LTE band 26 is 800 MHz ESMR

The wavelengths in the general vicinity of LTE Band 26 & 5 (850 MHz cellular) are ideal for building penetration (phone indoors). Akin to LTE bands 12,13 and 14 in the low bands (700 MHz), LTE band 26 at 806-861 MHz gives better long range coverage. LTE carriers use carrier aggregation and at least LTE on the low-frequency (long-range) band as well as the high frequency band.

Clear WiMAX shutdown: LTE 2.5GHz Band 41 WiMAX termination drivers included 10x LTE spectral efficiency. The need to pair high-frequency LTE Band 41 good for short range, high density use with band 26 good for suburban/rural is essential to modern mobile network operations. Early WiMAX 4G adopters suffered coverage issues due to the simpler base station antennas of the time. This was not the fault of WiMAX, rather it was because of the 2.5 GHz wavelength and free space loss.

Reasons to abandon Clear’s 2.5 GHz WiMAX may have included:

  1. short wavelength no good for standalone carrier (best blended with longer wavelength bands for less dense areas)
  2. LTE is more spectrally efficient.