How To Get the Best Backup Internet for Your Budget

I hadn’t thought much about backup internet until I started covering national disasters through the lens of consumer advocacy this summer. Long-term outages seem impossible until they happen to you, right?

But we have to face the truth: Long-term outages could come our way anytime. If it’s not due to hurricanes, it could be caused by earthquakes and wildfires. Even without headline-grabbing climate disasters, increasingly hot summers can take out power grids, and unexpected snow and ice can keep repair crews grounded for days.

Should you get backup internet? I think so—if you can afford it. For most households, make sure you have adequate hotspot data on your personal cell phone plan and invest in an external battery. But if you work remotely, a backup internet connection from T-Mobile, Xfinity, or Frontier is worth it.

So, who really needs Starlink? If other people rely on you, if you live in a rural area without 4G LTE access, or if you have special health needs, you might. If it’s the only way to reach the outside world after disaster strikes, it may just save a life.