I posted so many info, but only a single “Liked” ah?
Anyway…
It is more complicated as I initially expected. So would not be able to provide detailed explanation. Hope this help abit.
A quick answer is:
First the basic, lower frequency generally provide better indoor signal strength with longer range. Higher frequency in general better suited for covering populated zones and managing data volumes due to their larger bandwidth. However, it also suffers from higher attenuation (loss of energy) when propagating through walls and windows.
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TPG LTE operates on band 8 and 40 as follows:
Band 8 uses LTE-FDD.
895 to 905MHz Uplink,
940 to 950MHz downlink.
( Bandwidth 10MHz per channel)
Band 40 uses LTE-TDD.
2300 to 2340MHz
(BW 40MHz)
LTD-TDD has the option and flexibility to focus on asymmetry DL/UL services, i.e. it is possible to dynamically change the UL and DL capacity ratio to match demand.
For LTE-FDD, UL/DL capacity is determined by frequency band allocation, it is therefore inflexible to make dynamic changes to match capacity. So it is normally symmetrical in both directions.
For more detail u may want to to google LTE-FDD vs LTE-TDD.
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Ok, come to the actual user experience.
On TPG network and at inside my flat, my mobile phone was observed to switch between band 8 and band 40 depending on where I was in the flat as the signal strength and quality would fluctuate. Default is band 40, which provide better DL speed with somewhat limited UL speed. The fallback is band 8, but with lower DL and comparatively higher UL.
I also observed that band 8 and band 40 located on the same cell tower. However for band 8, the signal strength is at about 10dB higher.
Lastly, the upload is performed by your mobile phone with limited power. As lower frequency (band 8), it can travel further and penetrate obstacles much easier compare to band 40, which is at much higher frequency.
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Speed test done on iPhone.
Mobile cell info done on Android phone with app “Network Cell Info Lite)
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Interesting to note the following LTE bands use by the other 3 telco (by googling):
Starhub: 3,7
Singtel: 3,7,8
M1: 3, 7
All 3 main telco uses only LTE-FDD, but with at least double the bandwidth as compare to TPG. It could then explain why in the OpenSignal’s study, the UL speed of the 3 telco is much better than TPG.
(BTW, I m not working and has never worked in the telco/mobile industry. So the experts here, if I made any mistakes, plse kindly pointed out. Thank you)
Truthfully, we're only at the start of 2022, not yet at the required timeline for 50% of the island. To me,anything less than 80% islandwide coverage is not quite "5G ready", and going by the official timelines by the regulatory body, that magic 80% figure may only be met by early 2025 and not before, giving us at least 3 years to wait for deployment.
