Searching for a suitable router - MTN LTE

PatchTuesday

PatchTuesday

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Greetings good people.

Activated my upgrade and now looking for advice on the best possible speed I can get for my buck.

mtn.JPG

I've had an information overload following the rain + telkom threads as to which router + sub model works on those networks.
I've all but abandoned Rain, might use Telkom night surfer here and there but not really too worried about it.

Im looking for a good affordable router that'll replace the trusty B315 I currently have.
I find various models suggested in the LTE/A threads,

I've found the following, do they require special sub model numbers to work on MTN's better bands?
Speaking of bands,which does MTN make use of?

ZTE MF286
HUAWEI B525
HUAWEI B612 (isnt this discontinued?)
HUAWEI B618 (probably super expensive)

It will be used for the next two years if that helps anything

Thanks!
 
so wait is the total value 100 gigs for R349 a month....?
animehero said:
Greetings good people.

Activated my upgrade and now looking for advice on the best possible speed I can get for my buck.

View attachment 834260

I've had an information overload following the rain + telkom threads as to which router + sub model works on those networks.
I've all but abandoned Rain, might use Telkom night surfer here and there but not really too worried about it.

Im looking for a good affordable router that'll replace the trusty B315 I currently have.
I find various models suggested in the LTE/A threads,

I've found the following, do they require special sub model numbers to work on MTN's better bands?
Speaking of bands,which does MTN make use of?

ZTE MF286
HUAWEI B525
HUAWEI B612 (isnt this discontinued?)
HUAWEI B618 (probably super expensive)

It will be used for the next two years if that helps anything

Thanks!
Click to expand...
 
ReeceDBN031 said:
WOW thats not bad at all.. Direct from MTN too...?
Click to expand...
Yup that's right. I thought it wasn't a bad deal. No device with it though

ReeceDBN031 said:
Post a few speedtests ...?
Click to expand...
Coming up, but where I am its either congestion or I'm just in a crappy area.
Will post them all this eve. Will try and do one every hour or so just for reference points for myself
 
I think MTN has recently received spectrum in the 2600MHz band so it might be worth choosing a router that could support that in the future such as the B618 22d (Rain version). Maybe something that supports both bands 40 and 41 might work on both 2300MHz (Telkom) and 2600MHz (MTN, Rain)?
mybroadband.co.za

New spectrum – What you can expect from Vodacom, MTN, Telkom, and Rain

ICASA has issued temporary spectrum to Vodacom, MTN, Telkom, Rain, and Liquid Telecom. Here is what you can expect from these companies.
mybroadband.co.za mybroadband.co.za
 
Which bands do MTN use? Using LTEView I can force them on the B315 to do some tests if they are listed
 
It appears that they use Bands 1, 3 and 8 but I'm not sure whether this is the case everywhere.

MTN South Africa | Powertec Information Portal

MTN South Africa is a telecommunications network based in South Africa, originally established as M-Cell in 1994 with support from the South African government. The company underwent leadership changes in 1995, with Robert Chaphe and founder Leena Jaitley taking the helm. In 2001, it was...
halberdbastion.com halberdbastion.com
mybroadband.co.za

Here it is – the spectrum breakdown for MTN and Vodacom in African countries

If you want lower mobile data prices, this is what you should fight for.
mybroadband.co.za mybroadband.co.za
 
Jake45 said:
It appears that they use Bands 1, 3 and 8 but I'm not sure whether this is the case everywhere.

MTN South Africa | Powertec Information Portal

MTN South Africa is a telecommunications network based in South Africa, originally established as M-Cell in 1994 with support from the South African government. The company underwent leadership changes in 1995, with Robert Chaphe and founder Leena Jaitley taking the helm. In 2001, it was...
halberdbastion.com halberdbastion.com
mybroadband.co.za

Here it is – the spectrum breakdown for MTN and Vodacom in African countries

If you want lower mobile data prices, this is what you should fight for.
mybroadband.co.za mybroadband.co.za
Click to expand...
Thank you. will test the out on my router
I was using https://mybroadband.co.za/forum/thr...ion-pm-me-your-cell-ids.919578/#post-20632608 and I see im connecting to a tower 2KM away.
Perhaps a better router is definitely the way to go though
 
The Fixed MTN service only works with four routers - ZTE MF286, Huawei B525, Huawei B612 and the Huawei B618. They claim that Cat 4 routers such as the B315 slow down the service for other users. You would probably get much better download speeds from a flagship cell phone than any of these routers as they usually have more capable modems with higher Cat numbers and can aggregate the carriers more efficiently.

My guess is that a Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 (LTE Cat 12) or Note 9 (LTE Cat 15) should easily outperform a B618 (LTE Cat 9).
www.qualcomm.com

Snapdragon 665 Mobile Platform

Snapdragon 665 Mobile Platform provides intelligent experiences for smartphones, with mobile gaming, camera capabilities and security-rich performance.
www.qualcomm.com www.qualcomm.com
 
Last edited:
Jake45 said:
That's a Cat 16 modem which should be even better!
www.qualcomm.com

Snapdragon 835 Mobile Platform | Qualcomm

With a 10-nanometer design, the Snapdragon 835 Mobile Platform can supports phenomenal performance and experiences in smartphones.
www.qualcomm.com www.qualcomm.com
Click to expand...
Internal phone antennas are weak, i have terrible 4g signal on my s20. My old b525 gets 4 bars 4g plus. S20 only get 4g 2 bars.
 
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