[SOLVED] 4G LTE for home Internet?

[MotleyCrew]

My family is moving to a rural Southeast Pennsylvania location. We have Xfinity Internet at our current location and usually see about 30 Mbps down/ingress. We're satisfied with the service, but Xfinity is unavailable at our new location. It appears there are relatively few broadband options at the new location. The previous owner used Viasat for Internet, but I would prefer to avoid satellite Internet. I haven't yet determined who the incumbent local exchange carrier is, but I'm pretty sure DSL is out of the question. I'm looking at LTE data/Internet plans and modems/routers/hotspots. US Mobile recommends the Super LTE Network (I think this is Verizon) option based on the zip code. Verizon 4G LTE coverage looks good for the new location/property. I would like to continue running pfSense, as I currently do between my router and the rest of my network. I would like to hear your suggestions on possible providers, equipment, etc.

Thank you!

 

[kanewolf]

My family is moving to a rural Southeast Pennsylvania location. We have Xfinity Internet at our current location and usually see about 30 Mbps down/ingress. We're satisfied with the service, but Xfinity is unavailable at our new location. It appears there are relatively few broadband options at the new location. The previous owner used Viasat for Internet, but I would prefer to avoid satellite Internet. I haven't yet determined who the incumbent local exchange carrier is, but I'm pretty sure DSL is out of the question. I'm looking at LTE data/Internet plans and modems/routers/hotspots. US Mobile recommends the Super LTE Network (I think this is Verizon) option based on the zip code. Verizon 4G LTE coverage looks good for the new location/property. I would like to continue running pfSense, as I currently do between my router and the rest of my network. I would like to hear your suggestions on possible providers, equipment, etc.

Thank you!

Do you host any servers? Cellular usually does not support DMZ or port forwarding.

 

[bill001g]

It is going to be very costly. You will not find actual unlimited plans. Most have caps or slow you down after a certain limit. Of course it is unlimited when you pay by the gbyte.

LTE can be very fast if you have a strong signal. Mostly it is in the city or along major highways that you can get good speeds. When you are miles away from the tower it can be much less. The coverage maps are actually calculated from terrain maps they seldom driver around and test. They do not really account for things like heavy trees.

Your house is going to eat a lot of the signal also. If you can get a unit that you can place outside it will be much better. The selection of outdoor units is very limited. Generally the best is to put a USB modem in a small plastic box and then run the USB cable to a router that supports that modem.

What you want to look for is what is called a WISP in the area. Drive around and look for either flat panel boxes on poles or what looks like a satelite dish pointed flat. WISP will mount wireless systems on water towers and other towers. They tend to be much cheaper than any cell plans you can get.

 

[ScottAD]

My family is moving to a rural Southeast Pennsylvania location. We have Xfinity Internet at our current location and usually see about 30 Mbps down/ingress. We're satisfied with the service, but Xfinity is unavailable at our new location. It appears there are relatively few broadband options at the new location. The previous owner used Viasat for Internet, but I would prefer to avoid satellite Internet. I haven't yet determined who the incumbent local exchange carrier is, but I'm pretty sure DSL is out of the question. I'm looking at LTE data/Internet plans and modems/routers/hotspots. US Mobile recommends the Super LTE Network (I think this is Verizon) option based on the zip code. Verizon 4G LTE coverage looks good for the new location/property. I would like to continue running pfSense, as I currently do between my router and the rest of my network. I would like to hear your suggestions on possible providers, equipment, etc.

Thank you!

Fixed Wireless is a growing concept that has been really fantastic for the carrier I work for. In the last year we've hit 1k subs. We are a small rural provider but there are limitations, as stated most companies will not provide DMZ or port forwarding. The port forwarding has been the largest detractor for us because it cuts out home baked IPTV systems.

If you are going to be doing 'normal' stuff like just streaming video or browsing, fixed wireless is likely fine. You'll have to consider RF in the area and bandwidth limitations, if any.

 

[gggplaya]

I would sign up for Starlink notifications if I were you: https://www.starlink.com/

It's low earth orbit satelite and they have just enough satellites in the sky for Public Beta. It's $500 for the receiver and $99 a month right now but that's expected to go down. It's 50-150mbps internet. As of now, there's no word of any kind of datacap. Low earth orbit satelite can not be compared to traditional satelte. LEO sat has a latency of about 20-40ms, whereas traditional satelite like viaasat have about 400ms round trip latency. Cellular has a latency of about 60-150ms. So Starlink should feel much like traditional landline internet.

Currently in public beta, there will be rolling blackouts until they get more satelites in orbit.

Otherwise, I would try to see if century link or frontier services your house. DSL may have gotten better since the last owner got their service.