What's the cost of cctv via mobile/cell network?

[collectors]

Hi, i have a situation with a building in the middle of a field that has power but no internet & would like to fit at least 5 cctv cameras with picture & sound that can be remotely accessed. Would also like recordings to go to a local recorder & to a remote server/cloud encase the local one is stolen.
I am assuming my only alternative is via mobile/cell & I am trying to find out running costs for the mobile/cell side of things & ways/suggestions to keep costs down as i get the impression I would be paying per gigabyte. Is this correct ??.
Would i be best with a router that has a built in sim slot or somthing like a myfi & connect the recorder to this via wifi. Thanks

 

[Phil]

Somebody may be able to respond and provide you with their 'lived experience' of these costs.
We, at use-IP Ltd, don't actually have any operational 4G systems, so have no experience of the real-world cost of owning / running one.

It has always been my advice to discuss your requirement with a specialist.
I have heard of people really struggling to get a system working because they have popped into a High Street mobile phone shop and picked-up a standard mobile phone SIM card.

We used to send enquirers to Nucleaus Networks, who now seem to be owned by this company:
CCTV | Wireless Logic

I am more than happy for others to respond and advise if they have worked with other SIM / 4G providers to achieve this.

NB Hikvision do offer a couple of NVR models that are 4G-ready, just insert your SIM:
Hikvision DS-7608NI-K2/8P/4G | 8 Channel Network Video Recorder | 4G Series |

Hikvision DS-7616NI-K2/16P/4G | 16 Channel Network Video Recorder | 4G Series |

Key Features: - 4G Wireless Network Access - Up to 16-ch IP Camera Input - 2 SATA interface, up to 6TB per HDD - H.265+/H.265/H.264+/H.264 Video Compression - Up to 160 Mbps Incoming Bandwidth - Up to 80 Mbps Outgoing Bandwidth - Independent VGA/HDMI outputs. Please note, a 4G SIM/UIM card is...

www.use-ip.co.uk

 

[cymruchris]

How far is the middle of the field from a building where the NVR might be located on a network? Is it within line of sight? If the host building is within say a km or less - you can use a type of WIFI bridge - but would need more details.

I've just connected a brand new 5g router from Three on a 24 month contract to a church on top of a mountain. It's about £21 a month for unlimited access - and so far, I've been able to receive all notifications of intruders and line crossings, and have been able to access it 24/7 to see live streams in HD with no issues. (This will depend on the coverage in your own area)

 

[collectors]

How far is the middle of the field from a building where the NVR might be located on a network? Is it within line of sight? If the host building is within say a km or less - you can use a type of WIFI bridge - but would need more details.

I've just connected a brand new 5g router from Three on a 24 month contract to a church on top of a mountain. It's about £21 a month for unlimited access - and so far, I've been able to receive all notifications of intruders and line crossings, and have been able to access it 24/7 to see live streams in HD with no issues. (This will depend on the coverage in your own area)

It actually for a model 7 1/4" gauge ride on steam railway that sits on about 2-3 acers of land & we are not connected to any other local buildings. But you have given me an idea to look for local signals with my WIFI finder & enquire if anyone might let us log on to their signal. As for 5G our nearest 5G is about 40 miles away. lol, I am in backward Norfolk as far as tec goes. But thanks for some different ideas.

 

[cymruchris]

It actually for a model 7 1/4" gauge ride on steam railway that sits on about 2-3 acers of land & we are not connected to any other local buildings. But you have given me an idea to look for local signals with my WIFI finder & enquire if anyone might let us log on to their signal. As for 5G our nearest 5G is about 40 miles away. lol, I am in backward Norfolk as far as tec goes. But thanks for some different ideas.

So how far is your building from the site in question? What's the geography between your place and the site?

Three also have a 4g router that if the signal is good could be an option at £14 a month.

 

[collectors]

Hi, the only building that belong to the club is the ones around the track as seen with yellow arrow & two more to the left of arrow & down. The big white roof & any others are nothing to do with us.

 

[cymruchris]

Can you mark on the photo specifically where is your building and where is the location of the cameras and power supply ? Can’t really work out from what you’ve said there.

Mark it with A for your building and B for the location of the power and NVR.

I’m not worried about what doesn’t belong to you - I just want to know where is A and where is B

 

[reactiv]

The first thing you want to do if you want to use 4G is evaluate which is the best mobile network to use, establish the strongest network signal and the number of cells available with special phone app. Don't use a mobile phone signal bars as a measurement device and certainly don't use an iphone(the cell signal strength is manipulated in software to make you feel good after 'Antenna Gate'. Instead stream a 4k video on youtube as a test and use a good speed test website like Google's Speed Test or Fast.com. Don't rely on network maps provided online by the networks either especially if your in a rural location (the maps are predictive models)

I install security systems (Alarm & CCTV) with 4G links all the time and have no issues. Just buy an unlimited DATA SIM for peace of mind (if the plan is advertised to support 5G there will be no network restrictions by operator either).

Finally the show stopper for most is remote admin access. Your system will operate no problem and you can stream cameras remotely, however you will not be able to log into your NVR to administer if because of a technology known as Dual NAT otherwise known as CGNAT in this particular case it will not have a public IP.

 

[David]

The first thing you want to do if you want to use 4G is evaluate which is the best mobile network to use, establish the strongest network signal and the number of cells available with special phone app. Don't use a mobile phone signal bars as a measurement device and certainly don't use an iphone(the cell signal strength is manipulated in software to make you feel good after 'Antenna Gate'. Instead stream a 4k video on youtube as a test and use a good speed test website like Google's Speed Test or Fast.com. Don't rely on network maps provided online by the networks either especially if your in a rural location (the maps are predictive models)

I install security systems (Alarm & CCTV) with 4G links all the time and have no issues. Just buy an unlimited DATA SIM for peace of mind (if the plan is advertised to support 5G there will be no network restrictions by operator either).

Finally the show stopper for most is remote admin access. Your system will operate no problem and you can stream cameras remotely, however you will not be able to log into your NVR to administer if because of a technology known as Dual NAT otherwise known as CGNAT in this particular case it will not have a public IP.

My VPN works well over most cellphone networks, it is a Draytek router but others may work. Draytek also offer a VPN matcher service that works around CGNAT, I’ve never used it.

 

[collectors]

Can you mark on the photo specifically where is your building and where is the location of the cameras and power supply ? Can’t really work out from what you’ve said there.

Mark it with A for your building and B for the location of the power and NVR.

I’m not worried about what doesn’t belong to you - I just want to know where is A and where is B

Not sure why you want this info ??? There is power in both buildings & cat5 cables between all. The cctv & DVR is the simple part. My question was on the price of using a sim for data for remote viewing. I believe i can set the DVR up to only send/upload video when somthing is detected & not a 24/7 stream of video data. So this should help keep the MB down.

 

[cymruchris]

I'm trying to work out if a wireless bridge would solve your problem - as you'd not need a 4g/5g router at all then.

 

[cymruchris]

If your NVR was at the yellow arrow - but your own building with the broadband connection was at A B or C for example - you could use a wireless bridge rather than a 4G router. They can work over quite a distance.

 

[collectors]

I have reduced the photo with a bit more detail. These are the only buildings to use.

 

[cymruchris]

Based on your photo above then yes you could use a wireless bridge - the cost of the parts would be likely less than £200 and you’d use your existing network and there would be no ongoing charges. You’d run a network cable to a receiver/transmitter from your existing router at one end - and then have a receiver/transmitter at the other end. They would point towards each other (and there’s an app to help line up the best signal). You’d then have a router at the other end to plug your cameras into - if they are POE cameras you might also need a powered POE switch (you can also have wifi in your building as well).

I’ve done this to join a church tower with an owl in to a church hall with the network in. It’s been running several months and as yet have never lost the signal.

You’ll need a pair of transmitter/receivers (I used ubiquiti nano units) - network cables - possibly a POE switch - and another router (£20 on Amazon) - and then you’re good to go for the long term.

 

[collectors]

Hi, thanks for the extra info, but as i said before. All the buildings, actually have cat5's running from the station building to the two train sheds. so no wireless bridge's needed. It was just the router with a cell connection.

 

[cymruchris]

Is there a broadband connection existing in any building? As mentioned which is the nearest building that you control with a broadband connection ? It doesn’t matter if it’s not at that site if it’s within around a km…

 

[collectors]

Hi, yes, there is wi-fi signals locally, but none to do with us & any local ones are locked off with i presume password.

 

[cymruchris]

Then definitely look at the Three coverage in your area - this is the speedtest I've just run on a remote PC at a church at the top of a mountain, which realistically isn't actually that near any mobile towers, but due to its height I think we've been lucky to get a decent connection. These speeds give us unlimited data for £24 a month (5G). As well as having our Hikvision NVR connected - there's the above PC that I can connect to remotely that livestreams church services, and the dropped frame rate on OBS is under 0.1 percent from an hours transmission. (Which is pretty good if you're not a live-streamer). We haven't lost communication once since installation. There was a day where upload speeds were low due to maintenance on the network, but the connection remained.

 

[collectors]

Thanks for that. Unfortunately no 5g for miles around here. Strange thing with a mobile signal is where i used to live in London (before 5g) we used to loose signal at the top of the hill at Alexzander palace & the same with Crystal palace the highest spots in London. On both was the main TV transmitters. I was also told back then that mobile signals where designed to work at low level & it or was quite crucial where cell towers/mast where installed to help create a cell, as the cells need to talk to each other. A friend that was an engineer for this type of work had lot of problems with things like schools. If they was going to mount a cell tower near one there would be lots of local objection & it would be refused. The problem then was they may have to move another 3 towers as they needed to talk to each other.
Not sure if this is part of needing 5g ?. But with 5g a massive amount of aerials are needed.

 

[cymruchris]

They have a 4g option as well for £14 a month. 14 day return if you're not happy with it. Unlimited as well.