Thank you, precisely the reason why I asked as I don't know what to look for, been on LTE for years.
Any advice or recommendations on router are most welcome.
I don't believe I need anything other than a router, and some wireless capability for tv's and devices around the home. My LTE router covers this at the moment, just the service has degraded overtime.
I'm ignorant on fibre gadgets so yeah, if there is a preferred option for gear other than what is provided by the ISP, I will certainly get it.
Thanks again.
Let’s start backwards. A ‘good’ router can set you back anything from R600-R <insert your lottery numbers here>. It depends on what you need. Obviously this is for your home, so you can cap your needs, so we’ll get to this once you’ve got your budget on the access portion sorted.
Let’s look at access first. This is where your budget needs to go. First- decide if you can run LAN cables throughout your house to make sure you get 1Gbps to every corner or not. If not, skip this next section.
It’s highly unlikely your solution will give you 1 Gbps on every wireless device. So set your mind on a more reasonable 300-500 for each wireless device- unless you want to spend big bucks on APs.. Consistent and pervasive coverage is more important for me than being able to blast 1Gbps in one spot, but being unable to watch Netflix in bed. Ubiquity’s UniFi range of APs are great- the new AC lite WiFi 6 devices are awesome. Consistent connectivity and good coverage at a reasonable price. TP link have their Omada range which are quite a bit cheaper and there are also new entrants like Reyee who have great APs at 1/3rd the price of a UniFi. Remember the APs above will all need you to run some CAT6 cables to them).
Also try running lan cables to your PC, consoles and tvs.
Next is considering a good switch. POE is nice to power these APs remotely. To be honest, you don’t need fancy management functionality in your home - so a simple 8/16 port Gigabit POE switch will do.
Finally, for your router. If you’re going ubiquity and your budget allows, look at their USG options. It ties up nicely with their solution and they’re all more than capable of doing 1Gbps (although the smaller ones will lose DPI and threat management functionality if you want 1G speeds). Your router’s job is to establish the wan connection, provide firewall and manage your LAN network (DHCP, DNS, port forwarding etc). Your ISP’s supplied router should be able to get these right (albeit poorly) - so you can simply disable WiFi on this box and use it as a starter router. If you’re feeling confident about your network skills, you can look at a MikroTik router- but be warned, these take some skill.
If you can’t run cables- invest in a decent Mesh solution. These range from units that have built in routers to ones that are just APs. Make sure you pick well. There are good solutions from Tenda and TP link and airties.
www.mweb.co.za
