Could you pay less for a home broadband experience if your needs are simple?

I think I have friends or readers who are pondering this but cannot find a good solution.

I have not changed my home broadband for at least 11 years. I signed up originally for a 2-year broadband plan that cost me $24 monthly roughly, and it comes with 500 Mbps with very basic Mio TV (remember that) and allows me to keep my phone line.

When my contract expired, occasionally, there would be telemarketers who would try to entice me to sign on for another 12 or 24 months by giving me some freebies. The freebies were pretty poor most of the time. When work and life became more busy, I didn’t do much about it, and sooner or later, the cost went up to $32 monthly, and now it is $38 monthly.

I am enjoying faster broadband speed today but to be honest, I didn’t notice much difference because my needs were pretty simple and the existing broadband speed was pretty simple.

I looked for more budget broadband solutions on a few occasions. The cheapest was Simba at $21 but that does not cover where I live. Simba’s plan is now available where I live but now the minimum subscription will cost $29 monthly. Another was M1’s 500Mbps plan at $30 monthly. M1 and Simba’s plan were viable options but it still feels that paying $30 monthly is wasteful given that I am single.

With 4G and 5G Cellular networks, the internet speed on our phones is so fast and abundant that we may not do everything on our computers and laptop but through our phones. In fact, some of my friends and relatives seldom use their computers and laptops at home.

As a blogger and a solution specialist at Havend, I still need a relatively stable internet connection at home to carry out my work.

I have always wondered if I could fully use a cellular plan at home, but there were usually a few mental stumbling blocks. I was always busy and could only explore the possibility in a half-hearted manner. A month and a half ago, after some research, I decided to spend some time (and money) experimenting.

I managed to create a home 4G mobile cellular setup that can replace my home broadband at a more budget cost and I will share my experience in this post.

What Are My Requirements for My Budget Home Broadband Solution?

Every family is different, and you might not be searching for a similar solution as mine. I wish to list out my requirements, and if your requirements are similar to mine, this might kind of work for you:

1. I don’t need a landline (if you need a landline, then you will either need to subscribe monthly to one or find a broadband package solution with one.)
2. I must ensure I can have internet on 5 to 6 devices. Unlike other families where you have a few members connected to internet, most likely I will have 3 devices online that needs internet and only 1 that will be more intensive.
3. I have a bunch of IOT (internet of things) devices that I want to stay connected to the network.
4. The WIFI or network should be accessible throughout the home (1250 sqft).
5. I don’t need blazing fast speeds. I just need it to easily browse the internet, stream videos not of BluRay quality and participate in web meetings.

I got a feeling some family with not a lot of members may have similar environment.

Replacing Broadband with a 4G or 5G Mobile Cellular Data Plan

If you have used a 4G or 5G mobile phone to surf the web and watch videos, you may notice that the performance is not too different from your home broadband.

I noticed this and the first thing that I thought about was whether a mobile data plan provides enough data for a lower price. More on whether there is enough data later.

The Typical Cost of Singapore Broadband Plans in the Market

I compiled roughly the recurring monthly subscription cost of the local broadband plan:

Grade 1 broadband plans are the fastest with the most features, and they are also the most expensive. Where we are looking for are the entry plans or Grade 3 plans. You would realize the lowest cost is closer to $30. While Whizcomms look cheap, they do not include one time registration fee and if you factor that in, the first year cost will work out closer to $30.

So the lowest cost that we can get for a typical budget broadband is $30 monthly.

The Typical Cost of 4G Singapore Mobile Plans in the Market

Firstly, let us take a look at the no-contract, sim-only mobile plans that is 4G in speed that is available on the market:

4G speeds typically range from around 20-50 Mbps (megabits per second) in practical use, although they can reach up to 150 Mbps in ideal conditions. This is significantly faster than 3G, which averages around 1-3 Mbps.

In ideal lab conditions, 4G LTE can theoretically reach up to 300 Mbps, but real-world speeds depend on factors like network congestion, signal strength, and location. 4G is sufficient for most online activities, including HD streaming, video conferencing, and online gaming with minimal lag.

Here’s a quick comparison for context:

• 3G Average: 1-3 Mbps
• 4G Average: 20-50 Mbps

The table above shows my tabulation of what is in the market. There are many MVNO operators, which are companies that provide mobile services by leasing network access from major carriers (like Singtel, M1, or Starhub) rather than owning their own wireless infrastructure.

You would be able to see that

• The prices are a step down from the most budget broadband plans.
• There is a wide range of maximum data per month that they provide ranging from 20GB to 400GB.

Right now, telecom operators are trying to become cheaper or offer more data per monthly subscription to win your business. This is something that is seemingly absent in the broadband market.

Kyith is currently on two 4G plans:

1. 200 GB data plan from Giga for $15. Yes, don’t ask me why the table is currently listed as 300 GB but Kyith is only enjoying 200GB for the same price. They have probably raised data provided but Kyith is still only on 200GB
2. 100 GB data plan from Zero1 for$10.

The Typical Cost of 5G Singapore Mobile Plans in the Market

More and more of these telecom operators now offer 5G Mobile plans.

5G plans are generally more expensive than 4G plans, as they offer higher speeds and lower latency, suitable for heavy data use and advanced applications. 4G plans, in contrast, tend to be more affordable and widely available, offering sufficient speed for everyday tasks like browsing, streaming, and social media, making them ideal for most users who don’t need the added speed and low latency of 5G.

Here’s a quick speed comparison for context:

• 5G Average: 100-400 Mbps
• 4G Average: 20-50 Mbps

5G is getting close to the broadband speed of yester-years.

Here is the typical no-contract, sim-only subscription data plans offer by the telecom operators:

You would realize the cost is higher than 4G but the cost is still lower than the monthly subscription cost of typical broadband plans.

All this will mean that you may be able to find a sweet spot between speed, data plan required for your home needs.

My Budget 4G Wireless Home Router Setup

I decided to make use of my secondary Zero1 100GB Data Sim-only plan to setup a WIFI environment so that I can use the 4G connection across all my devices:

1. I have an old 4G mobile smartphone that was released in 2019, acting as a cellular modem. This is where I connect the 4G sim card.
2. I connect the 4G mobile phone to a portable, pocket GL-iNET Opal (GL-SFT1200) router via USB-A Cable.
3. I was able to place the Opal Router in the middle of my 1250 sqft home because it is not tethered to a land connection.
4. I setup the WIFI environment of the Opal Router.
5. I connect my devices and my IOT devices to it.
6. Setup complete.

Here is how the setup looks like:

I think this is a very clean and simple setup.

Here are more details.

On the Smartphone Used

I am using a phone that I used probably 5 years ago. It is still a 4G phone.

You don’t need a large storage capacity. You don’t even need good battery life because you will be connecting the phone permanently with USB.

I think Android phones provide the best balance between functionality and cost here.

I see my phone going for plus minus $100 still on Carousell. I think if you find the sweeter spot of even older phones, you might get a better price point.

The GL-iNet Opal (GL-SFT1200) Router

I bought this router from AliExpress because I wanted to try a pocket-size router that is installed on the OpenWrt operating system. My goal originally wasn’t to experiment with such a setup but just to buy it to play around when I go overseas as the router can become a repeater and serve data more securely.

You can buy the GL-iNet Opal Travel Router for about SG$42 at AliExpress (my link here)

However, you don’t need to buy a new one. If your existing router accepts a phone to be a wired modem via USB-A cable, then you can use it.

You can read more about the features of the Opal Travel Router here.

There are a lot of advantages such as:

1. Can connect via Ethernet, or Tethering from a mobile phone, or cellular
2. It can be a repeater.
3. Maximum 52 connected devices simultaneously.
4. Two bands (2.4GHz and 5GHz)
5. 2.4GHZ Max 300 Mbps
6. 5GHZ Max 867 Mbps
7. Operating system: OpenWrt 18.06
8. Option for DNS Encryption with Cloudflare
9. Option for OpenVPN, WireGuard or Tor
10. Very configurable in different ways.

GL-iNet’s stuff is not cheap. If you have more budget and are hand itchy you might want to take a look at their more popular Beryl travel router at SG$100 which is much better.

Connecting the 4G Smartphone to Send Data to the Router

I have another main mind block. I passively consider how to setup a mobile hotspot on the Android phone to tether the cell data connection to the router.

I didn’t realize we could tether or share the cell’s data connection to the router through USB. If you see my picture, I connected my phone to the router using a USB-C (on the smartphone) to USB-A cable (router end).

You need a modem that can receive this, as well as to configure your phone to tether via USB.

Most Android operating system has a section call Hotspot and Tethering. You should be able to see a USB tethering among the options.

On my Samsung A35 (One UI) it looks like this:

The option is currently not enabled because the phone is not connected via USB cable but if it is, you will have that option.

On Xiaomi’s MIUI UI and Google UI it will be different.

This video will give you some idea.

Sometimes, you will realize that you will still cannot find the USB Tethering option or it doesn’t stay consistently. What I realize is that you can set things in detail under the Developer Options. But to go to the Developer options, you will need to client 10 times a certain name under the About page in setting to enable it.
This video will be able to help you:

By enabling USB Tethering, you have finish all the configuration on the smartphone (aside from also making sure the phone has data internet connection.)

Configuring on the GL-INet Opal Router

By default, the OpenWRT does not have a UI interface but GL-INet built an intuitive and really nice looking interface such as the one below:

Once I plugged the phone into the USB of the router, the GL-iNet OpenWRT was able to successfully detect that I had an internet connection via Tethering and I have a connection. As you can see, there are other ways to connect to it, and many other configuration but that is the topic for another day.

How is the Connection Speed?

Here is the speed test (5GHz band) on my HM90 Minisforum Mini PC:

Here is the speed test (2.4GHz band) on my HM90 Minisforum Mini PC:

I would typically use the 5GHz WIFI band because it is faster and the IOT devices will connect to the 2.4GHz WIFI band.

I think downloads are ok, but for uploads, you will find it to be slightly slower but acceptable.

1. I have no problems streaming from Anime sites.
2. I have no problems streaming from YouTube
3. Normal page surfing on the computer and Android tablet is normal.
4. I don’t have problems connecting multiple devices.
5. Almost 85% of the traffic is on streaming music, and videos.

The biggest compliment that I can give is that I can do whatever I was doing on my Singtel home broadband with this Zero1 4G setup.

How Much Data Did I Use in 1 Month?

I guess the biggest consideration that many of you have is whether 20GB is enough or 100GB is enough or 200GB is enough.

I realize this is kind of like asking Kyith: “How much do I need to retire?”

And it seems the answer to that is what is your desired lifestyle and how much that cost today on an annual basis.

And most of us don’t have a good idea.

So I decide to try my best by connecting everything to this new setup for 1-month and take a look at my own usage.

This is what is shown from my Zero1 data:

So that is about 80 GB for the past month.

I think last month is a good gauge.

1. Typically during office hours, I am not at home.
2. Night time is the most intense.
3. Weekend is full 20 hours of usage.
4. I don’t consider the data when I stream. I just stream as normal.
5. My main mobile phone is not connected to WIFI though. If it is, I suspect it will increase the usage by 5GB per month.

I think I still have 20GB left.

You can do the same thing that I do to a certain degree, but I hope that my data allows you to gauge what kind of plan you sign up and experiment with.

Make Sure You Go with a MVNO Operator Under a Telecom Where Your Home Coverage is Great.

I was lucky that when I experiment, I am on Zero1 which uses Singtel.

The cellular coverage at Singtel is okay at my home. My Giga plan, which is on Starhub, sucks in my vicinity.

Do take note of this.

How Well Covered is My Home on this Tiny GL-iNet Opal Travel Router?

The internet coverage is a function of where you place your router, whether there are thick walls, the temperature and the conditions.

I use a WIFI Analyzer software on my phone, connect to the WIFI and test the coverage around my home.

You can see the readings in my 5I HDB Room Floor plan here:

The strength of the coverage is measured in decibel-milliwatts and it can range from -30 dBm (strongest) to -90 dBm (weakest). I placed the router close but not super close to my main working Bedroom 2.

The weakest place is at my Service Balcony and I can still stream YouTube with ease there so that is good enough for me.

I am quite amazed that a tiny router can deliver this. To be fair, my old Singtel router is stronger though.

If this is not good enough for you, I think even getting a second hand more powerful router may still do the trick.

How Much Electricity does this Setup Consume?

I connect the Router and Phone setup to my Power Meter seen here:

You can see that the Meter shows 3.7W. The energy consumption gyrates between 3.7W to 5.1W.

So if you switch this setup on 24/7, then if there is 720 hours in a month, then its (720 x 3.7)/1000 = 2.66 kiloWatt an hour. At a cost of $0.30 per kiloWatt hour, turning this setup on will cost 0.30 x 2.66 = $0.80 per month.

How This Thought Experiment Impact My Financial Security Number

I think my small exploration has some implications on how I plan for my financial security. I describe the lifestyle that I wish to have financial security in this detailed note post here.

The cost of the lifestyle will affect the amount of capital that we set aside in our portfolio to generate the income for it. If the lifestyle cost more than the portfolio value has to be higher.

This was a detailed breakdown of my essential spending that I want to be very conservative:

I am able to have a passive income stream that secures my essential spending perpetually with my Daedalus portfolio.

I used to plan with $30 monthly because I am not confident that even if I am willing to cut in some of the worse case scenario, there is a budget broadband plan that is less than $30 monthly.

I am unsure how competition will be like in the future. I thought some of these costs can be rather deflationary given the competition but that doesn’t seem to be the case for broadband. But in the cellular space, it is damn competitive especially with so many MVNO operators.

I think I can seek a nice balance between a mobile plan and a broadband plan. Even as we scale to 5G a $10-$20 monthly plan can be rather competitive. I can imagine that if things are tougher, I can switch to a decent $10-$15 a month 4G/5G plan.

If we use $10 monthly, this will bring down the aggregate monthly lifestyle income need from $837 to $817 monthly. Since I use a 2% Safe Withdrawal Rate (SWR) to plan or check whether I am overspending on my Daedalus portfolio capital, this means that the capital need is ($817 x 12)/0.02 = $490,200.

$490k is about $10k lower.

This does not move the needle but more so, I feel the grade of home internet connectivity is more optimised for the financial security lifestyle:

1. It is not extravagant.
2. At times it can feel there is less room for safety.
3. I can freely spend this much but I would still have to watch my data consumption.
4. We can definitely see that if we are not planning based on essentials, we can go for a large data plan.

I will probably adjust that essential spending lifestyle table and the portfolio value to set aside accordingly in the future.

Other Modifications

Failed TP-Link TL-MR100/TL-MR105 300Mbps Wireless N LTE 4G Sim Card Router Experiment

Our good friend inform us that there is a $20 off Lazada deal so I decide to buy this 4G Sim Card Router from TP-Link that cost $70.

The result was not what I expected partly because I think it only has 2.4GHz band.

It was too slow (see the Fast.com 2.4GHz test above).

The router is still at home. If anyone of you want do let me know. I can give it to you.

The GL-iNet Spitz Dual-band 4G LTE Router

I am kind of comfortable with my current setup but I actually wonder if I could combine the Smartphone and the Router together. The TL-MR100 before this was because I got the $20 off but I actually wanted this Spitz:

The Spitz will set me back SG$183 bucks from AliExpress and you can look at it as the price of a second hand phone and a router roll into one.

But man, GL-iNet is not cheap at all.

But OpenWRT, expanding to 512GB storage via micro SD, OpenVPN and WireGuard may be worth the price.

GL-iNet GL-X3000 is the Holy Grail

This Spitz AX is a 5G Gateway Router.

Put in a 5G sim card and this one is probably the best-in-class mobile home solution.

But holy shit, its at SG$650.

I will rank this as something to buy if I FI.

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The post I Replaced My Singpore Home Broadband with a 4G Mobile Data WIFI Solution and Slash my Cost by 75%. appeared first on Investment Moats.