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I was comparing data plans between the residential/broadband and mobile plans for touch and Alfa and found out you get way more data for a less cost if you get the residential/Alfanet SIM Card + modem/router.
I contacted “touch” and they said that I need to get the router from them as well for the SIM card to work, however I’m only staying in Lebanon for the summer vacation and it’s not worth the 125$ router price or 1 year subscription obligation for the free modem.
I already have a portable 4G modem which I use in Italy (I’ve also tried using the simcard in the modem on a smartphone and it worked fine as a data only simcard).
Since both touch and Alfa said that I need to buy the router/modem from them to use the service, which I’m guessing is only for them to make more profit. Can I buy the SIM card only and use the portable modem that I have from Italy or just insert it on my smartphone and use my esim for emergency calls?
Never tried the above but I think it should work. Is it a regular sim? If so I think it should work on any device supporting a sim and allowing mobile hotspot. Make sure that the tariffs remain the same though; since probably the internet prices are slightly reduced when you get the router.
It’s a USIM that can be inserted in the router. Prices are the same whether you buy the router or not (different data services for this type of SIM card only). There’s a place on the website where it says SIM Card locked to touch routers only / Alfa routers only. I know that a device’s IMEI can be locked to a specific carrier but not that a SIM card can only work with specific type of devices/routers.
Here are the webpage from touch https://www.touch.com.lb/autoforms/portal/touch/personal/internet-offers/residentialbroadband/overview
Try inserting a SIM card into the router and see if it works. Just any normal card that has a data plan activated. I think it should work (for 90 days at least until the IMEI gets blocked)
3 years later
Does anyone have an update on this? If I want to buy a residential broadband sim can I use the 4g router that I already have or do I need to buy one from touch? (The website still mentions that it is only compatible with touch 4g routers)