Love it or hate it, T-Mobile’s Home Internet service seems to be here to stay. While it’s had its issues (and still does) with speed and predicted coverage, and the provided gateways have been frustrating power users since the beginning, T-Mobile is still hard at work improving the experience.
Starting with an LTE-only Askey device, then moving to a 5G Nokia gateway, before adding options from Arcadyan and Sagemcom, T-Mobile Home Internet has used a lot of different devices to provide home customers with internet access. The business plans have their own gateway options, too. Apparently none of these are good enough for T-Mobile though, since it seems they plan on releasing even more modems.
According to FCC listings, we should be able to expect two new devices: one from Arcadyan and another from Sercomm. Here’s what we know about them.
Arcadyan TMOG4AR
This is Arcadyan’s second device for T-Mobile, and seems to be a successor of sorts to the previous KVD21 model with improved hardware and cellular functionality.
In terms of band support, the changes are relatively minor. Like the KVD21, the TMOG4AR will likely support LTE bands 2, 4, 5, 12, 25, 48, 66, and 71, and 5G bands 25, 41, 66, and 71. However, it also adds support for 5G bands 48 and 77.
Which bands are supported isn’t the only change, though. It looks like this device actually supports (limited) carrier aggregation, which could mean faster speeds, especially in congested areas. From the test results, it looks like the TMOG4AR will be able to aggregate two LTE band 2 or two LTE band 48 connections at up to 20MHz of bandwidth each. For 5G, band 41 should be able to support two connections at 100MHz and 80MHz each.
Assuming a dual LTE-5G connection (known as 5G NSA or ENDC) of LTE band 2 and 5G band 41, it may be possible to have a connection with 220MHz of total bandwidth. In simple terms, that means a lot more speed and reliability, even on weaker connections.
There’s at least one other significant change compared to previous T-Mobile Home Internet gateways: more antennas. While the Arcadyan KVD21 and Sagemcomm Fast 5688W both have 4 cellular antennas, it looks like this Arcadyan will have 9. That’s in addition to the 5 WiFi antennas.
More antennas should mean better signal strength and more reliable connections. It’s also possible the increased number of antennas is a side effect of having carrier aggregation support.
Below is an image of the expected label for the device, which is the only image we have to go on right now. Note the data listed is just dummy data for FCC documentation.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like the TMOG4AR has external antenna support, so using something like a Waveform antenna will still require disassembly.
A source has shared that the expected launch date for this modem will be August 22nd.
Sercomm TMOG4SE
Sercomm is a new manufacturer in the T-Mobile space. On paper, the TMOG4SE is pretty similar to the Arcadyan TMOG4AR.
The band support appears to be identical to the TMOG4AR, except that there are no mentions of carrier aggregation. This doesn’t necessarily mean that it won’t support carrier aggregation, but it may be less likely than with the TMOG4SE.
Like the TMOG4AR, the TMOG4SE bumps the cellular antenna count up to 9, and also adds another huge feature a lot of people have been asking for: external antenna support. The device is equipped with 4 SMA connectors that allow external antennas to be attached. It also seems like these external antennas will work with all supported bands, instead of only a subset like some modems.
For many in rural or dense urban areas, external antenna support could be incredibly helpful for getting a stronger signal. Hopefully the ports are enabled and easily accessible on the final product. Though, given that this modem is expected to launch relatively close to the new Arcadyan model, it’s possible T-Mobile will reserve it for business customers only.
We also have nothing but a label for this one, too. It’s embedded below.
This model is expected to launch around October 12th, according to our source.
Conclusion and Speculation
The Arcadyan TMOG4AR and Sercomm TMOG4SE seem like pretty significant upgrades over the current T-Mobile Home Internet gateways. They support more bands, add carrier aggregation with the Arcadyan, and even introduce full-range external antenna support with the Sercomm.
At a guess, the external antenna support indicates the Sercomm is going to be aimed at business customers rather than home users. None of the current home offerings have it, and it’s unlikely T-Mobile will start offering it to normal consumers. Businesses, especially at enterprise scale, are more likely to make use of external antennas.
It’s important to note that these specs and details are based on FCC testing data, and T-Mobile may not end up using all the features available to them in these modems.
More details about both the Arcadyan and the Sercomm can be found through their respective FCC’s documents, linked below. FCC listings are usually very dense and hard to parse, so it’s possible this article missed some important detail. If you find anything interesting yourself, leave a comment!
Arcadyan TMOG4AR
Sercomm TMOG4SE
