The Wonders of MIMO
For RVers and Cruisers, understanding what MIMO technology is, how it works, and how it can be used to enhance cellular speeds has the potential to make finding great mobile internet on the road an easier experience.
For anyone who knows a thing or two about wireless communications, modern 4G/LTE and 5G cellular radios are borderline miraculous.
Consider the first iPhone - which launched in 2007 with a maximum theoretical cellular speed of around 500 Kbps using AT&T's 2G EDGE cellular network.
A bit over a decade later - the latest flagship cellular devices were able to support maximum theoretical speeds of over 1,000 Mbps.
That's more than a 2,000x increase - in just 10 years!
And as we head into the 5G era, peak theoretical speeds are approaching 10 Gbps, another 10x increase!
Of course theory rarely equals reality - and the cellular networks need to be substantially upgraded and built out to even come close to being able to deliver speeds like this to real people outside of a lab.
And in the real world - you will be sharing this speed with perhaps hundreds or thousands of others connected to the same cell tower.
But real-world 4G/LTE speeds over 50Mbps are actually not at all uncommon, and speeds over 100Mbps are now widely reported - and things just keep getting faster.
One of the key technologies making these sorts of speeds possible is known as MIMO (Multiple Input, Multiple Output) - an incredibly clever technique for putting multiple antennas to work to increase both data transmission speed and reliability.
MIMO technology is fundamental to both 4G/LTE, 5G, and WI-Fi radios - but cellular boosters and MIMO have some... challenges... working together.
Read on to get a grasp of what MIMO is, how it works, and how you can use a little bit of MIMO awareness to potentially double your cellular speeds.
This Guide Brought to You by Our Members
We are honored to be able to present the basic sections of this guide for free without 3rd party advertising.
This content is brought to you by funding from our premium members.
Our members have access to the entirety of this guide, interactive guidance, product reviews, alerts, vendor discounts and more.
If you're a member, please log in above to see the member exclusive portions of this guide.
If mobile internet is an important part of your lifestyle, here are ways you can help:
MIMO In A Nutshell
MIMO is one of the core technologies enabling 4G/LTE and 5G cellular, and almost every modern mobile device (whether a phone or a hotspot) actually has TWO or more cellular antennas on board to enable the magic of MIMO.
On the other end of the line - cell towers typically have two or four or even eight antennas working together in tight synchronization to communicate with you.
With more antennas transmitting a signal, there are more possible echoes and reflections (read the "how it works" section below to understand the magic here) for the receiving device to extract a signal from.
And more reception antennas on the cell tower better enable your carrier to receive a weak remote signal from your handset.
This figure illustrates a very common 4x2 MIMO deployment:
Most every LTE modem on the market has 2 internal antennas, and even possibly two antenna ports for better reception.
And now consumer accessible devices are coming with internal 4x4 MIMO (four cellular antennas!) - such as flagship hotspots like the AT&T Netgear Nighthawk, the Verizon MiFi 8800L Jetpack, and many of the newer smartphones like the iPhone XS.
It really is pretty darn amazing stuff!
MIMO vs Boosters Video
For a quick overview of MIMO vs Boosters, here's our video. It's low on the tech to hopefully help explain a more complex topic:
Additional Member Only Content :
Has this guide been helpful so far?
Well.. there's a lot more below available to our members - as well as dozens of other guides like this, videos, a classroom, forums, webinars and more. All specifically created for helping keep RVers, cruisers and nomads online.
Hopefully you've noticed that our content isn't cluttered with 3rd party advertising, we're not sponsored and we're not reliant on selling you plans or gear to make our content possible.
We are instead community funded via our premium membership program - allowing us to focus on creating unbiased quality, in-depth, constantly updated content.
If mobile internet is an important part of your lifestyle, here are ways you can help:
Become a Member Support this Content
If you're already a member, please log in to see the rest of this guide.
Here's a sneak peak at the member exclusive topics in this guide:
MIMO Modes
A bit about the most common modes MIMO operates with the cellular towers.
MIMO vs Cellular Boosters
We go deep into why cellular boosters aren't always the best choice for cellular LTE signal enhancing.
Optimizing Cellular Reception in a MIMO World
Understanding MIMO can help you better optimize your cellular data performance.
MIMO - Not Just For Cellular
MIMO is also used for other wireless signals, like Wi-Fi.
How It Works: Breaking The Data Transmission Speed Of Light
Going super geek in this section.
Conclusion: Understanding MIMO
For those willing and able spend a little time getting a grasp on what MIMO is, how it works, and how it can be used to enhance cellular speeds - MIMO has the potential to double your cellular speeds.
Sometimes - all it takes is a willingness to defy common sense an try turning OFF your cellular booster.
The results might surprise you!
The guides below have been hand-picked to help further your education about selecting & using cellular antennas.
Explore the Resource Center
Become a Member
The MIA is our premium membership - designed for those who consider mobile internet an important part of their lifestyle.
In thanks for making content like this possible, we offer a bunch of additional perks. From interactive guidance, in-depth member exclusive content, discounts, alerts, classroom and more.
Become a Supporter
We totally understand that a membership isn't right for everyone.
However you can still support this content with our supporter level for just $25/year.
With our gratitude, you'll get access to all our free content without the 'nags'.
Have Questions? Stay In the Know
Join our 'Library Desk':
Internet for RVers & Cruisers Facebook Group
We cross post news articles and guides, and can help point you in the right direction to our content here on the resource center.
It is with gratitude to our premium members that we're able to offer our free content - and for that, they also have access our private Q&A areas for more in-depth guidance.
Stay in the Know
We're constantly tracking the industry and analyzing new developments for mobile travelers. If you'd like to receive updates, we offer several ways:
- Subscribe to our free monthly newsletter
- Follow our News Stories
- Subscribe to our YouTube Channel
The Mobile Internet Resource Center is brought to you by Two Steps Beyond LLC, and hosted by the technomads of 