What is Surfstick?

If you’re traveling with your laptop and any e-mails, send files online, or would like to work can do so with a so-called surf stick.

A surf stick is also called Webstick, can be thought of as a small “mobile modem”. Installation is straightforward, usually just plugging the stick into the USB port of the laptop is sufficient for operation.

Surfsticks work on existing wireless networks of mobile operators. When registering, you will hold the stick from the well known mobile phone SIM card. Making telephone calls over the surf stick is not possible for most providers.

When selecting the appropriate Surfstick Tariff, you should consider how often you’ll use the Surfstick month and for how long you plan to use the surf sticks. Fall in many Surfstick providers in addition to the
Fees for the operation of surfsticks even for one-off costs of the acquisition and installation of the surf sticks to.

What is GSM, EDGE, GPRS, UMTS 3G, HSDPA, HSUPA, LTE

What is GSM?

The acronym GSM is a mobile communications system and means “Global System for Mobile Communications”. GSM supports data rates of max. 14.4 kbit / s GSM is the successor system of A, B and C networks and is commercially available in Germany since 1992.

The Global System for Mobile Communications (formerly Groupe Spécial Mobile, GSM) is a standard for fully digital mobile networks, which is used mainly for telephony, but also for circuit switched and packet-switched data transmission and text messages (short messages). It is the first standard of the so-called second generation (“2G”), replacing the analog systems of the first generation (in Germany: A-line, B-grid and C-grid) and is the world’s most popular wireless standard.

What is UMTS (UMTS broadband, 3G)?

The acronym stands for UMTS “Universal Mobile Telecommunication System”. UMTS is a mobile system with speeds of max. 384 kbit / s UMTS is the successor of GSM and commercially available since 2004 in Germany.

The Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) is a wireless standard of the third generation (3G), with significantly higher data rates (up to 21 Mbit / s HSPA +, otherwise max. 384 kbit / s) than with the wireless standard of the second generation (2G ), the GSM standard (up to 220 kbit / s in EDGE;. otherwise max is 55 kbit / s in GPRS), possible.

The ITU had UMTS selected for IMT-2000, and it is therefore one of the standards for the third generation mobile communications. Originally, the ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute) had standardized UMTS, today the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) maintains it further. The standard is constantly being expanded, for example, increased the maximum HSDPA receive data rate (downlink). For the transmit data rate comparable with HSUPA technology is available.

 

What is EDGE?

EDGE means “Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution” and is a transmission technique in GSM networks, the transmission rate can be increased theoretically up to 220 kbit/s.

Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) refers to a technique for increasing the data transmission rate in GSM networks by introducing an additional modulation method. GPRS with EDGE data services to E-GPRS (Enhanced GPRS) and HSCSD be extended to ECSD.

EDGE represents an evolution of the GSM technology represents It is basically a GSM with more bits per baud. [1] EDGE with moderate effort can be integrated into mobile networks as it does not disturb the already existing mobile telephony. Essentially, it is necessary to update the software of the GSM base station and optionally to replace individual components.

 

What is GPRS?

GPRS is “General Packet Radio Service” and is a service between UMTS and GSM networks of permanent connection to devices sustains and transmits data packets only when necessary.

General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) (German: “General packet radio service”), the name given to the packet-based service for data transmission in GSM networks.

If GPRS is activated, only virtually, there is a permanent connection to the remote site (the so-called always-on mode). Only when real data is transmitted, the radio room is occupied, otherwise it is free for other users. Therefore, no permanent radio channel needs (as with CSD) reserved for a user to be. GPRS bills are therefore mainly dependent on the quantity of data transferred rather than connect time. However, this is also dependent on the particular contract terms with the operator.

Unlike the circuit-switched (English circuit switched) CSD data service GPRS is packet-oriented. That is, the data are converted at the transmitter into individual packets, transmitted as such, and the receiver re-assembled.

What is HSUPA?

HSUPA means “High Speed Uplink Packet Access” and is a technique used in the UMTS mobile communication system, the upload speeds up to 5.8 Mbit/s.

High Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA) is a transmission method of the UMTS mobile radio standard that allows higher data rates in the uplink and reduces the round trip time (often referred to as ping). HSUPA Category 6 were up to 5.76 Mbit / s and category 9 (Release 9) up to 23 Mbit / s can be achieved. HSUPA is part of Release 9 of UMTS.

 

What is HSDPA?

HSDPA means “High Speed Downlink Packet Access” and is a technique used in the UMTS mobile communication system, the download speeds of currently 3.6 Mbit/s to 7.2 Mbit/s. HSUPA is developed commercially since 2007 in Germany.

High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA, 3.5G, 3G + or UMTS broadband) is a data transmission method of the cellular standards UMTS, which was defined by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project. The method enables DSL-like data rates in mobile networks.

HSDPA is available in Germany, among others by the network operators Vodafone, E-Plus, O2, and telecom and in Switzerland by Swisscom, Sunrise and Orange. In Austria operate the A1, T-Mobile, Orange and Three HSDPA networks.

What is LTE?

LTE means “Long Term Evolution” and a mobile radio system with very high data rates. Long Term Evolution (LTE) is a wireless standard of the fourth generation (4G standard), which can carry up to 300 megabits per second to achieve much higher download speeds. Someone may ask, in the wireless phone abbreviation 4g, what does the “g” stand for?  The answer is “g” stand for Generation. The GSM, GPRS and EDGE are 2G (second generation)networks, UMTS/WCDMA/HSPA+/DC-HSPA+ are 3G(third generation) networks, LTE(TD-LTE/FDD) is 4G(Forth generation) network.The basic scheme of UMTS LTE is maintained. Enables rapid and cost-effective retrofitting the infrastructure of the UMTS technology (3G standard) on LTE-Advanced is possible. LTE-Advanced is backward compatible to LTE.

Specifications

HUAWEI E585 Wireless Modem Quick Start-English

 

huawei_e369 specification and datasheet

 

HUAWEI E3251 Specifications and datasheet.pdf

Aircard 312U Sierra Wireless Specifications and Datasheet

HUAWEI E589u-512 Specifications datasheet.pdf

HUAWEI E392 4G LTE Modem User Manual

HUAWEI E3131s-1 HiLink 3G USB Stick Specification

HUAWEI_E392_TDD_LTE_USB_Stick_Product_Description- Specification and datasheet

HUAWEI E372 USB Stick Specifications and datasheet

Sierra AirCard 313U_Datasheet

Huawei E5331 Specification and Datasheet

Novatel Ovation MC679_Datasheet_Specifications

huawei_e369 specification and datasheet

HUAWEI WS320 Wireless Repeater Product Description

 

Novatel Wireless Ovation MC545_NVTL 3G HSPA+ Dual-carrier USB Modem_Datasheet

 

HUAWEI B660 3G Wireless Router Technical Specifications and Datasheet

HUAWEI B683 3G Wireless Router Datasheet Specifications

HUAWEI E368 3G USB Modem Specifications

 

HUAWEI E589 4G Pocket WiFi Router Review– Smooth and Stable 4G Router

After months waiting, finally, we get this hot 4G LTE Pocket WiFi Router – HUAWEI E589 4G LTE Mobile WiFi Hotspot. It’s said that this is the most popular and fastest 4G Pocket wifi router. Everyone wants to see how fast it is.

Huawei is the leading company who search and develop the portable WiFi router from 3G and 4G, and HUAWEI E5 series hotspot is the most popular pocket wifi all over the world. Since the 4G era comes, it’s no doubt HUAWEI E589 will become the shining star in the mobile 4G Router market.

Now we touch the new slim art, feel very good. The craftwork can compare with iPhone. When you touch it, you may feel it’s not an WiFi router, it’s an art. And at first glance, you may think it’s a mobile phone. It’s designed in pocket size and a small 1.45 inch LED screen. The dimensions are 113 x 62 x 13.5 mm and then the internal battery of 3000mAh which should give around 6 hours of web browsing on 4G network, you can connect up to ten devices to the router. When it power on, it will show the signal strength, battery level, the operator, network connected and how many devices are connected.

Besides the ability to connect to the 4G network, it can also connect to 2G, 3G network where no 4G network available.  On the 4G network, it can connect to the network using the following frequency bands: 2600, 2100, 1800, 900 and 800MHz, which means that it support almost most of the 4G LTE networks and operators all over the world.

HUAWEI E589 Mobile 4G LTE Router also has room for microSD and a socket for the antenna, if you are on a boat or in a caravan and want to access higher speeds, you can easy make it true with an external antenna. The device is loaded with a Micro USB cable which of course included in the box. And it could help to recharge the power and the extra function is to work as a USB modem.

Huawei wanted to create a router that is easy to use and therefore there are no menus to scroll through. The three buttons on the page is to start it up, show the SSID and password, and turn on and off WiFi. The simplicity is very good, because this is a product that does not require any knowledge of technology; touch of a button to start followed by two button to get SSID and password and you’re ready to start surfing.

Speed test:

It’s a pity that we didn’t get any monster speed from the test even in different places. Perhaps the network environment is not as good as wish, or many people are sharing the network at the same time around my test places, we reached the peak download speed up to 32Mbps, which is far from the maximum speeds of 100Mbps. But at the same, we found the average download speed is around 15Mbps,  which is about ten times of what you normally get through 3G network. We also use the SIM to test with HUAWEI E392 4G LTE USB dongle, and the result is almost the same. So we think it’s the network limit, not the device fault. Or perhaps there are other factors.

There is no problem for HUAWEI E589 LTE MiFi to connect 10 WiFi devices after the test, and the WiFi signal coverage is in large range. When we divided us into small areas, we can still get stable speed. Even when we were below ground level surrounded by cement walls, we could get sufficient speeds of around 5-7 Mbit/s .

The biggest advantage is that the router did good transitions between 3G and 4G, which resulted in that we did not lose connection just due to we were out of reach for a 4G network.

After being turned on for a few hours, the temperature is low of 30 – 35 °C, which is great to have in your pocket.

HUAWEI E589, also named HUAWEI E589u-512, below is the specifications for details features:

HUAWEI E589u-512 Specifications datasheet.pdf

A smooth shape, long battery life and good signal strength is important for a mobile MiFi Router, HUAWEI E589 LTE MiFi incorporates them all, with easy operation, it’s really a perfect mobile WiFi router for 4G. It’s clear now that HUAWEI E589 mobile 4g router is one of the best 3G 4G pocket wifi router.

4G LTE Frequency Band in Russia and Japan

Country Operator Duplexing Frequency Vendor Status
Russia Yota FDD Band 7 (2600 MHz) HUAWEI In service
Megafon TDD Bands 7, 38 (2600 MHz) In service
MTS TDD Band 38 (2600 MHz) Alcatel-Lucent, Cisco, Nokia Siemens Networks In service
Enforta 3600Mhz Airspan Planned
Rostelecom Band 38 (2600 MHz) Planned
Skylink 450Mhz Planned
Tele2 Russia Planned
Smoltelecom Planned
Svyazinvest Planned
Beeline (Vimpelcom) Alcatel-Lucent Planned
Osnova Telekom TDD Planned
Japan Softbank Mobile TDD 900 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2600 MHz Ericsson, Nokia Siemens Networks  In service
NTT DoCoMo FDD 700 MHz, 2100 MHz Ericsson, Nokia Siemens Networks  In service
eAccess FDD 700 MHz, 1800 MHz Ericsson, Huawei  In service
EMOBILE FDD 1800MHz
Wireless City Planning
(SoftBank Group)		 TDD 2500MHz
KDDI FDD 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 1500 MHz Nokia Siemens Networks

4G Frequency Bands for LTE Networks in Western Europe

4G Frequency Bands for LTE Networks in Western Europe Countries(United Kingdom, Ireland, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Netherlands, Germany, Luxemburg, Belgium, Liechtenstein, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Czech Republic, Poland)

Country

Operators

Duplexing

Frequency

Vendor

Status
UKUnited Kingdom
UK Broadband 
 TDD
3400 MHz 
Huawei
In service
Arqiva 
 FDD
800 MHz 
Alcatel-Lucent
Planned, Trialled
3 UK 
 　
　
Samsung
Planned
EE (Orange + T-Mobile)
 　
Huawei
Planned
O2 Telefonica 
 　
800 MHz, 2600 MHz 
NEC, Nokia Siemens Networks
Planned
Vodafone 
 　
　

Planned
IrelandÉire
 3 Ireland 
 　
　


Planned 
O2 Telefonica Ireland 
 　
　


Planned 
Meteor Communications (eircom) 
 　
　


Planned 
 Vodafone Ireland 
 　
　
Alcatel-Lucent
Planned 
SwedenSverige
TeliaSonera Sweden
 FDD 
800, 1800, 2600 MHz 
Ericsson, Nokia Siemens Networks
In service
3 Sweden
 TDD, FDD 
2300 MHz,2600 Mhz
ZTE
In service
Net4Mobility (Tele2 & Telenor) 
 FDD 
900 MHz, 2600 MHz 
Huawei, Nokia Siemens Networks
In service
NorwayNorge
NetCom (TeliaSonera) 
 FDD
Band 7 (2600 MHz)
Ericsson, Huawei, Nokia Siemens Networks
In service
Telenor 
 FDD
Band 7 (2600 MHz)
Huawei
Planned
FinlandSuomi
DNA 
 TDD, FDD 
1800 MHz, 2600 MHz 
Ericsson
In service
Elisa 
 TDD, FDD 
1800 MHz, 2600 MHz 
Nokia Siemens Networks
In service
TeliaSonera Finland 
 FDD 
1800 Mhz, 2600 MHz 
Ericsson, Nokia Siemens Networks
In service
DenmarkDanmark
TDC 
 FDD 
2600 MHz 
Ericsson
In service
Hi3G 
 TDD, FDD 
2600 MHz 
Huawei, ZTE
Planned
Telenor 
 　
　

Planned
TeliaSonera Denmark 
 FDD 
Band 3 (1800 MHz), Band 7 (2600 MHz)

Ericsson, Nokia Siemens Networks
In service
Hutchison 3
 FDD 
Band 3 (1800 MHz), Band 7 (2600 MHz)


Planned 
Netherlands
Tele2 
 　
　

In service
Ziggo 
 　
　

In service
KPN Mobile 
 FDD
2600 MHz 
ZTE
In service
T‐Mobile Netherlands 
 FDD
2600 MHz 
TBA
In service
Lidertel (Vodafone ) 
 FDD
2600 MHz 

In service
GermanyDeutschland
Vodafone 
 FDD
800 MHz 
Ericsson, Huawei
In service
E-Plus (KPN) 
 TDD, FDD 
800 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2600 MHz
ZTE
Planned, Trialled
Deutsche Telekom 
 FDD
800 MHz, 1800 MHz 
Huawei, Nokia Siemens Networks
In service
O2/Telefonica 
 FDD 
800 MHz, 2600MHz
Huawei, Nokia Siemens Networks
In service
LuxemburgLëtzebuerg
Tango (Belgacom) 
 　
　

Planned
Mobistar (France Telekom)
 　
　

Planned
BelgiumBelgique
Mobistar (France Telekom)
 FDD
1800Mhz
Huawei
Planned
BASE (KPN Belgium)
 　
　
Ericsson, ZTE
Planned
Proximus (Belgacom Mobile)
 FDD
1800, 2600 MHz 
Huawei
Planned, Trialled
Liechtenstein
mobilkom (Telekom Austria)
 　
　
Ericsson
Planned
　
 　
　

Planned
France
Free Mobile 
 FDD
800 MHz, 2600 MHz

Planned
Bollore Telecom 
 　
3600 MHz 

Planned
SFR 
 FDD
2600 MHz 
Nokia Siemens Networks
Planned
Bouygues Telecom
 FDD
1800 MHz 
Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson
Planned
Orange France 
 FDD
800 MHz, 2600 MHz 
Huawei
Planned
SpainEspaña
Euskaltel 
 　
2600 MHz 

Planned
Jazztel 
 　
2600 MHz 

Planned
Telecable de Austrias SAU
 　
2600 MHz 

Planned
Movistar (Telefonica) 
 　
　

Planned
Telecom Castilla La Mancha
 　
2600 MHz

Planned
ONO 
 　
2600 MHz

Planned
Orange 
 　
　

Planned
Yoigo 
 FDD
1800 MHz 

Planned
Tus Mobile 
 　
　

Planned
 Vodafone Espana 
 　
　

Planned
Cota 
 　
2600 MHz 

Planned
Portugal
Optimus Sonaecom 
 FDD 
1800 MHz
HUAWEI
In service
TMN 
 FDD 
800 MHz, 2600 MHz 
Nokia Siemens Networks
In service
Vodafone Portugal 
 TDD, FDD 
800 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2600 MHz
Nokia Siemens Networks
In service
PT (Portugal Telecom)
 FDD 
　
HUAWEI
In service
ItalyItalia
Vodafone Italia 
 FDD
1800 MHz, 2600 MHz 
Nokia Siemens Networks
Planned
3 Italy 
 　
　
Ericsson, Samsung
In service
Telecom Italia 
 　
　
Nokia Siemens Networks
Planned
Wind 
 　
　

Planned
SwitzerlandSuisse

Svizzera

Schweiz
Orange 
 　
　

Planned
Sunrise (TDC Switzerland)
 　
　

Planned
Swisscom 
 FDD
Band 3 (1800 MHz)
Ericsson
Planned
AustriaÖsterreich
 3 Austria 
 TDD, FDD 
2600 MHz 
ZTE
In service
A1 Telecom (Telekom Austria)
 FDD
2600 MHz 
Ericsson, Huawei, Nokia Siemens Networks
In service
T-Mobile 
 FDD 
2600 MHz 
HUAWEI
In service
Hutchison 3
 FDD 
2600 MHz 


Planned 
ONE (Orange) 
 FDD
2600 MHz

Planned
Czech RepublicČeská republika
MobilKom 
 　
2600 MHz

Planned
Telefonica O2
 FDD
1800 MHz 
HUAWEI
In service
PolandPolska
Play (P4) 
 　
800 MHz 

Planned
Aero2 
 TDD, FDD
1800 MHz, 2600 MHz 
HUAWEI
In service
Plus (Polkomtel) 
 FDD
1800 MHz 
Ericsson
In service
CenterNet/Mobyland
 FDD
1800 MHz 


Planned 
T-Mobile
 FDD
2600 MHz 

Planned
Orange Poland 
2600 MHz 
Planned 
　

 

What’s the Difference between TDD and FDD

Since 4G Technology is becoming more and more known, most people may know TDD or FDD, but may not know the difference between the two technology clearly. It’s obevious that FDD LTE network is more commonly deployed and launched to commercial. So what’s the advantage of FDD-LTE 4G network?

 

Before we introduce the compare TDD and FDD, let us simply introduce the communication system. Depending on whether two sides could simultaneously transmit data, there exist three transmission techniques:

First one is Simplex, which means one party transmits to the other party; the other party can only receive it and can’t transmit data simultaneously. There is only one frequency spectrum used. The traditional radio(non-interactive) and television is just this communication method.

Second one is Half Duplex, which means both party in two sides could transmit and receive data, but not at the same time. There is only one frequency (channel) used, but there are two ways. Walkie-talkies or other two-way radio systems are this communication method application.

 

Third one is Duplex, which means both party in two sides could transmit and receive data simultaneously, The communication is two-way and two frequencies (channels) are used – one for transmitting and one for receiving.

From above introduction, it’s clear that Duplex is the most efficient communication system. The providers all over the world upgrade their network from 2G GSM to 3G UMTS, and now to 4G LTE or WiMAX, which is just to improve the communication efficiency. That’s why the 4G LTE FDD and TDD were born.

FDD, the abbreviation of Frequency Division Duplexing, stands for the communication is done on only one frequency, but the transmitting and receiving data are at different time. This method of communication is using Half Duplex system.

TDD, the abbreviation of Time Division Duplexing, stands for the communication is done on two independent frequencies and the transmitting and receiving data are simultaneous. It’s typical Duplex communication system.

 

The advantage of TDD could obviously come into reflect when the uplink and downlink data transmissions are not symmetrical. A typical disadvantage of TDD is the need to use guard periods between the downlink and uplink transmissions. So if downlink and uplink are both busy, TDD may great pressure for data transmission.

 

The advantages of FDD are typically observed in situations where the uplink and downlink data transmissions are symmetrical (which is not usually the case when using wireless phones). More importantly, when using FDD, the interference between neighboring Radio Base Stations (RBSs) is lower than when using TDD. Also, the spectral efficiency (which is a function of how well a given spectrum is used by certain access technology) of FDD is greater than TDD.

In fact, the two LTE versions TDD and FDD are very similar, just the physical layer are different. So the UEs could support both of TD-LTE and FDD-LTE with only one chipset, which can come true based on only minor modifications. So the mobile broadband with the chipsets below will be able support both LTE TDD and FDD.

  1. ST-Ericsson (M700/M710 chipsets)
  2. Altair Semiconductor (FourGee-6150 chipset)
  3. Qualcomm (MDM9200/MDM9600 chipsets)

And per the official information, HUAWEI E392 and E398 are both the UEs which could support TD-LTE and FDD-LTE model. But with different version, some of them may only support single version.

Conclusions

FDD is an older scheme that was best suited for applications, such as voice, that generate symmetric traffic, while TDD is best suited for bursty, asymmetric traffic, such as Internet or other datacentric services.

* In TDD, both the transmitter and receiver operate on the same frequency but at different times. Therefore, TDD systems reuse the filters, mixers, frequency sources and synthesizers, thereby eliminating the complexity and costs associated with isolating the transmit antenna and the receive antenna. An FDD system uses a duplexer and/or two antennas that require spatial separation and, therefore, cannot reuse the resources. The result is more costly hardware.

* TDD utilizes the spectrum more efficiently than FDD. FDD cannot be used in environments where the service provider does not have enough bandwidth to provide the required guardband between transmit and receive channels.

* TDD is more flexible than FDD in meeting the need to dynamically reconfigure the allocated upstream and downstream bandwidth in response to customer needs.

* TDD allows interference mitigation via proper frequency planning. TDD requires only one interferencefree channel compared with FDD, which requires two interference-free channels.

* In summary, TDD is a more desirable duplexing technology that allows system operators to receive the most from their investment in spectrum and telecom equipment, while meeting the needs of each individual customer.

4G Broadband for 4G LTE Band 3 (1800Mhz)—Most Commonly Commercial LTE Spectrum

According to the most recent report of LTE network status from GSA, total 42 operators over the world had commercially launched LTE 1800Mhz as their next generation LTE network spectrum. Some of them may set this single band or as a part of multiple band deployment. In the total 113 commercial LTE networks, the band 1800 occupies 37%, which let it become the most popular and most commonly commercial LTE band.

And we also get the the spectrum of 1800Mhz is now available in follow 29 countries: Angola, Australia, Azerbaijan, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Mauritius, Namibia, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, South Korea, Tajikistan, UAE, and UK.

It would be lucky for those people who had a 4G USB Modem, 4G WiFi Router, 4G Tablet or 4G Smartphone, because if they go to these countries, they just need to change their SIM card, they can easy enjoy the local 4G Service. Of course, they have to make sure their devices are unlocked. Here now most of the 4G broadband could find unlocked one in the market.

In this case, what’s the best 4G USB modem and 4G WiFi Router for band 1800Mhz? It’s a good question for those who usually go to different countries, this information help them to get  devices for commonly use.

 

Per the past market record, HUAWEI and ZTE sales of 4G LTE terminal leads the 4G era. And the two Chinese vendors released the most 4G gadgets. Unlike 3G USB modem or 3G Router, 4G modem and 4G Router are not in high price range because very few people feel urgent to use 4G broadband to get 4G speed, the production of these broadband in low level. And the current economy depression slower down the promotion of 4G.

Now we back to the question, what is the best 4G USB modem for spectrum 1800Mhz? The writer think to give options is better to give decision, HUAWEI is the world top telecom equipment supplier and their modems and routers are stable functions, but its competitor ZTE is also not bad, with the reliable quality, ZTE can offer comparatively better price than ZTE. Just like to choose a smartphone between Apple and Samsung, if you want more fashion and more cool, choose Apple, but if you concern more about the price, SAMSUNG may be a better choice.

So we recommend HUAWEI E392 4G LTE Surfstick and ZTE MF820 4G USB modem for band 1800Mhz. But you may feel confused by HUAWEI E392 model number, you can check the previous blog about E392 frequency and you can choose the right one.

 

Regarding the 4G Router, it seems HUAWEI E589 4G Pocket WiFi and ZTE MF91 4G Pocket WiFi Router are perfect, but per our investigation, Sierra Wireless released its 4G pocket WiFi Router in large quantity, it’s now selling at lower price, Sierra Wireless 760s and 762s 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot. People can take them into consideration.

How to Choose a 4G LTE USB Modem

More and more advertisements are introducing 4G to people, declaring a new era is coming. As a consumer, perhaps you may not concern what’s 4G or what is LTE, the top thing you want to know is what I can benefit from 4G. Great, that’s the key point. What can we benefit from 4G?

To explanation simply based on real life experience, you can download a HD movie of 2GB or more in few seconds, you can play complex online games without any interruption and you can transfer large file only a very short while. Yes, 4G can bring us fantastic speed! That’s why the providers are trying to promoting 4G, they finally want you guys to use their 4G devices. Of course, most of time, there would be contract with the devices and you are not free to use other SIM card.

 

But if you want to use unlocked broadband and SIM unlocked to any operators, how to choose the right model per the preference? Since the most popular 4G device from operator is 4G USB Modem with LTE technology, so we take 4G LTE USB Modem as example to explain, of course, unlocked. Then our question change to: How to choose a 4G LTE USB Modem?

 

Actually, to buy a 4G USB Modem, just like to buy a mobile phone. Most of the people would consider the brand, Apple, Samsung, HTC are well known and series of phones are optional for almost all the preference. And it’s not hard to determine. But for 4G USB Modem, it seems not that easy…It probably because most of the equipment suppliers are not as famous as the providers and the second reason is that the modems, routers, or other telecom equipments are printed the providers’ logos. Take Vodafone 4G LTE Surfstick K5005 as example, even though the users may use the surfstick for many years, they may don’t know it’s produced by HUAWEI and the HUAWEI factory model is HUAWEI E398.

 

So the first step to choose a 4G USB modem is to find which brand you prefer. If you don’t know, that would be better to make a decision. Follow me, I will guide you. Someone may ask, may I know how many brands there are all over the world? Ok, it’s time to share, most of us may know SAMSUNG Smartphone, but actually, SAMSUNG is also professional in network solution. So it also has 4G USB Modem available in the market. Some guys may feel good, ok, I like SAMSUNG, I choose it. Don’t be glad so early. After reading the full article, you may feel disappoint. Now I could tell you, SAMSUNG 4G LTE Surfstick is just for specific country and LTE frequency, so it may not be appropriate for you. And the top brands of the 4G USB Modems are HUAWEI and ZTE in China, Novatel Wireless and Sierra Wireless in USA, Option in USA, Alcatel-Lucent, Motorola,  LG in Korea also has 4G USB Modem, Pantech in USA is also well known.

 

At this time, you may feel tired, oh my god, so many options, hard to choose. Yes, there is easy way, follow your SIM card provider and find the unlocked model in the market. Take Telstra 4G LTE Aircard 320u (produced by SIERRA Wireless) as example, if you like it and don’t want to use with contract, you find online store selling unlocked one. Then you are fulfilled.

 

The premise is that you know this model number, but if you don’t know the model number, how to proceed?

So if you don’t know the brand and provider model, you can follow below steps to determine:

  1. First, confirm your local 4G LTE Frequency band, if you don’t know, please refer to below the two links:

A.)  List_of_LTE_networks: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_LTE_networks (check LTE Bands)

B.)  4G Map: http://ltemaps.org/home/  (check LTE network bands and status)

(Note: most of the information from the two links are right, but not all)

  1. After confirmation，you must make sure the local 4g LTE network is already launched to commerce. If not, there is no 4G network available there.
  2. Choose the right 4G USB modem which would work for this band. Here we have one option for you: 4G Mobile Broadband Shopping Mall (www.4gltemall.com )

To make it clear, here is another example to explain. Supposing you are living in Sweden, after check, we found the LTE frequency bands as below:

  1. Band 7 (2600 MHz) Deployed by Telenor/ Tele2 / Net4Mobility / TeliaSonera
  2. Band 20 (800 MHz) Deployed by TeliaSonera
  3. Band 8 (900 MHz) Deployed by Telenor/ Tele2 / Net4Mobility

So you can choose any 4G USB Modem that can work for LTE FDD 2600Mhz. And to use TeliaSonera, the modem must support 800Mhz if don’t support 2600Mhz. From this point, you can find that Samsung has two 4G LTE Surfstick named GT-B3730 and GT-B3740. GT-B3730 works on 4G FDD 2600Mhz and 3g 2100Mhz while GT-B3740 only works on 4G FDD 800Mhz, no 3G. So if you like Samsung, you may check whether the two 4G Modem works in your country.

You can check there are many models on 4G Mobile Broadband Shopping Mall that can work for this band, such as  ZTE MF820, HUAWEI E392, E398, SIERRA Wireless 320U etc…

 

And please confirm the the band is LTE TDD or FDD, because there may be TDD 2600Mhz. It’s special band for TD-LTE network, FDD 2600Mhz modem can’t work on this.

It’s clear now. But if your 4G Network is WiMax, there is few options now. We suggest you follow your provider now, perhaps in near future, you can follow my method to choose what you like. Good luck.