5G Home Internet

5G home internet works much like your smartphone, only for the whole flat. A dedicated 5G router or 5G box picks up the mobile signal and turns it into Wi-Fi. In practice, that means no technician laying cables and no complicated set-up. Most devices are running within a few minutes. The router model differs from provider to provider, but the principle is always the same. Most of the time it really is plug and play.

Advantages

Set-up is quick: unpack the box, plug it in and you are online within minutes. You also get total flexibility, because when you move house your connection simply comes with you. There is no building work, which is especially handy in older flats or rented homes. In well-covered areas, 300 Mbit/s or more is perfectly realistic. You do not depend on a fixed line, so it is ideal where no fibre is available. Providers also tend to tempt new customers with attractive entry prices and welcome offers.

Drawbacks and things to watch

Performance can fluctuate depending on how busy the network is at the time. Your location matters too: thick walls or an awkward spot can seriously weaken reception. Latency on 5G can occasionally be a problem for competitive gaming. Also check the fair-use policy, as some plans hide data caps for heavy users. And heavy rain can affect the signal.

Internet without a fixed line makes the most sense if you want to stay flexible. Students in shared flats, for example, like being able to take their 5G hotspot with them when they move out. Residents of older buildings benefit too, especially where fibre is still years away.

A 5G router plan is also a handy stopgap, for instance while you wait for a fibre connection or only need fast internet for a few months. A holiday flat in the Alps? Perfect, as long as coverage is good. Some small offices even rely on it when a fixed-line connection would cost too much. In practice it is often simpler and quicker than you would expect.

Let us be honest: 5G is not a miracle solution for everyone. Serious gamers and fans of competitive online games should think twice. Latency has improved, but it is still higher than on fibre, at 20 to 40 ms compared with 2 to 5 ms. In Counter-Strike or League of Legends, that makes all the difference.

Content creators who regularly upload 4K videos or large files may also get frustrated. 5G upload speeds are often asymmetric and can swing wildly. Imagine uploading a 10GB video and the speed collapsing halfway through because the network is congested.

If you run a smart home with more than 30 permanently connected devices, stability can become an issue. Security cameras, smart thermostats, voice assistants: they all need a constant, reliable connection. At the slightest drop in signal, your smart home suddenly gets rather dumb.

Day traders and anyone working with time-critical, real-time applications should also stick with fibre. A one-second micro-outage can be expensive. The same goes for businesses that host their own servers or need a guaranteed fixed IP address, because 5G simply is not built for that.

And if you live in a basement flat or a building with thick reinforced concrete walls, forget it. Even with the best will in the world, a 5G signal struggles to get through.

Coverage varies considerably from one provider to another. Swisscom generally has the densest network, which is also reflected in its prices. Sunrise has invested heavily in recent years and offers solid coverage, particularly in urban areas. Salt focuses mainly on built-up areas and the main transport routes.

Always start by checking availability at your exact address. The providers all offer online tools for this. Keep in mind that reception can vary even within the same street. Home 5G Wi-Fi is only ever as good as the signal that reaches you.

What if you live in a remote Graubünden valley or a lonely Valais chalet where even 4G barely reaches? Then satellite internet becomes the best option. Starlink, Elon Musk's system, makes headlines, and rightly so: it delivers decent speeds (typically 100 to 200 Mbit/s in independent tests) almost anywhere in Switzerland, even on a mountain summit.

You set up a satellite dish that talks directly to low-orbit satellites. Installation is somewhat more involved than with a 5G box: you need a clear view of the sky and have to align the antenna correctly. Upfront costs are higher too. Depending on the speed, expect to pay 35 to 70 francs a month. You can rent the Starlink kit for 10 francs a month or buy it outright. That is steep, but sometimes it is this or nothing.

There are other options, such as traditional satellite services (Astra Connect, Eutelsat), but these often suffer from huge latency (600ms+), which makes them frustrating to use. Starlink, with its low-orbit satellites, copes far better thanks to much lower latency. A word of caution, though: heavy snowfall or severe storms can knock Starlink out as well. And the power consumption of the heated antenna in winter is another story altogether.

For mountain huts, very remote holiday homes or temporary building sites at altitude, satellite internet is often the only practical solution. It is a shame to pay so much when city dwellers can get fibre for 40 CHF a month.

5G home internet is a genuine alternative to a traditional fixed line, provided coverage is good and your needs fit what the technology can do. Always check availability at your address before you commit to a contract.