Surf SOHO - Is there cellular modem through SIM cards/ports?

Product Discussion Pepwave AP & Surf
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Airstream dealer is installing Airstream Connect with $360 / year unlimited data plan in my trailer. I went to dealer this week and looked at components, expecting Pepwave Max BR1 with embedded modem. Instead see it is SOHO router. In the limited documentation they gave me, I can’t tell whether the SOHO takes a SIM card to create a cellular data LAN, or whether there’s some other cellular data modem that I need in addition to the router? Any help is appreciated.

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Hello and Good Day

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Short answer is that with a SOHO you’ll need to:
(1) insert a modem into the USB port and put your SIM in that,
(2) use a cobbled-up solution like a hotspot and connect via wi-fi-as WAN, or
(3) use an ethernet device like the AT&T Homebase and connect it to the ethernet port.
(I really dislike the second solution but many folks have found it to be acceptable.)

My opinion? One of the BR1 devices would be my choice for this application . The SOHOs are good gear, but would not be my choice for this application. I’ll also point out that a BR1 would typically exceed the SOHO in 4G performance.

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Rick,

Thanks for your response. So to your knowledge, the SOHO does not have SIM slots/ports within the device, and requires some form of external modem connection via a WAN or USB port?

Thanks,
Steve

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Hi. That’s exactly correct. You can see the device on the page that @Ballistic referenced. There is no modem within the SOHO.

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I have been thinking a lot about the BR 1, as I would like to do away with the extra gear. Referring to the Verizon hotspot that I use along with the Surf soho.

I know I want the BR 1