Question

I'm trying to set up an LTE router in my truck. I really want as much support as I can get for the US bands, specifically Verizon and AT&T, since they seem to have to have the best coverage in my area.

I'd like something Dual-SIM, though not necessarily dual-modem. I'm really trying to get vehicle's entire mobile network via a single device that supports external antennas.

I started with the Mikrotik LtAP, since I have other Mikrotik devices on my home and office networks, and I know Mikrotik's RouterOS pretty well. The problem is that I can't get Mikrotik's R11E-LTS-US PICe modem to work for anything above 5 Mbps or so (even though a tablet using the same SIM card gets 30-40Mbps in the exact same location).

I've tried the "TTL Hack" by using a firewall rule to set the TTL of connected devices to 65, but to no avail, the MT router seems limited to 5Mbps, even after that.

Other PCIe modems are half-way supported, though there seems to be widespread problems, and it seems to end up requiring a game of "match the modem firmware to the RouterOS version."

So, do Teltonika devices have wide support for US carriers? What would be a good router to go with?

Answer 1

A rather solid device is the RUT955. However, whichever device you choose, trying to connect to ATT _OR_ Verizon is a bit tricky, because Verizon is very strict regarding connecting modems. Thats the reason, that i.e. there is a EC25-A modem, and a EC25-V, from Quectel. The first one for ATT/T-Mobile, the second one for Verizon. Which also might have some problems, sometimes, as own experience shows. There is a EC25-AF, which _should_ work both for ATT and Verizon, but I have never used this one. All the modems mentioned are usually installed in various devices from Teltonika. In short words, it is not so important, which device to use. The modem, is the key. In case, you are willing to experiment a bit, use the EC25-AF. An alternative is the mature, very well prooven Sierra MC7455. Dunno, whether possible to run in a Teltonika device, but there are alternatives.

Comments

Thanks for your input. I've been experimenting with various (US) carriers with my existing Mikrotik router, and none of them give me near the bandwidth that I get from the same SIM used in a compatible tablet, despite the fact that the Mikrotik, with its external antenna, gets better signal.

I do have a laptop that has a MC7455. It performed well with both Verizon and AT&T. The MC7455 is unofficially supported in Mikrotik equipment, however from what I've read, about every other RouterOS update breaks several of the non-Mikrotik PCIe modems, which is soft of disheartening....

From what I can tell, none of the US carriers offically supported anything other than their crappy deck-of-card-sized mobile hotspots, or maybe one or two offerings from Cradle Point.