Cellular Bonding Solutions for Live Streaming – Comparison

When live streaming video online, reliable Internet connectivity is essential. Live media producers are constantly looking for solutions to get the job done without issues such as low quality video, stuttering, buffering and even dropouts.

The problem is you cannot trust a single Internet connection when broadcasting, because something can go wrong at any time due to temporary infrastructure problems, wireless signal coverage, etc. That's why it's best to use two or more Internet connections.

Cellular bonding for live streaming is the norm for broadcasting video nowadays. It usually refers to using multiple cellular connections simultaneously through dedicated cellular bonding hardware. Using a bonded network connection to live stream provides the reliability you need to avoid any type of broadcast issues.

But what is the best cellular bonding solution for live streaming? Check out our comparison sheet below that includes both hardware  bonding and software bonding solutions such as LiveU, Peplink, Teradek, Mushroom Networks, Streambox, TVU Networks, Dejero and Speedify.

We analyzed the most popular solutions for bonded Internet when live streaming video online. We took into account a few criteria, including equipment, maximum bitrate supported and cost. Here are the facts.

	Dejero	LiveU	Mushroom Networks	Peplink	Speedify	Streambox	Teradek	TVU Networks
Typical equipment	Dedicated hardware bonding device	Dedicated hardware bonding device + streaming service subscription	Dedicated hardware bonding device	Dedicated hardware bonding device	Software subscription to run directly on supported devices	Dedicated hardware bonding device + streaming service subscription	Dedicated hardware streaming / bonding device + streaming / bonding service subscription	Dedicated hardware bonding device
Portability	No	Some solutions only - e.g. LiveU Solo	Some solutions only - e.g. Streamer, Streamer Pro	Some solutions only - e.g. SpeedFusion Engine Series	Yes, depending on the device it’s running on: laptop, mobile device	Some solutios only - e.g. AVENIR Mini 5	Some solutions only - e.g. Teradek Bond, Teradek LinkPro	Some solutions only - e.g. TVU One / Nano
Supported connection types	Ethernet (Gateway 211 only), Wi-Fi, cellular	Ethernet, Wi-Fi, cellular	Ethernet, Wi-Fi, cellular	Ethernet, Wi-Fi, cellular	Ethernet, Wi-Fi, cellular	Ethernet, Wi-Fi, cellular	Ethernet, Wi-Fi, cellular	Ethernet, Wi-Fi, cellular
Maximum bonding speed	1 Gbps	20 Mbps for streaming / 60 Mbps for file transfer (LU600 HEVC)	Streamer Pro: 30 Mbps max. throughput Streamer: 1 Gbps (standalone), 30 Mbps (RTMP) max. throughput	200 Mbps with SpeedFusion Cloud	300 Mbps - Speedify public servers 1 Gbps - Speedify with dedicated server	1 Gbps	According to streaming settings - limited by ingest servers	1 Gbps for the 5G TVU One Router (portable)
Technology	Smart Blending Technology	LiveU Reliable Transport (LRT)	Broadband bonding	SpeedFusion and other business-oriented ones	Channel bonding, Speedify protocol	Network bonding	Sharelink, Core	IS+ cellular bonding
Cost	Approx. $4000 for the Gateway 211	Starting at $995 for the LiveU solo + $450 / year for the LRT service	Starting at $10,000	Starting at $499 for the Peplink UBR LTE + SpeedFusion Cloud subscription starting at $20 / 6 months / 500 GB	$90 / year Optional: additional cost for the dedicated server(s)	Starting at $495 for the Streambox Cloud Event Package + the cost of the Avenir Mini 5	Starting at $4,990 for the Teradek LinkPro Backpack + $25 / month for the Sharelink service + additional cost per GB over 50 GB	Upon request - should be at least a few hundred dollars for the TVU Router Nano

All solutions work very well for use cases such as:

• IRL live streaming
• remote learning
• online and hybrid events - including wedding videography, concerts, etc.
• reporting from the field
• entertainment
• houses of worship

You may be wondering what you should use as a cellular bonding solution for your live broadcasts. When it comes to bonded Internet, there are three main things you should take into account before choosing / switching to one of the above:

• Type of cellular bonding device: dedicated hardware vs. software - Speedify is unique in this space, as most bonded Internet solutions involve dedicated hardware. Speedify's software-only internet bonding solution prioritizes live streaming while running on any computer or mobile device. 
  Being a software service, Speedify is much more versatile and portable. It's not limited to specific bandwidths and you don't need additional space, power sources or equipment to  set it up in order to get great results when live streaming or transferring files.
• Costs - all hardware-based internet bonding solutions (Dejero, LiveU, Mushroom Networks, Peplink, Streambox, Teradek and TVU Networks) have an initial investment of at least $495 plus the subscription to cloud bonding services. With Speedify, you only pay for the monthly or yearly subscription and enjoy cellular bonding for live streaming right on your own devices.
• Flexibility - instead of being committed to dedicated bonding hardware, Speedify allows you to do cellular bonding for live streaming on any supported device. If you want, you can even create your own bonded Internet router and use it in a similar way to a hardware bonding device.

If you're hesitant in choosing software over hardware, here's a real world use case: Doug Piper successfully live streams beer tasting using Speedify after he had considered a LiveU based setup.