How to Turn a Raspberry Pi Into a 4G LTE Router

Huge swaths of the world, including parts of the United States and other First World countries, are still without reliable access to…

Cameron Coward
5 years ago

Huge swaths of the world, including parts of the United States and other First World countries, are still without reliable access to broadband internet. Sure, you can get DSL through your phone line even in rural areas, but the quality can vary dramatically between providers and geographical areas. Fortunately, many of those areas have decent cellular converge, and people living in those locations may want to consider building a 4G LTE router.

This guide was written by software engineer Filippo Buletto, who lives in Italy in a home without a decent internet connection. He was using broadband ADSL, but the connection struggled to provide even 4 Mbps — an absolutely glacial speed in today’s connected world. However, he did have strong 4G LTE service around his home. He was able to get a 4G Mobile Broadband Dongle from his cellular provider, but that only gives a single computer an internet connection.

The solution Buletto came up with was to use that 4G LTE dongle with a Raspberry Pi to create a 4G LTE router and provide WiFi internet access to his entire home. The dongle connects to a Raspberry Pi 3 Model B, which passes the connection on to a Gigabit Ethernet switch. That switch, in turn, can pass the connection on to some devices directly via Ethernet cables. It also connects to a TP-Link RE450 Access Point, which provides WiFi to wireless devices. This an inexpensive solution you should consider if you’re in a similar situation, and Buletto’s guide goes into a lot of depth on how to configure the connections.

Cameron Coward
Writer for Hackster News. Proud husband and dog dad. Maker and serial hobbyist.
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