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Fiber, fixed wireless or satellite: picking internet for a building with no good options

October 2026 · QTech

Plenty of New York addresses still can’t get fiber: older walk-ups, warehouses, job sites, and offices where the landlord never let a carrier in. Here’s how to choose what to use instead.

Start with one question: is fiber in the building?

If fiber is already wired to your building, use it. It gives the most speed for the money, and upload speed is close to download speed, which matters for video calls and cloud phone systems. Our business fiber starts at $79 a month for 300 Mbps, with the router and installation included.

If fiber isn’t there, ask whether a carrier can bring it in and how long that would take. Sometimes the answer is a few weeks. Often it’s months, a construction charge, or a landlord who won’t sign off. That’s when the other two options come in.

Fixed wireless: the best fit for most buildings without fiber

Fixed wireless uses a business router that connects over the cellular network. A tri-carrier router picks whichever of the three major carriers has the strongest signal at your location, so you’re not stuck with one network’s coverage.

• Good for: offices and storefronts without fiber, temporary locations, and anyone who needs to be online in days, not months.
• Watch for: speeds depend on the signal where the router sits. A coverage check at your address before you sign is a must.
• Cost: $129 a month as your main connection on a 36-month term, router included.

Fixed wireless also works as a backup line. Pair it with fiber and it takes over when the main connection goes down, for $59 a month. If your phones, card machines or cameras run over the internet, a backup line is cheap insurance.

Satellite: for places nothing else reaches

Modern low-orbit satellite internet is far better than the satellite service of ten years ago. It’s the right choice for job sites, warehouses and remote locations with no fiber, no cable and weak cell signal.

• Good for: construction sites, rural or industrial locations, and short-term setups.
• Watch for: the dish needs a clear view of the sky, and heavy weather or obstructions can affect service.
• Cost: from $179 a month for 500 GB of priority data, plus equipment and professional installation. Month to month.

A quick way to decide

1. Fiber available? Use fiber, and add a fixed wireless backup if being offline costs you money.
2. No fiber, decent cell signal? Use fixed wireless as your main connection.
3. No fiber and weak signal? Use satellite.

Don’t forget the phone lines

Moving to new internet is a good time to check the building’s old copper phone lines too. Elevator phones, alarm panels and fax lines often still run on copper, and phone companies are retiring it. Read our copper retirement guide.

Not sure what your address can get?

Send us the address. We’ll check fiber, wireless coverage and satellite options there and recommend one, usually within one business day.

Business fiber is provided and billed by QTel, a licensed New York carrier since 2001. Taxes and fees extra. Speeds are maximums and vary with equipment, signal and network conditions.