Collegial roaming?

magnatron

Looking at the Roaming Network Info it looks like national collegial roaming is offered.
Is this conclusion correct? Does “roaming” also imply being able to use other collegial national networks when the “preferred supplier” is not available?

afzal_m

@magnatron yes it is correct

But it still possible that in some places there is no network available at all.
Some operators only activated part of their networks.

magnatron

Is roaming also available within the Netherlands? We want to test a band-20 device but it doesn’t seem to attach to the NB-IOT network of vodafone-libertel. VL is listed on https://docs.iotcreators.com/docs/roaming-mobile-iot-networks-in-europe as a European roaming partner.

afzal_m

Hey @magnatron

Yes! It’s available for sims which are being used in a paid plan

magnatron

Does a Pilot project count as paid plan?

afzal_m

Yes, it does!

afzal_m

But if you’re going to use old simcards in this pilot project. Please send the sim id’s to iwantroamingandiwantitnow@iotcreators.com.

And if you’re going to use new simcards… then don’t worry, it will just work!

magnatron

Should auto-COPS work in NL?
I’ve inserted a roaming capable SIM, added IMEI to paid project.
On band 8 auto-COPS works fine but on band 20 I have to set COPS to 1,2,“20404” before the CSQ goes below 99,99.
When in Germany, auto-COPS also just worked.

We want to have auto-COPS for band 20 to be able to work and test in NL before we test in BE. (No band 8 in BE)

Any advise about this?

magnatron

Is everybody on a holiday?

Stefan de Lange

@magnatron Is this for NB-IoT? As far as I know T-Mobile NB-IoT is not available on band 20 in NL.

@magnatron said in Collegial roaming?:

On band 8 auto-COPS works fine but on band 20 I have to set COPS to 1,2,“20404” before the CSQ goes below 99,99.

I don’t understand this part, the COPS command will force it to vodafone. What do you mean by CSQ goes below 99,99?

magnatron

@Stefan-de-Lange, VL is offering NB-IoT on band 20, check this page for details: https://docs.iotcreators.com/docs/roaming-mobile-iot-networks-in-europe

What do you mean by CSQ goes below 99,99?

The signal quality hovers at 99,99 when a modem doesn’t find an MT to connect to. Once it finds an MT and is able to connect the signal quality will indicate RSSI and QUAL.

“auto-COPS” means that an MT will be automatically selected and the device will try to connect.

In my experience, on band 8 this is no problem and happens almost instantly. Tested in The Netherlands and in Germany.

But on band 20, in NL only available through VL, auto-COPS (AT+COPS=0) doesn’t work. The device will only connect when COPS is specified via AT+COPS=1,2,"20404".

Any tips?

Stefan de Lange

@magnatron said in Collegial roaming?:

The signal quality hovers at 99,99 when a modem doesn’t find an MT to connect to. Once it finds an MT and is able to connect the signal quality will indicate RSSI and QUAL.

I understand. But CSQ tells you nothing about the ability to connect, it’s just an indication that there is a signal.

In my experience, on band 8 this is no problem and happens almost instantly. Tested in The Netherlands and in Germany.

I have also not had any problems. Perhaps it is a modem issue? You can try u-blox or nRF91, those are very reliable in my experience.

But on band 20, in NL only available through VL, auto-COPS (AT+COPS=0) doesn’t work. The device will only connect when COPS is specified via AT+COPS=1,2,"20404".

You mean you are trying to roam on band 20 VFNL NB-IoT using a T-Mobile sim?

magnatron

Thanks for you response. Please, back to my original question:

Should auto-COPS work The Netherlands?

As for your suggestions/questions:

I’m under the impression that CSQ is somehow linked to the connection because the RSSI and QUAL will only be available when an MT is selected. (hard-coded or automatically) To find the actual signal strength of all available providers is done with other commands.
I’m using a ublox. it is reliable. as said “no problems” here.
Yes, I am roaming on band 20 VL NB-IoT using a TM sim. If you scroll up a bit you can read more about this. It’s only possible to test roaming auto-COPS on band 20 in NL as band 8 is only TM so this is not roaming as the SIM is TM.

Have you tried roaming in NL?

Kolja Vornholt

@magnatron
Let me pls summarize your issue in my words to check I understood your problem correctly.

You’ve set your modem to band 20-only.
You want to use auto-attach (at+cops=0) but it does not find a network
However, manual attach (with selecting Vodafone’s network) does work

Is that right?

BR,
Kolja

magnatron

Hi @Kolja-Vornholt,

Yes, that’s completely correct. Any tips?

Kolja Vornholt

@magnatron
Automatic Attach can take a lot of time. How long have you waited?

magnatron

@Kolja-Vornholt haven’t really measured it. What time period should I take into account?

Kolja Vornholt

@magnatron couple of minutes
You could also do a network search (at+cops=?) to check whether you see Vodafone’s network.

Kolja Vornholt

@magnatron Have you done a network search already?

magnatron

@Kolja-Vornholt
Maybe some things had to settle. The auto-COPS is working now. About as fast as on band 8. But I have to check if it is just this modem or if it also works for others now.
I’ll get back to you about it.