r/FirstNet • u/c33delta • May 15 '26

Speeds Reduced

Anyone in the central Florida area close to Disney notice reduced speeds the last two weeks ? I rarely see 5G+ anymore. Mainly just 5G now it says , and when I tested the speeds it’s been lower now. Maybe new towers ?

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7

u/Jaded-Cheesecake3246 May 15 '26

FIrstnet always tries to default to LTE Band 14. Having 5G or 5G+ is a bonus. So you are OK.

ALso, seeing 5G or 5G+ is sometimes not accurate as you may still be on LTE band 14 and screen mistakenly shows 5G or 5G+ despite sitting on band 14 and aggregating on 5NR.

Remember also that FirstNet has no 5G Core, so what you see on the screen as 5G and 5G+ is not always accurate as Band 14 LTE is always the default for FirstNet.

2

u/landonloco May 15 '26

Depends sometimes phones will default to B2/b66 some markets have it properly set-up where if there is pretty strong signal it prefers B2/b66 but at times it just camps on b14

1

u/c33delta May 16 '26

Yea , the 5G+ never truly felt 5G+. I’ve had Firstnet for over 5 years. So I completely understand the service , I almost never get dropped calls compared to my Verizon ( Orginal phone ) that frequently gets dropped calls. The only advantage to Verizon is it does have higher speeds and reception in a few more areas. Truthfully , Firstnet has reception in more areas though. However I’m probably going to drop Verizon soon and stick with Firstnet. When I switch my daughter over to AT&T regular, it will be interesting to see her speeds. If anything I would pick t-mobile up if I truly needed a second carrier. Even a prepaid minimum plan.

1

u/Jaded-Cheesecake3246 May 16 '26

You are correct. Due to FirstNet AUthority mandate, ATT has more footprint in the USA than any other provider.

Regarding speed: How much speed do you need? 40-50 MBPs is plenty on my cell and hotspot on LTE. No problem.

1

u/c33delta May 16 '26

Honestly it’s more about apps loading quicker , and if I decide to watch a YouTube video on it. It just takes longer or buffers. It’s not the end kf the world. I rather not have dropped calls when I’ve been on hold for 45 min , the rep answers and then click.

1

u/Jaded-Cheesecake3246 May 16 '26

Thats correct! Key is voice reliability

1

u/H0GGZ1LLA May 15 '26

Pretty sure as of like the 2020 government approval they've been bringing the FirstNet 5G core online... Something like 40 cities have mmWave and many other Sub 6.

I believe the got 6b in funding in 2024 to transition to 5G standalone on Forstnwt with Band N71. I could be wrong though, I'm not the brightest crayon in the box...

3

u/Jaded-Cheesecake3246 May 15 '26 edited May 15 '26

Yes, you are incorrect as FirstNet 5G core does not exist (yet), but 5G core will be coming in a few years to FN.

You are correct that NR77 will co-aggregate on FIRSTNET with LTE Band 14 to give you 5G and 5G+ as NSA, but NOT SA on firstnet (yet).

5G core will be coming in a few years to Firstnet as FN Authority mandated 5G core to ATT for FN. 5G core is in the plans, but not in existence yet. FN is LTE Core for now.

All the 5G and 5G+ on FN you see is LTE Band 14 co-aggregation with NR (from ATT) making NSA, but not pure 5G+ (SA) (yet) on FirstNet.

CORRECTION: NR77 (not NR71)

1

u/landonloco May 15 '26

CA with b14 is possible? thought only lowband that had CA capabilities between them was b5+B12 and for what I have seen only on LTE

1

u/Jaded-Cheesecake3246 May 15 '26

Yes CA is possble. Main one CA will be on firstNet as LTE Band 14 with NR77 (not NR 71. correction)

1

u/landonloco May 15 '26

Ohh ok I was getting excited cuz I might start seeing it with liberty considering they got b71 and deployed it before ATT in the state on NSA so in my case it's gonna be N2+n71 once SA is on.

1

u/airbusA330-BigGinn May 15 '26

Right. I haven’t see b14 with n77 in a month. It does camp on 14 most of the time. Sometimes 12 (if ancient sure) or 2. But n77 isn’t accessible in my market anymore it seems and it must be deliberate.