Ncell, the private telco giant is now operating 4G network in three bands. Yes, you heard that right. The new 4G band is Band 1 which is a frequency of 2100MHz and on top of that, Ncell has finally enabled carrier aggregation too. Here in this article, let’s get into the news and info regarding Ncell’s 4G bands and Ncell Carrier Aggregation.
Ncell 4G Bands and Carrier Aggregation
A new 4G band for Ncell
For starters, Ncell used to operate 4G network in two bands— Band 3 and Band 8. The former boasts a frequency of 1800MHz while the latter has a 900MHz frequency. The higher frequency one is common across city areas with higher bandwidth speed and less network coverage. Meanwhile, the 900MHz is used for rural areas with difficult topography such as mountains, hills, and gorges. Because, it has a better penetration, covering a larger area, albeit with a slower bandwidth speed than the 1800MHz.
And after some time of acquiring 2100MHz (Band 1) for 4G from NTA, the private telco has finally used it in the network. It has already been implemented in Ncell network from few months, which adds more capacity to the existing 4G network. So, this makes it the first operator in the country to use not just two but three 4G bands. However, this is not the first time we have seen Band 1 getting used. If you didn’t know, this frequency band has been active for both NTC and Ncell in the 3G network for a long time. And now, Ncell is using it for 4G network as well, whose bandwidth can be increased further with refarming.
Tri-band 4G’s Perks
As aforementioned, the 2100MHz frequency band is not new for Ncell. It has been used for 3G networks for a long period of time. However, NTA provides a specific bandwidth for each frequency band to the carriers. In this instance, Ncell has 15MHz bandwidth for Band 1 (2100 MHz). And currently it uses 10MHz bandwidth for the 3G network and 5MHz bandwidth for the 4G network. Likewise, Band 8 (900MHz) is being used for 2G and 4G with 5MHz bandwidth for 4G. And Band 3 (1800MHz) has a 20MHz bandwidth for 4G. So, altogether, Ncell is using 30MHz bandwidth for its 4G network. And if it was not obvious, this comes with perks for the users. More spectrum bandwidth creates more capacity for throughput which can serve more numbers of users at the same time, with improved speed and quality. In other words, tri-band 4G will help manage the network congestion better.
Check out: Frequency bands in Nepal for 2G, 3G, 4G
4G+ (Carrier Aggregation) Spotted on Ncell
If you haven’t noticed already, turning on the data connection on Ncell is now showing 4G+ icon, pointing toward the activation of Carrier Aggregation. What does it mean and how is it different than the usual 4G? In simple terms, Carrier Aggregation means that the 4G network is using two or more than two bands simultaneously, which boosts your bandwidth speed. The state-owned telco, Nepal Telecom has already been providing this feature for its users, using two spectrum bands; Band 3 (1800MHz) and Band 20 (800MHz).
And now, Ncell has also activated the Carrier Aggregation in both tri band and dual band as per the requirement. This means it now uses Band 3 (1800MHz), Band 8 (900MHz) and Band 1 (2100MHz) simultaneously wherever available. As 2100 MHz spectrum has the lowest coverage among three, you can only get dual band carrier aggregation (band 3 + band 8) in many areas. But in the city areas, you get three band carrier aggregation. Find the snapshots of 2 bands carrier aggregation and 3 bands carrier aggregation in Ncell (click to enlarge).
Ncell 4G speed with Carrier aggregation
Having said that the 4G speed increases with the more carrier & bandwidth aggregation, let us find how much will be the idle speed for a 3CC CA 4G network. So, if you could get all three 4G bands signal on your device and being aggregated, you can get up to 225 Mbps speed ideally. As 20 MHz bandwidth in Band 3 can provide 150 Mbps and 5 MHz in either of band 1 or band 8 can provide 35 Mbps. You can simply combine it into 30 MHz 4G bandwidth, yielding 225 Mbps of DL speed. As we said this is an idle speed, it is subjected to change as per radio condition and user distribution.
How to check Carrier Aggregation?
In case, you are wondering, here’s how you can check carrier aggregation support on your phone;
- First, you can download NetMonster app or other network testing tools from Playstore/Appstore.
- Then, do grant the necessary permissions.
- And it will direct you to the homepage which shows you the network information of your phone.
- Check the band info on the top section, if it shows 1800MHz + 800MHz on NTC and 1800MHz + 900MHz+ 2100 MHz or 1800 MHz + 900MHz on Ncell, provided your device supports carrier aggregation.
- But do note, that 4G+ signal/Carrier Aggregation tends to work in open spaces rather than in a room, where all the 4G bands are available. So, make sure to check it from your terrace or a room with less network disturbance.
Do find the meaning of several mobile network signs like G, E, H+, 4G+, VoLTE and more on your phone.
FAQs for Ncell 4G bands
Ncell now has three bands for its 4G network; 900 MHz, 1800 MHz and 2100 MHz.
Yes, Ncell 4G network now supports carrier aggregation feature with up to 3CC CA.
With the carrier aggregation, you can get more speed combining each bands throughput in 4G.
With the enabling of 3CC CA network in Ncell, the maximum throughput in DL reaches around 225 Mbps.
Yes, Ncell can increase the 4G bandwidth of its network by including more spectrum bands or increasing the bandwdith in the existing spectrum band.
Yes, Ncell now supports 4G+ or LTE advanced.
Tell us what you think of Ncell using tri bands for 4G and carrier aggregation feature? Let us know about its availability in your place and Ncell’s current 4G speed after the activation of the 3 bands carrier aggregation feature?
