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Any plans for 4G on the MS?

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I haven't heard anything about that yet, but they should be moving to 4G soon given this announcement:

Verizon Is Killing Off 3G Networks (to Make More Room For LTE)

As I recall, Tesla uses AT&T, so they're fine for now, but if this is the trend of things to come, Tesla will also have to come up with a retrofit for older cars to be upgraded as well.

Yes I read that article. That was the reason I posted this. I know the MS has AT&T but at least Verizon's announcement may indicate where the industry is going. Since the MS is supposed to be leading edge, you would expect 4G to be in the works. I assume this would be a hardware change.

Given how Tesla does things, I bet it will just appear "magically" at some point. Just like the recent new sensors. Someone will come on this forum, I bet, and say "Hey guess what my new MS has 4G..."

Steve
 
A while back Tesla posted an open position for an LTE engineer to their careers portal - so obviously it is "coming soon", per some definition of soon.

And yeah, I agree it is late to do this -- Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile are all shifting spectrum away from 3G to LTE, and as this happens, 3G coverage will only get worse, with lower performance.

Already, people post to the forums complaining about slow speeds drawing maps on the navigation system, with an improvement when tethering to their LTE phones. While it's cute that it will work that way, it's totally inconvenient to have to remember to turn tethering on and off every time you get in the car.
 
I wouldn't bet on that. For all we know the LTE engineer is for the Model X.

I don't see why they need an LTE engineer. It isn't like they plan to develop their own LTE chip. I'm sure they buy it from Broadcom or whoever.
Maybe a redesign of the hardware (i.e.: board/module).

I also don't assume it will be upgradable. I bet current owners are stuck with 3G.

Thus I'll wait. If I needed a new car now, that would be different. I really want the MS as I have test-driven it at least 4 times.
 
I don't see why they need an LTE engineer. It isn't like they plan to develop their own LTE chip. I'm sure they buy it from Broadcom or whoever.
Maybe a redesign of the hardware (i.e.: board/module).

Antenna design and placement. Testing of the hardware to make sure it works properly.

I also don't assume it will be upgradable. I bet current owners are stuck with 3G.

Thus I'll wait. If I needed a new car now, that would be different. I really want the MS as I have test-driven it at least 4 times.

I honestly don't understand why 4G is such a huge deal. If you want 4G you can have it right now. Just hook the cars wifi up to a device with 4G access. Having done this the maps load a little faster, but the browser is still slow because the browser itself is slow. So unless it comes with upgrades on the hardware to run the 17" and improved browser software it's not going to result in a lot of difference in my opinion.

But hey if this is that important to you, you should wait. Just realize you may be waiting a very long time.
 
every tesla customer right now is super-early adopter. this is part of the package of being early adopters: tech not set in stone, at premium price.

personally, i would never get a tesla before 4g LTE. Terrible idea for a internet-heavy car.
 
every tesla customer right now is super-early adopter. this is part of the package of being early adopters: tech not set in stone, at premium price.

personally, i would never get a tesla before 4g LTE. Terrible idea for a internet-heavy car.
YMMV.

As far as my concerns went, waiting for 4gLTE is just a waste of perfectly good time in a car I'd been waiting years for. In daily use, it's not that internet-heavy.
 
According to the IHS teardown, the cellular modem is a
  • Sierra Wireless 3G wireless module
This is usually a plug-in unit and could easily be replaced with a 4G wireless module. May have to change the antenna also but the cable between the two should be fine. This should be a simple upgrade for existing cars.
 
personally, i would never get a tesla before 4g LTE. Terrible idea for a internet-heavy car.

I've been an S owner for almost a year. The 3G works fine for the Nav and for streaming music. I never use the browser in the car, I have my own mobile devices for that.

I would never wait for 4G to come with the car, that makes no sense to me, I would have missed the past year of driving pleasure!
 
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According to the IHS teardown, the cellular modem is a
  • Sierra Wireless 3G wireless module
This is usually a plug-in unit and could easily be replaced with a 4G wireless module. May have to change the antenna also but the cable between the two should be fine. This should be a simple upgrade for existing cars.

To be completely precise, it's Sierra Wireless AR8550 chip: http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=45312&d=1395148747
It's capable of all HSPA bands and can get 14.4Mb/5.76Mb up/down speeds: http://www.m2mconnectivity.com.au/sites/default/files/brochures/Sierra_Wireless_AirPrime_AR_Series_Automotive_Wireless_Modules_0.pdf Not sure if this speed is enabled in MS, some reports indicate that it is not.

The modem is implemented on a separate card, that contains the modem, the amp and the SIM card. Theoretically it is replaceable, but I would not necessarily hold my breath: there might be reasons why direct swap is not practical. Also, the existing antennas should work with LTE, since it's the same frequency bands, but then again, reality is known for throwing curveballs.
 
I don't see why they need an LTE engineer. It isn't like they plan to develop their own LTE chip. I'm sure they buy it from Broadcom or whoever.
Maybe a redesign of the hardware (i.e.: board/module).

I also don't assume it will be upgradable. I bet current owners are stuck with 3G.

Thus I'll wait. If I needed a new car now, that would be different. I really want the MS as I have test-driven it at least 4 times.

My guess is that the reason they need an engineer is due to the antenna requirements.

- - - Updated - - -

To be completely precise, it's Sierra Wireless AR8550 chip: http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=45312&d=1395148747
It's capable of all HSPA bands and can get 14.4Mb/5.76Mb up/down speeds: http://www.m2mconnectivity.com.au/s...e_AR_Series_Automotive_Wireless_Modules_0.pdf Not sure if this speed is enabled in MS, some reports indicate that it is not.

The modem is implemented on a separate card, that contains the modem, the amp and the SIM card. Theoretically it is replaceable, but I would not necessarily hold my breath: there might be reasons why direct swap is not practical. Also, the existing antennas should work with LTE, since it's the same frequency bands, but then again, reality is known for throwing curveballs.

LTE uses MIMO, which may not be supported by the existing antennas.
 
Yes, LTE is faster than 3G but you don't need the extra speed. 3G speed is just fine for maps navigation, web browsing, streaming music, etc.
LTE is beneficial from the carrier side since it allows them to serve more data to more customers than 3G.
I wouldn't make a car buying decision based on LTE availability... it's just not relevant.