In Italy there are large cities where fiber optic connections have been a reality for over 10 years: slowly we have gone from 100 Mbps (100 fiber) to Gigabit and now 10 Gbps.And then there is the rest of the country, where if all goes well the infrastructure is of the FTTC type (fiber and copper), but often the fiber is just a mirage, maybe the cables are there but the bureaucracy blocks the activation. , or just don't talk about it and who knows if and when the infrastructure will be created.Here, I am writing to you from one of these places, Priola, in the province of Cuneo, 677 souls and an unspeakable broadband connection.However, this is not a sad story, on the contrary, it is the continuation of what Gabriele proposed in his piece "Connection at home with less than 10 Euro a month", a different experience, much more complex and complete but really able to represent a turning point for those who experience the digital divide every single day.A few years ago we could have thought of waiting hopefully, then time passed and the hope of obtaining an optical fiber connection, at least FTTC (fiber to the cabinet, i.e. fiber to the central and then a copper connection to the homes) is slowly vanished, leaving room for resignation.This time, however, has served to significantly improve the capillarity and efficiency of the telephone radio signal, first 4G and now also 5G.This is how, unexpectedly, I saw the antenna positioned 200 meters from my home gradually update to an amazing 5G at 1800 MHz.This is a common process in many parts of our country, especially in mountain areas where cable connections are more difficult to implement: no fiber but a stable and efficient 4G signal.Hence the solution: take advantage of the 4G / 5G signal for home internet connection, with a SIM, an adequate data plan and a compatible modem.The discovery of hot water?In a certain sense, yes, portable modems with SIMs have been used for at least 15 years, but technological evolution has made great strides both in infrastructure and in home instrumentation, so the results that are now obtained are of all. other thickness.Yes, the concept is not complicated, its application, on the other hand, can assume very complex configurations based on the environmental conditions and the speed objectives to be achieved.We introduce the concept of Fixed Wireless (FWA), because it is the technical name that includes what we have expressed.That is to bring a high-performance internet connection to homes, not via copper or fiber optic cables, but via radio waves.Inside the Fixed Wireless cauldron there are a series of very different technologies and each operator chooses the path that is most congenial to him.For example, we can find an FTTT infrastructure (fiber to the tower), that is a fiber optic connection that reaches a tower, from which the radio signal then starts up to the homes.Then there are the radio links in which the whole infrastructure moves through repeaters and radio waves up to a main tower and from here it is delivered to the homes (which will have to orient a special antenna in the direction of the tower) and finally also connected modem routers to the telephone network via wireless.The basic concept is always the same, the steps change according to the characteristics of the territory and the pre-existing infrastructure to rely on.Several operators have been proposing FWA plans for some time (Fastweb, TIM, Tiscali, Linkem, Vodafone, Eolo) but in the coming years we will see a massive increase in offers thanks to a greater capillarity of 5G.5G will be important for the performance it can offer, download / upload speeds that can match and even exceed those of a Gigabit FTTH fiber network.Furthermore, Fixed Wireless on 5G will be the solution in remote areas not covered by optical fiber, but why not also in the city, where it will be able to solve congestion problems that increasingly afflict fiber optic networks.The FWA plans seen up to now have more or less the same problems: they are very expensive or limited in the available data traffic or in performance.In addition to this they are often accompanied by modest hardware on loan for use, which significantly limits the potential of the network.The most advanced solution in this sense is offered by Fastwebb with Nexxt, a service that offers a 5G CPE modem receiver to be installed outside the home and a router for managing WiFi access.It is a FWA RF infrastructure, i.e. fiber up to the tower and radio from the tower to the home, speeds up to 1 Gbps.The price is more than interesting: 19.95 euros per month to date.The problem is that it is available in a few municipalities in Italy, as can be easily verified from the site.A valid alternative is provided by Wind Tre, with the Super Internet Casa plan, the one that I myself have chosen as the basis for the infrastructure I have built.Until a few months ago, the offer was really convenient, for 17.99 euros you could take home an unlimited data plan and a very good Huawei 4G + modem on free loan.Unfortunately, to date, prices have risen to 26.99 euros (22.99 euros also by subscribing to a mobile subscription).However, there is a second version of the offer that can be activated in some stores, but trying to hear from some merchants it is not very clear whether it is still available or not.Wind Tre's proposal is limited to municipalities in areas not covered by optical fiber and this makes it particularly interesting for all those who live in disadvantaged areas, such as mine.The technology is a FWA that relies on the Wind Tre network, the data therefore travels on the same infrastructure to which smartphones are connected.You simply have to insert the SIM into the modem-router and place it in an intelligent point of the house, where it receives the signal from the nearest antenna better.It is very likely that among the various proposals on the market you will not be able to find something 100% convincing, so I propose you a home-built solution that can be perfectly adapted to your needs.The goal is to get a small tailor-made FWA network, choosing the right provider, the right modem / router and possibly adding antennas to improve the signal.I have prepared a schemino to be clearer.So let's see, step by step, how to proceed.The first step, perhaps the most important one, is to analyze the characteristics of the geographical area in which we want to bring the internet connection.Unfortunately it will not always be possible to proceed, the quality of the network infrastructure, in fact, does not depend on us, so what we can do is try to make the most of what we have available.First of all, register on the LTE Italy site, it is completely free (there is a premium version with some additional features), the site offers several features (also a lot of very useful information material) including a map updated with BTS frequency, that is the base radio stations (the stations in which the antennas of the telephone radio signal are present).The map is quite intuitive and allows you to understand a series of very important parameters to decide which operator to rely on.In fact, you will be able to understand where the antennas are located, which network they can manage, when they have been updated and much more.In the lower part you will have a menu where you can filter the display by operators or other parameters, as well as being able to enable / disable some information on the labels.You will also have a comprehensive view of all operators.In my case, the most useful BTS is located a few hundred meters from my house and is managed by Wind 3, then clicking on the BTS placeholder I was able to check the frequency bands it receives and transmits, as well as support for 5G networks.My situation is quite simple to resolve, I have in fact only one possibility, because the other operators have distant BTS, with a very dancing signal on which it would not make too much sense to work.The situation is not always clear, in slightly larger inhabited centers it may happen that the BTS at a useful distance are more than one, sometimes from the same operator, almost always from different providers that cover the area each with its own infrastructure. .In these cases the assessments are more complex, it is certainly necessary to take into account the orographic context but also the positioning with respect to any architectural barriers (houses, bridges, pylons, etc.) and other slightly more complex parameters.Now, often once it has been determined which BTS is more within reach, the game is done, but many times at this point other evaluations come into play that need to be madeHere I introduce a slightly more complex concept that you need to know right away, that of the discretion of the connection: while on smartphones we cannot choose which BTS to connect to and the antennas present in the device work in an omnidirectional way (i.e. they search and transmit the signal uniformly at 360 degrees around), on many modems / routers we have the possibility to connect directional antennas (which can be oriented), which allow us to have some control over the direction from which to pick up the signal, moreover, thanks to specific software we often manage to "force" our modem to connect to a specific BTS.This means that in a situation in which we have several BTS available, from different operators or even the same operator, we have the possibility to decide in advance (with a fair precision) which BTS should be to connect to.I'll give you a concrete example:In the case you see in the figure, let's imagine we are in the red point.We are in a flat area so the view tends to be free towards all the surrounding BTS.To the east there is a BTS of TIM, to the west another of TIM, Vodafone, Wind3 and Iliad.One would think that TIM is the best solution, in reality it is not and we find out by going to see the details of the frequency bands supported by the different providers.As you can see, the two most promising providers are Wind3 and Vodafone, both of which have a very performing BTS at their disposal, with many frequency bands and even 5G support in the case of Wind3.In particular, the situation is the following:Although the number of bands is higher on the BTS Wind3, this does not necessarily have to be a sign of greater speed and stability of the connection.In fact, it is necessary to take into account other very important variables and to know the concept of carrier aggregation (CA), that is the ability of modems to connect simultaneously to multiple cells and multiple frequency bands to be able to increase the speed of data exchange.Carrier aggregation is what allows you to reach 4G + or LTE Advanced, that is a 4G transmission technology but with a plus dictated by the aggregation of multiple cells and multiple bands.There are countless combinations of frequency bands and cells but ultimately it is the hardware that makes the difference.That is, not all modems / routers can do carrier aggregation, not everyone can do it with the same number of bands (the famous "Cat." Of modems), not all bands can be aggregated, finally, even if perhaps it is obvious, more the modem is expensive and the more it is able to aggregate bands and consequently be faster and more efficient.At this point an economic discourse also comes into play and here basically two elements have an impact: the operator and the hardware that you buy.All operators offer more or less complete rates with different prices, some provide for unlimited data traffic, while others have precise thresholds not to be exceeded.It depends on you and your needs.As for modem routers, there are all prices: a good modem / router capable of aggregating 2 bands is about 100/150 euros, to go up a level instead you exceed 250 euros, to go to 5G it is a lot difficult to spend less than 400 euros.Any external antennas require an additional investment of another 100/150 Euros.This is to give you a spanometric indication of the figures involved.You therefore understand that the assessment of the availability of networks in the area where we want to connect must go hand in hand with our needs and our budget.In the case I mentioned above, the best choice would probably be to opt for WindTre.But to fully exploit it we would need a modem / router of Cat. 12 (250 Euros), capable of aggregating at least 3 bands, furthermore we could realize that WindTre has less convenient rates or combinations of unsuitable internet packages (29 Euros / month for unlimited data traffic).Here then are other BTS back in vogue, perhaps less performing but ultimately more convenient.For example, if we want to spend as little as possible, it might make sense to make an Iliad SIM with a contained data package and spend little for a modem / router that will not allow us to go beyond 100 Mbps in download.The market is really full of proposals, in general online there is very good talk of Huawei and Mikrotik products, ZTE products are also valid.My advice is to invest some time on this YouTube channel (MioNonno), you will find lots of reviews and insights on the subject.I absolutely recommend you take a look at this site (UIBlog) and the Fibraclick forum, you will find many useful resources.If you want to be on the safe side with super-tested solutions, the best choice is among some Huawei modems / routers, which over time have proved to be super reliable and around which information materials, software and tutorials have been developed that will come in handy.Attention for this latest modem, it is the best, I myself have chosen him, but you have to make sure that it is the B818-263 version, on the market there are several branded variants many of which have limitations, that is, they do not aggregate band 1 (used with Wind3 and TIM), while others have their VoIP ports blocked.One of the reasons why I recommend a Huawei modem router is because there are interesting tools to optimize the performance of our homemade FWA network.We are helped by the YouTube channel "Miononno" (it's really called that) which offers us a tool called simply "Hack Huawei".In truth it is a java code that operates on the browser and gives specific commands to the modem.The functions are many but in particular we can force the modem to choose a primary frequency band and the secondary ones to aggregate.I leave you the video in question where everything is explained very precisely.Normally these modems do everything automatically, but they often make a mistake, perhaps giving preference to frequencies that are not ideal for the choice of the primary band.This "hack" is therefore very convenient to be able to optimize our network in the best possible way, it does not invalidate the warranty of the modem router and at any time it will always be possible to return to the factory settings.You can do some empirical tests to understand which is the best combination, the choice of the primary band should take into account the width of the same frequency band (it can be from 5, 10, 15, 20 MHz) the wider it is the better.LTE Italy comes to our aid with an excellent interactive diagram of the Italian frequency spectrum divided by bands and by operators.Among the interesting aspects there is also a nice information set that gives us an indication of the quality of the signal being received.This value will be very useful if we want to add directional external antennas.Most modems / routers allow the connection of external antennas, you can find all kinds of them online and differ in hominidirectional or directional antennas.In the first case the antenna is useful for generically amplifying the signal received by the modem / router, in the second case it allows to point a specific BTS.When purchasing an external antenna there are several parameters to take into consideration, the dimensions clearly, but also the type of connector, the cables, the distances.I have personally tested three different antennas of the Kaser brand, they work well and are offered with a complete kit of cables and adapters, after which it is always possible to go for some upgrades, for example with higher quality cables, longer or shorter.This is a hominidirectional antenna: it can be useful if you find yourself in the classic situation where inside the walls the signal is very weak, while outside it is stronger and more stable.Here, this antenna allows you to have an external access point, it is well built, solid and comes with everything you need.Being omnidirectional it is not suitable for aiming at a specific BTS, but it will pick up and transmit the signal at 360 degrees around it.This is a very simple antenna to place and offers great performance.It is directional in a range of 180 degrees.Compared to the previous model, it allows you to direct the signal towards a specific area and manages to give the best if the BTS is not too far away.Also in this case it comes with a complete kit of 10-meter cables and adapters for connecting to the modem.Finally, the purely directional variant, this has excellent performance but requires careful aiming and assembly.It is particularly suitable for targeting distant BTS, I used it for an implant in a particularly difficult area with really excellent results.Keep in mind that this is a particularly bulky model and that it does not withstand strong winds or accumulations of snow.As previously mentioned, relying on 4G networks for the home network is nothing new, personally I was able to take this path only after an important update of the infrastructure that took place a year ago and a world opened up for me.I can't wait to explore the reality of 5G, potentially the definitive solution for many places in our country.I remind you that it is possible to approach this type of system by aiming for super low cost, we talked about it HERE.I did the same thing for the second house and I eliminated that eolo money sucker.I also paid the 100 Mb but I only went there for the first 2 or 3 months.well the 5g already goes over 600 megsThe satellite connection on smartphones will solve many problems when it reaches the levels of the terrestrial ones, I mean the performing ones ....The router is with openmtcp.Then after you can put whatever you wantThree.One vdsl as master (45mb of alignment) and two lteThree.One vdsl as master for latency (45mb) and two lte of which one vf with m2mbisI live in Rome and where I live is not covered by fiber, I have read the whole article to understand how to improve the connection at home but given the initial investment I prefer to wait for the fiberGreat article.I went to see the offers on the wind website and in the mobile data only section there is an offer of 20 euros per month that uses the 150 € huawei modem mentioned in the video.The advantage of this offer seems to me to understand that it is given by the fact that the gigs are unlimited and there does not seem to be any bandwidth limits after a certain amount of traffic.aa thanks, so can you use another modem too?It is the one designed specifically for the home.€ 20 with modem and unlimited traffic on the vodafone networkgreat video and advice..I would love to know what happened to openfiber and all the money they gave him to cover the whole country with fiber if practically today almost all the smaller municipalities are not even covered by a fiber with speed absurd basis to see 10gbps in milan rome etc and countries that travel at 7-10-20MbInteresting article, I bought the recommended Huawei router used on Ebay, it is under 160 euros, Vodafone brand with firmware 11, let's see if it will improve my current connection with PosteMobile.I hold on to the 4G + modem with speeds above 100Mega, stay in place for the next 50 years quietly without the need to hurt yourself with 5G even if consequently some radiation of that technology that is harmful to humans will still catch youI did it with poste mobile not being covered by 5g.But I used a 15 € antenna.I still reach my 150/50That is, in a country of 600 inhabitants, a 5G antenna 200 meters from home?Good for the author, but it must be admitted that winning the lottery requires less qvloI did not post but the ideal solution and report it to customer serviceIn mid-2020 due to remote work I installed a directional antenna similar to this one under the roof of the house https://www.marotec.it/it/antenne-5g-4g-lte-3g-gsm/727-antenna-logaritmica -mrt-8727l-4g-lte-3g-with-cable-h155-10-mt-ed-sma-m-3831002907298.html connected to a Huawei B535, and - with precautions for the direction (however never with a 4G turret vista) and manual band selection - I went from 5 / 1Mbps in down / upload that I received internally with the phone, to 120 / 45Mbps.Can it also be used with openwrt?I installed it too.For me it was a godsend waiting for the fiber.I used to use Aeolus before but it only worked well in periods.Clearly everything depends exclusively on the area.The only "problem" with Wind Tre which has no static ip so there are (every now and then) problems for online games. Does anyone know if there is a possible solution?Radio link with local wisp?Ps: small provincial town in a hilly / mountain areaI feel good too, very well indeed.I have the same offer with a fixed price and I use fiber at home with excellent results, while the sim on a huawei portable modem that I use in another home can do 60/70 down and 15/25 up which are more than enough and however better than Tim's 100 fiber I had before.https: //uploads.disquscdn.c ...Thanks even if there is no sponsor all the material and among other things also bought out of pocket xdme with a wind / tre company sim (unlimited internet) and an excellent b618 travel on 60mbits stable during peak hours, in the other hours on 80/90, countryside of the Venetian single house about 2km from the antenna (but without obstacles) and without external antenna which will be my next purchase.does anyone know if it is a problem to place the antennas on the same pole as those for digital terrestrial?try Starlink, it should go, but the price is 70 euros per monthGreat article, very useful, thank you!Tips for a router that supports 5G?Poste fiber has been giving me problems for a few days: with a TV and a phone it began to be detected as a VPN and therefore the apps do not work if geolocated.On the other hand, with other home devices, everything is normal.I confirm everything, I have also had it for more than a year.I play perfectly online as with the fttc but I have practically a gigabit in the house!I also pay € 25 after a year at 19.95.I wouldn't have bet a euro on it and instead it's a bomb.Who can go to fastweb nexxt (obviously except those who have ftth)Only Huawey recommended for modems ?!Don't you know that the use of this brand is not recommended by many Western governments including ours?In reality, I am from Garessio, I moved to Priola after the wedding: D Actually, for a little while, I will soon be in MondovìI have had a FWA tim for a year and I must say that it is truly excellent, in a context where fiber would never have arrived.I live in the hills.To have poor performance, because there is 4g and 4g, add more latency so as not to wire the devices, the possibility of customizing the home network practically nil.The smartphone can be used for emergency purposesditto, the 300 digital, some times also with Pietro & Co. XDIt is fixed, my offer is called Fastweb Nexxt casa light and I pay € 25 per monthAnd then, like me, you live in the hills and you can't do fiber or FWA, which is even slower than VDSL.I can speak well of the zyxel nr7101 an outdoor cpe that works hard if you update it correctly currently I use it with a sim wind with unlimited giga and public ip since having neither fttc, nor ftth, nor eolo 100 / 200 and no other fwa on proprietary networks, turned me aroundpostecasa web which is under the vodafone network with a speed limit of 150Mb.I got over 2TB of monthly traffici have a sim vf.under the contract you can easily pass the 125GBAMD Ryzen 7 6800U review, the iGPU now convincesAMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D review: 3D V-Cache works perfectlyNVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Ti review: Ampere's latest cryMac Studio and Studio Display official: the Mac mini grows and is very powerful |PricesHDnetwork srl © - VAT 06183350484 Information in High Definition.Copyright 2020.