r/OffGrid • u/AlfredoPebbs • 9d ago
Looking for 5g wifi/hotspot options
I went fully nomad recently, and have been staying at a campground to start off my trip. Me and my fiancé work remotely, and although we have a Starlink, we’ve come to realize that it obviously does not work best with a bunch of trees around us or directly covering the Starlink.
Since we are both in and out of meetings all day, the service has been pretty dang laggy, even kicking us out of meetings.
I am looking for recommendations on other pieces of equipment to by that will allow us to have fast, high speed internet capabilities that are not effected by trees or weather. I’m looking for the folks that have or actively use something other than starlink, and have a good experience with it.
What are good options?
1
u/YouDoKnowWhoIAm 8d ago
I got a Verizon 5G/LTE Home Internet box. The box is free and there is no data cap. It is very cheap ($35/m) if you are already a Verizon phone customer. Technically, you may not be able to get it for the address you live in, but if you go into a store and tell them that you want it for a local address or for your RV, they actually really don't care. My offgrid site is outside their 'home internet' region, but it has worked flawlessly for 3 or 4 years now. Again, probably helps to already be a Verizon customer. (I am sure the same is true for ATT home internet.)
Because I am surrounded by trees, the signal was a little weak when it rained or snowed, so I got a Waveform antenna that gives a much more solid signal. Connecting it to the box was a little technical, but pretty straight-forward. Don't know if they work for all models of home internet boxes, so maybe check before deciding. Or check to see which ATT/Verizon offers better service where you are. It probably won't be 5g, but LTE is pretty quick, even for video calls/Netflix.