CAT 6 versus CAT 18 LTE Modems

[VTPete]

Rereading this thread today as I'm still figuring out what I want to buy. I'm getting a quote on the IBR900 + Dock + MC400 TurboPilot favors as it's a 4x4 MIMO solution.

I've recently been favoring the new Max Transit Duo (MAX Transit > Peplink) with 2 x Cat 18 modems but best I can tell it's only 2x2 MIMO. It doesn't really say in the specs if it supports 4x4 MIMO for the cellular and the 5G store answer wasn't really clear. So I'm still trying to sort this part out. Wouldn't Cat18 HAVE to be 4x4 if properly supported by the antenna?

I do like the Poynting 7 in 1 Solution Cinergi pointed out earlier, seems a better solution even if I choose the Max Transit as it's a single unit for all and has an integrated grounding plate like the Panorama.

I appreciate any input!

 

[Neal]

I don't think the DUO is CAT 18 yet, only the single modem version.

One big plus for Pepwave, to me, is the ability to set the TTL value to help prevent carriers from detecting hotspot vs. mobile phone which "may" give us better speeds. I use this valuable feature and have great speeds with my CAT 6 setup. I don't know if Cradlepoint offers this and to me this is a must have feature that keeps me with Pepwave.

I'm very happy with my Panorama antennas, I have not tried or compared to Poynting.

 

[VTPete]

Now that i look again on the Pepwave website, they show a Max Transit Duo Cat 12, but Cat 18 is only with the single modem. I guess it was 2 x CAT12 at $999 :-(
Yes, i love the fact they added the ability to configure TTL in the FW update last fall.

 

[webops]

Now that i look again on the Pepwave website, they show a Max Transit Duo Cat 12, but Cat 18 is only with the single modem. I guess it was 2 x CAT12 at $999 :-(
Yes, i love the fact they added the ability to configure TTL in the FW update last fall.

@VTPete Which system did you end up going with?

 

[Neal]

Beware of CAT 18. Last I heard T-Mobile was disallowing them.

 

[webops]

@Neal why the ban on Cat 18? Thanks for the heads up. Was considering that option.

 

[VTPete]

I chose CAT18. If Verizon has banned them that has to be good! It’s been a great unit- I love their software. But in retrospect, I have trouble measuring the value of CAT18 in the generally Remote areas that many campgrounds are in. Perhaps a dual modem unit with cat 12 would’ve been a better value. But I use a nightHawk M1 router on the WAN port to get load balancing- So I’ve got some flexibility.

 

[Neal]

@Neal why the ban on Cat 18? Thanks for the heads up. Was considering that option.

I don’t know. May want to google it.

 

[MontanaCamper]

I just bought a Pepwave Max Duo and adjusted the TTL to 65. I have a Verizon sim in the pepwave and it used the 15GB data limit the hotspot has and then it's a hard throttle to 600Kbps. Even using TTL=65 didn't stop the usage from increasing or get around the throttling speed of 600Kbps. Have others had success doing this with Verizon?

 

[VTPete]

I just bought a Pepwave Max Duo and adjusted the TTL to 65. I have a Verizon sim in the pepwave and it used the 15GB data limit the hotspot has and then it's a hard throttle to 600Kbps. Even using TTL=65 didn't stop the usage from increasing or get around the throttling speed of 600Kbps. Have others had success doing this with Verizon?

I have the Pepwave Maxtransit CAT18-No luck with Verizon, hard throttle at whatever your plan limit is. For me it was 22GB then bupkis. ditched them and would suggest either the 100GB T-mobile plan, or ATT IPad plan if you already have other lines with them.

 

[Neal]

There is nothing you will be able to do to get around a data cap. The TTL is not for data caps but to try to trick systems in differentiating between phones and routers and it's effectiveness is suspect and may be handled different among carriers.

 

[Neal]

Beware of CAT 18. Last I heard T-Mobile was disallowing them.

This has proven to be false.

 

[lemondrop9344]

I went with a Peplink Max Transit CAT-18 back in May of 2020. My home base is in SE NC, but, my intent was to travel throughout the US.
Due to the abundance of cell towers in the East, I suspect the CAT-18 & roof mounted antenna were a bit of over kill for this part of the country.
With COVID, we have decided to shelter in place for the immediate future. I use AT&T & Verizon.

 

[AbdRahim]

Man, it seems like the move to CAT 6 was just recent. Difficult to keep up.

 

[docj]

This has proven to be false.

Even though this particular rumor is false, it does appear that some of the carriers are restricting the modems being used on their "high limit" data plans. I currently have a 400 GB/mo AT&T plan from Millenicom and was told that I couldn't use my Netgear Nighthawk because it was "too good." Rather than the Nighthawk's Cat 16 modem with 4 or 5 level carrier aggregation I was forced to select specific router with a Cat 4 modem. My assumption is that advanced modems use more network resources and the carrier wants to be able to limit resources used on low-cost, high-data-limit plans.