LTE Modules EC20-E vs EC20-A

Technical Support for Routers
1

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.

2

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

3

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

4

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

5

@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.

6

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

7

Ranger, thanks for the info!! Much appreciated.

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

8

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.