LTE Cat M1 Band USA

[Depraz]

Hello!

We want to configure our device to use CAT M1 in the USA.
By looking at https://www.nordicsemi.com/Products/Low-power-cellular-IoT/nRF9160-Certifications it seems that FCC requires the bands: 2, 4, 5, 12, 13, 14, 25, 26, 66
We use the config CONFIG_LTE_LOCK_BAND_MASK to lock those bands.

However, I see multiple sources where not all of those bands are set.

My questions:

• It is possible to dynamically change the bands locked?
• What is the list of bands we need to configure so that the device can operate fully in the USA? We do not want to loose connectivity, however we do not want to activate all the bands to speed up the search.
• Is there an algorithm in the modem to shorten the time of searching? If it knows the device is in the USA, will it search for specific bands first?

Thanks

[Hakon]

Hello,

It is possible to dynamically change the bands locked?

You will need to run the %xbandlock command before turning the modem on to change the bands being searched.

What is the list of bands we need to configure so that the device can operate fully in the USA? We do not want to loose connectivity, however we do not want to activate all the bands to speed up the search.

It depends what networks you are going to roam on. Here are some bands for different operators

Is there an algorithm in the modem to shorten the time of searching? If it knows the device is in the USA, will it search for specific bands first?

The modem does this automatically and uses information about previous networks and bands to speed up the connection time.