I'm looking for advice on failover internet options for our office, which has about 17-20 employees and supports around 60 devices during peak times. Currently, we can only access cable internet since fiber isn't available. I'm particularly interested in insights or experiences with 5G, satellite, or any other types of failover connections. Are there any specific issues people have encountered with using 5G as a backup? I'd also like to share that we use a SonicWall TZ370 and an Eero mesh network for our Wi-Fi setup. Thanks for any recommendations!
2 Answers
If you have access to 5G UC/UW, it can be a great failover option. I typically use T-Mobile as a backup for Comcast and get over 700 Mbps down and about 70 Mbps up, which works seamlessly for me. Of course, Starlink is another excellent choice that provides independence from local infrastructure, but keep an eye on usage, as bills can add up quickly. Do you need a static IP or public IP? Those factors, along with your existing gateway/firewall setup, can influence what you go with.
You might want to check out Peplink; they offer some solid hardware with data plans that could work well for you. It’s definitely worth considering for failover options!
That makes sense! How many users and devices are typically on your network? I've got a Verizon 5G router for our failover, but our IT provider is claiming it's struggling with our number of devices and bandwidth needs. I feel like that might not be the whole story since I have a tech background. I'm not familiar with the SonicWall TZ370 they're mentioning, but I'm a bit skeptical about their claims.