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fordtruckman2003
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For much of the country 5G is still 4G with fancy marketing. Not something I would be concerned about at all.
HammaMan
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Really depends on the carrier. Unfortunately ford is ATT only which is quite spotty on their rollout, but it is increasing. There's more to 5G modems than just the new bands, which ford's 5G modem is setup to use 4 different bands and use what's known as carrier aggregation which combines multiple bands into a unified data pipeline. 4G modems are supposed to support this but it's poorly implemented. 5G modems all have it native and it will provide a bump in speed when used.
I'm in a small town and TMO has been very good at adding new equipment. Here's my cellular data.
Vs 80mhz wide wifi on symmetrical fiber (basically wifi maxed out)
If a 5G modem does somehow end up being compatible, or a version of it, it requires new antennas on top of the truck as well as the more coax run to them as 5G has frequencies that the current antennas cannot pick up.
fordtruckman2003
Well-known member
My old 4G phone 300+ Mb consistently for years. A bit pointless for a cellphone or even trucks for OTA that can get by with far less. Wide variation between carriers with different frequencies and antenna distribution. I'm all for it if Ford will support new cellular networks but 4G isn't going anywhere.Really depends on the carrier. Unfortunately ford is ATT only which is quite spotty on their rollout, but it is increasing. There's more to 5G modems than just the new bands, which ford's 5G modem is setup to use 4 different bands and use what's known as carrier aggregation which combines multiple bands into a unified data pipeline. 4G modems are supposed to support this but it's poorly implemented. 5G modems all have it native and it will provide a bump in speed when used.
I'm in a small town and TMO has been very good at adding new equipment. Here's my cellular data.
Vs 80mhz wide wifi on symmetrical fiber (basically wifi maxed out)
If a 5G modem does somehow end up being compatible, or a version of it, it requires new antennas on top of the truck as well as the more coax run to them as 5G has frequencies that the current antennas cannot pick up.
HammaMan
Well-known member
It can make a difference in busier areas. I use my truck w/ unlimited data instead of having unlimited on my phone. Both vehicles w/ unlimited data and my cell plan are $45 out the door. I've got a 13dbi gain 2.4ghz radio that can shoot wifi to my phone / laptop / etc about a 1/4 of a mile away depending on the noise floor. Its data source is one of the vehicles.
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DcnPat
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The only different frequencies are the mm wave band for very high speeds and short ranges. Outside of dense urban environments you probably aren't going to see those so 4G and 5G in that circumstance use the same frequency bands.
HammaMan
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I have a thread on the unit somewhere. The frequencies are the CBRS band, not mmWave IIRC. CBRS (and its extension) is good for higher gain antennas and not strictly LOS. mmWave doesn't shoot that far -- I like to compare mmWave as something you can hit with a pistol, blocked by vegetation and structures. Can't see the base station, it can't see you.
From https://www.f150gen14.com/forum/threads/ford-5g-tcu-has-some-nice-features.16677/
4G TCU freqs
5G TCU freqs
CBRS with 9.5dbi gain -- I'll take that. That smokes what phones can do on traditional bands. Phone antennas eat more power than they transmit whereas 9.5dbi is a helluva boost on signal. All of the truck's antennas put out more power than gets put into them, this is why it's able to stay connected to towers after phones drop out. Better antennas and a better location.
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rugedraw
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(Edited in case the person didn't want any one knowing)
I know of at least one person that got it to work, but I don't know how to do it.
ApolloChurchill
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Curious about this too if anyone has any info.
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astrand1
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Why do I think I know who than person may be.
maybe I will send a direct msg. But I won’t say anything here.
DcnPat
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Since you stirred this up, I re-read the thread. I think I see the disconnect: people are interpreting the WiFi with 5GHz support (WiFi 6, go figure) as meaning 5G cellular modem. Some people will refer to 5GHz WiFi as 5G because they can't be bothered to add the 2 extra characters.
Really poor job from the folks who put the specs & stickers together if this is the case.
rugedraw
Well-known member
In my case in particular, I am specifically referring to a 5G modem.
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