[plug] 850/900Mhz UMTS modems - 3G Broadband

[Kevin Shackleton]

oh - I should add: if you use an external antenna you will have to get
one that is limited in frequency coverage to one band.  You may realise
that your common 1 metre long motor car whip antennae are generally not
850 + 900 MHz, but only one of these.

Multi-band antennae are available but are low-gain.  We're looking for
14 dBi to 20 dBi gain to get good broadband speed in a poor reception
area.  Cheaper multi-band antennae are 2.5 to 4.5 dBi.  You could put up
two antennae with a splitter but that's rather messy and expensive.

I gather that may be a problem with Optus where your broadband may be on
900 MHz + 2100 MHz.  Picking one band may inhibit throughput.  I'd be
glad to hear any word of experience on that one.

Kevin.

On Wed, 2010-08-11 at 21:19 +1000, Tim White wrote:
> We are in the process of moving even further out into the sticks, and 
> are looking for mobile broadband options. I'm hoping to find a modem 
> that will support both NextG and also the Optus/Vodafone extended 
> network (hence the 850Mhz and 900Mhz). Ideally, it'll also support the 
> 2100Mhz UMTS band, as well as all the normal GSM bands.
> Ideally, it would be a standalone modem that connects to the lan via 
> ethernet, but failing that it needs to work flawlessly under Linux. From 
> my research so far, most solutions are USB dongles that plug directly 
> into the computer, and a separate "3G Modem" that you then need to plug 
> the dongle into. If that's the case, it probably makes more sense that I 
> just get the dongle and use my Linux media centre as the gateway.
> Failing finding a 850/900Mhz modem, what 3G modems (ether 850 OR 900) 
> "just work" with Linux?
> 
> What experiences do people have relying on 3G broadband?
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Tim
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