Question for Peplink hardware (or any modem hardware) - at times I get up to 5 band carrier aggregation (usually on a reboot, or band change for testing) with strong signal strength (no SINR data shown though on bands beyond the first two) on up to three additional bands. However, after ~ an hour, the carrier aggregation drops down to just two bands - whether only LTE or 5G + LTE anchors.
[This occurs with all three carriers - Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile]
No change in long-term CA when using either Auto, or manually selecting the specific CA bands
Core questions:
Is the carrier aggregation band drop due to a limitation of the Sierra Wireless Modem/Firmware?
Is the carrier aggregation band drop due to a limitation of the Peplink Firmware?
Is the carrier aggregation band drop due to the tower transmission of those bands (e.g. due to ‘noise’, traffic, etc.)
Very impressive speeds when full 5 band CA is in effect, however speeds are certainly impacted when CA drops to two bands. Note: I have not experienced any scenarios when CA drops below 2 bands.
Hardware - MAX BR1 5G Pro | MAX BR2 5G Pro | Waveform 4x4 MIMO antenna
Firmware - 8.2.1 | 8.3.0RCx
Modem Firmware - 03.09.11.00
Curious if others experience CA holding more than 2 bands for an extended period of time with Peplink hardware.
My preliminary answers to your questions, in order:
no
no
maybe
It is the carrier, not the rotuer or modem, that determines how bands are be used with CA. At least in the USA, the three major carriers do it a bit differently. And one may ask “why invoke maximum CA when the modem is loafing?” What is the benefit to either carrier or customer?
Question: when you see the CA “drop back” and then do a real stress test – a maximum throughput effort with a host that can accommodate it – does the CA scheme change?
Appreciate the response - that is a fair, alternate perspective/question.
FWIW… Real-world stress tests after CA drops down to (2x) CA - The CA does not increase any higher than the established 2x CA at the time of stress/repeated use.
OK, Bob. May I suggest one more test. Reset the modem and as soon as you see “mega CA” in operation do your stress test. Then, wait a while until CA drops back. Then do the exact same test again. Rationale: Let’s see if the degree of CA displayed actually, makes a difference. Might want to repeat the sequence more than once.
Side note, FWIW: I had a conversation a year or so ago with a pal who is an engineer for one of the US cel companies. I had asked him about CA/non-CA and he responded something like “how many RF paths do you want us to set up on different bands when the demand is not there?”
Hey Rick - anecdotally I have been doing those exact tests, nothing at the ready though to report.
I am out the rest of the day, but will find time this weekend to replicate the scenario with recent data.
Noted about your convo with one of the cellular engineers.
Thanks.