4 ms·

recently I've had a week long internet outage, and it's really put in perspective how much I'd like things to be local. You don't need it until you do.

Nextgrid 4y ago
It is extremely difficult to actually get good internet on short notice, at least in the UK. Mobile, while technically capable of this, does not fit the bill because their business model depends on locking people into long-term contracts or using it as a marketing platform (I've tried launching a startup that does away with all this, it's impossible). Right now nobody will sell you a SIM with unlimited data (excluding Three because their "unlimited data" is so oversubscribed that it's unusable) or a large enough data cap no matter how much you are willing to pay. Your only option is to either sign up for a yearly contract (which involves wasting time with support if you ever need to make a change or need to increase your data cap) or use Pay & Go SIMs and top them up regularly which involves using an IVR and listening to minutes of upselling random bullshit - there's no API and the billing is intentionally complex (depositing money isn't enough - you have to use that balance to buy a "bundle" of data, and you can't stack these bundles meaning you need to do this every time it runs out).
- secondcoming 4y ago
  Vodafone sell unlimited data 5G SIMs, but with a contract. I replaced fibre with one. You seem to be looking for a no-contract unlimited data plan? Isn’t that just PAYG?
  - Nextgrid 4y ago
    > You seem to be looking for a no-contract unlimited data plan? Isn’t that just PAYG? Kind of - I did mention PAYG and why it's not ideal and that it feels like you're still fighting the provider. Topping it up is a nightmare and the billing system doesn't allow the scenario of "here's a few hundred bucks, give me internet consistently until this runs out". Instead, you have to fight with it every time your "bundle" expires and you can't stack them in advance even if you deposit enough cash on the account. EE's biggest bundle on PAYG is 100GB for 30£ which is reasonable from a pricing point of view but unfortunately doesn't last long and forces you to top-up and reset the bundle via the IVR every time it runs out. I want to be able to put 300£ on the account and get 1TB of data in one go so it lasts a couple weeks before I need to top-up again (topping up relies on the IVR which means taking the SIM out of the 4G router and putting it in a phone then sitting though minutes of bullshit upselling).
- ectopod 4y ago
  BT sell broadband with a mobile fallback if the broadband fails. I'm pretty sure one of the other ISPs offers it too. I've never tried it though.

Nextgrid 4y ago

It is extremely difficult to actually get good internet on short notice, at least in the UK. Mobile, while technically capable of this, does not fit the bill because their business model depends on locking people into long-term contracts or using it as a marketing platform (I've tried launching a startup that does away with all this, it's impossible). Right now nobody will sell you a SIM with unlimited data (excluding Three because their "unlimited data" is so oversubscribed that it's unusable) or a large enough data cap no matter how much you are willing to pay. Your only option is to either sign up for a yearly contract (which involves wasting time with support if you ever need to make a change or need to increase your data cap) or use Pay & Go SIMs and top them up regularly which involves using an IVR and listening to minutes of upselling random bullshit - there's no API and the billing is intentionally complex (depositing money isn't enough - you have to use that balance to buy a "bundle" of data, and you can't stack these bundles meaning you need to do this every time it runs out).

secondcoming 4y ago
Vodafone sell unlimited data 5G SIMs, but with a contract. I replaced fibre with one. You seem to be looking for a no-contract unlimited data plan? Isn’t that just PAYG?
- Nextgrid 4y ago
  > You seem to be looking for a no-contract unlimited data plan? Isn’t that just PAYG? Kind of - I did mention PAYG and why it's not ideal and that it feels like you're still fighting the provider. Topping it up is a nightmare and the billing system doesn't allow the scenario of "here's a few hundred bucks, give me internet consistently until this runs out". Instead, you have to fight with it every time your "bundle" expires and you can't stack them in advance even if you deposit enough cash on the account. EE's biggest bundle on PAYG is 100GB for 30£ which is reasonable from a pricing point of view but unfortunately doesn't last long and forces you to top-up and reset the bundle via the IVR every time it runs out. I want to be able to put 300£ on the account and get 1TB of data in one go so it lasts a couple weeks before I need to top-up again (topping up relies on the IVR which means taking the SIM out of the 4G router and putting it in a phone then sitting though minutes of bullshit upselling).
ectopod 4y ago
BT sell broadband with a mobile fallback if the broadband fails. I'm pretty sure one of the other ISPs offers it too. I've never tried it though.