RPi with SIM card as router

[balanga]

I would like to build a router using an RPi and some 5G hat.

Has anyone tried putting together something like that?
Using FreeBSD of course....

 

[Phishfry]

As you can see from this post (mostly about GPS) I had built a device early on in my FreeBSD experience.
I called it a MiFi build because at the time I was using a Straight Talk device for Internet they called MiFi. Cellular modem with Wireless Access Point. Size of a bar of soap or less.
My build used a USB cellular modem mounted on top of a Lipo Battery Pack fixed to the Beaglebone. It also used a USB Wifi Adapter using the RUN hostap driver

So in general all computer Cellular Modems use USB Signalling. You you really don't need the complexities of a HAT/CAPE.
(Plus there is no USB signalling in most 40PIN headers so you have external wire going to USB port)

Just get a USB to Cellular Modem Adapter. They are 10-20 bucks and have SIM slot onboard too.
Two styles these days. M.2 and MiniPCIe depending on modem flavor.

I am pretty sure we have already talked about this. Check around I bet you have the adapter already.

 

[SirDice]

some 5G hat.

Don't think these exist given the plethora of (cheap) USB devices you could use instead.

Edit: Well, found one but it's for 4G/3G/2G/GSM. And it's bloody expensive. Most of the 5G ones seem to use a PCIe to M.2 adapter and use a 5G M.2 module.

 

[Phishfry]

I see Chinese ones with embedded modem. Quectel. Still needs external jack to USB jack..I hate those.

Getting Started with the Raspberry Pi 4G LTE HAT | Seeed Studio Wiki

The Quectel EG25-GL-powered 4G LTE Raspberry Pi HAT delivers high-speed connectivity and precise GNSS positioning, making it perfect for IoT and M2M applications. Compatible with Raspberry Pi and PCs, it supports global frequency bands, real-time tracking, and reliable communication for...

wiki.seeedstudio.com

5G is just a dumb marketing label. Look for 4G devices too.

 

[Phishfry]

FreeBSD 15 Now has pretty cool setup for Celllar Modems now. So that unlocks the single thread blahs of PPP/DirectIP mode. So higher speeds possible.

A new cellular modem driver supports USB network devices implementing the Mobile Broadband Interface Model (MBIM): umb(4).
The accompanying umbctl(8) tool is used to display or set MBIM cellular modeminterface parameters (4G/LTE). 0f1bf1c22a0c(Sponsored by The FreeBSDFoundation)

FreeBSD 15.0-RELEASE Release Notes

FreeBSD is an operating system used to power modern servers, desktops, and embedded platforms.

www.freebsd.org

MBIM mode add support for most cellular modems over the last 10 years.