Is there a noticeable interruption when the system fails over?

Failover behavior is documented as part of Nexaer's controlled field testing. See the field test results page for specifics on the failover test methodology.

Does Starlink count as a fourth failover path, or a primary one?

Starlink runs as part of the same failover pool as the cellular carriers when configured, there is no manual designation of primary versus backup that field staff need to manage.

Starlink + Cellular Failover in a Portable Case

No single internet path is reliable on its own. Cellular towers overload during disasters; satellite dishes get obstructed by terrain or tree cover. NetCrate's failover architecture treats that as the normal condition to design around, not an edge case to hope doesn't happen.

How the failover actually works

Three carriers running at once

T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T SIMs are all active simultaneously, not on standby. The system routes traffic across whichever carrier path is healthiest in real time.

Starlink as a parallel path

When configured, Starlink operates alongside the cellular paths rather than as a manual fallback you have to switch to — it's part of the same failover pool.

Automatic, not manual

Field staff don't toggle between connections. The unit handles path selection on its own, which matters when the person on shift isn't a network technician.

Validated under controlled testing

Failover behavior is part of Nexaer's documented field-test process, not just a spec sheet claim. See field test results for the test plan.

Why diversify across both satellite and cellular

Satellite-only and cellular-only solutions each fail under different, predictable conditions:

Approach	Where it breaks down
Cellular only (single carrier)	Fails when local towers are damaged, overloaded, or that one carrier has poor coverage in the area — exactly the condition during many disasters.
Starlink only	Fails when sky visibility is obstructed by terrain, tree cover, or a hasty indoor/covered setup, and offers no backup path during an outage or hardware issue.
Cellular + Starlink (NetCrate)	Each path covers the other's weak point — cellular handles obstructed sky, Starlink handles damaged or saturated cellular infrastructure.

Important limitation: NetCrate supports emergency internet and Wi-Fi. It does not replace land mobile radio, public safety radio, satellite phones, or emergency voice communications.

Common questions about failover

Failover behavior is documented as part of Nexaer's controlled field testing. See field test results for specifics on the failover test methodology.

The unit ships with three carrier SIMs pre-installed. Running fewer active carrier plans is possible but reduces the redundancy the failover design is built around.

Starlink runs as part of the same failover pool as the cellular carriers when configured — there's no manual designation of "primary" versus "backup" that field staff need to manage.

Need a configuration recommendation?

Tell Nexaer how your team plans to deploy NetCrate and we'll recommend a self-managed, managed, or evaluation configuration.

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