How can we get connected for on-line events at FMH

Mon 16 Nov 2020, 09:04 (last edited on Mon 16 Nov 2020, 09:10)

If the land line is not present and you need it quickly then 4G would be the way to go.

I went and stood around various places outside the meeting house today. The good news is I got and average of 25megabits down and about 6megabit up, this is with GiffGaff on the O2 network. I found the zoom bandwidth requirements which are at the bottom of this post.

Solution 1 A mobile phone

So it would be possible to do a zoom group call at 1080p quality on giffgaff 4G, this would use 2.4GB per hour. Here are the prices of GiffGaff sim only data deals https://www.giffgaff.com/sim-only-deals. So you could use a capable unlocked mobile phone with the zoom application and a GiffGaff or O2 sim to start with. I guess it would be about 4 meetings a month so 4 hours x 2.4GB  so you will need at least 10GB per month which would cost £12.

Solution 2 A Laptop with USB webcam and a 4G USB modem

The only problem with this is stopping the operating system and third party software trying to update whilst in a zoom call and destroying the bandwidth. Windows is notorious for this.

USB 4G modem about £50, stop windows updating some how then £12 data per month

Solution 3 A Laptop with a USB webcam and a Wireless 4G router

So the Wireless router has a 4G modem built in and is configured to only let zoom traffic access the internet. The laptop connects to this via wifi ( 5Ghz wifi is faster) and hosts the zoom call.

about £70 to £90 for the router then then £12 data per month on data

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Huawei-E5577S-Festival-Hotspot-Battery/dp/B01BHT39ZK/ref=sr_1_11?dchild=1&keywords=huawei%2BE392&qid=1605440774&sr=8-11&th=1

This one shows how much data you have used.

The bandwidth used by Zoom will be optimized for the best experience based on the participant‘s’ network. It will automatically adjust for 3G, WiFi, or wired environments.

Recommended bandwidth for meetings and webinar panelists:

• For 1:1 video calling:
  • 600kbps (up/down) for high-quality video
  • 1.2Mbps (up/down) for 720p HD video
  • Receiving 1080p HD video requires 1.8Mbps (up/down)
  • Sending 1080p HD video requires 1.8Mbps (up/down)
• For group video calling:
  • 800kbps/1.0 Mbps (up/down) for high-quality video
  • For gallery view and/or 720p HD video: 1.5Mbps/1.5Mbps (up/down)
  • Receiving 1080p HD video requires 2.5Mbps (up/down)
  • Sending 1080p HD video requires 3.0Mbps (up/down)
• For screen sharing only (no video thumbnail): 50-75kbps
• For screen sharing with  video thumbnail: 50-150kbps
• For audio VoiP: 60-80kbps
• For Zoom Phone: 60-100kbps

Recommended bandwidth for webinar attendees:

• For 1:1 video calling: 600kbps (down) for high-quality video and 1.2Mbps (down) for HD video
• For screen sharing only (no video thumbnail): 50-75kbps (down)
• For screen sharing with video thumbnail: 50-150kbps (down)
• For audio VoiP: 60-80kbps (down)

Depending on the quality of your stream, you'll generally consume between 540 MB and 1.62 GB of data per hour if you're using Zoom to meet one-on-one with another user. Only need 30 minutes to take care of business? Cut those numbers in half to get your approximate total.

Your virtual happy hour or weekly office sync-up will generally use between 810MB and 2.4GB of data in a given hour. Like 1:1 calls, Zoom data use for group meetings depends on your streaming quality and the length of your call, among other factors.

Sun 15 Nov 2020, 16:51

There should be an existing phone line.  My father used the building as an office for many years.  It was a while ago now, but surely the cables are still there?

Sat 14 Nov 2020, 22:38

Thank you all: will look into these options.

Fri 13 Nov 2020, 23:54

Simon's suggestion makes the most sense particularly if your needs are only for occasional use. For starters, however, you can test the idea if one of your members with a 4G mobile phone can setup 'teathering' that would allow you to see if it would work well enough.

Alternatively, if one of your neighbours is willing and has a modem that permits guest access you could simply borrow a bit of wi-fi access when you need it. That may require a small repeater device.

Fri 13 Nov 2020, 21:14

Look at a 4G wireless router.  It works on the same basis as a mobile phone, with a SIM card, so does not need physical cables to connect it to the internet.  There was one at a remote-ish holiday cottage we used not long ago, and it was OK.  The potential disadvantage is that it can lose connection if the local transmitter is very busy with lots of people making mobile calls.  And, of course, you need to have a good 4G signal at the Meeting House.

Fri 13 Nov 2020, 20:28

Try Gigaclear in a few months' time once they are up and running: much cheaper.

Fri 13 Nov 2020, 19:53

We have recently been quoted a figure in excess of £3,000 to have a phone line installed at the Friends Meeting House in Market Street, so that we can access the internet and hold blended meetings when we are finally allowed back into places of worship.

The reason given by OpenReach for this high cost is that they will have to close the road in order to dig a trench across so that they can bring a line across.

Not being an engineer, I am somewhat bewildered by this, since there are houses on both sides of the road which I suppose have telephone lines, but whatever the reason, we cannot afford this sort of figure.

Has anybody any ideas for how we can achieve internet access inside the Meeting House, without having to dig up the road?