Afrihost MTN Fixed LTE-A Thread

[tkbaby]

Haha. I can confirm the replacements will be the B628 (CAT 12) and B818 (CAT 19). These are not in our market as yet.

they are in our market. I can order the B818 today. Takealot as well as other stores are selling them.

So, are you telling me if I buy it will work on the MTN Fixed Network, this week?

 

[Toit]

Hi, I purchased and connected a Huawei B818 to the MTN fixed LTE network under the assumption that the replacement for the B618 would be acceptable, but I was wrong. The router initially functioned exceptional with a download speed of 144.27 Mbps and upload speed of 49.37 Mbps for 10 minutes, then my sim was blocked.
Do you think MTN might decide to accept the B818 as replacement for the B618

 

[Jake45]

@Toit: How much did you pay for the B818? Definitely not worth buying the B618 which is now more than 2.5 years old unless you can get a secondhand one cheaply.

 

[tkbaby]

@Toit: How much did you pay for the B818? Definitely not worth buying the B618 which is now more than 2.5 years old unless you can get a secondhand one cheaply.

Will be interesting to hear...

I was quoted R3 289 incl today and on Takealot its @ R3 899

 

[Jake45]

@tkbaby: That's a good price considering the Rand Dollar exchange rate. The price on Aliexpress appears to be around $200. It is a lot of money in the current economic climate though! The Aliexpress B818-263 does not appear to support Telkom Band 40.

2876.97ZAR |Unlocked Huawei B818 4g Router 3 Prime Lte Cat19 Router Huawei B818-263 Pk B618 B715s-23c - 3g/4g Routers - AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

According to the specs at Ltemall it appears that the B818-263 version does support Band 40!

Huawei B818 Archives – 4G LTE Mall

www.4gltemall.com

The Chinese B818-263 does not appear to support Band 40 according to the pic ...

 

[AfriGuy]

Hi, I purchased and connected a Huawei B818 to the MTN fixed LTE network under the assumption that the replacement for the B618 would be acceptable, but I was wrong. The router initially functioned exceptional with a download speed of 144.27 Mbps and upload speed of 49.37 Mbps for 10 minutes, then my sim was blocked.
Do you think MTN might decide to accept the B818 as replacement for the B618

I'm sorry to hear this. MTN has not given us any go ahead so their systems still register the old devices.
We will let you know if anything changes.

 

[Buza_junior]

Hi,

I am really sorry they addressed you so poorly. That is very unfortunate.

hi. can you assist me, where can I buy the external annetas?

 

[tkbaby]

I'm sorry to hear this. MTN has not given us any go ahead so their systems still register the old devices.
We will let you know if anything changes.

Its a little bit irritating that we need to spend thousands in this climate though on routers that have been discontinued by the manufacturers, when there are more future-proof devices that they just need to load. As the user explained above, they work, so there is not much that needs to be done on their side.

Surely this is something Afrihost can take up withMTN @AfriGuy as I will not be getting a Fixed LTE product for myself if it means spending on a discontinued device. The B818 is available in the market and is only a few hundred rand more than the B525.

 

[VicB]

I recently signed up for fixed Pure LTE from MTN via Afrihost. I wanted to get the B618 modem, but they only had the ZTE MF286c model available. The sales guy told me that the ZTE model "was a beast" and should get better speed and coverage than the B618 model. But now after having read the specs, I see the ZTE is not LTE-A capable, only LTE and it's not a CAT6 router. So am I getting lesser speeds now that I would have gotten with an LTE-A (B618) router, or does it not matter?

 

[Gtx Gaming]

I recently signed up for fixed Pure LTE from MTN via Afrihost. I wanted to get the B618 modem, but they only had the ZTE MF286c model available. The sales guy told me that the ZTE model "was a beast" and should get better speed and coverage than the B618 model. But now after having read the specs, I see the ZTE is not LTE-A capable, only LTE and it's not a CAT6 router. So am I getting lesser speeds now that I would have gotten with an LTE-A (B618) router, or does it not matter?

ZTE does 4g+ up to 300mps

 

[AgentSmithZA]

I recently signed up for fixed Pure LTE from MTN via Afrihost. I wanted to get the B618 modem, but they only had the ZTE MF286c model available. The sales guy told me that the ZTE model "was a beast" and should get better speed and coverage than the B618 model. But now after having read the specs, I see the ZTE is not LTE-A capable, only LTE and it's not a CAT6 router. So am I getting lesser speeds now that I would have gotten with an LTE-A (B618) router, or does it not matter?

The ZTE is not bad at all. In actual fact, at one stage it was outperforming my B618.

 

[Jake45]

The ZTE MF286 is a Qualcomm based router while the Huawei models use Kirin and Balong chipsets. Qualcomm chipsets usually outperform Chinese ones with similar specs.

ZTE MF286 4G LTE Category 6 Portable Wireless Router/CPE for Sale

Check ZTE MF286 LTE Cat6 CPE chipset, battery, features, ZTE MF286 specifications, supported frequency bands, interfaces, WiFi standard, coverage range, firmware, ZTE MF286 antenna,dimensions, buy ZTE MF286 4G CPE from www.4gltemall.com

www.4gltemall.com

ZTE MF286 Specs Archives – 4G LTE Mall

www.4gltemall.com

Qualcomm is trying to capture a significant piece of the 5G Fixed Wireless market and have recently signed up 30 OEMs to produce 5G Fixed Wireless devices using their X55 chipset. Hopefully this means that prices will come down significantly in the near future. MTN is currently rolling out an Ericsson Spectrum Sharing 4G/5G network which will supposedly support both 4G and 5G devices on the same frequency channels so hopefully we will soon be able to purchase much more modern Fixed Wireless devices that can make better use of the latest technology than the 4G routers which are currently on sale.

Over 30 OEMs tap the Snapdragon X55 5G Modem-RF System to power their 5G products

More than 30 OEMs plan to integrate the Qualcomm Snapdragon X55 Modem-RF System into their upcoming 5G products.

www.qualcomm.com

Snapdragon X55 5G Modem-RF System

Qualcomm’s 2nd generation 5G modem helps manufacturers build multimode 5G phones for a more rapid 5G rollout.

www.qualcomm.com

 

[Inn3rs3lf]

@AfriGuy is there still a 2 week waiting period for the routers?

To add, shouldn't the pro-rata data then also be calculated accordingly?

 

[rkcj]

@AfriGuy is there still a 2 week waiting period for the routers?

To add, shouldn't the pro-rata data then also be calculated accordingly?

I wouldn't put too much faith in their lead time information. I decided to not take the router as I wanted to be up and running before 2 weeks. After clarifying with the Afrihost WhatsApp chat they are sticking to the 3 - 5 days, I placed an order on 3rd June, the SIM card is only due to be delivered on 19th June.

 

[PHOBOS]

I got my ZTE MF286 router on Friday 5th of June, exactly 2 weeks after I ordered and paid through Afrihost.
The pro-rata data was only billed for 5th June onwards for 52GB out of 60GB (+60GB night) MTN Fixed LTE data.
So I didn't pay for May when I signed up.

This is my first LTE router so I can't compare to others.
My speed so far is all over the place though.

Speedtest shows as high as 45mbit down and 28mbit up just after midnight and as low as 1mbit down and 2mbit up during office hours.

Router says "Signal Strength -72 dBm " so will need to find out if that's good or bad.
I will keep doing speed tests to get a better idea.

I also have a 20GB (20GB night) MTN data contract SIM in my phone so I can compare MTN fixed LTE to normal MTN LTE.

Update: Signal Strength -113 dBm now which explains my **** speed.
This link defines that as poor.

Understanding LTE Signal Strength Values

We crafted this simple chart to make Understanding LTE signal strength easier. The chart compares signal ranges for various LTE technologies.

usatcorp.com

No matter where I put it in the house I can't get it under -100 dBm.
Maybe the weather is affecting it? Will check on another day.

Update2: And this morning (12June) it's back to -72 dBm
I am finding MTN LTE to be much faster than MTN Fixed LTE in speed tests.

I get similar results on a 2nd phone and a PC as well.

 

[cavedog]

I got my ZTE MF286 router on Friday 5th of June, exactly 2 weeks after I ordered and paid through Afrihost.
The pro-rata data was only billed for 5th June onwards for 52GB out of 60GB (+60GB night) MTN Fixed LTE data.
So I didn't pay for May when I signed up.

This is my first LTE router so I can't compare to others.
My speed so far is all over the place though.

Speedtest shows as high as 45mbit down and 28mbit up just after midnight and as low as 1mbit down and 2mbit up during office hours.

Router says "Signal Strength -72 dBm " so will need to find out if that's good or bad.
I will keep doing speed tests to get a better idea.

I also have a 20GB (20GB night) MTN data contract SIM in my phone so I can compare MTN fixed LTE to normal MTN LTE.

Update: Signal Strength -113 dBm now which explains my **** speed.
This link defines that as poor.

Understanding LTE Signal Strength Values

We crafted this simple chart to make Understanding LTE signal strength easier. The chart compares signal ranges for various LTE technologies.

usatcorp.com

No matter where I put it in the house I can't get it under -100 dBm.
Maybe the weather is affecting it? Will check on another day.

Update2: And this morning (12June) it's back to -72 dBm
I am finding MTN LTE to be much faster than MTN Fixed LTE in speed tests.
View attachment 860067
I get similar results on a 2nd phone and a PC as well.

The tower might have gone down when you saw the signal stats went up.

As for mobile there isn't much difference from the tests I managed to do. Take not that some mobile devices have pretty decent radios in them. An old Samsung S8 for example can do 3 LTE carrier aggregation with mimo. That device could be getting over 100Mbps while a Fixed LTE router like the ZTE MF286 and Huawei B618 only aggregates 2 LTE carriers and would get lower speeds than that.

 

[carlaranes]

@AfriGuy with some of those models being discontinued by Huawei, such as the B618 and I think the B612, is MTN allowing their replacements to be used such as the B818. I would like to future proof and not spend money on discontinued products.

Hi will a Huawei B315 router work with MTN Fixed LTE if no, why?

 

[cavedog]

Hi will a Huawei B315 router work with MTN Fixed LTE if no, why?

No it will not. MTN has a set of Routers that they approved. Even better routers that those on the approved list is blocked. This is a set of devices approved by MTN and unfortunately no ISP that sells fixed LTE on MTN can change that. I'm hopeful that MTN will review these devices and add more of the newer devices to the list.

The B315 will work on Afrihost Airmobile Data

 

[carlaranes]

No it will not. MTN has a set of Routers that they approved. Even better routers that those on the approved list is blocked. This is a set of devices approved by MTN and unfortunately no ISP that sells fixed LTE on MTN can change that. I'm hopeful that MTN will review these devices and add more of the newer devices to the list.

The B315 will work on Afrihost Airmobile Data

Thank you.

 

[Dianysis]

For comparison, this was this morning around 6:45 (didn't let it finish as I don't want to waste data):

This done using my MTN contract sim at 1:37pm:

Same router, same tower, same server. As long as I am still paying for a service that I am not getting, I will bring the issues to AH's attention. Who knows - maybe they will do an immediate cancellation so that we can go our separate ways.

And now back on AH MTN FLTE at 1:44pm:

FFS - not even peak time yet:

Don't think it can get any worse:

Wow...

EDIT:
This is what it is supposed to look like (done this morning, 22 Feb 2020 @ 6:46 am):

Reeks of congestion/prioritisation during peak times.

Yeah. My local is fine.
Testing my MTN contract sim to the same tower is 100%.
So not tower related or device related.
Definitely something up with AH (I think).

EDIT:
And so it begins:

One to Amsterdam:

Tracing route to www.vodafoneaws.co.uk [85.205.252.161]
over a maximum of 30 hops:

1 2 * * * Request timed out.
3 17 ms 25 ms 25 ms 100.127.255.66
4 25 ms 23 ms 20 ms 196.44.29.100
5 20 ms 17 ms 20 ms 196.44.29.89
6 113 ms 124 ms 37 ms 169-1-21-35.ip.afrihost.co.za [169.1.21.35]
7 44 ms 37 ms 38 ms 169-1-21-80.ip.afrihost.co.za [169.1.21.80]
8 45 ms 38 ms 36 ms 169-1-21-81.ip.afrihost.co.za [169.1.21.81]
9 40 ms 38 ms 39 ms rndf-ip-ll-1-wan.telkom-ipnet.co.za [196.25.199.141]
10 231 ms 252 ms 303 ms 10.189.30.2
11 240 ms 304 ms 409 ms be5956.rcr21.b023101-0.lon01.atlas.cogentco.com [149.11.248.209]
12 314 ms 307 ms 200 ms be12499.ccr21.lon01.atlas.cogentco.com [154.54.60.241]
13 317 ms 305 ms 303 ms ae14-xcr1.lns.cw.net [195.2.22.21]
14 306 ms 409 ms 303 ms ae1-xcr1.ltw.cw.net [195.2.24.125]
15 401 ms 277 ms 228 ms ae11-ucr1.dub.cw.net [195.2.3.130]
16 222 ms 215 ms 288 ms vf-ie-gw.ucr1.dub.cw.net [195.89.101.74]
17 * * * Request timed out.
18 * * * Request timed out.
19 * * * Request timed out.
20 * * * Request timed out.
21 * * * Request timed out.


Tracing route to e15314.e22.akamaiedge.net [104.75.221.25] (www.amazon.co.uk)
over a maximum of 30 hops:

1 1 ms 2 * * * Request timed out.
3 46 ms 23 ms 19 ms 100.127.255.66
4 42 ms 19 ms 21 ms 196.44.29.68
5 19 ms 24 ms 22 ms 196.44.29.97
6 25 ms 29 ms 22 ms 169-1-21-35.ip.afrihost.co.za [169.1.21.35]
7 39 ms 19 ms 19 ms 169-1-21-80.ip.afrihost.co.za [169.1.21.80]
8 42 ms 20 ms 21 ms 169-1-21-81.ip.afrihost.co.za [169.1.21.81]
9 375 ms 200 ms 201 ms akamai.ixp.joburg [196.60.8.212]
10 32 ms 16 ms 19 ms a104-75-221-25.deploy.static.akamaitechnologies.com [104.75.221.25]

Trace complete.

Tracing route to www.nforce.com [37.143.33.51]
over a maximum of 30 hops:

1 1 ms 1 ms 2 ms homerouter.cpe [192.168.8.1]
2 * * * Request timed out.
3 28 ms 37 ms 27 ms 100.127.255.66
4 44 ms 19 ms 26 ms 196.44.29.100
5 52 ms 19 ms 23 ms 196.44.29.89
6 45 ms 22 ms 20 ms 169-1-21-35.ip.afrihost.co.za [169.1.21.35]
7 46 ms 20 ms 22 ms 169-1-21-80.ip.afrihost.co.za [169.1.21.80]
8 44 ms 21 ms 20 ms 169-1-21-81.ip.afrihost.co.za [169.1.21.81]
9 50 ms 20 ms 21 ms rndf-ip-ll-1-wan.telkom-ipnet.co.za [196.25.199.141]
10 285 ms 303 ms 510 ms 10.189.30.2
11 * * * Request timed out.
12 303 ms 302 ms 510 ms 185.107.116.4
13 357 ms 247 ms 304 ms www.nforce.com [37.143.33.51]

Trace complete.

Local:

Ping is a bit high. Usually on 17 ms for local.

And here is the speedtest using my MTN contract sim connected to the same tower, router and UK server:

^^^ Sorry about the volume control.

@cavedog

EDIT: And just getting worse:

So frustrating.

Another test on my contract MTN sim (same tower, same router, same server):

Afrihost sort your network out!!

@AfriMan @AfriGuy @AfriFella @AfriNatic @Afrihost-Gian

Hi @cavedog @AfriGuy

Has international performance and speeds been fixed yet?

The issue I was moaning about in Feb/March?