Cool Ideas Fixed 5G/4G Feedback Thread

[William1102]

I have just received a Very Cool Surprise ...

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Yes I have been expecting this parcel and I must say that so far it has been AWESOME !!!

Here is a quick unboxing in case anybody else decides to sign up !

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Cool Ideas configures the router and installs the SIM card so all you need to do is plug in the power supply and turn on the router !

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Connection Ports at the back of the router ...

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Front panel of the router ...

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Router powered on !

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I collected the router myself from their offices and paid a total of R1499 for the router plus R126-03 for the remainder of this month for the 10Mbps package. I paid both invoices with a TymeBank Debit card - no Debit Order is required.

The support from Cool Ideas has also been excellent. I had a problem with the password to sign into my router to make changes and they responded shortly after 6AM this morning ! I am looking forward to doing some more extensive testing over the next few days ...

Nice thing about this router is it supports bridge mode so if you use this as a failover or even normally you can plug this into say a UniFi router or pass it through to a Mikrotik without a double nat and will pass through the WAN address

 

[PBCool]

Nice thing about this router is it supports bridge mode so if you use this as a failover or even normally you can plug this into say a UniFi router or pass it through to a Mikrotik without a double nat and will pass through the WAN address

Handy

 

[Jake45]

Nice thing about this router is it supports bridge mode so if you use this as a failover or even normally you can plug this into say a UniFi router or pass it through to a Mikrotik without a double nat and will pass through the WAN address

If you could post some pics of your router setup or if you are doing anything interesting with your 5G product please post about it here as this should be of interest to other customers with similar requirements.

Do you know if there is a detailed manual for the G5TS or only that quick start guide ?

 

[William1102]

Likely the only thing I’ll do is put the router in bridge mode and hook it up to my Unifi setup

 

[SHL]

Good day All. As you may have seen we have officially launched Fixed 5G on Vodacom

Cool Ideas launches 5G Fixed Wireless Internet in South Africa

Cool Ideas, one of South Africa’s top-rated fibre Internet service providers, has officially launched its 5G Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) products, bringing high-speed Internet to homes and businesses beyond the reach of fibre.

mybroadband.co.za

Pricing and packages can be viewed here:

https://coolideas.co.za/5g-packages/

Details:
Cool Ideas connectivity powered by Vodacoms's world class 5G network.
5G router not included and will be available for purchase for R1499.00 (excl delivery) at checkout.
Indicated speeds above are maximum download rates expected on the particular service.
Speed is dependent on your 5G router capability and available capacity on the 5G/LTE tower your device is connected to.
Uncapped (with applicable Fair Usage Policy).
Unshaped.
Month to Month
Fixed 5G internet is locked to a physical location and internet access is disabled if moved without updating the service's location.
Can only be used with Vodacom approved routers.
Can only be used at a fixed physical address.

FUP :
10Mbps = 200GB.
20Mbps = 300GB.
50Mbps = 450GB.
100Mbps = 600GB.
Unlimited = 1000GB. After monthly FUP limit, speeds are changed to 1Mbps.

Approved Routers:
HUAWEI: 5G CPE PRO 2
NOKIA: FastMile 5G Gateway 3.2
ZTE: 5G CPE MC801A
⁠ZTE: 5G CPE G5TS (The router we will be offering for this Service)

APN: coolideas

Which is the better router for this service:
ZTE G5TS (5G) or the ZLT X25 Max 2 (5G)

 

[PBCool]

Which is the better router for this service:
ZTE G5TS (5G) or the ZLT X25 Max 2 (5G)

Hi, The ZTE is relatively entry level, but tricky to ever say what is "better" without doing some side by side testing.

 

[Zurg]

Can we get a static ip with this service?

 

[PBCool]

Can we get a static ip with this service?

Technically yes but we havent discussed that from a product perspective.

It is set to be tabled so will let you know.

 

[Zurg]

Technically yes but we havent discussed that from a product perspective.

It is set to be tabled so will let you know.

Please do, I have you guys for fibre but put in a cancellation because it's unusable in the evenings regardless of the isp. (Planned on using lte either way but if I can get a static ip I'll stick with you guys.)

 

[PBCool]

Please do, I have you guys for fibre but put in a cancellation because it's unusable in the evenings regardless of the isp. (Planned on using lte either way but if I can get a static ip I'll stick with you guys.)

How is the fibre unusable in the evenings? Pop me your latest ticket #?

 

[Jake45]

Here are some details about the New Gautrain Rosebank-Parkhurst Midi-bus Service in case anybody else needs to collect a 5G Router from the Cool Ideas Offices or wants to visit Parkhurst using the Gautrain in the future. It's a great option if you are near a Gautrain Station or want to make the most of the trendy Parkhurst dining or shopping experience.

Gautrain operates a Mercedes Benz Midi-bus every 20 to 30 minutes from the Rosebank Station. The bus service requires passengers to purchase a return bus ticket (two tickets) between Parkhurst and the Rosebank Station from the ticket office next to the bus rank. The tickets which each cost R13 can only be bought using a bank card (not cash) and must be purchased before getting onto the bus.









The bus travels down Seventh Avenue which becomes Sixth Street before turning into Fourth Avenue. The Bus Stop (RPS1-4) at the corner with Fourth Avenue (outside the Jolly Cool Restaurant) is the closest stop to visit Cool Ideas. It is a short 1.3km walk from this stop down Sixth Street to Internet House, the Offices of Cool Ideas.



The walk from the Bus Stop to Cool Ideas


The Bus Stop outside Jolly Cool Restaurant




Greenacres Office Park


The Final Destination - Internet House, the Offices of Cool Ideas !

 

[PBCool]

Yeah its a nifty service for Parkhurst commuters, I think the new reception area has only just been finished.

We will do an article on the new space and DC soon enough.

 

[CoolEscalator]

How do I check on my current usage ? I didn't see anything in the CoolZone and it isn't available from *135# ?

Hi there, in the meantime, you could make use of this feature on the ZTE
Its approximate, but should be good enough for now

 

[Jake45]

Hi there, in the meantime, you could make use of this feature on the ZTE
Its approximate, but should be good enough for now
View attachment 1852606

I hope that you had a good break !

Many thanks for the suggestion. I see that it resets automatically at the start of every month which will be very useful.

 

[CoolEscalator]

I hope that you had a good break !

Yes indeed

I hope that you had a good break !

Many thanks for the suggestion. I see that it resets automatically at the start of every month which will be very useful.

Only a pleasure
Yes I hope its calendar month and not a 30 day rolling period
Or did yours reset now at the start of the new month?

 

[Jake45]

@CoolEscalator I think my usage reset on the 1st. If I open the Data Management Tab it appears that you can select the Clear Date as well as a Threshold etc. which would also be very useful if you want to be notified before reaching the FUP ! I will set the Data Plan to 20GB and the Threshold to 90% and see what happens ...

 

[CoolEscalator]

@CoolEscalator I think my usage reset on the 1st. If I open the Data Management Tab it appears that you can select the Clear Date as well as a Threshold etc. which would also be very useful if you want to be notified before reaching the FUP ! I will set the Data Plan to 20GB and the Threshold to 90% and see what happens ...

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Thanks would appreciate the feedback on that

 

[Jake45]

Here are several screenshots showing how to configure the Data Usage menu on the ZTE G5TS to issue an Alert upon reaching a predetermined Data Threshold (75% of 200GB) as suggested by @CoolEscalator.

This could be very useful if you need to keep your Cool Ideas 5G Data Usage below one of the FUP thresholds.

Cool Ideas 5G FUP Thresholds
10Mbps = 200GB
20Mbps = 300GB
50Mbps = 450GB
100Mbps = 600GB
Unlimited = 1000GB

After reaching the monthly FUP limit, speeds are changed to 1Mbps.

The Data Counter should be configured to reset on the First Day of every month. An added benefit is that the Data Counter does not reset after rebooting or turning off the router which is a major improvement over my legacy Huawei LTE routers which lose the count after a reset !




The Alert only appears when signing into the router.

 

[CoolEscalator]

Here are several screenshots showing how to configure the Data Usage menu on the ZTE G5TS to issue an Alert upon reaching a predetermined Data Threshold (75% of 200GB) as suggested by @CoolEscalator.

This could be very useful if you need to keep your Cool Ideas 5G Data Usage below one of the FUP thresholds.

Cool Ideas 5G FUP Thresholds
10Mbps = 200GB
20Mbps = 300GB
50Mbps = 450GB
100Mbps = 600GB
Unlimited = 1000GB

After reaching the monthly FUP limit, speeds are changed to 1Mbps.

The Data Counter should be configured to reset on the First Day of every month. An added benefit is that the Data Counter does not reset after rebooting or turning off the router which is a major improvement over my legacy Huawei LTE routers which lose the count after a reset !

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The Alert only appears when signing into the router.

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Thank you so much for the testing and letting me know, this will be very useful indeed

 

[Jake45]

It appears that ZTE has been quietly upgrading the G5TS firmware (twice!) over the last few weeks. Hopefully they will continue to provide regular updates for an extended period!

Initial BD_ARBZAG5TSV1.0.0B01 Firmware on receipt of the router.



Latest BD_ARBZAG5TSV1.0.0B03 Firmware



Router Firmware update screen showing confirmation of the latest update.