What lengths would you go to for a decent internet connection? One 60-year-old rural resident has set the standard by building his own DIY 4G mast using an EE dongle.
Richard Guy, who lives in a remote corner of Salisbury Plain in central southern England, UK, was so fed up with his 1Mbps internet connection that he decided to take action.
His answer was to find the best spot for 4G signal in his local area, build his own DIY 4G mast and lay down some fibre-optic cable to pipe the signal to his home.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Mr Guy said: “The world assumes that everyone is online, but the 5 per cent who can’t connect are just dismissed. So I decided to take matters into my own hands. We only had a 1Mbps speed, which means everything is far too slow. Now I run at 69 Mbps, it runs everything perfectly.”
His DIY mast has to be saluted as the most ingenious piece of tech hackery in recent times. The key feature is a simple 4G adapter from EE, which is powered by a battery. Both are sealed safely inside waterproof boxes.
The battery is topped up by solar panels and the whole mast is held aloft on a DIY wooden mast whose design is strictly practical – it wouldn’t win you any awards in a wood shop class, that’s for certain.
Mr Guy has now set up a business to supply his rural broadband solution to others. Among Agri-Broadband‘s customers is Hay Hutch, a “nifty device for keeping hay neat and tidy”. We suspect he’ll have many more in the near future.
Richard Guy, we salute you.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.