Satellite WiFi

Questions & Answers
#1

I have Hughes Net satillite internet and have limited data each month. I don’t have cell service at my home. Does Republic service have constant link to the internet service? Will this use my internet data when phone is not being used? When cell is being used, how much data from my Hughes Net satillite internet will be used for an average 5 minute call?

Also, Where can I go to see the cell phones that are offered?

Thank you.

#2
  1. To maintain a connection the RW phone will establish then keep a link up via your Satellite (from you WiFi router). Here is a link to some previous information a couple of us put together a few years ago that will give you a fair estimate
  • You will only have WiFi calling so you would probably use Airplane mode and turn the WiFi back on
  • Satellite usually is not the best for WiFi as the delay up and back can be too much to maintain a decent calling experience
  • Some folks have had good results with Exede Satellite service, but haven’t seen comments for awhile
  1. Hit the ‘Phones’ link at the top of the page
#3

Thanks for the info. Using 12.6 Mb per hour for an idle phone is too much. you’re right, airplane mode would be best option. 12 Mb for a 10 minute call is a little pricey also.

#4

I don’t have cell service at my home.

@billw.rrlyic ,

There are no cellular providers that offer cell coverage for your home?

Maybe @seanr could provide current/additional info on the local data used by RW plans when on WiFi.

Many retail stores sell the same unlocked phones that RW offers.

Bring your own phone to Republic! | Republic Wireless

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#5

You may want to check out #1 Fastest Home Satellite Internet – Exede they do have IP phones avail and it will give you something to compare with Hughes

#6

That was 12.6 Megabits, which equals 1.6 Megabytes/hour at idle. I doubt though, you’ll have much luck with using HughesNet. I don’t think you would need to be concerned about data caps (The smallest Hughes plan currently seems to be 55 Gigabytes/month), but I think the latency and traffic shaping of HughesNet will make it less than enjoyable for conversations (I tried it before they had Gen4 and it was unusable). Couple that with not having cellular access at you home and I think you would be wise to look elsewhere. That’s just my opinion, I could be wrong.

#7

Hi, Does the current software have any configuration points to force data only to wi-fi/hughesnet and keep the voice on cell when I’m at my house? Have hughesnet, and good cell reception. VOIP on hughesnet does not work well, but data is fine. Eventually I’ll be able to get a cable connection for internet once they finish the build out in my neighborhood.

/jon

#8

@jonathanm.c0l19o

keep the voice on cell

We don’t have that capability, but there are some workarounds that might work for you.

  1. Go in to the Republic App, settings, advanced settings and check the “Allow manual handover” box. When on a VoIP call, you can swipe from the top of the screen and click on the handover notification to force the call to cell for the remainder of the call.
  2. Also in advanced settings, uncheck “Handover to WiFi when appropriate.” This will force your phone calls to stay on cell once on cell, and not try to reconnect to WiFi

I hope that helps! :smiley:

Kyle

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#9

In the past, disabling Wi-Fi calling could be done by blocking UDP port 5090 on your home network. I imagine that would still be a valid way of disabling Wi-Fi calling.

#10
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