SIM Card Recommendations for Traveling

Joined
Jul 2, 2024
Posts
48
Likes collected
30
Location
West Lancashire District, UK
Funster No
104,271
MH
Adria Matrix
Good day to you all,

What sim cards do people use for the internet in a motor home/caravan? How much data are we likely to use if we are away approx 1-2 weeks a month and sometimes travelling abroad? Can you purchase one that you can disable when not using and then reactivate when needed and what are the best networks?

Many thanks
 
That’s a very helpful website! Thanks!
 
Upvote 0
Got the ZTE U50 5G router from IQ this morning. Very impressed. Light years on from the TP Link 4G I got and sent back to Amazon, then at twice the price...... I've just tried my iD Mobile sim in it and it's much better than our home wifi.View attachment 921768


Just curious, what makes this unit light years ahead of the TP Link, please? I've had a TP Link for a long time and have never had a reason to replace it. Also, does the ZTE unit also run on 3G and / or 4G, please? Thanks :)
 
Upvote 0
Another vote for Popit Mobile
No restrictions- 100gb a month
As previously said you can pause for £1 a month
And NO VPN required to watch live UK TV
Were in the Pyrenees at the moment and it works just fine with good 4G coverage
What Neil said........
 
Upvote 0
Just curious, what makes this unit light years ahead of the TP Link, please? I've had a TP Link for a long time and have never had a reason to replace it. Also, does the ZTE unit also run on 3G and / or 4G, please? Thanks :)
I had the TP Link 4G LTE, but sent it back to Amazon. I just found it fiddly to use, and the battery didn't last anywhere near as long as they advertised. Maybe I just got a duff one, who knows. The ZTE ticked more boxes for me and has 5G. Yes, it runs 4G and 3G. Downside is its twice the price of the TP Link! Oh, and the ZTE has arial connector slots so I could stick an arial on the roof if needed.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
  • Informative
Reactions: HKF
Upvote 0
Just curious, what makes this unit light years ahead of the TP Link, please? I've had a TP Link for a long time and have never had a reason to replace it. Also, does the ZTE unit also run on 3G and / or 4G, please? Thanks :)
Check your TP link model to be sure it's HIGHER than cat4. If it's cat6 or higher no point in an upgrade. If it's cat4, it actually can't use the majority of newer cellular frequencies. (ie, it'll be a considerable amount slower - you may be blaming your cellular provider (sim company) for poor performance when it's actually your tplink being too old for a modern cell tower). Cat 4 devices cannot use "downlink only" frequencies, which are used to give faster data rates in busy cell sites. Effectively you are cut off from a majority of capacity when they "upgrade" cell sites. How many? Well Three alone upgraded 6000 sites last year to this technology apparently.

The U50 mentions is 5g not 4g, so will do several Gbit in performance, where 4g tops out at around 500Mbit in real world. We have actually speed tested 5g, at a campsite, at 980 Mbit down, and 80 up. Which is better than our home fibre connection. Should edit to clarify it ALSO does do 4g, and yes, it's cat20 like the mu5001.

ZTE MU5001 (the cheap one) does 3, 4 and 5g. It's a cat20 4g modem, meaning it's about the highest spec you can buy now in the 4g price point. It is not the best at 5g, but as I mentioned the ones that ARE are 3 times the price minimum. Less good 5g is still better than 4g in almost all circumstances.
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0
And they also limit the time you can use it abroad “if your roaming usage is greater than usage in the UK over any continuous 120 day period, you will be subject to a surcharge” which is OK for some but not others.
I fell foul of this Lebara clause very quickly! I took out one of their 30Gb / £15 deals a month before we left the UK. And under the above clause I got through the first month and bang, I lost ALL services. Not just data. Couldn’t even call them to ask what was wrong or use the online web chat.

I have now got limited service but on PAYG terms. I’m getting my Portuguese phone switched to an eSIM so I have data again on my iPhone.

I’ll be leaving Lebara as soon as I get back to the UK because of the way they do this.

Finding this clause is very difficult- it is not in their “fair use” terms, but buried in the small print on another web page.

Shame, because out here they are on Vodaphone and I get 5g just about everywhere.
 
Upvote 0
Check your TP link model to be sure it's HIGHER than cat4. If it's cat6 or higher no point in an upgrade. If it's cat4, it actually can't use the majority of newer cellular frequencies. (ie, it'll be a considerable amount slower - you may be blaming your cellular provider (sim company) for poor performance when it's actually your tplink being too old for a modern cell tower). Cat 4 devices cannot use "downlink only" frequencies, which are used to give faster data rates in busy cell sites. Effectively you are cut off from a majority of capacity when they "upgrade" cell sites. How many? Well Three alone upgraded 6000 sites last year to this technology apparently.

The U50 mentions is 5g not 4g, so will do several Gbit in performance, where 4g tops out at around 500Mbit in real world. We have actually speed tested 5g, at a campsite, at 980 Mbit down, and 80 up. Which is better than our home fibre connection.

ZTE MU5001 (the cheap one) does 3, 4 and 5g. It's a cat20 4g modem, meaning it's about the highest spec you can buy now in the 4g price point. It is not the best at 5g, but as I mentioned the ones that ARE are 3 times the price minimum. Less good 5g is still better than 4g in almost all circumstances.

I have absolutely no issue with my TP LInk at all. We've used it in the UK, France, Spain, Germany, Belgium with no issues at all. We stream a lot and it's never let us down. That's why I was wondering how the ZTE could be 'light years ahead'. Mine is an M7350 LTE.
 
Upvote 0
Both Jeff and I are on smarty at the moment, but looking to change. Yes they are cheap but their reception is rubbish.
As I've said, it may not be the Three network. Smarty just is priroritised below Three's other customers -> but it is worth you checking your devices category as we've said before (even phones have a LTE category for their modem). Older phones can't use some frequencies, even iphones (my old iphone X wasn't able to use some of Threes newer frequencies when I dug into it). The important band for signal these days is the band 28 coverage, this is lower frequency than the band 20 (which used to be the frequency that had the best coverage but worked "best but slowest".... check your device has band 28 (700mhz) coverage in its specifications as if it doesn't many Three cell sites use this now.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Upvote 0
I have absolutely no issue with my TP LInk at all. We've used it in the UK, France, Spain, Germany, Belgium with no issues at all. We stream a lot and it's never let us down. That's why I was wondering how the ZTE could be 'light years ahead'. Mine is an M7350 LTE.
Thats a cat4 so yes, would benefit in speed terms from an upgrae. You'll not see difference much if at all on a uncongested cell site. On congestion a cat6 would double the speed, a cat20 would be around 5x the speed.

The difference is peak performance, in (when you only one on a tower) you'll get 150Mbit on your device. A cat20 would get 2.4 Gbit in same circumstance (roughly). If the cell tower is busy and you are getting 1Mbit, a cat20 should get between 4 and 20Mbit. This is becase the higher categorys send more data per "packet". You actually are both sharing the same timeslots on the cell tower its just more effecient on the more modern "modes". So if you've ever visited a site where you found your device "slow" you'll benefit from an upgrade.

If you visit a very congested place like a music festival a cat4 device in some cases would not work at all, where a cat20 would, as the cell tower will start to restrict access to less effecient modes in order to serve more higher category devices in the same timeslots (networks work on a serve the most people principle under congestion).

Finally, the MAIN reason is actaully coverage, the fartest reaching frequncy in UK mobiles is now 700mhz, which was freed when they turned off analogue TV and the cell providers used it. It's called band 28, and a cat4 device can't use this. Why is that important in a motorhome, -> rurally it goes furthest, an penetrates tress and buildings better. Effectively you are guaranteed zero signal in some places where a band 28 capable device may have FULL signal. All bar Vodafone I believe I are using this frequency in UK at present.

In Europe this goes further for reference -> cat4 device frequencies are far more limited, and wider frequency bands in use in Europe. This may mean you get blackspots or no coverage zones where higher category devices would be fine.

But if it's fine for you don't upgrade. I'm not one for telling anyone to do anything, I am just pointing out if you buy a new device you may as well buy cat20 these days as it's similar priced to devices able to perform at 5x minimum the speed for no extra money, and it DOES make an improvement. In congested Three cell towers on a 3 sim, a cat4 device may get 1Mbit where a cat 20 would get a home broadband like 80Mbit... (and I've actually tested this by moving a sim from device to device).
 
Upvote 0
Thats a cat4 so yes, would benefit in speed terms from an upgrae. You'll not see difference much if at all on a uncongested cell site. On congestion a cat6 would double the speed, a cat20 would be around 5x the speed.

The difference is peak performance, in (when you only one on a tower) you'll get 150Mbit on your device. A cat20 would get 2.4 Gbit in same circumstance (roughly). If the cell tower is busy and you are getting 1Mbit, a cat20 should get between 4 and 20Mbit. This is becase the higher categorys send more data per "packet". You actually are both sharing the same timeslots on the cell tower its just more effecient on the more modern "modes". So if you've ever visited a site where you found your device "slow" you'll benefit from an upgrade.

If you visit a very congested place like a music festival a cat4 device in some cases would not work at all, where a cat20 would, as the cell tower will start to restrict access to less effecient modes in order to serve more higher category devices in the same timeslots (networks work on a serve the most people principle under congestion).

Finally, the MAIN reason is actaully coverage, the fartest reaching frequncy in UK mobiles is now 700mhz, which was freed when they turned off analogue TV and the cell providers used it. It's called band 28, and a cat4 device can't use this. Why is that important in a motorhome, -> rurally it goes furthest, an penetrates tress and buildings better. Effectively you are guaranteed zero signal in some places where a band 28 capable device may have FULL signal. All bar Vodafone I believe I are using this frequency in UK at present.

In Europe this goes further for reference -> cat4 device frequencies are far more limited, and wider frequency bands in use in Europe. This may mean you get blackspots or no coverage zones where higher category devices would be fine.

But if it's fine for you don't upgrade. I'm not one for telling anyone to do anything, I am just pointing out if you buy a new device you may as well buy cat20 these days as it's similar priced to devices able to perform at 5x minimum the speed for no extra money, and it DOES make an improvement. In congested Three cell towers on a 3 sim, a cat4 device may get 1Mbit where a cat 20 would get a home broadband like 80Mbit... (and I've actually tested this by moving a sim from device to device).

This is really interesting for the future. Thankyou for taking the time to write it and explain it.

One thing remains critical for me. Does the ZTE model quoted above rely on an app only, or can I access it on my laptop, please? I don't have, or want, a smartphone and I can't find a definitive answer to the question online.
 
Upvote 0
I use about 280gb over 2 weeks... Ideally across 2 sims...im torn between IQ and RWG (https://www.rwgmobile.wales/webshop/offers/unlimited-mins-sms-unlimited-uk-data-plus-200gb-eu-data-£60-month/) used RWG last year for £40 for 2 sims (200gb each) ... I expect I'll do the same this year but at a much higher rate :unsure:
Yes sadly RWG dropped the roaming from 200gb to 20gb last year.
The new offering is expensive, so much so that it would make starlink more realistic, but not for me at the moment
 
Upvote 0
This is really interesting for the future. Thankyou for taking the time to write it and explain it.

One thing remains critical for me. Does the ZTE model quoted above rely on an app only, or can I access it on my laptop, please? I don't have, or want, a smartphone and I can't find a definitive answer to the question online.
The ZTE's (all of them) have a webapp at 192.168.0.1 I think it is - we don't use the native iphone app at all ourselves, althought there is one as it hides some of the functionality... our ZTE model (older cat12) won't allow us to switch apn (well) on the app as some settings fail to appear. We use the web page settings on laptop as it's friendlier AND more powerful in what it allows.

About the only ZTE funny when compared with other dongles I own is you need to disable the mobile data prior to changing any APN settings or it resets to what it was before you save so doesn't change. I suspect this catches a lot of people out and results in some people thinking certain sims won't work on a ZTE (when they will). The only negative to a ZTE is it isn't easy to disable certain band support (there is a workaround, and YES it needs a laptop not a smartphone to do so) (it's easier on Telfonica and Mikrotik). (this is useful for power users to stop the phone sticking to stronger, but slower band 20 when it's faster to use band 3 -> for most people they won't need to do this these days though)
 
Upvote 0
In short HKF

Yes, laptop is fine :LOL:

This is really interesting for the future. Thankyou for taking the time to write it and explain it.

One thing remains critical for me. Does the ZTE model quoted above rely on an app only, or can I access it on my laptop, please? I don't have, or want, a smartphone and I can't find a definitive answer to the question online.

The ZTE's (all of them) have a webapp at 192.168.0.1 I think it is - we don't use the native iphone app at all ourselves, althought there is one as it hides some of the functionality... our ZTE model (older cat12) won't allow us to switch apn (well) on the app as some settings fail to appear. We use the web page settings on laptop as it's friendlier AND more powerful in what it allows.

About the only ZTE funny when compared with other dongles I own is you need to disable the mobile data prior to changing any APN settings or it resets to what it was before you save so doesn't change. I suspect this catches a lot of people out and results in some people thinking certain sims won't work on a ZTE (when they will). The only negative to a ZTE is it isn't easy to disable certain band support (there is a workaround, and YES it needs a laptop not a smartphone to do so) (it's easier on Telfonica and Mikrotik). (this is useful for power users to stop the phone sticking to stronger, but slower band 20 when it's faster to use band 3 -> for most people they won't need to do this these days though)


You are an absolute mine of information starquake ,and I have learned more about 4g and 5g from your posts than from any number of tech blogs, but sometimes the answer is a simple Yes or No :rofl:

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
  • Like
Reactions: HKF
Upvote 0
I'd be wary to reccomend Popit to anyone;


^ explains it well, but you need to use as much in UK as abroad to maintain roaming compliance. Given UK sims cost as much per YEAR as popit costs a month, it's likely way more expensive, or many £75 fines to cancel. (I'm comparing with the Three 80Gb a month as its closest to 100Gb.., which work out at £2 ish a month when prepaid over 2 years).

My reading of their policy is you need to effectively double all their prices, as HALF the data has to be used in UK to maintain compliance.
We used Popit to tour France and Spain earlier this year. £25 100gb. Spoke to customer services before ordering. We were instructed to use at least 1gb of data in the UK before leaving. We did that 2 days before heading to France and at the end of 28 days (the first month is only 28 days) renewed for another 30 days. Gave us 8 weeks which is what we required. Then we just cancelled it 2 days before the next renewal using a code you request and they send you to cancel it. No issues and it worked great.
 
Upvote 0
I got a lobster sim for 2 months in Spain after being recommended on here now no one seems to mention them!!???
 
Upvote 0

8.1 We reserve the right to modify or update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any changes will be effective upon posting the revised Policy on our website or providing other notice as required by law.

(The Privacy policy invludes the Fair usage policy. Sneaky eh!).

BTW the blog I linked to isn't even mine, it annoyed a LOT of us when they changed their terms. I'm just informing you so you realise you'll need to use same as you used in EU to avoid fees.
We go to Carinthia quite a bit, use an unlimited- data month's sim on 3 network, 40E, on a Netgear 1100, usable in Austria, Germany, France, seems fair
 
Upvote 0
The ZTE's (all of them) have a webapp at 192.168.0.1 I think it is - we don't use the native iphone app at all ourselves, althought there is one as it hides some of the functionality... our ZTE model (older cat12) won't allow us to switch apn (well) on the app as some settings fail to appear. We use the web page settings on laptop as it's friendlier AND more powerful in what it allows.

About the only ZTE funny when compared with other dongles I own is you need to disable the mobile data prior to changing any APN settings or it resets to what it was before you save so doesn't change. I suspect this catches a lot of people out and results in some people thinking certain sims won't work on a ZTE (when they will). The only negative to a ZTE is it isn't easy to disable certain band support (there is a workaround, and YES it needs a laptop not a smartphone to do so) (it's easier on Telfonica and Mikrotik). (this is useful for power users to stop the phone sticking to stronger, but slower band 20 when it's faster to use band 3 -> for most people they won't need to do this these days though)

Thank you SO much. Now, the final question is.....if I buy one of these in the near future.....do you promise to help me with it, if I get stuck? ;) I'm not techie at all but I did understand a lot of what you said. Just, if I get stuck, I may not be able to figure it out :blusher:

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Upvote 0
Thank you SO much. Now, the final question is.....if I buy one of these in the near future.....do you promise to help me with it, if I get stuck? ;) I'm not techie at all but I did understand a lot of what you said. Just, if I get stuck, I may not be able to figure it out :blusher:
It honestly shouldn't be hard. They all are the same. Password for wifi and Admin password printed on back (in the battery case usually) along with what to enter into your laptop to get logged in (web url to the admin page). That is something I do use a smart phone camera for though as the text is so small it's hard to read so I would suggest if you don't hvae a smart phoen you transpose that information to a notebook in the van as it's impossible to see if it's in a motorhome cupboard (as ours lives).

All there is to change is the APN for a sim card, and the ZTE is handily preprogrammed for many UK sims already so you just put sim in, turn on, done in most cases. It is in general very simple to configure and use any wifi router, and they all are near enough same these days. For newer providers you may need to change the APN depending on who suppleis the sim. I'd be more than happy to run anyone through configuring these at a motorhome show if they need it, we're at Norwich next week and can go through how ours works (we have the older cat12 ZTE, but it's same pretty much as a newer one).
 
Upvote 0
Currently @ £37 a month for TEICOM's 400GB Spain / 200GB EU Data SIM
I enquired what their coverage was. Here's their reply. Impressed with their suport turnaround as I asked this question this evening during the match!

Dear Ian,

Thanks for contacting Tiekom 😊

Please find here more information about our New Data sim 400GB:
 Speeds up to 150MB
 400GB data / month in Spain
 200Gb data / month roaming in EU (zone1)
 4G and 5G coverage
 FREE activation fee and no commitment to remain
 Monthly fee 43,90€
 Esim available

This sim card can be used in these countries:
Germany, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Denmark, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Estonia, Finland, France, Gibraltar, Greece, Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Holland, Hungary, Ireland, Martinique Island, Reunion Island, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, Poland, Portugal, United Kingdom, Romania, Sweden, Monaco, San Marino, Vatican.

We can pause the service of the sim card when you are not using it (monthly cost 3€). We need 10 days of notice to pause / restart the service of the sim card.
We can post the sim card to your address:
International Shipments…shipping cost 15€
National Shipments… shipping cost 8,50€
and you can set it up whenever you need and wherever you are. Sim cards are always shipped deactivated, so please contact me as soon as you get your sim card to set it up.
Be aware that delivery process overseas can take 10 days.
We are very flexible and payment can be made by direct debit on your bank account, credit card and bank transfer.
It’s billed monthly for a calendar month and the first month is done pro rata.
Attached I have sent you the customer details form you can complete and send me back. I will need please a pic of your passport document.
Once I have registered you as a client in our system, you will receive a welcome mail from Tiekom with a username and password which will enable you to get into the customer area. You will be able to make the payment by credit card and download your invoices using this tool.

It’s very important to make the payment of the service the first week of the month (once you have received the invoice by email from our admin department).


I am at your disposal for any further information you may require.
Best regards,
Camino

Kind regards / Beste Grüße / Un saludo


Sales Department
+34 910 630 890
sales@tiekom.com
www.tiekom.com
 
Upvote 0
Currently @ £37 a month for TEICOM's 400GB Spain / 200GB EU Data SIM
I enquired what their coverage was. Here's their reply. Impressed with their suport turnaround as I asked this question this evening during the match!

Dear Ian,

Thanks for contacting Tiekom 😊

Please find here more information about our New Data sim 400GB:
 Speeds up to 150MB
 400GB data / month in Spain
 200Gb data / month roaming in EU (zone1)
 4G and 5G coverage
 FREE activation fee and no commitment to remain
 Monthly fee 43,90€
 Esim available

This sim card can be used in these countries:
Germany, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Denmark, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Estonia, Finland, France, Gibraltar, Greece, Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Holland, Hungary, Ireland, Martinique Island, Reunion Island, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, Poland, Portugal, United Kingdom, Romania, Sweden, Monaco, San Marino, Vatican.

We can pause the service of the sim card when you are not using it (monthly cost 3€). We need 10 days of notice to pause / restart the service of the sim card.
We can post the sim card to your address:
International Shipments…shipping cost 15€
National Shipments… shipping cost 8,50€
and you can set it up whenever you need and wherever you are. Sim cards are always shipped deactivated, so please contact me as soon as you get your sim card to set it up.
Be aware that delivery process overseas can take 10 days.
We are very flexible and payment can be made by direct debit on your bank account, credit card and bank transfer.
It’s billed monthly for a calendar month and the first month is done pro rata.
Attached I have sent you the customer details form you can complete and send me back. I will need please a pic of your passport document.
Once I have registered you as a client in our system, you will receive a welcome mail from Tiekom with a username and password which will enable you to get into the customer area. You will be able to make the payment by credit card and download your invoices using this tool.

It’s very important to make the payment of the service the first week of the month (once you have received the invoice by email from our admin department).


I am at your disposal for any further information you may require.
Best regards,
Camino

Kind regards / Beste Grüße / Un saludo


Sales Department
+34 910 630 890
sales@tiekom.com
www.tiekom.com

Blimey - "We need 10 days of notice to pause / restart the service of the sim card."
 
Upvote 0
Connectpls chatbot is cuttently offering 15% discount on their SIM Packages:

Hold on! We have a discount for you!
Get your 15% discount now. To learn the discount code, write "I want a discount code."

 
Upvote 0
Good day to you all,

What sim cards do people use for the internet in a motor home/caravan? How much data are we likely to use if we are away approx 1-2 weeks a month and sometimes travelling abroad? Can you purchase one that you can disable when not using and then reactivate when needed and what are the best networks?

Many thanks
ConnectPLS....just done 11,000kms through Europe and never lost the 4G signal once. You can buy it monthly and cancel when not in use. Used in our 4G motorhome WiFi setup. Excellent

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Upvote 0
I had the same excellent experience with their eSIM - it seems they have roaming agreements with multiple networks in most countries - I could see my modem skipping from network to network as we moved around - so I too had almost 100% up time (well it was actually 99.72% of the time and that measurement included the time going through the channel tunnel!)

I can’t find any information on which roaming partners each SIM provider has agreements with - it would be super useful when choosing one!

11,000km sounds fun - very jealous!
 
Upvote 0
Thank you for your valued information regarding the IQ mobile and i take it that this works purely abroad? Was hoping that we could get one which we could use in the UK and also abroad? Not too clued up on modern tech as you can tell ha ha
You can use it in the UK as well. We have used our IQ sim for the past four months whilst travelling in the UK, France and Spain. Hasn't dropped out once.
 
Upvote 0
Those of you using ConnectPLS - has anyone used over 400gb per month? We had an Airhub unlimited sim, which worked well until we got to about 300gb, & then it stopped working. They tried to fix it, but I suspected they had just suspended it? It was the end of the trip, so I never got to the bottom of it.
 
Upvote 0
Looking at some of these it might be cheaper to go with your provider. For example EE charge £25 per month to use your data in Europe on top of your usual monthly fee. If you have a good data allowance that might be a better option. Just looking at ConnectPLS online and it’s £35 per month for 25gb, £59 for unlimited data. You’d still be paying for whatever phone contract you had on top. Only know because we recently renewed broadband with EE and my wife took out a £10 per month unlimited everything sim with them. We had the conversation about using across Europe. Too late for this year but next year we’ll go that route.
 
Upvote 0
fairly well timed thread as Im on ID mobile and just got a heads up text stating i've used most of my allotted 30gb since arriving in ireland. im on a pay monthly and my normal uk data allowance is about to reset tomorrow so wonder if my roaming data will renew too?
 
Upvote 0

Join us or log in to post a reply.

To join in you must be a member of MotorhomeFun

Join MotorhomeFun

Join us, it quick and easy!

Log in

Already a member? Log in here.

Latest journal entries

Back
Top