Remote CCTV Via SIM

[Drdub]

Hi. I'm a co-landlord of a property, but we live 60 miles away. Recently we've been getting people dumping motorbikes in our courtyard and we'd like to have CCTV Installed to monitor the yard; we think this coming from a neighbouring property. We have access to mains AC, but we don't have a way of getting broadband at the property for the landlords. Can anyone recommend a way to get recordable CCTV that we can monitor remotely, possibly via 5g? Thanks.

 

[Jason Hogan]

Hey Drdub,

Dealing with fly-tipping from neighboring properties is a total nightmare, especially when you're 60 miles down the road.

The good news is that doing remote CCTV over 4G/5G without local broadband is super common now, and since you already have mains power on site, you're in a really good spot.

Here are the two best ways to set this up depending on your budget and how much footage you want to record:

Option 1: All-in-One 4G Outdoor Camera (Simplest Setup)​

If you only need 1 or 2 cameras covering the courtyard, you don't even need a separate router or recording box.

• How it works: You buy a dedicated 4G/5G outdoor camera (brands like Reolink, Hikvision, or Dahua make solid ones). You pop a SIM card directly into the camera and put a high-end MicroSD card (128GB or 256GB) inside for local recording.
• Pros: Super clean installation, low power, and easy to set up.
• Features to look for: Look for a camera with PIR motion detection and vehicle/person AI detection. This prevents false alerts every time a cat walks past or shadows shift, only pinging your phone when someone actually enters the yard with a bike.
• Popular choices: Reolink Duo 3 LTE (gives a wide 180° view of the courtyard) or Reolink TrackMix LTE (if you want PTZ/auto-tracking).

Option 2: 4G/5G Industrial Router + Standard IP Cameras / NVR (Best for Expansion)​

If you think you might need multiple cameras in the future or want continuous 24/7 recording to a hard drive:

• How it works: Install a rugged 4G/5G LTE router (like a Teltonika RUT240/RUT950 or TP-Link MR600) inside a weatherproof enclosure or indoors near your mains power. Then connect standard IP cameras or a small NVR box to it via Ethernet/PoE.
• Pros: You get a full-blown NVR system with weeks of continuous recording, and you can connect multiple cameras to one SIM data plan.

Important Tips on SIM Plans & Remote Viewing​

• Data Usage: Do NOT stream the live feed 24/7 over 4G/5G, or you'll burn through data in days. Instead, rely on motion alert notifications to your phone. When an alert pops up, you jump on the live stream or review the clip stored on the SD card/NVR.
• SIM Cards: A cheap Smarty, Voxi, or Giffgaff SIM (usually £10–£15/month for unlimited or high data) works great in the UK. Just make sure to check which mobile network (EE, Vodafone, O2, Three) has the strongest signal in that specific courtyard before buying the SIM.
• CGNAT / P2P Warning: Most mobile networks use CGNAT, which means you won't get a public IP address. Make sure your camera system uses P2P (Peer-to-Peer / Cloud UID) for remote connection (Reolink, Hikvision Hik-Connect, Dahua DMSS all do this out of the box), so you don't have to deal with port forwarding nightmares.

If it's just a simple courtyard monitoring job, a standalone Reolink 4G camera with a Smarty SIM and an Endurance MicroSD card will have you up and running in under an hour.

Hope this helps catch the culprits! Let us know how it goes.

 

[Wayners]

5G SIM card router. Want unlimited data plan.
Any CCTV then.
Could have cameras covering all areas

 

[Drdub]

Hi. Wow, that was fast! Many thanks to Jason and Wayners. I was going down a rabbit hole trying to research this and you've come up with some excellent solutions. Many thanks!