For farms, ranches and rural land
Get the internet from the house to the barn.
Most farm internet problems aren’t the dish. They’re the last 300 to 1,500 ft. Tell us how far the building is and we’ll tell you how to wire it, what to buy and what it costs.
Parts prices checked Works with any internet provider.
Buried Cat6
One cable in a trench. No radios, full speed, nothing to aim. Under about 300 ft door to door, because copper Ethernet stops at 328 ft once you count the bends.
Wireless bridge
Two small radios on masts, aimed at each other. No digging, but they have to see each other: leaves count as blocked.
Fiber or a relay
If you can dig, pre-terminated fiber goes thousands of feet and can’t carry lightning between buildings. If you can’t, a long-range bridge or a relay hop.
Measure first
Pace it: a normal walking step is about 2.5 ft, so 120 steps is about 300 ft. Or use the measuring tool in any satellite map app, door to door. Then open the planner.
Straight answers first
- Barn 500 ft awayA wireless bridge, if they can see each other
Cat6 stops at 328 ft. Past that it’s radios or fiber.
- Trench, bridge or fiber?Distance, view and digging decide it
One table, four methods, and when each is the wrong choice.
- Cameras behind CGNATCloud-app cameras work; local-only ones need a fix
Which kind you have, and the three fixes.
- Before you buy landThree free checks, then a paid test only if unsure
Sky check, cell signal, FCC map, then a portable kit.
- What will parts cost?A dated range for your exact run
The planner prices each line and says what it couldn’t price.
- Electrician?New power, bonding, shared trenches
And call 811 before any digging. It’s free.
More than one building
Most places need more than one link: the barn, the shop, a gate camera, sometimes a second house. The planner takes up to six buildings and gives each its own method and parts list, so the close shop gets a cable and the far barn gets a bridge.
Helping a parent from far away?
Plain steps for setting up a parent’s place so you can help from another state: what to do on your next visit, camera check-ins they agree to, and alerts when the internet drops. Helping family remotely.
Who shouldn’t use Starlink as the farm’s feed
- Fiber or a solid fixed-wireless provider reaches the house. Use it, and put the money into the barn link.
- You only need cameras or sensors out there, and phones get good signal. An LTE camera is simpler.
- The dish spot is under heavy trees and you can’t clear them or raise a pole.
- You’re thinking of a second dish just for a building 300 ft away. A bridge pair ($108–$139.99, checked Oct 5, 2026) usually does it for a one-time cost. One connection or two?
Not sure what feeds the house? Compare fiber, fixed wireless, cellular and satellite.
If the house has no fiber or solid cable, satellite is often the feed, and the recipes here get it to the barn. US addresses only.
Questions people ask
How do I get internet to a barn 500 ft away?
With a point-to-point wireless bridge if the two buildings can see each other, or buried fiber if you can dig. Buried Cat6 alone won’t reach: copper Ethernet stops at 328 ft. The 300–1,000 ft recipe has the parts and steps.
Trench Cat6, bridge or fiber?
Under about 300 ft and you can dig: Cat6. Clear view and no digging: a bridge. Long run and you can dig: fiber. Only a camera out there, with good cell signal: an LTE camera. Compare all four.
Does this only work with Starlink?
No. Everything past the house router is your own network. The recipes work the same with fiber, cable, fixed wireless or satellite at the house.
When do I need an electrician?
For new AC power to a building, for bonding surge protectors and masts to a building’s grounding system if you aren’t sure how, and whenever a trench is shared with power wiring. Always call 811 before you dig. Safety details.