Weather has very little effect on fixed wireless internet. Because the signal only travels a few miles from a nearby tower to a receiver at your home (instead of 20,000 miles to a satellite), the tough Pennsylvania weather like rain, snow, and storms rarely interrupt it. You may see a brief slowdown in extreme weather, but for everyday weather, your connection stays steady.
If you’re thinking about getting fixed wireless internet service, this is probably a question that’s crossed your mind. If you’re paying for a service, you want to be sure you have access to it when you need it, and that isn’t only when the weather is nice.
In general, fixed wireless broadband maintains its connection during poor weather conditions. We’ll take a look at the reliability of your fixed wireless connection when it comes to mother nature.
Fixed Wireless Internet Isn’t Satellite Internet
The difference between fixed wireless internet and satellite internet is about 19,990 miles.
When it comes to satellite internet, the receiver on your home or business is communicating with a satellite orbiting Earth about 20,000 miles away. With fixed wireless internet, your receiver is communicating with a tower that’s about 10 miles away or less.
This huge reduction in the distance not only reduces latency and improves speed, but it also improves connectivity. A storm blowing through the next state over won’t knock out your internet connection as it may with satellite. This is because with fixed wireless, the connection is local. The signal is not traveling through miles and miles of Earth’s atmosphere and variable weather patterns to connect you. It’s just traveling down the street or across the field.
Want the full breakdown? See how fixed wireless stacks up against satellite providers like Starlink.
Fixed Wireless Internet During Rain and Storms
Fixed wireless internet offers a stable connection through most rain and storms.
Because a fixed wireless tower is as tall as an average cell phone tower, they stay, for the most part, well below the storm clouds. That means in inclement weather conditions those radio waves can maintain a line of sight with your receiver, whereas a satellite located high above the clouds wouldn’t be able to.
While fixed wireless towers are under the clouds, they’re still not out of the rain. It’s possible that the radio signals will be susceptible to something called rain fade.
Rain fade is when moisture in the air – be that rain, humidity, fog – reduces the strength of the signal, depending on the frequencies of the radiowaves.
While the frequencies used to connect customers to towers is not susceptible to rain fade, it is possible that precipitation can affect the 11 GHz licensed frequencies used to transmit the connection from tower to tower. To combat this, antennas are designed to have extremely high reliability accounting for rain and high humidity events. That means your internet connection shouldn’t slow down or be affected by the morning mist or a heavy afternoon rain shower.
What About Snow, Ice, and Wind?
Snow and ice behave a lot like rain. Falling snow rarely affects your connection, and the small receiver on your home is built to shed weather. The one thing worth knowing is a thick buildup of wet snow or ice directly on or around the receiver can weaken the signal until it clears, the same way a heavy coat of snow can blur a satellite dish. It’s uncommon, and it passes.
While very heavy wind can sometimes move a receiver enough to impact connection, this is not common enough for concern. Your receiver is mounted to stay put, and the tower it talks to is engineered to handle the kind of gusts our area sees. The signal only travels a few miles, so there’s far less in its path to disrupt than with a satellite signal crossing the whole atmosphere.
No internet is completely weatherproof, but our network is designed for 99.9% uptime. Each tower is designed with redundant fiber resources. The result? Our fixed wireless holds up through the everyday snow, ice, and wind that comes with a Pennsylvania winter.
Fixed Wireless vs Fiber Internet in Bad Weather
Fiber internet is buried underground, so day-to-day rain and snow don’t touch it. That’s a real strength. The catch for rural Pennsylvania is simpler. Most of our area doesn’t have fiber, and laying it to a country home or farm can take years, if it ever comes at all.
Fixed wireless gets you a reliable, weather-steady connection now, without waiting for anyone to trench a cable down your road. Because our towers are fed by fiber-optic lines on the back end, you’re getting fiber-backed speed delivered the last few miles over the air.
Curious how the two compare on cost, speed, and availability? Here’s the full side-by-side of fiber vs fixed wireless.
Fixed Wireless Internet is Reliable Even in Rain, Snow, and Wind
Whether you’re looking for internet for your home or your business, having a high-speed internet connection that’s reliable is becoming more and more important to daily life. In areas where these options are otherwise limited, fixed wireless internet is creating a new option.
Not only does it offer a fiber-optics-backed connection that is often much quicker than DSL or satellite, but it is also less susceptible to weather conditions and the high latency associated with satellite internet.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does rain slow down fixed wireless internet?
Rarely. Light to moderate rain has little to no effect. In a heavy downpour you might notice a brief slowdown, but the connection stays up and recovers as soon as the storm passes.
Does fog or humidity affect fixed wireless internet?
No. Fog and humidity carry far less moisture than rain, so the signal between your home and the tower isn’t meaningfully affected.
Is fixed wireless more reliable than satellite in bad weather?
Yes. Satellite signals travel about 20,000 miles through the atmosphere, so storms and “rain fade” hit them harder. Fixed wireless only travels a few miles from a local tower, which makes it far steadier when the weather turns.
Will my internet go out during a storm?
In most storms, no. Fixed wireless is built to ride out the everyday rain, snow, and wind we get in south-central Pennsylvania. At Upward Broadband, our network is designed with redundant sources of internet to the tower and has backup energy sources. A severe event can affect any internet type, but a local signal has far less in its path than a satellite signal does. Also, we own the equipment, and our local team can be quickly deployed to resolve any issues.
Does weather affect 5G home internet the same way?
It can. Some 5G home internet can use very high-frequency signals that are more sensitive to heavy rain and obstructions, though many plans run on lower bands that hold up better. Either way, fixed wireless is designed and aimed for your specific location, which helps it stay consistent through changing weather.
Can I get fixed wireless internet in Pennsylvania?
Yes! Upward Broadband offers high speed fixed wireless internet throughout much of Pennsylvania. View our coverage area to see if your home gets service.
