Wireless Joint

Been learning quite a lot, have a previous post but I think it deals with a different subject at this point and wanted to make a new one.

For sprint (mobilecitizen/pcsforpeople/connectall), I have band 25, 26 and 41 being picked up by my current basic hotspot.

The em12-G can carrier aggregate B41+41+41 (if the tower allows it), yes?

The em160 can CA 41+41+41+41+41?

Is this the main difference between the two modems that is relevant to my situation? Would that make the em160 a far faster card in my case? How big of a difference would one possibly expect in regards to speed between the two?

Theres no way to determine if a tower allows CA unless I buy a modem+router and use commands, right?

I'm using an em160 on AT&T. I am able to CA B66+B66, or B66+B12, or B66+B12+B66. But it will only do it when the tower allows. When there is congestion on the tower, it is unlikely to have CA at all. Though it will usually still allow 4x4 MIMO.

For me there were two reasons to choose the em160 over the em12: 1) 4x4 MIMO vs 2x2, and 2) easier band locking (the AT Commands are simpler)

I don't know if Sprint/T Mobile is offering 3xCA or 4xCA within the same band. Maybe someone with experience on Sprint could chime in.

To my knowledge, the only way to know what the tower will do with CA and 4x4 MIMO is to have a capable device on the tower for a few days and observe. But I am also new to this. Hopefully this helps you a little.

Thanks for the insight BDF, due to my lack of knowing if the local towers even support X level of CA and/or MIMO, I went with the em12 and 2x2 mimo panel to test with. If the em12 gets maxed out then i'll buy a em160.
Unfortunately I don't have sprint as my phone service to be able to test the tower. I have an old sprint sim+galaxy s6 phone but I don't think I can test a tower without the SIM having service still.
Cheers again for your time buddy!

Yes, you will need a SIM with an active data plan of some sort. There's lots of threads on here about the options. To me, that is the hardest part of the equation. I was nervous about assembling the hardware, but it went pretty smoothly. The real challenge is getting unthrottled, unlimited data. We need some rural internet reform in this country!