What Happens When the Wire Lets you Down?

Using 4G to keep your business going, even if your ISDN or DSL connections fail

Mobile hotspots, such as using 3G and 4G networks, are some of the most popular alternatives to slower ISDN or DSL connections.

If your business is in the heart of the city, or in one of the most remote parts of the UK, creating a personal hotspot gives you a viable solution if your connectivity supplier suffers downtime. This will keep your business up and running, even if your connectivity drops.

Wide area network (WAN) outages are an unfortunate fact, caused by natural disasters or older, unreliable copper networks. This leaves many businesses needing a backup plan.

Enterprises have historically relied on WAN backup solutions like analogue lines and ISDN connections, however the advent of 3G and more recently 4G give your business more reliability through wireless connections plus greater flexibility to work in temporary locations.

What hardware options are available for 4G wireless backup links?

The hardware option we recommend is the Huawei E5172.

The Huawei E5172 is a new wireless router, which allows you to create a wireless hotspot, connected to the mobile network at speeds up to 4G and provides access for up to 32 Wi-Fi devices as well as desktop computers through an Ethernet cable.

The E5172 features a single RJ45 Ethernet port, Wi-Fi for up to 32 users and also features an RJ11 telephone port for the connection of a standard analogue telephone to enable GSM calls or can be configured within the web browser interface to enable this POTS phone to make calls over a VoIP service instead.

The E5172 has robust internal 4G antennas but in areas where the site demands an external SMA antenna can boost the reception – the fixed internal Wi-Fi antennas provide a standard Wi-Fi footprint (100-foot clear line of sight).

Optional extras can include a 4G directional Antenna (pictured below) which can be mounted on the outside of a business’ premises (pole mounting) and comes with 5 metres of cabling, whilst a GSM phone will require a subscription for a voice and data enabled SIM card.

When do you need to use a 4G wireless backup link? MPLS failover is the most common cause for using 3G or 4G networks as a wireless WAN backup.

A wireless WAN backup can be a lower cost alternative to ISDN or DSL lines and can be more effective in maintaining uptime at remote sites than wired options.

With caution, 3G and 4G networks can also serve as quick and easy stopgaps to get new remote sites up and running whilst waiting for primary WAN links to be installed and provisioned. However, please consider the length of time and amount of data you’ll expect to be transferred. Going outside of agreed bundles can cause high bills in the long-term.

What are the limitations to using a 4G wireless backup link?

Data charges do apply. We recommend speaking with a representative who’ll be able to advise you on what your usage is likely to be to create a bundle tariff to ensure your costs stay manageable.

Using 4G as a main connectivity source other than as a wireless backup link may cause higher data usage bills.

If high mobile data costs are a concern for you, we have a solution to support your management for your fleet of mobile devices. Mobile data optimisation lets you easily manage how much data your business is using in real-time, whilst simultaneously compressing the amount of data transferred.

Network coverage will still also dictate your network speed and if you can get 4G access. If you can’t get access to 4G you can still use 2G and 3G internet access.