Hello all.. I have a property with a barn and power. I want to put cameras up on the building.. but I am stuck on how i can get internet connectivity.. Should I be looking at a GSM modem or even a Hotspot? There is no DSL or cable available in the area. The speed requirement would be limited video and ssh server access. My plan is something pretty simple.. most likely pfsense box, with vpn access in front of the camera system box. Max of 4 cameras.. but most likely 3 running at 720p. Is my idea on the right track or am i missing something? I do want it to be cost effective.. so not wanting to spend 100+ per month for connectivity.

If you have power at the sites where you want to install the cameras,  you can get some inexpensive wifi point-to-point links and set them up.

Example:  Ubiquity Airmax Rocket M5 point to multipoint link, price around 220 dollars.  Available on Amazon and other places.  It should have all the range and bandwidth you need.

i have recently looked into verizon prepaid hotspot.
its $70 a month and supposed to be unlimited.

havent bought one yet, but thinking about it

Not sure I can go with supposed to be unlimited hah. But a hotspot seems to be the best bang for the buck at the moment.. I think if it was set to only send still pictures and I did not connect all the time to the devices that I would be ok bandwidth wise.

Are there any WISPs or Wireless internet Service Providers in the area?
Most aren't lightning fast, but are unlimited.
Many times they are one of the few options available in rural areas.

its prepaid,  no contract, month to month

so if it works your good.

i may try one after christmas,

then test out the limits of the unlimited

I actually did a Unifi Video setup at my in-laws barns last weekend. Granted, the house was 100 feet from the barns but it's a good idea. Reconfigured their existing router (Mikrotik RB2011) to use Ether10 (passive PoE out) in a 192.168.99.0/28 subnet with a Mirkrotik wAP 60G as an AP (upgraded from a simple master). I had a wAP 60G CPE at each barn as the backhaul going to a RB760 based Powerbox Pro. Each of the Powerbox Pro's are fed with a 48V power supply which allows them to be 802.3af/at capable on their PoE ports. Now between the RB2011 and the RB760's I'm using OSFP because I may add another backhaul between the two barns later.

Each barn has the wAP 60G CPE and two Unifi G3 cameras (for now) plugged into it. One barn also has a wAP on it to provide wireless (previously handled by a Nanostation LOCO which was replaced by the wAP 60G AP) at the house. Also, regular wifi is now handled through Mikrotik's CAPsMAN. Works great but it is short range. I've got to do something similar at my parent's cabin (barn is 1/4 mile from the house) but they do have some form of internet from a WISP though. Since their WISP is still running first gen Canopy gear at first gen speeds, thinking about going to an LTE modem with them. Key thing of importance is to have a local NVR so your camera streams aren't eating up all of your bandwidth with your ISP.

I am here, but was not able to get the time to research everything properly so I will go with what I got. I will probably end up ordering the hotspot, configuring that and the raspberry pi3 then shipping it out for someone to just plug in.

I have only found one listed and none of my calls or emails are returned so not sure if they do not cover my area or just don't want more business. To be fair the diagram they have shows my location as being right on the edge of what is the coverage area.

Ubiquity Wireless stuff is the best and if there was a WISP option I would have gone with that. I intend to setup the DVR to send still shots when it detects movement instead of trying to stream what the cameras are seeing.

I'm not fond of their wireless gear especially the stuff used commonly for WISP APs and CPEs…I've killed a lot of their radios due to static discharge (I operate in an area where the dust bowl never ended). Simple fix, put grounding lugs on the equipment but Ubiquiti won't do it and all of their competitors (Mikrotik, Mimosa, Cambium, etc) do in the same price point. I've also found other manufacturers have much more sensitive radios. For example, Most Rockets and Power Beams can only listen down to -100 dBm where most Mikrotik radios are easily capable of going down to -106 dBm.

No need to test it, they clearly publish their "unlimited" terms.

For normal "umlimited" plans directly from Verizon they have a policy that you get 12 Gigs 4G and after that they "may" enact network prioritization but your speed will not be reduced below 3G (which is pretty slow but still workable; we used to watch Netflix on a 3G connection before upgrading to 4G).

Be careful of special plans; IE, there is an RV club that has a special deal worked out with Verizon for hotpspots. The plan is unlimited and it's very cheap, and very enticing. But some things are too good to be true. The "catch" on this one is that you get 25 Gigs 4G, after that they WILL enact a bandwidth limit equal to dial-up (worthless). IE, they say it's unlimited but beyond 25 gigs the speed becomes worthless. I was REALLY close to jumping on this ship until I found that... Uh, no-thanks...

I live where no internet is realistically available. I could get DSL IF there is an open spot on the local hub/switch (there never is when I check on it out of curiosity), but I would also have to run a phone-cable from the road, 1/2 mile to the house (too expensive). I could get satellite, but it has it's own problems and it's NOT cheap. I do have good Verizon svc in my AO. For a while I was using a hacked hotpsot that only cost $5/mo for 3G unlimited (don't ask, Verizon put the final kabosh on that loophole). I should note that our phones are Verizon on a business plan through my dad's businesses. Ultimately, after a lot of back and forth with the business sales rep dad was able to get unlimited data added to each phone for $5/mo per line (not a bad deal at all). This has served us well, if either of us is home we just use our phone as a hotspot. I've found that network prioritization is rarely enacted because we're on a very rural, low usage tower that was just put in a year ago (likel oversize the capability of the radio systems on the tower). I'm sure as time goes on and more and more users use that tower we'll have problems, but so far no issue.

Unfortunately, that probably isn't an option for you. You need a stand-alone line. I hate to say it but hotspot is likely your best option for the simplicity.

The wireless point-to-point bridge is generally not a good option for most situations like this but it could be in your case. P2P bridges act like there is a physical LAN cable connecting the 2 points, you point 2 antennas at each-other and they talk to one another to send data back and forth. Generally they are line of sight only but they do have the ability work through some vegetative cover (not a lot though, and they definitely won't work if there are hills/terrain blocking the LOS). The type and power level needed depends on the distance. 1 mile is easy peasy with ~$250 in equipment in flat terrain. 40 miles and you're going to need towers on both ends, high cost directional radios, and lots of forethought.

It's also possible to use a P2P bridge to get the signal to a place where you can get high-speed internet. IE, I know a guy that has a business in-town but can't get internet at his VERY rural cabin. Simple, he put up a P2P bridge and uses his business internet while at home (his ISP is aware and has confirmed he is not violating his TOS). The LOS distance is only about 8 miles, but the terrain (and drive) are brutal. The only thing he has going for him is both his cabin and his business are at relatively high points and there are no higher points in between the 2.

The problem is that this adds complexity; more things to configure, maintain, and pay for if lightning strikes etc. From my perspective: Verizon hotpsot = <$100/mo for unlimited. DSL = ~$50/mo plus the cost of running and maintaning a P2P bridge...

I was looking at Sprints offerings today.. Catch is with Sprint and any other one the barn is metal walled, so nobody has a hotspot that accepts any type of external antenna.. So I will have to roll the dice and hopefully luck out that the one I pick is better than everyone else with signal strength inside a building.

Cradlepoint

Cool but it seems really more for companies than a single user install.

I found that boost mobile has a pre-paid Hotspot also so taking a look. I believe they use T Mobile?

The Verizon hotspot I had been using previously had an external antenna input. Even if none are made/offered currently, find out the models that have external antenna inputs and buy a used one on ebay...

Found this from netgear.. seems like it is something that would work well at the site.

Netgear LB1121

From the specs though.. it looks like its only able to operate on AT&T or T-mobile. Looking at data only plans for them.

What carriers offer good service at the location? Narrowing down carrier options may help find a good solution.

From experience T Mobile and AT&T are pretty good. Cant say about Sprint or Verizon.