I already own a mesh router (or bridge) network I like. Does anyone have good recommendations for a cellular modem + cellular antenna combination that can connect to a home network via ethernet?
My main gripe with LTE/5G modems is that they are not made to be bought and used by consumers. These things are rather sold in bulk to car makers or laptop manufacturers. This means that modems usually come with limitations or artificial locks, for example requiring a support contract to get firmware updates.
There is also a bunch of different standards for how to get a data connection from the modem depending on the manufacturer but on Linux NetworkManager/ModemManager make this problem much smaller.
For the antenna, my understanding is that it is possible to either focus on a specific tower with a pair of high gain antennas oriented towards the tower, or use antennas that blasts in every direction like a phone.
At home I use the focused approach with 15 dBi indoor antennas and the four different metrics for signal quality reported by my modem are all excellent. The drawback of this approach is that in the rare cases when my tower is down, the antennas cannot fall back to a different tower.
That particular model is discontinued, but the updated model GL-X750[2] probably works about the same, uses the same modem modules, and appears to have external LTE antennas. They've got WiFi, but I turn that off and use the wired Ethernet.
[1] https://www.gl-inet.com/products/gl-mifi/ [2] https://www.gl-inet.com/products/gl-x750/
https://www.waveform.com/products/mimo-log-periodic-hotspot-...
You can call them to get more details on the ideal setup for your towers/network.
LTE FIX to get an idea for components and some links for information: https://ltefix.com/
I've had Starlink for over a year, but I maintain a solid 4G LTE backup connection that I fire up during primetime and on the weekends.
I haven't quite pulled the trigger on buying a 5g modem, but this blows Starlink away currently. I have v1 Starlink, the round dish, and the upgrade path to this these kind of speeds is $$$.
What's unknown to me is how aggressive the LTE carriers will be with throttling / keeping an eye with data caps.
They have external antenna mounts and can usually do 2-3 SIMs and often have a 100Mb or gig Ethernet port. They are more expensive than the typical mifi, but you may be able to find good surplus gear on eBay, especially as state/local governments start getting rid of equipment bought to stand up COVID facilities in the field.
When I need to make a cellular call, I simply have to get in my car and drive the 8 miles into the nearby village. There's a certain part of the village where you can get both cellular and data. The rest of the area only gives audio phone.
I live about 30 miles from our state capital and you only need to be about 2 miles outside of the city limits and there's zero cellular.
For personal security, that's why we own guns. For personal health, that's why we make friends with neighbors. This is simply how it is. The best strategy is to get used to it and stop whining about what cellular providers will NEVER provide.