+++
date = '2025-10-17T07:39:45-03:00'
draft = true
title = 'Fifteenth Post Intermittent internet & GSM access'
+++

GSM and 5G data

We often take for granted the access we have to data & VOIP networks, esp. when we have 'unlimited access'

Unlimited data access is a farce

• My ISP still delivers ancient xDSL connections maxed a 10MBit/s (1MBit = 1024kBit!)
• The connection is capped at speed meaning 30days per bandwidth pool
• * 10MBit/s = 36000Mbit/hr
• * 36000Mbit/hr = 36864000 MBit/day (x24)
• * 36864000MBit/day = 1105920000 MBit/month (x 30 days)
• * 1105920000MBit /1024 = 1080000 MByte/month
• * 1080000MByte /1024 = 1054.6875 GByte/month
• * 1054.6875 /1024 = 1.02996826172 TByte theoretical bandwidth.

You get only 1.0299 TByte/month at max!

Subtract from that number 10% for protocol overhead ping delays retries and what not.

• * 1.0299 TByte - 0.10299TByte = 0.9269TByte
• * 0.9269 TByte = 949.1456 GByte max in practice

The practical cap is at 949.15GB per month

Similar calculations can be made for unlimited post paid POTS phone connections

• The cap is at time. No one talks 24hrs and can pay the phone bill, so the cap is also economical
• No unlimited services exist. All are capped by time*
• Subscriptions can be a way out to good deals
• One of my GSM providers gives 100 minute prepaid subsciptions for 6 months a year and two years
• The difference is startling in comparision with the regular price
• 100min = 4.5 USD per month subscribed prepaid 6 months
• 100min = 25 USD month prepaid!

Don't take your connections for granted.

• Many people (me included) drop permanent services due to economical & technical reasons
• * I dropped my xDSL connection because I need fibre connections to work. My ISP has the fibre optic cables & FAT terminals (fibre acces terminals) in the first part of the street.
• * * My ISP even made the power company change the poles in the whole street
• * * The EBS changed the poles in 40% of the project time, a record for them.
• * * My ISP betrayed us by still giving us FTTC instead of FTTH as promised in the whole street.
• * * My ISP has massive corruption problems, since they abused the grand for FTTH to give us obsolete FTTC equipment with xDSL
• * * Only areas without POTS cables got FTTH first, the rest was shoved on obsolete ancient FTTC equipment you cant buy new anymore globally
• * * The ISP makes double money since they cant charge more for FTTC minimal, but have to give 50MBit/s minimal because there are no lower caps allowed in the contract grand
• * * The FTTH connection als0 gets your POTS phone connected to it
• * * when a pole is ripped off due to a car hitting it, you are SOL without a seperate GSM / smart phone, because your POTS phone is now on a SPF (single point of failure).
• • * On xDSL the lines are buried so POTS lines are safer
• • I also dropped the xDSL service because the ammount of data I can download is pitiful on xDSL
• • I can use the cash literally for food since they charge a massive USD 20/month for the ancient connection

Z
#GSM #2G #3G #4G #internet #technology #FTTC #FTTH #mathematics #programming #service #network #infrastructure #fibre #optics

Finally getting around to upgrading my home server from Debian bookworm (12/oldstable) to trixie (13/stable).

`apt upgrade --without-new-pkgs` went smoothly enough, just a few config files with local tweaks.

Currently wishing I had FTTP for the `apt full-upgrade` downloads. I'm "languishing on only 80Mbps FTTC".

I expect to have some issues to sort out once this bit is done, and I still need to re-activate/update my third-party repositories....

#Debian #Debian13 #FTTP #FTTC

FTTC – Investition in die Vergangenheit

Meine Gemeinde bekommt schnelles Internet! Sie hat sich am bayerischen Förderprogramm beteiligt. Das sollte für mich eigentlich ein Grund zum Feiern sein. Dennoch blicke ich sorgenvoll in die Zukunft. Den Zuschlag hat die Deutsche Telekom erhalten. Sie setzt auf Glasfaser bis zu den Verteilern und die letzte Meile in Kupfer. Für diesen Ausbau fließen Steuergelder aus dem bayerischen Förderprogramm und Steuergelder aus dem Gemeindesäckel zum Magentariesen. In meinen Augen ist das eine Investition in die Vergangenheit.

FTTC – Investition in die Vergangenheit

(incl.Update vom 15.10.2016) Meine Gemeinde bekommt schnelles Internet! Sie hat sich am bayerischen Förderprogramm (http://www.schnelles-internet-in-bayern.de/) beteiligt. Das sollte für mich eigentlich ein Grund zum Feiern sein. Dennoch blicke ich sorgenvoll in die Zukunft. Den Zuschlag hat die Deutsche Telekom erhalten. Sie setzt auf Glasfaser bis zu den Verteilern und die letzte Meile in Kupfer. Für diesen Ausbau fließen Steuergelder aus dem bayerischen Förderprogramm und Steuergelder aus dem Gemeindesäckel zum Magentariesen. In meinen Augen ist das eine Investition in die Vergangenheit.

[…]

Sono felice che la fibra in FTTH si fermi a 80 metri da casa mia, nella medesima via.
Sono anche felice che il DSLAM della mia FTTC abbia le piastre che fanno pietà e si disconnetta continuamente.
E sono ben lieto dei miei 50 mbps in download.

Ma sono così felice che a sto punto mi sono comprato un router outdoor della Zyxel e una sim denat della Alpsim. Non sarà la FTTH ma finalmente ho una connessione decente, ip pubblico e senza cap né di traffico né di banda.

E per il resto vai di nftables, tc e qdisc!
Avrei potuto scegliere Starlink, ma alla fine cavolo questa è una SIM con router che monto, smonto e porto a giro a un terzo del prezzo, nostrana, con ip pubblico e con banda paritaria!

🥳

#Zyxel #Alpsim #qdsic #fttc #fwa

5G Broadband Fail Over

https://blog.hardill.me.uk/2025/11/28/5g-broadband-fail-over/

Due to an unfortunate set of circumstances I have been left in limbo between FTTC and a FTTP install.

My FTTP install failed due to a collapsed duct and my FTTC line was ceased a few days later (an oversight led to this not being cancelled). This was then compounded by being informed it would not be possible to reconstitute the FTTC line (which later turned out not to be the case, but not […]

#4g #5g #broadband #fttc #fttp #lte

I've cut myself from the landline where my ISP only offers xDSL over copper

VDSL2 peaks at just 10 MBits/s here, giving you barely the ability to fill 1.5 TB of HDD Space, assuming 50% of available, actual available, bandwidth

They are charging a ridiculous amount of money for that obsolete technology also.

Wat peeved me is that the Power Company replaced the utility poles especially for the ISP which then disregarded the work and refused to pull the fiber optic cables with the Fiber Access Terminals in the street

On the 4G networks I can reach 100 megabits

#ISP #xDSL #4G #FTTH #FTTC #copper #RJ45 #UTP