m2 and the (soon to be released) LBR20 both not "suitable" for entire European market

[Sunchaser]

Very short message: I was just wondering why Netgear doesn't want to sell M2's or LBR20's in Europe by excluding 800mhz in both these models.
The m1 has the 800 band, so thatone is fine.
I really wanted to get an m2 or wait for the LBR20 (comes out in April), but Portugal runs on Band20-800MHz, Band3-1800MHz, Band7 and 2600MHz.

Am I missing anything obvious in my mini rant ? 🙂

[schumaku]

Not sure what is driving your concerns. LTE on B2, B7, B20 are very common in Europe, bands out of the 800 Mhz and 700 MHz* range for LTE usage all over Europe where analog TV (and *DVB-T) was (and will be) decommissioned.

The M2 Support documentation does show two MR2100 Data Sheets, Australia (Telstra) and Europe (under the page title MR2100_WW_generic_0716.indd - worldwide travelling band set in my under... does list an MR2100-100AUS and MR2100-100EUS) - the later one is readily available e.g in Switzerland from stock does list:

MR2100-100EUS
LTE 700/800/900/1800/2100/2300/2500/2600 MHz

The LBR20 Data Sheet does list:

EU & AU
- 4G band (LTE-FDD): B1,3,5,7,8,20,28
- 4G band (LTE-TDD): B38,40,41
- 3G band: B1,3,5,8

Potentially missing is e.g. B28 (700 MHz).

Can't see from what you concude that Netgear does not want to sell these.

Do _not_ buy US/FCC versions e.g. for Portugal - these are indeed not intended to be used outside of the US.

[Sunchaser]

Awesome digging. Thanks.

So - Belgium's biggest electronics website (where most everyone in my country buys their gear) is wrong when they list the MR2100-100EUS here :https://www.coolblue.be/en/product/835923/netgear-nighthawk-m2.html (specs are in english, don't worry) and they explicitly say (in the CONS section) : "Because it doesn't have an 800MHz frequency band, you can't use this MiFi router optimally in Europe."

[schumaku]

Have no insight on the effective product design and bands implementation - but I trust the data sheets are correct. It's certainly possible adding (enabling) additional bands on these modern hardware designs, it's mainly a question of paying some additional license fee to the SoC vendor.

[Sunchaser]

I ll have to do some more digging then to make sure this (slow) 800 band is supported by the EUS model.

I hope you dont mind me dragging this post out a little bit.
Would you advise me to wait for the LBR20 over the M2 ?

I need every little KB of speed that I can squeeze out of any device that i settle on. I'm in a very remote location in the mountains. If it's any indicator: 40 minute drive to the first supermarket.

[schumaku]

It's the usage and the installation defining the right model in my opinion.

• Mobile hotspot are for travelling or mobile applications (eg. M2/MR2100, ...)
• Integrated MiFi and WiFi/Ethernet router is for locations where the in-house reception for mobile is reasonable to good, and where a single WiFi AP is sufficient. (eg. R7100LG, ok this an older unit)
• MiFi Modem does provide the option to connect to your own router and the ideal WiFi and in-house Ethernet cabling to get the best in-house coverage, while the Modem can be installed outdoors, with high gain or directional antennas on short cables (cable loss does kill most gain! - eg. LB2120) on the a wall, on a mast, ... and with PoE support for one-cable connection (eg. the LB1121). 
• Mesh system with MiFi WAN if you intend to add Mesh satellites (eg. LBR20 plus Orbi satellites)

When comparing similar generation systems, the internals (read the LTE module) are very similar anyway.