LTE Modules EC20-E vs EC20-A

Hello, I just wanted to clarify something. I’d like to purchase a GL MiFi some point in the future as a personal LTE hotspot.

I just had a few questions about the various LTE modules available, listed on the site there are two LTE modules, the EC20-E and EC20-A

The description for the E module:

The one is EC20-E working for most SPs in Europe, Hong Kong, Singapore, Korea, Taiwan, India, Israel, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Australia, New Zealand, etc.

The description for the A module:

The one is EC20-A working for most SPs in the USA, Canada .

However looking at the datasheets for both products the specs look almost identical, they both support the same GSM bands and seem pretty much identical. Why would the A module not work in Europe for example? Sorry if the answer is obvious, its just slightly confusing as both modules seem identical, and I don’t want to have to spend an additional $50 to get a different module if I plan to bring my hotspot to europe or Asia from the USA, as according to the data sheets both modules support all GSM bands.

I was looking at this yesterday, and think that the GLi data was copied directly from the spec of the vendor’s link on the “Feature” tab. You will see specs for 3 different cards, an E, A and a C. GLi is only offering the A and E, but both pages list the specs for all three. Only channel 5 overlaps both cards.

The E spec for Europe and Asia is

EC20-E Mini PCIe

FDD LTE: B1/B3/B5/B7/B8/B20
UMTS: B1/B5/B8
GSM: 850/900/1800/1900MHz

The A Spec for US and Canada is:

EC20-A Mini PCIe
FDD LTE: B2/B4/B5/B12/B17
UMTS: B2/B4/B5
GSM: 850/1900MHz
This will work for ATT, Verizon and T-Mobile, but Verizon also uses 13.

Sprint would require the “C” card for band 41

Thanks RangerZ, Yes the band matters. You could use a module that support more bands but more expensive.

Ah, thank you so much for the clarification. I was only looking at the GSM frequencies, not the LTE bands.

@alzhao:

Sorry for the double post. I’m purely curious if by chance you would have a link to a module that supports all bands, and works with the MiFi, so that we wouldn’t have to swap cards when we travel. Again, sorry for the double post.

I spent a number of hours looking into this a while back. There are very few brands of PCI-Express style cards in the market. The Sierra Wireless cards cover more bands, but still not all bands. They are about 2-3 times the price. I have no knowledge of what has been tested or if there are any drivers required. https://www.sierrawireless.com/products-and-solutions/embedded-solutions/em-and-mc-series/

alzhoe may know more.

It may be easier and cheaper to just use a USB device. There are some devices here: Overview - GL.iNet Docs

Ranger, thanks for the info!! Much appreciated.

Guess I’ll just give in and have to purchase both cards.

Full brand card is available, but price is high. Another problem is that only some non-full band model is certified by carriers in a certain country. For example, we have two models under testing, one for Verizon and one for AT&T, working in different brands.