Switching from WBNAN to MBNAN Notecards: might coverage change?

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We have a fleet of 100 WBNAN Notecards and have been very pleased with the coverage (~99% of users) so far. Our design doesn’t use the diversity antenna jack.

I’ve read the blog post about it, and of course we like the lower price. But before committing to the bis-1 MBNAN Notecards going forward – is the following statement correct? “Sites that currently have coverage with the WBNAN (with diversity not in use) will have equally good coverage with the MBNAN”.

Or is this a bit of an unknown, with different cell carriers, towers, and frequencies involved?

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Hi @mark_pdx,

Generally speaking, yes, the availability of Cat-1 bis is accurate (especially in North America). Outside of the US there could, in theory, be carriers that have no yet enabled Cat-1 bis, but we have yet to see one.

Regarding the diversity antenna, even having a disconnected u.FL jack can act as a very very small diversity antenna, so it’s not a perfect 1:1 comparison between Cat-1 and Cat-1 bis Notecards!

Rob

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Hi Rob,

Thanks for the quick response!

I’m willing to bet that our current coverage isn’t dependent on that unused Diversity jack. We’ll switch to Cat-1 bis Notecards going forward.

And thanks for a great product! It’s contributed markedly to the success of our start-up, Hello Everyday, by enabling “plug and play” installation in the homes of elders.

Mark

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