Two questions regarding cellular backup for internet connectivity using an XGS with v18.5
1. It seems the XGS can accept USB cellular modems. But if you have port space, you could also plug in a standalone cellular modem (not hotspot/router, just a modem). It's my impression that it's a bit tricky to know if a USB modem will work -- there's a long list that may or may not include what you can buy and may not have absolute assurances. But it seems like an ethernet-outputting modem (which is what I have for wired service) would just work. The USB modem is small, doesn't require a power plug, and so has advantages, but is it worth the hassle? (The standalone modem can also be positioned for better reception if necessary, at the end of an ethernet cable, and may accept external antennas as well.) Insights or suggestions?
2. I had been mistakenly thinking that "prepaid" meant you buy some number of minutes or GBs and then burn them down over time, until you have to "refill the tank". So if you didn't use any for 6 months that's okay, no fees and they're still there when you need them. But that's not seemingly the way the vast majority of SIMs/vendors work., and not what "prepaid" means in practice. Seems a bit expensive to pay monthly "prepaid" fees for a service to cover for the rare event we would actually use it. Which might not so bad if it were providing substantial service under normal circumstances, but in reality the cellular service provides too few GB compared to the wired pipeline to be useful.
Are there other options? Am I just not seeing prepaid plans in the sense that I'm thinking of? Or can you just pay or not pay prepaid plans as you need? So internet goes down, you get on the website and pay, and you have service for up to a month?
(I'll add that the solution doesn't need to have auto failover. In fact, I may not even want that. In my use case, I could unplug the ethernet from the wired provider's modem and plug in the Netgear modem into the XGS' WAN port during an outage. It's truly for rare events that last more than a few minutes -- though not for as long as a week.)
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