Beginners Guide to Fixed-location Cellular internet

[LogHomeLatency]

I am, by no means, an expert. There are many available to you on this forum.
This post covers what I have learned the hard way, in an effort to save you significant time and money. It is a combination of best practices that I have gleaned from others on this site, boiled down and simplified for anyone looking for a place to start. I am omitting links to specific products or services as they will change over time. This is meant to be a starting point.

As a side note, I didn’t do any of the below and it cost me a lot of time and money. I should have visited Wireless Joint first!

What I have found:

• There is no single solution that works in every case. Everyone’s situation is different: distance from the tower, obstructions, carriers available, available bands, etc. There will be some trial and error. In an effort to reduce pain during this process, I suggest you follow this simple guidance.
  
  1. Test first with what you have
  Use any cellular devices you have or can borrow to test performance. Use the same speed test application on each device if possible. You are looking for the highest download speed (and upload, but less important) and the lowest PING time. Test different carriers and test from different locations, in and around your dwelling.
  
  2. Do not purchase package solutions
  As mentioned, there is no single solution to meet your needs, once you find the carrier that has the best signal where you need internet, find a plan that allows you to bring your own device. There are 3rd party services that promote unlimited, unthrottled services. Search this forum before landing on one. Most of these 3rd party services offer router and antenna packages with service; avoid them.
  
  3. Start simple with expansion in mind
  Once you have a cellular plan ordered, find the right cellular modem/wifi router combination. thewirelesshaven.com is where you start, call them and explain your situation, they will assist you with the right gear. If you have strong speeds and low PING times on your test device, do not over purchase. You will likely only need a cheap phone with tethering or a mifi device to support your internet needs. If you want more, or (like me) have really poor signal then do not go cheap on this equipment, spending a little more will determine whether you can upgrade or have to throw the device out. Better modems/routers have additional antenna options and replaceable/upgradeable components.
  
  4. Antennas
  If you need additional signal strength, antennas will likely get you there. This is where the biggest differentiation comes in between one person’s needs and another’s. Once again, thewirelesshaven.com is your best resource.
  • If you have:
    1. Direct line of sight (LOS) to the cell tower – yagi or log periodic antennas
    2. No direct LOS, many obstructions – directional panel or omni
    Omni is best if you get equally strong signal in more than one direction. Not common.
  Some trial and error may be required here, so borrow equipment if necessary. Test with different set ups at different orientations. Go as high as possible to overcome obstructions. Signal strength is measured in dbi. Look for antennas with the highest dbi gain and ensure they cover the bandwidth (in Mhz) required by your carrier and the available bands. If those last two sentences sound Greek, ask thewirelesshaven.com for help. Often dual antennas are optimal to pick up the cellular signal - research MIMO (multiple in, multiple out).
  
  5. Remove bottlenecks
  The primary bottlenecks that you can control are height of antenna and cable length. Signal loss increases with cable length so keep them as short as you can. Many on this forum have opted to mount cellular modems in weather-tight boxes on the eaves of their roof or on a pole with the antenna to reduce this signal loss. As mentioned, height is your friend, but do not overdo it. A swaying antenna or one that blows away in a storm is no good.
  
  6. Protect your gear
  If you do need specialized modems and antennas to get the signal you desire, protect it (and your home) with lightning arresters. Use high-quality surge suppressors for modems and routers.

Beyond these simple steps, you will find there is a ton of information on dbi, RSRQ, RSRP and RSSI metrics along with band details, carriers, band aggregation, modem categories, and many others, on this forum. Once you get the best signal possible using the above guidance, then you can dive into the myriad of options for tweaking your setup.
If asking for assistance on this or any other forum, be concise but provide as much detail as you can. Know a bit about your tower locations using cell mapping websites, google earth or just drive to the closest towers. The more detail you provide, the faster you will get to resolution.
Hope this helps!

[Didneywhorl]

Fantastic! Great write-up! <highFive>

[LogHomeLatency]

Fantastic! Great write-up! <highFive>

Thanks DW, would love to see this become sticky on the forum! Would have saved me some time. Glad to edit it with any advice that you or any of the other seasoned vets may have. ....or just add to the post with comments.

[docderwood]

Really wished I would have found this forum a few years ago. It's been super helpful. I've been using LTE for a second home for 8 years now....have cycled thru old Cradlepoint...peplink....Mofi.....Yagis's and now a The Wireless Haven panel mounted outside.

It's interesting how variable things are. I've got a VZ tower 4 miles away. One tree in the way (just the top)....crummy bandwidth. Tower 8 miles away much better, over water.

My next thing I will play with is bonding a VPN with a second carrier. Along those lines....any experts that would want to PM me I will pay for the help. Any SIM only plans with large caps no throttling out there for ATT or VZ?

Although this is fun.....I dream of the day that Starlink works or ATT won't charge me $120,000 for fiber (literally what they want)

[Didneywhorl]

Wow. I've been working off lte for prob 6 or so years, lost track. Started building devices based on these groups about 2-1/2 years ago. I love this technology.

I hear ya on the massive charges from ATT, just not that bad. Comcast wanted around $15k to install on my end, but the equipment wouldnt be mine.

PMs dont work, disabled. Youll have to give emails or numbers or send messages on facebook. The facebook group is active.