I don’t know about you but I get a lot of calls about T-Mobile’s 5G home internet. I think that for a lot of people, it’s an excellent solution. On the other hand, it’s not available for everyone and there’s a reason for that. T-Mobile only pre-qualifies people with very good 5G service, and you need very good 5G service to get the speeds that they claim you’ll get.
I think fixed wireless is the future
I’ve been saying it for over five years. I think fixed wireless will overtake fiber in the home, and it can’t come soon enough. Fixed wireless is the industry term for internet service using a permanently-placed cellular router. It’s available across the country from several carriers. The real benefit is that you’ll pay one bill for internet. You’re paying two bills now, because you’re paying once for your phone and once for your home. For those who only stream TV and don’t need something like landline service, it’s very attractive.
But, the issue with fixed wireless is reception. Early installs used outdoor antennas, but most fixed wireless services today don’t. You just put a router inside and if the signal is strong enough, you get fast internet. Simple as that.
But what if the signal isn’t strong enough?
Bad cell signal can wreck your hopes of fixed wireless bliss. Generally, in cases like this, I recommend a cell phone signal booster. Cell boosters take weak signal from outside, amplify it, and blast it throughout the house. They take the signal from your cellular device, amplify it, and blast it back to the cell tower. In theory, they should be perfect for fixed wireless internet too.
Unfortunately, my research suggests that today’s cell boosters won’t work with T-Mobile’s 5G router. It looks like T-Mobile uses 600MHz and 2500MHz, plus millimeter-wave signals. Today’s consumer cell boosters don’t work with any of those frequencies. There are some boosters that will, though. They’re just very expensive and not the sort of thing you’d normally put in your home.
There’s a better solution
Our SIMTELL fixed wireless router uses 4G/LTE frequencies so it works very well with cell phone signal boosters. Today’s LTE is generally good enough to get you 100Mbps service which is probably all you need unless you have a lot of kids in the house all streaming at the same time. You may find that with a cell booster in place, you get better speeds on 4G/LTE than you do in 5G because you have a stronger signal.
To find out if the SIMTELL is for you, call the experts at Signal Connect. We represent T-Mobile, gotw3, and many other brands. We will help you figure out which fixed wireless solution is right for you. Call us at 888-233-7563. If it’s after hours, no problem! Fill out the form below. We’ll get right back to you!
