use the number and have the router give the entire house access to Wi-Fi.

---

You're correct. There can only be one phone number on a Public Mobile sim card, and yes, you need to use a different e-mail address for each account.  If you decided to get 2 different plans, but you know that you're going to regularly use more than 8.5 every 30 days, you could use the data included in both of your plans. You could even switch which sim card is in your phone and which one is in your router, but you'll need to keep track of which phone number is the one you're currently using for phone calls. For incoming calls at least for one phone number, you could forward to the other number.

If the cell phone is never going to leave the premises, you could just use only one Public Mobile plan/account. You might still have to get a wireless Wi-Fi repeater to spread the signal out. (scrap what I said earlier about using mesh Wi-Fi since you would need to use an ethernet cable to provide the interent signal to the router but cell phones don't have ethernet connections)

[gblackma]

No @DClarke . Explorenets account must be active to port. If you port it into your present account. You will lose your number. That's why you need to create a new account with a different email address to yours and a temporary telephone number.  You may pay for both of them with the same credit card . And you would use the transfer option to port your parents number.

@computergeek541 wouldn't  it be possible to place the sim into the Huawei  device and call forward it to a another PM cellphone account torecieve calls? Thanks.

---

@DClarke wrote:

Oh, so it is possible?

I have been digging around my account to see if there was any options that could be used. Under "Plan and Add-Ons" I found a tab for "Change Phone Number". Under that I see the option to select "Transfer a wireless or a wireline number from another provider" or I can "Select a new phone number". So, if I choose that first option to transfer, would that mean that my current account uses both my existing PM number as well as the new number that I transfer or would it deactivate my current PM number in the process? I'm also assuming that the Xplornet account would have to be deactivated first to free the old phone number, correct?

---

[DClarke]

@computergeek541 Darn! Okay, thank you for clarifying that for me. So it's not an option to have 2 phone numbers on one SIM card with PM.

So, back to the router option. That Huawei device that I linked earlier performed that exact function that you were mentioning in your previous post. It's no problem for us to get another PM account with a new email and all of that as long as we know it would work. The cap on the data isn't optimal but it's better for us than no internet at all and if we can at least use it as a phone, that would already be much better than we currently have. The idea would be to get a new PM account and SIM card, plug it into the router, plug in a portable phone to use the number and have the router give the entire house access to Wi-Fi.

[computergeek541]

---

@DClarke wrote:

Oh, so it is possible?

I have been digging around my account to see if there was any options that could be used. Under "Plan and Add-Ons" I found a tab for "Change Phone Number". Under that I see the option to select "Transfer a wireless or a wireline number from another provider" or I can "Select a new phone number". So, if I choose that first option to transfer, would that mean that my current account uses both my existing PM number as well as the new number that I transfer or would it deactivate my current PM number in the process? I'm also assuming that the Xplornet account would have to be deactivated first to free the old phone number, correct?

---

Porting in a phone number to an existing Public Mobile account replaces this phone number.

Do not cancel your old carrier's service if you wish to port it to Public Mobile. Only phone numbers with activate service can be transfered to another carrier.

[DClarke]

Oh, so it is possible?

I have been digging around my account to see if there was any options that could be used. Under "Plan and Add-Ons" I found a tab for "Change Phone Number". Under that I see the option to select "Transfer a wireless or a wireline number from another provider" or I can "Select a new phone number". So, if I choose that first option to transfer, would that mean that my current account uses both my existing PM number as well as the new number that I transfer or would it deactivate my current PM number in the process? I'm also assuming that the Xplornet account would have to be deactivated first to free the old phone number, correct?

[computergeek541]

---

@DClarke wrote:

We're not using Telus, though. We're currently using Xplornet which does via satelite but we have no connection a majority of the time and want to try to do the same thing using PM. Esentially using a router that would act like a cell phone but has a portable phone connected to it instead.

We're quite adamanat about using a router rather than just getting another cell phone as well because the connection is only available in the kitchen and you're stuck at the counter if you want to use the phone so we want something that we could carry around the house.

---

As I said before, I don't think using Public Mobile for home internet is feasible because of the 8.5GB of data mount in the current most expensive price plan. Let's assume though that 8.5GB is enough though.

Using Wi-Fi hotspot was mentioned, but unless it's a small place, the Wi-Fi coverage area that your phone is able to provide might not be enough.  To get around that, you might need to get a repeater to spread the signal out further.  Another problem with that would be if the phone isn't there, the ineternet can't be used on the other devices.

You could get a USB internet stick and insert a Public Mobile sim card. The USB stick's software would need to allow you to edit the APN settings so that you can make use of the Public Mobile data connection. The USB internet sticks do work with some wireless routers that have USB ports.  There are also portable routers that have sim card slots to accomplish the same.  If you did use one of these types of devices, you would need to have a second Public Mobile line/account/plan for phone calls.