I am not sure if this question has been brought up or answered.
Out of the 5 modem choices, the BM818-T1 modem supports most frequencies/bands.
Looking at the range of frequencies/bands it would work well in America/Canada.
I understand it would also depend on which service provider is chosen while using Librem 5. But would it be advantageous to use the BM818-T1 modem instead of BM818-A1 modem when in North America?
Item , Standard , Frequency/Band , BM818-A1 , BM818-T1 , USA , Canada , Mexico
1 , GSM/GPRS/EDGE , GSM/850MHz , X , X , X , X , X
2 , GSM/GPRS/EDGE , EGSM/900MHz , , X , , ,
3 , GSM/GPRS/EDGE , DCS/1800MHz , , X , , ,
4 , GSM/GPRS/EDGE , PCS/1900MHz , X , X , X , X , X
5 , HSPA+/WCDMA , B1/2100MHz , , X , , ,
6 , HSPA+/WCDMA , B2/1900MHz , X , X , X , X , X
7 , HSPA+/WCDMA , B3/1800MHz , , , , ,
8 , HSPA+/WCDMA , B4/1700MHz , X , X , X , X , X
9 , HSPA+/WCDMA , B5/850MHz , X , X , X , X , X
10 , HSPA+/WCDMA , B8/900MHz , , X , , ,
11 , LTE-FDD , B1/2100MHz , , X , , ,
12 , LTE-FDD , B2/1900MHz , X , X , X , X , X
13 , LTE-FDD , B3/1800MHz , X , X , , ,
14 , LTE-FDD , B4/1700MHz , X , X , X , X , X
15 , LTE-FDD , B5/850MHz , X , X , X , X ,
16 , LTE-FDD , B7/2600MHz , , X , , X ,
17 , LTE-FDD , B8/900MHz , , X , , ,
18 , LTE-FDD , B12/700acMHz , X , , X , X ,
19 , LTE-FDD , B13/700cMHz , X , , X , X ,
20 , LTE-FDD , B17/700bcMHz , X , , X , X ,
21 , LTE-FDD , B20/800MHz , , , , ,
22 , LTE-FDD , B25/1900MHz , X , , X , ,
23 , LTE-FDD , B26/850MHz , X , , X , ,
24 , LTE-FDD , B28/700MHz , , X , , ,
25 , LTE-FDD , B29/700deMHz , , , , X ,
26 , LTE-FDD , B30/2300MHz , , , X , ,
27 , LTE-FDD , B66/1700MHz , X , X , X , X ,
28 , LTE-FDD , B71/600MHz , , , X , ,
29 , TDD-LTE , B34/2000MHz , , X , , ,
30 , TDD-LTE , B38/2600MHz , , X , , ,
31 , TDD-LTE , B39/1900MHz , , X , , ,
32 , TDD-LTE , B40/2300MHz , , X , , ,
33 , TDD-LTE , B41/2500MHz , X , X , X , ,
I’ve collected the frequencies used in North America in the table above, for comparison with both of those modems. Copy the data into a spreadsheet, using the “,” as a column delimiter, and it should parse correctly. [EDIT: I replaced the special checkmark symbol with an “X” to avoid display issues. You’ll probably have to copy it to a text file before pasting into a spreadsheet, to make it display properly.]
For all practical purposes, only the LTE bands matter for the U.S. now, and for Canada and Mexico soon:
I’ve ignored the CDMA bands, as CDMA is being shut down now.
You can sort and re-sort the table however you want, then return it easily to the original order by sorting on the “Item” column.
Let me know if you spot any errors.
So, compared to the A1, the T1 is…
Lacking these U.S. & Canada LTE bands:
B12/700acMHz
B13/700cMHz
B17/700bcMHz
Lacking these U.S. LTE bands:
B25/1900MHz
B26/850MHz
Edit: That means the T1 has coverage only on these bands on the indicated carriers (may or may not be adequate):
U.S. / AT&T:
B2 (1900 PCS)
B4 (1700/2100 AWS 1)
U.S. / T-mobile:
B2 (1900 PCS)
B4 (1700/2100 AWS 1)
B66 (1700/2100)
U.S. / Verizon:
B2 (1900 PCS)
B4 (1700/2100 AWS 1)
Canada / Bell:
B4 (1700/2100 AWS 1)
B7 (2600)
Canada / Rogers:
B4 (1700/2100 AWS 1)
B7 (2600)
Canada / Telus:
B2 (1900 PCS)
B4 (1700/2100 AWS 1)
B5 (850)
B7 (2600)
Canada / Fido:
B4 (1700/2100 AWS 1)
B7 (2600)
Mexico:
For LTE, three of the four carriers are covered by the T1. (Movistar, Nextel, Telcel). Iusacell apparently has no LTE bands (according to the website above), but is covered by 2G and 3G.
@amarok, Thanks for a detailed reply.
Talking of Canada, it covers bands provided by all major service providers. That would mean T1 can very well be used.
The lack of 700MHz might be a problem. That band allows coverage of longer distances and better penetration inside buildings.
Also, I don’t know what differences there are among 700 “ac,” “bc,” and “b” types.
Does this help? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LTE_frequency_bands
I think you would need to download the referenced 3GPP document for an understanding of the meaning of those letters.
You will notice that there are a bunch of bands all of which describe themselves as “700 MHz” but they differ in what exact frequency ranges are used and how they use the frequency ranges. As such, a band number is more informative than a basic frequency.
However in terms of attenuation and penetration, your comments would probably apply to all band numbers that are using the basic frequency of 700 MHz.
In Australia, 700 MHz is very important - but only in the context of “Band 28”.