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Best Internet Solution for Digital Nomads

As digital nomadism has become increasingly popular over the last 5 years, the need for a travel router is more critical than ever. It can be stressful and confusing to consider network appliances (such as GL inet) and devices (random AliExpress junk) when working remotely. After traveling around the world, mostly in South America and Asia, I have identified the four most important needs for a travel router:

  1. Fast VPN Connection: 95% of travel routers have an underpowered CPU, which makes it challenging to provide a fast VPN tunnel.
  2. Hotel WiFi Authentication: The ability to interface with hotel WiFi login screens for authentication.
  3. SIM Card Support: Use a SIM card to obtain 5G / 4G LTE internet.
  4. Everything in a Single Device: You don’t look very cool in Bali, Indonesia, with multiple networking devices on the beach.

I’ve solved this problem by using a single Sony Xperia 10 III running the Linux-based Sailfish OS, which provides VPN access wherever I go. Here’s an image of my setup:

The State of Travel Routers in 2024 (It’s Not Good)

The state of travel routers in 2024 is very poor. While some routers do accept SIM cards, many of them are carrier-locked or region-locked to North America due to the type of bands on the device. Moreover, the routers that accept SIM cards are not portable, as they require a 12V wall socket and consume lots of power. This is insufficient for a travel router.

Additionally, there are many travel routers with a portable form factor, but they contain a very weak CPU and often only provide 1 Mbps for upload and download speeds, which is unusable (even for Zoom or Teams calls with your boss). Furthermore, they don’t support a fast VPN protocol like WireGuard.

I decided that there is no retail device that supports my needs to i so i was interest in using Linux to archtiect my own solution until i remembered a linux youtuber talk about sailshish os:

After extensive research, I discovered that Sailfish OS has come a long way. The OS has matured significantly, and the community has developed amazing tools, including WireGuard support. 🎉

And let’s not forget the most important thing: Sony Xperia 10 III is a 5G phone, and Sailfish OS fully supports 5G. 🎉

Sailfish OS + Sony Xperia 10 III Changes the Travel Router Industry

I’ve created a diagram showcasing the setup I’ve been using:

        ______________________
       |     Work Computer
       |______________________|
                 ^
                 |
              (VPN over the Layer 3)
              (WiFi Bridge or Ethernet over USB)
                 |
        _______________________
       |     Sony 10 iii running SailfishOS
       |    (SailfishOs Wireguard VPN software)
       |_______________________|
                 ^
                 |
              (connection)
                 |
      ___________________________
     |  Internet Connection from  Hotel Wifi or SIM Card
     |___________________________|

The Sony Xperia 10 III acts as a router for my work computer. I primarily connect via Ethernet over USB while running WireGuard, achieving amazing speeds (easily 20-50 Mbps).

Going over SailfishOS

let's take a look at some of the screenshots i took to show off the functionaolity!

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