Cat6 versus dBI for rural broadband

RouterOS Beginner Basics
1

Hello.

Newbie question…

I’m looking at either the MikroTik LHG LTE6 Cat6 4G Outdoor Long Range Router (which is 17 dBi) or the higher power (21 dBi) Cat4 version of the same.

The objective is to deliver a stable 30 Mbps connection. Not expecting 150 Mbps or 300 Mbps!!

Any insights as to which would be better, Cat4 at 21dBi versus Cat6 at 17dBi?

Rural setting, failry good line of sight, distances of 2km-4km.

Thanks!

2

The main benefit from Cat 6 is “Carrier Aggregation” combining two bands from the same mobile operator. So the benefit to you will depend on what your mast offers. If it only offers one band then CA doesn’t come into play. You can check your mast on Cellmapper www.cellmapper.net. Also consider the SXT https://mikrotik.com/product/sxt_lte6_kit I use the older Cat 4 version and it picks up a stable signal from a mast 12 km away.

3

Tx power in mobile networks (including LTE) is quite strictly regulated (by base station). Which means that higher power capability of terminal (modem) is only used in poor radio conditions (low signal). It is more important if power of base station is set high (some operators do that to increase coverage area and/or give impression of better coverage) where low-power terminals could struggle to keep uplink alive.

So whether those 4dB higher Tx power will make any difference depends on signal strength at the terminal and if RSRP is higher than say -100dBm increased power will (almost) never get used. (don’t mix RSRP and RSSI, they are like apples to coco nuts).

4

With LoS and only 2-4 km to the mast you can probably utilize the higher LTE bands (ie that is over 1800 Mhz) if these are available in your region. In those cases, SXT or LGH will do alright.

SXT and LGH have rather poor antenna gain on the lower bands, ie 700-900 Mhz and it’s basically only LTE B20 (800 Mhz) that gives any gain att all. Given the proximity to the mast, it should work anyway, at least for B20.

In all other cases, I would invest in a separate LTE unit with an external antenna that is customized exclusively for the specific bands. This is particular important for the lower bands.