Upgrade from LTE to LTE-A

Cavedog, is there an advantage in me using the B618 router ?
I have a Cell-C B315 router (cannot force 2300 mhz) and am connected to Telkom LTE prepaid.
From midday to around midnight I get 22-35 Mbps (maybe a B618 will be better here or an outside antenna?)
However between around midnight to midday I get between 60-90 Mbps and do most downloads here.
 
ProAsm said:
Cavedog, is there an advantage in me using the B618 router ?
I have a Cell-C B315 router (cannot force 2300 mhz) and am connected to Telkom LTE prepaid.
From midday to around midnight I get 22-35 Mbps (maybe a B618 will be better here or an outside antenna?)
However between around midnight to midday I get between 60-90 Mbps and do most downloads here.
Click to expand...

Well the B315 does support band 40 so it would depend. If you planning on getting the B618 from Telkom you will be upgrading to LTE-A which is very nice as that could increase your speeds even more.
 
cavedog said:
Well the B315 does support band 40 so it would depend. If you planning on getting the B618 from Telkom you will be upgrading to LTE-A which is very nice as that could increase your speeds even more.
Click to expand...

Yes what I would like to do is get the 24 month LTE-A, 60+60 + B618 from Telkom for R599pm but am worried if it will lock onto LTE-A during the day because looking at my connection, I assume my B315 does LTE during the day and LTE-A during the night.
I've read a lot on this forum about people disonnecting etc on the B618.
I am on the edge of the LTE-A map and about 4 km from the Tower.
Then judging by my speeds compared to most, maybe I just stay the way I am till 5G comes around :)
 
ProAsm said:
Yes what I would like to do is get the 24 month LTE-A, 60+60 + B618 from Telkom for R599pm but am worried if it will lock onto LTE-A during the day because looking at my connection, I assume my B315 does LTE during the day and LTE-A during the night.
I've read a lot on this forum about people disonnecting etc on the B618.
I am on the edge of the LTE-A map and about 4 km from the Tower.
Then judging by my speeds compared to most, maybe I just stay the way I am till 5G comes around :)
Click to expand...

B315 does not support LTE-A so might just be congestion.

B315 supports band 3 and band 40 on Telkom and so you can only connect to one. Once you switch to LTE-A you will be able to connect to 2 band 40 signals. It's won't make the connection slower at all in fact it would just increase you chances of getting faster speeds as it's combining 2 signals into one connection which the B315 can't do to put it in a easy to understand way.
 
Maverick154 said:
Hey guys.

Has anyone upgraded their wireless uncapped 1/2/3 contract to the LTE-A version of it? I got a call to upgrade mine and have the option to go to LTE-A with the contract remaining the same otherwise.

Questions I have, did the contract remain the same but the speed just improve? And did your connection improve by upgrading? Also, how is the new B618 router vs the old one for LTE?

Thanks in advance for any feedback.
Click to expand...

I've done this and yes the speed generally improved but on weekends and after hours my area is a bit saturated with all the home users so it's not much faster on LTE-A than LTE. The modem is far better as well. R50 a month more as far as I know. During the week I get local speeds of up to 75 Mbps+.
 
cavedog said:
B315 does not support LTE-A so might just be congestion.

B315 supports band 3 and band 40 on Telkom and so you can only connect to one. Once you switch to LTE-A you will be able to connect to 2 band 40 signals. It's won't make the connection slower at all in fact it would just increase you chances of getting faster speeds as it's combining 2 signals into one connection which the B315 can't do to put it in a easy to understand way.
Click to expand...

Thanks, that's basically what I wanted to know ;)
 
So guys I took the leap yesterday and got myself the B618-65D router from Telkom.
Using same sim card from my Uncapped LTE account, and my external Antenna,

So this is from B315 I have been getting these speeds during the week, well for a long long time.



So connected the B618, and it picked up 4G+ changed preferred network to 2300mhz



I have not adjusted the antenna on the roof yet, I am sure will get better signal with some adjustments.

Did the speed test this morning



What a huge difference, and with the B315 I will average between 5mb to 20mb max download at times.
 
Nice [MENTION=245500]bear101[/MENTION]

Now go and adjust that antenna. If you get 3 bars of signal and upload only @ 4.5Mbps means signal quality is likely not the best. 2300MHz upload can average around 10Mbps and you will only get that with good stats so you probably need to align or maybe the tower is just a bit too far but test alignment first. :)
 
cavedog said:
Nice [MENTION=245500]bear101[/MENTION]

Now go and adjust that antenna. If you get 3 bars of signal and upload only @ 4.5Mbps means signal quality is likely not the best. 2300MHz upload can average around 10Mbps and you will only get that with good stats so you probably need to align or maybe the tower is just a bit too far but test alignment first. :)
Click to expand...

Yeah [MENTION=41956]cavedog[/MENTION] .. soon as I get a chance will go up and align. Just a quick question does the LTE-A signal come from the same tower as others. Cause on the B315 on normal LTE I get full signal 5 bars.
 
bear101 said:
Yeah [MENTION=41956]cavedog[/MENTION] .. soon as I get a chance will go up and align. Just a quick question does the LTE-A signal come from the same tower as others. Cause on the B315 on normal LTE I get full signal 5 bars.
Click to expand...

Should be the same. Download LTEWatch and check the tower ID.
 
bear101 said:
Yeah [MENTION=41956]cavedog[/MENTION] .. soon as I get a chance will go up and align. Just a quick question does the LTE-A signal come from the same tower as others. Cause on the B315 on normal LTE I get full signal 5 bars.
Click to expand...

It should but not all towers is LTE-A enabled but most are so might be another tower.
 
bear101 can you do a speed test on the B618 around the same time you did the test on the B315 - around 18:30
I ask this because at around 7am I get 81 Mbps on my B315 and 7pm I get around 22 Mbps.
 
ProAsm said:
bear101 can you do a speed test on the B618 around the same time you did the test on the B315 - around 18:30
I ask this because at around 7am I get 81 Mbps on my B315 and 7pm I get around 22 Mbps.
Click to expand...

Will do [MENTION=5536]ProAsm[/MENTION]

I do agree at peak times the speed is not the same. But will try tomorrow. And post it up
 
ProAsm said:
bear101 can you do a speed test on the B618 around the same time you did the test on the B315 - around 18:30
I ask this because at around 7am I get 81 Mbps on my B315 and 7pm I get around 22 Mbps.
Click to expand...

Same except I get 4Mbps or less on 2300MHz and 20Mbps on 1800MHz after 7pm on my tower. Saturated.
 
JetsetWilly said:
Same except I get 4Mbps or less on 2300MHz and 20Mbps on 1800MHz after 7pm on my tower. Saturated.
Click to expand...

I am sure because of the tower in my area being congested, on the B315 for the last year the speeds have deteriorated a lot, and that is before or after 7pm. That was main reason of taking the leap and getting the B618 router, using it so far this weekend has been so much better after a very long time. Time will tell I guess.
 
Congestion is my big worry.
I have kept my 4 Mbps ADSL incase I get fed up with congestion on LTE.
Currently I have a B315 which my son gave me and use prepaid packages.
Problem is due to congestion on ADSL, it drops to below 2 Mbps in the evenings and you need a constant 2.4 Mbps to stream 1080p HD.
I would like to get a B618 + a 24 month contract and dump my ADSL but what happens a year down the road when congestion sets in big time on LTE.
 
ProAsm said:
Congestion is my big worry.
I have kept my 4 Mbps ADSL incase I get fed up with congestion on LTE.
Currently I have a B315 which my son gave me and use prepaid packages.
Problem is due to congestion on ADSL, it drops to below 2 Mbps in the evenings and you need a constant 2.4 Mbps to stream 1080p HD.
I would like to get a B618 + a 24 month contract and dump my ADSL but what happens a year down the road when congestion sets in big time on LTE.
Click to expand...

And unfortunately that is the issue with LTE, if the towers get congested it will definitely causing speed issues.

On this forum I been reading lots of users advice on different threads, which led me in getting the B618, Will my speed deteriorate in the future I am not sure, hopefully I get fibre in my area soon. :)
 
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