Looking for a cheap and creative way to get my elderly neighbour an internet connection

StewartR

StewartR

Messages
11,513
Name
Stewart
Edit My Images
Yes
This is a bit of an unusual problem.

My next-door neighbour is 88 and he's been shielding at home since the pandemic started. He has a large family (including some great-great-grandchildren, how about that!) and initially he had no way of seeing them - he doesn't have a broadband connection or a mobile phone, and he's never owned a computer. But one of our neighbours gave him an iPad and showed him how to use Zoom or Skype or something, and another neighbour - his next-door neighbour the other side - allowed him to piggyback on his wifi, and that's worked very well. He's been able to join in a lot of family chats and it's made a really huge difference.

But now the neighbour with the wifi connection is moving away. So the question is, what's the best / cheapest way of providing some connectivity for him?

I would be quite happy for him to piggy back off my wifi, but the range seems to be too far. It's about 25 metres in a straight line, though the whole of my house and most of his house. I've tried using my phone in his lounge and I can't connect to my wifi from there. (See location map below.)

What options do we have? I can think of three and I'd be grateful for advice as to which is likely to be the most cost effective, or whether there's something I've overlooked.
  1. Could I get a wifi range extender and install it in his house? I assume these things are designed with sensitive aerials so they can pick up wifi signals where "ordinary" devices - phones, tablets etc - can't. But I have no experience of them. Would I be asking too much over this sort of range and through so many walls? If it's likely to be feasible, are there any specific models you'd recommend, or specific features should look out for?
  2. We could get him a wifi dongle to use a mobile signal. (His iPad is wifi only; it won't accept a SIM card.) I know nothing about these. As before, any recommendations or features I should look for?
  3. I guess the last option would be for him to get a broadband connection. But he probably wouldn't want to be tied into a long contract because I imagine that, once we're back to "normal", he'll have no use for it. I could scour the likes of uSwitch to see what deals are on offer, but are there any more creative options here?
All advice welcome. Thanks.

hKl3s2L.png
 
I'd think with a wifi repeater you'd need 2 to reach him from your house. Or you'd need to use an ethernet cable from your router to the nearest point in your house to his and create a wireless access point from there.

If you're not planning on moving any time soon then finding a way to share your broadband connection is probably the easiest option.
 
Assuming you're not in a mobile phone black spot and can get a decent 4G signal, and its just for occasional use I'd go the mobile broadband router option on a PAYG or rolling 1 month contract basis

Unless you have a long ethernet cable and wireless access point lying around gathering dust...
 
Mobile dongle has to be the option with the least hassle and potential failure, as long as you chose a provider that has a good signal to his home. I've used one in the past without issue and more recently used my phone as a 'hotspot' which is a similar idea.
 
We can’t get decent broadband here, so use a three 4g router with SIM card. We also need an external antenna, but if you are in a decent spot, can get away with just the router probably.
We opted for the 24 month contract, but they do have 12 month and one month I think.
The upside is you can use it a anywhere there is power, so if your neighbour doesn’t need or want it after a certain time frame, it can be moved and used elsewhere.
 
If you go down the route of a pay and go mobile WiFi I’d suggest looking at Giff Gaff. There is sim only option where you to get add a ‘goodybag’ each month for your data use/minutes. I use it for my phone as it lets me swap between the options depending where I’m going that month (ie if I’m going away and will be using more data). If you go through the data limit you can start the next months goodbag early so no stupidly high costs until the next month starts. This could help you get the data amount right for him. You can stop buying goodbags at any point so there is no long contract like other mobile providers.

Giffgaff use the O2 network. It would be worth checking the coverage in your area.
 
Last edited:
I don't think GG would be suitable as I'm pretty sure they don't allow tethering so using a 4g router or even a phone as a hotspot gets you cut off.

You need a PAYG solution that offers data for a 4g router and specifically mentions it otherwise I think the no tethering will lead to it being cut off sharpish. I think Tesco mobile (also on o2) also have the same no tethering policy.
 
srichards said:
I don't think GG would be suitable as I'm pretty sure they don't allow tethering so using a 4g router or even a phone as a hotspot gets you cut off.
Click to expand...

I regularly used my GiffGaff phone as a 'Hotspot' when away from home without a local wireless option.
However I've just moved to Smarty as it gives me twice the data for the same price as well as unlimited calls & texts.
 
I bought a TP- LINK Miri some years ago, not sure of the model, looks like this one:

https://www.tp-link.com/uk/home-networking/mifi/m7350/

but I found it tricky to use, which was mainly in a hospital setting and then they got excellent NHS broadband so I abandoned it. I’m just charging it up now and you can have it for free if you’d like to try it. I think I have an EE SIM in it.

Alternative method might be to get a refurb phone and use it tethered with the iPad (I suppose an iPhone would be best but maybe not the cheapest — giffgaff currently have an SE for £99 but there must be cheaper ones). This may be advantageous as it would get him a phone as well.

Another vote for giffgaff £6 goody bag unlimited calls & text + 500gb data for a moth but you can also just buy non time limited airtime. Giffgaff is on O2 network.
 
gramps said:
I regularly used my GiffGaff phone as a 'Hotspot' when away from home without a local wireless option.
However I've just moved to Smarty as it gives me twice the data for the same price as well as unlimited calls & texts.
Click to expand...

They used to kick users off for tethering when I was with them years ago.

Seems they have changed their policy now as the FAQ says it's ok.

https://www.giffgaff.com/help/articles/tethering-policy
 
If he already has a landline then the chances are adding a broadband component will be free or so little as to be OK.
When I was trying to get a landline only deal it was almost impossible and wasn't any cheaper.
That would be my recommendation.

There are various ways to extend WiFi over long distances - have a browse here - https://www.solwise.co.uk/WorkingFromHome
I've spoken to Solwise before and they've been pretty helpful.
But I imagine extending your WiFi to his house will be more expensive than 12m of fixed line broadband at his house.

Once he has an iPad with broadband he may find it's useful for more than video calls.
 
sphexx said:
I bought a TP- LINK Miri some years ago, not sure of the model, looks like this one:

https://www.tp-link.com/uk/home-networking/mifi/m7350/

but I found it tricky to use, which was mainly in a hospital setting and then they got excellent NHS broadband so I abandoned it. I’m just charging it up now and you can have it for free if you’d like to try it. I think I have an EE SIM in it.

Alternative method might be to get a refurb phone and use it tethered with the iPad (I suppose an iPhone would be best but maybe not the cheapest — giffgaff currently have an SE for £99 but there must be cheaper ones). This may be advantageous as it would get him a phone as well.

Another vote for giffgaff £6 goody bag unlimited calls & text + 500gb data for a moth but you can also just buy non time limited airtime. Giffgaff is on O2 network.
Click to expand...

yest it is this one (support page , don’t know firmware version):

https://www.tp-link.com/uk/support/download/m7350/
 
srichards said:
I don't think GG would be suitable as I'm pretty sure they don't allow tethering so using a 4g router or even a phone as a hotspot gets you cut off.

You need a PAYG solution that offers data for a 4g router and specifically mentions it otherwise I think the no tethering will lead to it being cut off sharpish. I think Tesco mobile (also on o2) also have the same no tethering policy.
Click to expand...

Giff gaff do allow tethering on all goodybag plans. They may not have done so previously but they do now. The only issue with GiffGaff is they use the O2 network which doesn’t have the best coverage.

https://www.giffgaff.com/sim-only-plans

21D5B9F2-2B4E-4EEF-B03B-D769857BBF6E.jpeg
 
AMcUK said:
If he already has a landline then the chances are adding a broadband component will be free or so little as to be OK.
When I was trying to get a landline only deal it was almost impossible and wasn't any cheaper.
That would be my recommendation.

There are various ways to extend WiFi over long distances - have a browse here - https://www.solwise.co.uk/WorkingFromHome
I've spoken to Solwise before and they've been pretty helpful.
But I imagine extending your WiFi to his house will be more expensive than 12m of fixed line broadband at his house.

Once he has an iPad with broadband he may find it's useful for more than video calls.
Click to expand...

Looks like you can get (eg PlusNet) 10mb broadband & line rental for £18 which is less than BT line rental I think, if correct, something like that would be best. He may struggle with hotspots or dongles :(.
 
The only thing to be wary of is data usage, video calls can fly through data like nobodies business, Zoom in its top quality uses 1.2GB per hour for example which for the odd video call 4G would probably be suitable. But that data will quickly fly up after not a lot of time.

The suggestion of plusnet might be a good one, if he’s already paying so much for a phone line it may be a very small expense to add broadband to it. I currently pay £22.99 a month for 40mb download, 10mb upload (Line rental included) and as above it looks like they charge from a little as £17.99 a month including line rental. The difference may be negligible but he will he tied into a 12 month contract. He may not have broadband now, but he may not know what he’s missing and once he has a taste he may want to keep it!
 
You can also get very similar prices - and the same actual service - from "John Lewis" (who rebadge PN service).
That might help if there's any brand resistanceto moving from BT.
£20 a month unlimited 10MB with a £40 e-gift card for JL.

I'm with PN and got them to match a new customer offer from JL for the duration of my contract.
 
video calling over 4g will be far less pleasant than a decent fibre/wifi option.
 
TCR4x4 said:
We can’t get decent broadband here, so use a three 4g router with SIM card. We also need an external antenna, but if you are in a decent spot, can get away with just the router probably.
We opted for the 24 month contract, but they do have 12 month and one month I think.
The upside is you can use it a anywhere there is power, so if your neighbour doesn’t need or want it after a certain time frame, it can be moved and used elsewhere.
Click to expand...

I've mentioned this elsewhere but I'm also on Three 4G for the exact same reason. The service degraded over time until iPlayer was unwatchable (Netflix and Amazon buffer slightly differently so they were OK). I swapped the AI Cube that Three gave me for a TP Link modem and the difference is incredible - usual speed is now 20-25 MB. It's highly location dependent though - on my windowsill it works beautifully, 3 feet away on top of a cupboard it's awful. I may look at an external antenna - did you find it made a big difference?

frod said:
video calling over 4g will be far less pleasant than a decent fibre/wifi option.
Click to expand...

That's perfectly true. But I assist at a Tai Chi class and can easily monitor 4 students in real time over Zoom with a 4G link whilst streaming Spotify back to them. I will regularly videocon with up to 10 people without issues. With the right modem it's a very viable alternative.
 
JonathanRyan said:
I've mentioned this elsewhere but I'm also on Three 4G for the exact same reason. The service degraded over time until iPlayer was unwatchable (Netflix and Amazon buffer slightly differently so they were OK). I swapped the AI Cube that Three gave me for a TP Link modem and the difference is incredible - usual speed is now 20-25 MB. It's highly location dependent though - on my windowsill it works beautifully, 3 feet away on top of a cupboard it's awful. I may look at an external antenna - did you find it made a big difference?



That's perfectly true. But I assist at a Tai Chi class and can easily monitor 4 students in real time over Zoom with a 4G link whilst streaming Spotify back to them. I will regularly videocon with up to 10 people without issues. With the right modem it's a very viable alternative.
Click to expand...

Yea, the external antenna is giving us about 25mb down and 7 up. Without it, it’s about 7 down and 1 up.
Our phone line broadband, when it works, which is rarely, is 2 down and 0.2 up!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top