We have reached a point, not only here in the USA but globally as well, where "staying connected" is just something that we will always have available to us, anywhere in the world. We assume we can simply power on our phones, tablets, and laptops and within a few minutes be surfing the internet at 5G speeds. And not just being able to browse the internet, but also being able to download large files, stream video, conduct online meetings with video and audio with no buffering or delays. The good news is, for the most part, our assumptions are correct.
Fixed Wireless solutions allow individuals and businesses to set up a mobile office anywhere there is cellular service. High-speed routers enable multiple users to connect to 5G networks, without having to rely on copper or fiber lines being accessible in their area. These solutions are available on both short and long-term contract periods - anywhere from a few days to a few months to a few years. So regardless of your requirements, there are cost-effective, reliable solutions available for both consumers and businesses.
Natural Disasters
The frequency and intensity of natural disasters over the past decade have increased significantly each year. In 2024 there were 27 individual weather and climate disasters with at least one billion dollars in damages, second only to 2023, and these occurrences were not isolated to specific regions in the US, they spanned the country:
- Mid-January saw two winter storm events in the Northwest and Central/Southern US.
- One wildfire event in New Mexico.
- A drought-heat wave event across the southern, eastern, and northwestern US.
- A flooding event in the upper Midwest.
- Six tornado events in the central and southern regions of the US.
- Five hurricanes, two of which were the costliest US disasters in 2024.
- 11 severe weather/hail events across the US.
The four costliest years on record have been 2017, 2005, 2022 and 2024. Since 1980, there have been 403 weather and climate disasters, each with a cost of one billion or higher. So not wishing to be an alarmist, but given these trends we are faced with a need to enter each year with a back-up plan in place.
When a disaster strikes, some of the first services to be restored are the cellular networks. When Hurricane Helene hit the southeast region of the US in September 2024, cellular service was restored across the area fairly quickly, internet services were not, however. Some counties in the Carolinas went without internet services for weeks, with over 23,000 cable and wired internet customers reporting no service at the end of October. Just because power and cell towers come back online, it does not mean that fiber infrastructure is restored. A Cellhire USA client reported they were blocks away from the fire area during the recent LA fires. Their home remains without fiber internet services, but they have been able to access the internet through a Fixed Wireless router running on AT&T's cellular network.
Most routers on the market today allow up to 250 connected devices from a single connection, with little degradation in data speeds, meaning it is possible to run a small business on a single Fixed Wireless router. Don't get caught off guard when disaster strikes, have a failover plan in place that allows your operation to continue with business as normal … even when it is far from normal.
Redundancy
Failover processes are essential to keeping your business running during a power-loss event. None of us possess that crystal ball that allows us to accurately predict an outage occurrence, so the next best thing is to make sure your systems are set up to roll over to a cellular connection should the fiber connection be affected.
John Henry, Vice President of Operations for Cell hire USA, spoke to the importance of having a back-up connection in place. "We have been in our current location for the past five years, during this time we have experienced six significant power outages lasting anywhere from four hours up to 48 hours. Cellhire USA processes equipment orders, provisions airtime connections, and operates a Sales/Customer Service/Technical Support call center seven days a week, we simply cannot be without internet service. Having a Fixed Wireless system in place, designed to seamlessly roll over should we lose power, has allowed us to continue business as normal without skipping a beat."
Fixed Wireless routers can also be carrier agnostic, meaning they will allow connection to all three major US cellular networks, so regardless of which carrier provides the best coverage in your use area, you will have the correct equipment to provide the strongest connection.
Short-term Outdoor Event Solutions
There are literally thousands of outdoor festivals and carnivals throughout the United States every year, ranging in attendances of a few hundred people to several hundred thousand at one time. Venues range from school parking lots, to rural fields, to major professional stadiums that seat 100,000 plus attendees. Regardless of event size, the common requirement across every one of these events is the ability to connect to the internet – for the attendees, the vendors, security personnel, musicians, and organizers.
Fixed Wireless solutions are perfect for these situations. For rural events where wired internet service is not available, users can connect a wireless router to the local cellular network and allow multiple users to latch onto a single connection, enabling vendors to process payments, check inventory levels, schedule restocking – run their businesses as if they were connected to a fiber line.
Temporary Internet During Construction
Most construction projects begin with a vacant lot, with little to no infrastructure in place. While it's a fairly simple process to run electricity to these job sites, it is not so simple to run wired internet.
A mid-size project consisting of 1500-2800 square feet will typically take 6-9 months. A large renovation or new construction project consisting of 3,000-5,000 square feet with high-end details can take 9-12 months. Projects over 5,000 square feet are typically highly specialized and can exceed 12 months. Installing fiber in a commercial building can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months, so companies require temporary internet access until a fiber line can be completed. Enter Fixed Wireless. As we've said earlier in this piece, wireless routers offer 5G speeds (where available) on all three major US networks, allowing 100+ users to access the network from a single connection. Flexible rate plans run anywhere from a week at a time to annual contracts and offer a wide range of data bundle options to meet whatever data requirements a business may have.
Whether your wireless internet needs are short-term, i.e., for disaster recovery or a weekend event, or more long term, i.e., a construction project or back-up redundancy, there is a Fixed Wireless solution that can be tailored to meet your requirements.
