Telkom LTE coverage

[Brabranewyn]

Hi guys, i need some clarity, i went to telkom today to apply for the february big deal thing with 30gb data for R199 p.m. I'm new when it comes to routers but I'm fairly certain that the huawei B525 router that they give with the deal comes connected to a telkom mobile sim card? The sim connects to the LTE network which runs off of the same frequency that a normal 4G LTE enabled phone runs from? What makes the modem so diffirent that my phone pics up 4G all over town (Carletonville) but telkom shows there's no 4G coverage for us? Does the modem somehow work different than the phone or what? The only explanation i got from the sales consultant is "your phone moves around so you have signal, the router stays in the house"... point being no matter where in town, my home or wherever i have 4G on telkom's own network, and not while roaming. Is there a difference between the phones connection and the router? Does the router connect up some other way or what?

 

[minkukel]

Telkom big data deals do not roam on other networks.

 

[dotcat]

Hi guys, i need some clarity, i went to telkom today to apply for the february big deal thing with 30gb data for R199 p.m. I'm new when it comes to routers but I'm fairly certain that the huawei B525 router that they give with the deal comes connected to a telkom mobile sim card? The sim connects to the LTE network which runs off of the same frequency that a normal 4G LTE enabled phone runs from? What makes the modem so diffirent that my phone pics up 4G all over town (Carletonville) but telkom shows there's no 4G coverage for us? Does the modem somehow work different than the phone or what? The only explanation i got from the sales consultant is "your phone moves around so you have signal, the router stays in the house"... point being no matter where in town, my home or wherever i have 4G on telkom's own network, and not while roaming. Is there a difference between the phones connection and the router? Does the router connect up some other way or what?

You are probably seeing 1800mhz 4G coverage on your phone. Telkom only considers its 2300mhz as 4g coverage. However you do not have 3G/4G coverage at your address.

 

[MirageF1]

Where is the coverage map online?

I want to move from AH (25G+25G) R319 and Axxess (25G) R219 - for same price approx. for 30G I might consider Telkom if coverage and congestion is ok...

 

[Polymathic]

You are probably seeing 1800mhz 4G coverage on your phone. Telkom only considers its 2300mhz as 4g coverage. However you do not have 3G/4G coverage at your address.

How to see what signal my phone is picking up? A there's a brand new tower in my area, I've been picking up 4G signal from it but according to the Telkom site I have no 4G coverage

 

[Brabranewyn]

thanks dotcat, i wasn't aware that they run a 2300mhz tower just for lte, last time i checked it was still the 2100mhz and 1800mhz with the 1800 being considerably slower, they could have just explained it in store because the 18 and 21h are at the same tower here but had no idea of the 23, cheers for the clarification

 

[cavedog]

Telkom is running 3 LTE frequencies.

B1 (2100MHz), B3 (1800MHz) and B40 (2300MHz) as @dotcat mentioned the Telkom coverage ONLY shows 2300MHz coverage and Telkom sell products based on that coverage map BUT those deals will work on any Telkom tower be it B1 or B3.

One thing to note is that Telkom has started rolling out Vodacom roaming. This can confuse people as it acts like Telkom network but is in fact roaming. I believe Telkom will not allow these deals to connect while roaming on Vodacom so if it does work it probably won't work forever.

 

[cavedog]

How to see what signal my phone is picking up? A there's a brand new tower in my area, I've been picking up 4G signal from it but according to the Telkom site I have no 4G coverage

It depends what phone but honestly the easiest way would be a huawei router using the band tool to check the band but if you don't have coverage but Telkom works it's usually Band 1 or Band 3 more likely B3 though.

 

[dotcat]

Telkom is running 3 LTE frequencies.

B1 (2100MHz), B3 (1800MHz) and B40 (2300MHz) as @dotcat mentioned the Telkom coverage ONLY shows 2300MHz coverage and Telkom sell products based on that coverage map BUT those deals will work on any Telkom tower be it B1 or B3.

One thing to note is that Telkom has started rolling out Vodacom roaming. This can confuse people as it acts like Telkom network but is in fact roaming. I believe Telkom will not allow these deals to connect while roaming on Vodacom so if it does work it probably won't work forever.

Would be really helpful if we could establish the true nature of the Telkom/Voda roaming i.e. what works, what does not....no sign of the roaming where I am so can't help.

 

[Brabranewyn]

So basically if i choose the deal it's still supposed to work as I'm not roaming in this area, the sim won't be limited to connect only to B40? Sounds real dumb in my head when i think about it as B40 won't always be available and the sim will search for the next best connection but still have to ask... roaming on vodacom doesn't work at all by me so i can't post the results but Mtn does so i took a screenshot with Telkom LTE connection (non roaming) and MTN (roaming).. i also used "LTE Discovery" app to verify the bands... let me know what you think, if the deal will work or not

 

[Brabranewyn]

Here's the shots

 

[Brabranewyn]

Telkom is running 3 LTE frequencies.

B1 (2100MHz), B3 (1800MHz) and B40 (2300MHz) as @dotcat mentioned the Telkom coverage ONLY shows 2300MHz coverage and Telkom sell products based on that coverage map BUT those deals will work on any Telkom tower be it B1 or B3.

One thing to note is that Telkom has started rolling out Vodacom roaming. This can confuse people as it acts like Telkom network but is in fact roaming. I believe Telkom will not allow these deals to connect while roaming on Vodacom so if it does work it probably won't work forever.

Could you give me your thoughts with the pics I've posted? No B40 tower but running LTE on the 2100 for downloads and 1800 for uploads and not roaming as seen in the pics, all help is appreciated

 

[cavedog]

Could you give me your thoughts with the pics I've posted? No B40 tower but running LTE on the 2100 for downloads and 1800 for uploads and not roaming as seen in the pics, all help is appreciated

If you really want to see if you are roaming or not. Write down that cell id. Now put a Vodacom simcard in and hold the device at the same place with same band selected. If the cell id matches with the Vodacom simcard then you know Telkom is roaming on Vodacom. If the Cell id does not match then it's a Telkom tower.

 

[Brabranewyn]

If you really want to see if you are roaming or not. Write down that cell id. Now put a Vodacom simcard in and hold the device at the same place with same band selected. If the cell id matches with the Vodacom simcard then you know Telkom is roaming on Vodacom. If the Cell id does not match then it's a Telkom tower.

Will check as soon as i get home, but roaming aside, will the deal still work with the B1/2 towers if it's telkoms own towers even though there isn't coverage on the map due to not having the B40 tower? That's the main part, roaming will be sorted after that, just need to know if it works without the B40, sorry for being a nightmare

 

[cavedog]

Will check as soon as i get home, but roaming aside, will the deal still work with the B1/2 towers if it's telkoms own towers even though there isn't coverage on the map due to not having the B40 tower? That's the main part, roaming will be sorted after that, just need to know if it works without the B40, sorry for being a nightmare

If it's Telkoms own tower it will work. It will even work on 3G. The main part is it should be on Telkoms own network so 4G or 3G and bands does not matter.

 

[Brabranewyn]

If it's Telkoms own tower it will work. It will even work on 3G. The main part is it should be on Telkoms own network so 4G or 3G and bands does not matter.

Cell ID is different, running on Telkoms towers, seems it's just like dotcat said, just the B40 towers that shows on the map not the B1 and 2, but i do have coverage, so gonna tell them to hook me up even though the map doesn't show coverage and hopefully they won't refuse me again, thanks for the help guys