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turk123 · 11-04-2019, 07:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HappyHapgood

I also agree with Turk123!

I reset it HOPING TO HAVE CONTROL. But alas, control is tied to the serial number. And airstream will probably be really grumpy for me reporting this to the list, but... BIG NEWS .... once you are into the system you can revert YOURSELF back to a version of the firmware that is still controllable by Airstream Connected AND you can still access the router features yourself. Just not 100% control because Airstream still has a lock on the device for remote management and can do anything to the device they want to (remotely).

Matt

This is interesting! I know that the Peplink modem holds the next to last firmware in memory in case there is a problem and needs to be reset back. There must be a function to save. If you use that function now I believe you will overwrite the original Airstream settings, so be careful. I remember reading this in the Peplink manual.

So have you tried going back? Is that how you know? Did it lock the Peplink back up and functions as per factory spec?

HappyHapgood · 11-04-2019, 08:14 AM

Turk123,

I have gone back. It didn't really make any difference in performance. Pepwave also just released a new firmware version, but I couldn't seem to get mine to load. Only tried once.

I've spoken with Pepwave retailers and pepwave doesn't care who operates the system.

As for tracking where we are... absolutely. Airstream, through "InControl" and the fact it has locked our units via the serial number, can tell where we are at all times. It's darn accurate. Kinda depressing that I am feeding them that information. And I don't know about the rest of the folks who have had Airstream install their system... I did not sign ANYTHING with them. I remotely asked the dealer to install (my trailer was sitting at their sister company - they picked it up, took it to their facility, installed, and returned it where it was and left me a folder) and never even met them or provided them with anything but a credit card.

GeeSag, Yes - the $360 is a great deal. I don't think it is limited to Airstream vehicles because somewhere on this forum someone pointed to the website where anyone can get to and sign up. And since there is no requirement to do multiple years I don't think there is any "subsidizing" going on anywhere in this transaction between Pepwave, Airstream, and AT&T.

turk123 · 11-04-2019, 08:49 AM

I'm trying to get a handle on the Connect system and ATT towers. The first night here we had 26 down and 9 up. two nights ago we had 2.6 down and 6 up. Right now we have 29.9 down and 9 up.

I'm guessing there are lots of variables that go into the calculation on what speeds you get and when. This is a resort town and I can see that a tower could get congested at night, but last night we had 21 down and 8 up! I'm hard-pressed to figure that one out. I powered off the modem to see what would happen when brought up again, but it had the same speed.

ghaynes755 · 11-04-2019, 11:14 AM

Two nights ago it was drunks who needed Uber rides from the bars. Sunday they were still hung over so didn't get online....

GeeSag · 11-04-2019, 05:41 PM

I was not thinking subsidies between the partners (AT&T, Airstream & Peplink)
but more about having Airstream being able to convince AT&T that Airstream could maintain control of the device.

I think AT&T is clear. This plan is restricted to RV's, and the initial offering was restricted to only Airstream+AT&T.

I am confident that as part of that negotiation, Airstream and AT&T had to agree on how the devices would be controlled.

There is a huge demand in rural America for High Speed Broadband, and many residences have painfully slow DSL. This would seem like a great "Fixed Wireless Access" solution for so many people in rural America.

AT&T actually has a product offer for those people, and it is not $360 unlimited!

GeeSag · 11-04-2019, 06:10 PM

Here are some interesting numbers:

Feel free for anyone to correct me on these numbers.

AT&T has 10 MHz down and 10 MHz up in the 700 MHz spectrum in many parts of the country.
For LTE, 10 MHz down will support a theoretical peak of about 52 MBps for a given cell sector, but that is not real world.
Real world is closer to about 12 MBps aggregate average for that sector.
That means “All” the users in that cell sector will average about 12 MBps.
Here is the interesting part:
That is not per user.
That is total per sector!
So all the users simultaneously will get a combined total of 12 MBps.
Luckily, in the AWS spectrum, AT&T has many blocks of 20 MHz in the 2 GHz spectrum.
That is where carrier aggregation comes in.
If the user is able to use carrier aggregation, then they can combine both 700 and AWS. Maybe 700 plus PCS, maybe 700 plus 850, but 850 is often only 5 MHz down, but hey, every 5 MHz counts!.

So AT&T, VzW, T-Mobile, etc, are all about imposing restrictions to stop heavy users from hogging all the bandwidth. Imposing limits is the name of the game.
This is all about imposing restrictions, (And of course Selling a Product!)
Restrict the user as much as possible while still getting them to pay for a Service. And if done correctly, the end user is unaware of so many of the restrictions being imposed.
Those MHz are a scarce resource.

uncle_bob · 11-05-2019, 06:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by turk123

I'm trying to get a handle on the Connect system and ATT towers. The first night here we had 26 down and 9 up. two nights ago we had 2.6 down and 6 up. Right now we have 29.9 down and 9 up.

I'm guessing there are lots of variables that go into the calculation on what speeds you get and when. This is a resort town and I can see that a tower could get congested at night, but last night we had 21 down and 8 up! I'm hard-pressed to figure that one out. I powered off the modem to see what would happen when brought up again, but it had the same speed.

Hi

Indeed the download speeds are variable on *any* hotspot device. I can hit 30 to 40 one day and it's 2 the next day in the same location. That's true on either of my hotspots and on any of the phones / tablets. If it's a dead night in town and everybody is streaming ..... you won't get much speed.

Bob

OBXAI19 · 09-23-2021, 08:31 PM

The Pepwave Max BR1 mini is available to purchase on the internet. So, let's say I did that and installed the unit, connecting it to the pre-wired factory antenna on the roof of the Interstate 19. I put in a Verizon SIM card to the Pepwave. Wouldn't this solution work for Verizon internet service, and that way there is no conflict with the router type, being locked out of admin rights, or restricted in any way by Airstream's Pepwave router unit?

uncle_bob · 09-24-2021, 09:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OBXAI19

The Pepwave Max BR1 mini is available to purchase on the internet. So, let's say I did that and installed the unit, connecting it to the pre-wired factory antenna on the roof of the Interstate 19. I put in a Verizon SIM card to the Pepwave. Wouldn't this solution work for Verizon internet service, and that way there is no conflict with the router type, being locked out of admin rights, or restricted in any way by Airstream's Pepwave router unit?

Hi

It works, just as putting the Verizon SIM into the right slot in the AS supplied gizmo does. You will have the performance level Pepwave provides. That may be fine for you or it may not. It *very* much depends on your expectations. It's a 4G device in a market that is rolling out 5G and selling 5G hotspots ....

Will the roof antenna that AS puts up there (whatever it is on this or that model in this or that year) handle carriers other than AT&T as well as it does AT&T? It depends a lot on how the bands they use overlap. It also depends on the specs on that exact antenna. It's not at all an easy question to answer.

Bob

OBXAI19 · 09-25-2021, 07:26 PM

Great point on the band coverage for the rooftop antenna using Verizon Bob. Hadn't thought of that and it's a big consideration.

uncle_bob · 09-26-2021, 08:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OBXAI19

Great point on the band coverage for the rooftop antenna using Verizon Bob. Hadn't thought of that and it's a big consideration.

Hi

There is a lot of overlap between carriers. Unfortunately they each have these odd little things they do here or there. Most antennas cover a lot of bands. Best guess is that it will work ok ... most of the time. When it doesn't, there's no easy way to know if the antenna is the issue. This stuff stops working for all sorts of random reasons.

Indeed the same "band coverage" nonsense gets into a variety of devices. We ignore it on cell phones from the "big guys". That's because they already did their homework and very much want to sell the same product to all carriers. For something way more niche oriented / supplied by a carrier that might not apply. There are examples of it applying to hotspots.

Bob