Access to 800MHz with Three SIM Only

Thinking of getting a Three "unlimited" SIM Card to install in a Mikrotik LHG-LTE antenna for a rural friend to get internet access.

In his area,m the 1800MHZ signal is basically non-existent, but the 800MHz is great.

three's website say that phones will only be on this band if they support VoLTE, which makes sense, but how does this apply to routers. Obviously with no Voice component, VoLTE is irrelevant, but I have a sneaking suspicion that 800MHz still wont be accessible

I�ve connected to Three on 800 MHz using a Miktotik router. Data worked as did SMS.

I use a Mikrotik SXT LTE kit with Three on 800MHz, and it works fine. I expect the LHG would work fine too - I have a fairly good strength signal, so the SXT gives full quality. The LHG should do the same with a weaker signal with it being higher gain.

with the 800mhz frequency your not going to get that good of a speed since it's meant for further distances. If you're just going to use this for band 20 (800mhz) then you should expect a max of 8mbps down 8mbps up depending on your distance.

I have a Mikrotik SXT LTE and can pull 70mbps~ down 35mbps~ up without line of sight (but pointed towards the tower) with the antenna outside from a mast that's 1.8miles away.

If you can't get a line of sight to the mast then the LHG is pointless because it has a small antenna beam width (25°) compared to the SXT that has a beam width of 60°.

I only have band 20 (5Mhz bandwidth at 800MHz) available, and I can get 28Mbps down and 7Mbps up. That's using a SXT LTE with line of sight and distance of about a mile.

I took out the 3 unlimited sim and found it also only connected to band 20. I saw wild variations in speed however median was around 14mbps. Low of 4-5mbps and high of 25mbps. I cancelled within the first 14 days without charge.

Which bands are available will vary depending on your location, and isn't limited by the SIM itself. My local tower only has band 20, but I'm happy with the bandwidth I get as it is much better than ADSL.

In reply to a post by sheephouse:

I only have band 20 (5Mhz bandwidth at 800MHz) available, and I can get 28Mbps down and 7Mbps up. That's using a SXT LTE with line of sight and distance of about a mile.

With those speeds you are close to the maximum of 5mhz of LTE, so you are probably the only person on the cell site!

See my sig, on Band 20. About a mile from the mast, and it's a Phone SIM in my phone.

Edited by RobertoS (Wed 03-Apr-19 22:57:42)

I suspect your phone is picking up Band 1 or Band 3 as well. Depending on handset and firmware you may be blocked from band 20 unless volte supported. In any suburban area the primary band for LTE on Three is band 3, with 15mhz. Additional band 1 at 10mhz. Then band 20 (5mhz) is for super indoor penetration and very rural coverage. Intent is volte voice calls and data on WiFi from fixed line broadband.

I forget your handset and firmware info but when making a call does it drop from 4G to H, H+ or 3G logos ?

A simple LTE performance calculator is here
http://anisimoff.org/eng/lte_throughput_calculator.html

You are right that it is showing Band 3 here and now, with LTE -103.0dBm. DL 1824.2 MHz, UL 1729.2 MHz.

Figures from Android App "LTE Discovery", in a Huawei P10 Lite. On Friday I will also be getting a Three MiFi, but of course I probably won't get much info out of that. The speeds on its wifi will be interesting compared to my phone either USB-tethered to my ASUS DSL router or purely as a hotspot. I always run it as a hotspot these days but I'm putting security cams in with cloud storage, hence the MiFi router on its way.

I'm sure when I'm out and about I see Band 20, but maybe I am misremembering. I'll check some time .

With those speeds you are close to the maximum of 5mhz of LTE, so you are probably the only person on the cell site!

Some of the time I probably am the only person using Three data on that cell - I do notice periods when the max speed drops, which I assume is contention from a couple of other users.

A couple of neighbours use EE from the same mast for home broadband - that can cope with more users and is faster, but costs significantly more than I pay.

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

You are right that it is showing Band 3 here and now, with LTE -103.0dBm. DL 1824.2 MHz, UL 1729.2 MHz.

Yes, Three obtained (due to competition rules) some Band 3 spectrum when Tmobile and Orange merged to form EE.

Figures from Android App "LTE Discovery", in a Huawei P10 Lite. On Friday I will also be getting a Three MiFi, but of course I probably won't get much info out of that. The speeds on its wifi will be interesting compared to my phone either USB-tethered to my ASUS DSL router or purely as a hotspot. I always run it as a hotspot these days but I'm putting security cams in with cloud storage, hence the MiFi router on its way.

I'm sure when I'm out and about I see Band 20, but maybe I am misremembering. I'll check some time .

Many of the Huawei devices can do VoLTE (Voice over LTE) - normally known as 4G voice calling (and marketed as 'SuperVoice' by Three) but it is different per network. Try making a call and see if the logo stays on 4G to test during the call.

Band 20 on EE and Three is only available to telephones that can make VoLTE call - but many networks can detect data devices (such as MiFi or USB dongles) and let them connect.

Several independent calculators confirm my 37mbps maximum usable capacity for 5mhz of LTE spectrum - shared with all users on the cell site sector.

In reply to a post by sheephouse:

Some of the time I probably am the only person using Three data on that cell - I do notice periods when the max speed drops, which I assume is contention from a couple of other users.

That makes sense. Depending on your antenna position and location you might get some Band 3 coverage which if you have a device that can do Carrier Aggregation can make a useful difference (CA means channel bonding, so 5mhz + 15mhz for Three).

A couple of neighbours use EE from the same mast for home broadband - that can cope with more users and is faster, but costs significantly more than I pay.
Yes, EE doesn't do unlimited but they have a lot more radio spectrum capacity, so speeds can be higher in good radio conditions.

The only Three signal available in my locality is band 20 - we only got that less than 2 years ago, before that there was no signal at all. I'm hoping they will add band 3 at some point, but as there aren't many customers here I guess it is unlikely!
There are still significant parts of the Forest of Dean with no signal from any carrier, so we're lucky having the choice of Three and EE both with good strength signals.

The operators are trying to fix black spots but are having problems with planning permission and land owners.

Good to know you have some service!

Three's LTE service, can I ask what is the top speed attainable that they supply if everything was perfect ?.

Just wondering if its my phone or LTE that's limiting my max speed to 118mb exactly.

In reply to a post by toe:

Three's LTE service, can I ask what is the top speed attainable that they supply if everything was perfect ?.

Just wondering if its my phone or LTE that's limiting my max speed to 118mb exactly.

You're not going to get anything more than 120mbps on three, max I got was 114 & 32up in 2017 on a new cell tower.

I'm peaking at 150mbps, especially when downloading from Steam servers,

That's the max the Three router can go at, just wondering if I bought a CAT6 router would I get any more.

Try sticking it in a phone first, and see, the new iphones can get more than that, I had 202Mb in Copenhagen a few weeks back, wish I could get that in the UK here!

On my Ai cube from Three it says i'm getting 4g+. Doing a google search shows theoretical speeds of 300mbps on 4g+, though i get 100mbps on good days. 60 on a "bad" day. So, it may be very possible for you to get higher speeds if your're maxing the current hardware you have.

Unless Huawei have a different definitions for 4g+ than the standard that's used.

4G+ is an interesting moniker! I think it is one they have invented.

See if you can makes sense of this article.

What it is saying in essence that there are two different "protocols" called 4G. LTE and true 4G, but most UK providers call LTE 4G these days.

The 4G advertised by the networks here are in fact LTE. EE sell double speed 4G, which I used to have, but this seems to be the multi-channel stuff that is described as LTE Plus in the article

4G+ I imagine is that as well.

As far as I know Three only sell LTE. My car system calls it that. The identical SIM in my Huawei P20 Lite calls it 4G.

Edited by RobertoS (Tue 09-Apr-19 19:21:38)

Interesting read!

Though, readingthis article, 4g+ on Three is something called "carrier aggregation" which from the article you linked is LTE-A. So, theoretically, i could get 300mbps?

I'm confused

my Huawei P20 Lite calls it 4G.

Be careful who you call and what you say Bob, and don�t forget your tin foil hat

4G+ showing on my phone with carrier aggregation and LTE high speed mode lit up.

Just seemed strange to do 3 speed tests on different days to get exactly 118mbps
max on all 3 tests (not 118 point something)

Phone is a Huawei mate 10,

Cant complain for sure as I'm half way up a mountain in rural Wales with a mast 1500 meters away.

Thanks for the info/replies

That's why I said "See if you can makes sense of �."

I've just found this article which looks very relevant to you!

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

4G+ is an interesting moniker! I think it is one they have invented

Not at all the case. Depending on phone or device with 4G+ you get carrier aggregation also known as channel bonding.

Three has 5mhz at 800, 15mhz at 1800 and 10mhz at 2100. If you have a 3CA handset that can give you 30mhz of spectrum.

Contrast with EE whom can do 5mhz at 800, 20mhz at 1800 AND 15mhz at 1800, then 20mhz at 2600 and another 15mhz at 2600.

You can see how EE can provide higher speeds that Three in total anywhere in the UK.

The only country to use 4G symbol on phones and not mean LTE is the USA. they are doing similar with 5G and it is unhelpful.

Total speed depends on capacity deployed on the specific mast and other users in that area. Also depends on your handsets capability - how many bands your device can aggregate.