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Old 01-10-2021, 08:05 AM   #1
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Question Data only SIM vendor?

I just received my Pepwave BR1 Mini LTEA from the 5G store. I’m looking to purchase data-only SIM cards for Verizon and T-mobile. Does anyone have a vendor they would recommend? Thanks in advance for any help on this … I’m a total newbie with this stuff.
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Old 01-10-2021, 09:07 AM   #2
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Do you have any idea of how much data you need each month?

Are you planning on doing lots of video streaming and/or working full time in the RV with Zoom meetings etc, i.e., hoping to use it something like a home broadband connection or are you just doing some casual web browsing, checking email etc?

The answer to that can mean your main question has anything from a relatively simple answer to a complicated, no perfect answer at all.

I'm happy to share my recent observations, research and experience but won't bore you with that until there's a clearer picture of your requirements.
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Old 01-10-2021, 09:14 AM   #3
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I would get the SIM cards from the phone companies you are going to use. As to the amount of data apparently T-mobile just came out with a 100 Gig plan for around $100 if you don't have a phone with them and Verizon tops out at 30 Gig for about $100 a month as of a couple of months ago. There are other carriers out there, like Nomad and OTR but they are just reselling the AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile and are subject to being cut off at any time. I would go to https://www.rvmobileinternet.com/ and do a fair amount of reading. Chris and Cherie have the best information on this subject bar none. Good luck, this is a constantly changing area so what if the best today may change tomorrow.
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Old 01-10-2021, 09:17 AM   #4
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Hi tetranz, There will be no video streaming on this connection. I do need it for work - e-mail, zoom calls and upload/download small files around 200 kB. Zoom calls are mostly audio, once in a while screen sharing. Overall I think 50 GB/month would be a decent estimate.
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Old 01-10-2021, 09:28 AM   #5
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Hi tetranz, There will be no video streaming on this connection. I do need it for work - e-mail, zoom calls and upload/download small files around 200 kB. Zoom calls are mostly audio, once in a while screen sharing. Overall I think 50 GB/month would be a decent estimate.
That makes it simple, at least for T-Mobile. Their new 100 GB for $50 per month plan should be perfect for you. https://prepaid.t-mobile.com/prepaid-internet. If you already have a T-Mobile postpaid account then I think you can add it to an existing account but you have to call to do that.

One issue to be aware of is that, as far as I know, your BR1 Mini doesn't do band 71. It might not make much difference now or for a while but I think T-Mobile has a lot of newly acquired spectrum space on that band so that's where their expansion is going. It could mean that you won't get T-Mobile at all in some areas where they only have coverage on that band or, more likely in the foreseeable future, you'll still get it but on the more congested bands that your router does have and therefore potentially slower speeds.

I don't know much about Verizon. Some people will recommend Visible which runs on Verizon. It's no doubt breaking terms of service but a Visible SIM seems to work quite well in a router but needs to be activated on a compatible phone first. Speed varies a lot but it's a pretty good deal if you can get it for $25 with party plan. I use it for my phone but have tried the SIM successfully in my Pepwave MAX BR1 MK2. I'd view it as more of a backup than something to rely on but of course a real Verizon plan would be a different matter.

If you want more than 100 GB or so then the picture gets a lot more complicated with limited good answers and a minefield of dubious practices, deals and resellers but that's probably a topic for another thread.
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Old 01-10-2021, 12:06 PM   #6
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One issue to be aware of is that, as far as I know, your BR1 Mini doesn't do band 71. It might not make much difference now or for a while but I think T-Mobile has a lot of newly acquired spectrum space on that band so that's where their expansion is going. It could mean that you won't get T-Mobile at all in some areas where they only have coverage on that band or, more likely in the foreseeable future, you'll still get it but on the more congested bands that your router does have and therefore potentially slower speeds.
The new Inseego 5G M2000 is a very impressive hotspot and, at present, T-Mobile is discounting them if you put them on no-interest 24 month payment plan. That makes them ~$7 per month added to the $50/mo for 100GB. Not a bad deal at all IMO. I ordered a second one since the first was working so well.
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Old 01-10-2021, 12:31 PM   #7
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The new Inseego 5G M2000 is a very impressive hotspot and, at present, T-Mobile is discounting them if you put them on no-interest 24 month payment plan. That makes them ~$7 per month added to the $50/mo for 100GB. Not a bad deal at all IMO. I ordered a second one since the first was working so well.
Yes it does seem like a good deal for many applications.

Unfortunately, like many similar devices, you can't connect an external antenna which I find very frustrating.
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Old 01-10-2021, 01:45 PM   #8
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13.37 X 36 months $481 to own. I was considering this to eliminate my home internet from ATT, It's costing me 70 a month. No gaming but we stream movies every night, I use more than 100 gig a month but both our phones have 20 gig each.
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Old 01-10-2021, 02:00 PM   #9
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That makes it simple, at least for T-Mobile. Their new 100 GB for $50 per month plan should be perfect for you. https://prepaid.t-mobile.com/prepaid-internet. If you already have a T-Mobile postpaid account then I think you can add it to an existing account but you have to call to do that.

One issue to be aware of is that, as far as I know, your BR1 Mini doesn't do band 71. It might not make much difference now or for a while but I think T-Mobile has a lot of newly acquired spectrum space on that band so that's where their expansion is going. It could mean that you won't get T-Mobile at all in some areas where they only have coverage on that band or, more likely in the foreseeable future, you'll still get it but on the more congested bands that your router does have and therefore potentially slower speeds.

I don't know much about Verizon. Some people will recommend Visible which runs on Verizon. It's no doubt breaking terms of service but a Visible SIM seems to work quite well in a router but needs to be activated on a compatible phone first. Speed varies a lot but it's a pretty good deal if you can get it for $25 with party plan. I use it for my phone but have tried the SIM successfully in my Pepwave MAX BR1 MK2. I'd view it as more of a backup than something to rely on but of course a real Verizon plan would be a different matter.

If you want more than 100 GB or so then the picture gets a lot more complicated with limited good answers and a minefield of dubious practices, deals and resellers but that's probably a topic for another thread.
T-Mobile was the largest single purchaser of Band 71 licenses and last I looked, all their FCC construction permits show as on-air or testing (Tampa, FL metro is finishing deployment this week and will be "live" in the next 10 days). This means that for right now, lowband 5G will be most plentiful on T-Mobile towers.

The Band 71 auction made me apply for a Part 74 license so I can coordinate wireless microphone stuff in RF spaces that unlicensed users can't...
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Old 01-10-2021, 02:43 PM   #10
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Yes it does seem like a good deal for many applications.

Unfortunately, like many similar devices, you can't connect an external antenna which I find very frustrating.
I believe it has 4x4 MIMO built in; you would be hard pressed to improve on that.
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Old 01-10-2021, 03:11 PM   #11
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I believe it has 4x4 MIMO built in; you would be hard pressed to improve on that.
That's probably true of the antenna itself but if you're in a weak signal area then the device's omnidirectional antenna inside your coach doesn't compete with a yagi with some real gain on a pole pointing in the right direction.
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Old 01-10-2021, 06:38 PM   #12
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That's probably true of the antenna itself but if you're in a weak signal area then the device's omnidirectional antenna inside your coach doesn't compete with a yagi with some real gain on a pole pointing in the right direction.
Use of a Yagi negates the benefits of MIMO and carrier aggregation. You should not assume that signal strength improvement through use of an external antenna and an amplifier will outperform the built-in MIMO. Signal strength alone does not determine download speed. You should check your speeds at every new location with and without the external antenna and amplifier.
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Old 01-10-2021, 07:08 PM   #13
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Use of a Yagi negates the benefits of MIMO and carrier aggregation. You should not assume that signal strength improvement through use of an external antenna and an amplifier will outperform the built-in MIMO. Signal strength alone does not determine download speed. You should check your speeds at every new location with and without the external antenna and amplifier.
That's all true but it's not really the situation I'm talking about. I didn't mention anything about speed or using an amplifier.

I mean the situation where the signal is too weak to do anything much at all with the internal antenna inside the hotspot box inside your coach. I can't say I've tried it but I'm pretty sure that in that situation, a high gain yagi pointing in the right direction has a much better chance of getting a signal and a connection.

You can use two yagis if you really want MIMO. That might be a pain to setup for a temporary camping situation. I know people do double yagis for home installations but my point is that none of that is possible if your radio transceiver doesn't have an antenna port or ports. I see it as a nice-to-have in case you want it feature on any radio device.

I know I said it was frustrating but I don't really mean to criticize that device. It might be quite difficult to provide both a good internal antenna and external ports and I can see how this device is ideal for many situations.
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Old 01-11-2021, 01:12 PM   #14
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The new Inseego 5G M2000 is a very impressive hotspot and, at present, T-Mobile is discounting them if you put them on no-interest 24 month payment plan. That makes them ~$7 per month added to the $50/mo for 100GB. Not a bad deal at all IMO. I ordered a second one since the first was working so well.
Joel, how good is the M2000? Looking to better my access and checked out T-Mobile based on your comment. For our common winter site in South Texas, a search reports Fair Signal 4G LTE; and our home in AR reports Limited strength 4G LTE. Is the M2000 going to do much for me?
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