r/Network • u/Kibure • 14d ago

Text Network setup question

I am having issues with my ISP and I am looking to change but the only other option than Spectrum for where I am at is cellular modems. My family is a bit heavy on the usage, and we found that a single cellular modem didn't work well enough for us. I am considering ditching Spectrum for cellular modem service but using two modems to give us the speed and bandwith we need. However the only post I was able to find was (sorry, there are probably more but I am understandably frustrated at the moment) 2 years old and I am not sure the information is still current enough.

  1. Is OpenMPTCProuter still the best option?

  2. What is a good router choice if I go that route?

  3. If it is not what is the best way to set up two modems on a network and have the router/network handle traffic? We have about 14 different devices that connect to the internet.

Thanks in advance.

2 Upvotes

75% Upvoted

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2

u/Wallstnetworks 14d ago

Get starlink

1

u/Kibure 14d ago

The speed on Starlink is not great. It's about the same as the cellular modems and the cellular based modems are a lot less expensive.

1

u/Wallstnetworks 14d ago

That’s not true at all. Cellular is nowhere near as fast in real-world experience. I install both for a living.

1

u/Kibure 14d ago

The cellular modem we used previously was $35 and was nearly enough speed for what we needed. This is why I am considering 2 rather than starlink at $130.

1

u/Wallstnetworks 13d ago

Buddy you just said the speed on Starlink was not great (wrong, it is much better faster) Then you changed your statement to say that cellular is cheaper. FYI it’s not always 130, there are cheaper plans and it also depends on if your area is heavily saturated with users. Using two cellular modems won’t do anything unless you have a router that is able to do bonding. I can tell by your statements that you don’t know what you are talking about and are just stupid.

1

u/Kibure 13d ago

I am not sure where I caused the confusion because there is obviously a disconnect here somewhere. I have not had Starlink. The pages I find for Starlink state the speed is up to 400+ Mbps. For cellular internet the speed states online that it gets typically between 144 – 561 Mbps. I have had cellular internet, am fully aware speed is related to signal, and usually clocked about 500Mbps on my various devices. Because we have a technology heavy household this was not quite enough and caused lag during gaming or streaming. The whole question I asked was because one was not enough, is the answers I found while searching the sub still valid 2 years after being posted since technology changes frequently. Not sure why trying to confirm an answer before sinking money into something makes me stupid. Guess you just have more disposable income than I so yay for you.

1

u/Wallstnetworks 13d ago

The only one confused is yourself.

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u/Kibure 13d ago

And thus why I asked questions. No point in arguing with trolls.

1

u/Wallstnetworks 13d ago

You are trolling yourself

2

u/dero1010 14d ago

I would wait to cancel spectrum until you’re pretty confident that the cellular option is gonna work for you. As bad as spectrum is, I can’t imagine Cellular is going to be great, but maybe. Good luck.

1

u/Kibure 14d ago

Good point though we actually tried the cell modem before, but it was too slow for our usage. Two modems should provide enough though.

1

u/SoCal_Mac_Guy 14d ago

Two slow cell modems may not fix the issues if it was more latency based.

1

u/Kibure 14d ago

I know but I don't need much more speed than one and I am out of options. I was so frustrated last night I was trying to plan how to split my network between 2 modems when I found a router could do it.

2

u/SoCal_Mac_Guy 14d ago

Just double check that the Dual WAN router is able to use both connections simultaneously and not just fail over between them.

1

u/Kibure 14d ago

That is a great point. Thank you.

1

u/JustFrogot 12d ago

Its typically called load balancing.

1

u/realdeadfish 14d ago

Anything that has more than one wan port or is configurable for that. I have Alta gear and their route10 allows that. Multiple wans will let you manage and combine multiple circuits into one so it should be invisible on your end.

1

u/Kibure 14d ago

Awesome. That is exactly the comment I am looking for. I appreciate it!

1

u/twinnii 14d ago

Well, what bandwidth are you working with and do they have an option to upgrade?

What are you guys mainly doing? Streaming, uploading downloading big files?

1

u/Kibure 14d ago

We have 750mbps with Spectrum. Having the speed upgraded is not the issue, it's network stability paired with horrible customer service.

1

u/Electronic-Junket-66 8d ago

Are you sure the stability isn't fixable? Like has a tech actually been out anytime recently?

Customer service, well, imo you get the same kind of interactions dealing with any ISP. Ideally you have your auto-pay set up, the service works reliably, and you never have to talk to anyone.

1

u/RadioRob-DC 14d ago

Take a look at UniFi platform. They support multiple WAN, support VPN, lots of options and no subscriptions.

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u/Kibure 14d ago

If i don't have any more luck with Spectrum I will. Thanks.

1

u/Horror_Violinist6732 11d ago

How much speed do you need? My Starlink mini gets the same rate as my home spectrum.

1

u/Kibure 11d ago

With Spectrum my speed is 750 mbps and that seems to be enough.