My balance 20x (with built in cat-4 module) gets about 35mbits download and 20 mbits upload speeds from my nearby Verizon tower with LTE services. Is there anyway for me to know if the purchase of a cat-6 flexmodule mini will give me significantly improved performance? I am currently using the standard cellular antennas that came with the balance 20x.
I don’t want to waste the money to buy a new flex module unless it is pretty likely to offer improved throughput. I live in the back country (boonies) near Julian CA (at around 4,000 feet elevation), but I have a Verizon tower close by and in good line of site.
Hi Greg. There is no way know for absolute certain but your questions is a good one and one with which we’ve dealt many times. My quick answer would be “maybe.” As one proceeds “op the line” toward CAT18 and 5G my answer starts to turn to “yes.” The higher “CATs” are capable of more speed than the CAT4 built-in to your 20X. They can operate on more bands the carriers may have in use. That can be very important. Some bands are “faster” than others, largely due to the amount of spectrum the carrier has at each. Once you reach CAT18 the world gets better – 8 spatial streams, 4x4 MIMO, 5x20 MHz carrier aggregation and 64/256 QAM (a more efficient modulation scheme.)
While there is no way to “know” without a test, our experience is that a CAT6 module may be somewhat better but a CAT18 or 5G is likely to make a significant difference – if not immediately then likely within the foreseeable future. For my $$ I’d say the CAT18 is probably the “sweet spot” in terms of cost/performance.
Building on the reply by @Rick-DC, the “maybe” better is also influenced by what the local carriers support. Thus moving up the CAT register may not provide for more bandwidth, (e.g., at one of our locations Verizon and T-Mobile are both limiting the connections to aggregating at most two bands regardless of what the modem may be capable of), it may provide for greater connectivity-flexibility, since there are usually more bands to select among, and you may custom-tailor the choice of bands that you utilize. It has been a year since we last deployed high-CAT modems, but at the time we found that we were best served by CAT-12 devices. CAT-18 was overkill w.r.t. price/performance (and T-Mobile flat-out refused to connect). 5G was irrelevant to us since Verizon had no local support for that.
So, FWIW: When I am upgrading 20X units these days I go for the CAT-12 module. The CAT-6 module provides insufficient improvement for it to be justified at our locations in mostly rural/back-country California, mind you.
In rural areas, I recommend the higher the CAT the better. So just get a 5g flex module.
It gives the most options and up to 4 antennas to pull in the signal.
I’d recommend the
ANT-MB-40G-S-B-6
4x4 MIMO LTE / GPS Black IP67 Omni 5-in-1 4x4 MIMO LTE / GPS SMA adapters
Antenna
Also this gives you options as the carriers are upgrading tower equipment and shifting around bands to maybe get a better signal.
Thanks Rick and Zegor for your feedback. I ended up finding and ordering a used cat-12 flexmodule. For the record, I will update this post with experiences from the new cat-12 modem once it has arrived and been installed.
Thanks Jonathon for your advice, but that gear is almost $1,000 and beyond my budget. Plus I do not have a 5G plan (using verizon unlimited 4G LTE-A). According to the maps, there is no 5 G in my rural mountain area. Maybe someday …
If you have an android phone and load the cell mapper app you could tell exactly what bands are available. CAT-12 is still 2x2 mimo, and CAT-20/5G is 4x4 mimo so two extra antennas/CA’s.
I’m also rural and it can be tough to get a good signal.
You can also try some direct carrier gear. ATT has a ATT fixed wirelss service.
They actually installed a CAT-16 modem on my roof with a directional antenna to point directly at their tower, but you have to be in a qualifying area.
I’m rural as well, my current setup is
Fiber from the local telco, which is oversubscribed and not much better then the dsl I had before.
HD2 Dome , cat18 (verizon, tmobile)
Att direct wireless cat16 (carrier provided)
Starlink home edition.
I mix and match the carriers and test to get the best performance.
It can be expensive and difficult to try to get a good signal, performance.
I’d really suggest at least getting a good external antenna as well.
I had an external antenna when I had a verizon jetpackas my cellular modem. When I switched to using the Balance 20X internal cat-4 LTE modem, I tested it with both the external (Panoram DMM-7-27-2SP 2x2 mimo) antenna and the dual antennas that the 20X came with. I actually found slightly better signal strength with the stock 20x cellular antennas so I abandoned the external antenna. This probably reflects the fact that I have a relatively new tower both close and in line of sight.
If not clear, this is for my house (fixed wireless) rather than a mobile application.