Three 5G upload increase

Hi everybody I've just started using a Three 5G connection on a CPE Pro router which is giving some utterly insane download speeds (touching on 600mbps!) but the upload speed is a "lowly" 30-40mbps

Is this normal? Can I, in some way, trade some of the download bandwith for upload? Would an external antenna help the upload speed?

TIA

In reply to a post by simonh__:

Is this normal? Can I, in some way, trade some of the download bandwith for upload? Would an external antenna help the upload speed?

Typically upload is based on how good the signal is from you to the mast. So try putting the router in a window facing the direction of the mast.

External antennas often cost a lot and make things worse, they would need to support the 3.4 GHz band for todays 5G deployment.

Does a 5G phone on Three outside your home get any better speeds? If not, then don't buy any antennas.

In reply to a post by jchamier:

In reply to a post by simonh__:

Is this normal? Can I, in some way, trade some of the download bandwith for upload? Would an external antenna help the upload speed?

Typically upload is based on how good the signal is from you to the mast. So try putting the router in a window facing the direction of the mast.

External antennas often cost a lot and make things worse, they would need to support the 3.4 GHz band for todays 5G deployment.

Does a 5G phone on Three outside your home get any better speeds? If not, then don't buy any antennas.

I thought Three used 4G for upload? If so, that’s where the difference is coming from 😊

Hi Thanks for the reply. The router is on the first floor of the building right next to the wall which I think faces the mast (the wall is made up of just a sheet of plywood and cement board cladding) - would an external antenna not help?

I may try putting the router outside and seeing if that helps the u/l

Really? This wasn't mentioned during the sign up process and according to their website under the "Technical" bit it states:

5G NSA Up to 1.65Gbps DL / 250Mbps UL (Theoretical value. Actual speeds will depend on network coverage)

They also repeated this on the phone so it's a bit naughty if that's not the case...

About what I used to see on a 5G connected Vodafone Gigacube in central London. 10:1 download to upload. So yeah welcome to 5G in the UK.

More importantly what are your ping and jitter times like?

Hi Thanks for the reply. Ping is 45ms and jitter 4.9ms. I don't think ping will be much of an issue as it's primarily being used as a link for a CCTV system (which so far has worked fine) so hence a bit more upload might come in handy if there are multiple users but it's certainly an improvement on the current 1mbps ADSL2

In reply to a post by gary333:

I thought Three used 4G for upload? If so, that’s where the difference is coming from 😊

Ha, quite possible, given we are in NSA configuration. I don't have coverage at home, so will have to drive out to nearest Three 5G area to test.

In reply to a post by simonh__:

Really? This wasn't mentioned during the sign up process and according to their website under the "Technical" bit it states:

The modem you have can do this, and so that was not false. What the transmissions in the air can do can be something different, especially for a "mobile" network, they could have one configuration near you, and a different one in central London.

e.g. the Three 5G mast near me is only using 40 MHz of bandwidth, so speeds of 200 Mbps, but others are using the full 100 MHz and can give some insane speeds over 1 Gbps.

Upload in radio comms is one of the hardest things to sort, even on 4G (LTE) you find upload speeds are only using one channel, but you get 3 or 4 channels downlink.

It is still very early days for 5G in the UK, and all operators are still using Non Standalone Architecture (NSA) configuration, which means the modem has to also be connected to a 4G LTE signal.

Tmobile in the USA has managed to launch a Standalone Architecture (SA) deployment in 2020, which is quite impressive. This means no 4G signal is required.

Edited by jchamier (Fri 19-Mar-21 19:52:35)

Just had a look at some old speed tests. Used to typically get around 424 down, 40 up with 43ms ping and 4ms jitter.