Please check my homework...before I fork over my money

[BigLar]

My Nexus 7 LTE (2013) was a great little machine while it lasted. Alas, the periodic loss of SIM card contact, the loss of auto-rotate, and I have no idea (ahem) how the screen got shattered -- all combine to put me in the market for a new small tablet with LTE.

Looking at the prices gave me pause, but I've noticed a bunch of "no name" tablets out there with (purportedly) 4G-LTE connectivity. I've been trying to nail down the frequencies used by my carrier (ATT) so as to be certain that I can get a device that has a greater than 50-50 chance of working. Snooping around the net and calling ATT left me with the following information:

2G: 850/1900 MHz
3G: 850/1900 MHz
4G-LTE: 700 MHz (Band 17)/AWS (Band 4)/1900 MHz (Band 2) - I gather AWS is duplex 1700/2100 MHz

So if I want the tablet to have 4G-LTE connectivity to ATT I understand that I have to have at least one of those bands (2,4, or 17) "built-into" the phone. Now the questions:

1. Do I have the correct frequencies above? Yea, I know they told me, but...
2. I suppose that one common band between the network and the tablet is sufficient, but is it a question of, "The more, the merrier"?
3. Are there any "unknown unknowns" that I've missed and need to consider?

Thanks for the help!

 

[poofyhairguy]

3. Are there any "unknown unknowns" that I've missed and need to consider?

You can get name brand (LG, Samsung, Nexus, etc.) AT&T specific (so guaranteed to work) LTE tablets on Swappa for cheap.

 

[paperwastage]

A) don't use frequencies... use actual band number

eg: 700mhz can refer to one or more of the following bands, not cross-compatible:
band 12/13/14/17/28/...

B) for AT&T, band 17/5 is their primary LTE layer(nationwide coverage). band 2/4 is their secondary LTE layer (for capacity, especially in cities/urban areas. may not be available in rural areas). band 29/30 is their third LTE layer (more capacity etc)

17/5 + 2/4 is enough for AT&T, 29/30 is not necessary


if you have only a band 17/5 device, you'll get AT&T service nationwide... just typically more congestion and slower speeds on 17/5


(17 and 12 are basically interchangable on AT&T... if a phone supports band 12/5, it's the same as supporting 17/5. NOTE: THIS only applies only for AT&T customers)

 

[BigLar]

Thanks for the input. Onward!