u/Lgamerday

I stumbled upon this Freedom Mobile site that only broadcasts 3G (no LTE or 5G). Pretty crazy to see in 2026 given the rate at which 3G is being decommissioned. According to ISED, this site was installed in December 2012 and never received an LTE upgrade. It's broadcasting HSPA+ on AWS-1, and that's it!

On my iPhone, it's impossible to connect to this tower as the phone holds onto a very weak LTE/5G signal from a tower a few kilometres away. I wasn't entirely sure if it were still broadcasting.

I came back with my S22 and my SDR and confirmed that the site is 3G-only. After disabling the LTE bands on my S22, I was able to connect to this site and run some speed + ping tests. I wouldn't be surprised if I were the only device connected to this tower at the time of testing, since roaming onto Bell/Rogers takes priority over dropping down to Freedom 3G...

So, did Freedom forget about this site? Or do they just want to waste electricity? haha.

Sector Antennas: RFS APXV18-203219-C-A20 & Kathrein 80010727.

'4G' Indicator?: Samsung phones on Freedom are configured to show '4G' when connected to Freedom's 3G network.

N44.25374 W79.602834

I stumbled upon this Freedom Mobile site that only broadcasts 3G (no LTE or 5G). Pretty crazy to see in 2026 given the rate at which 3G is being decommissioned. According to ISED, this site was installed in December 2012 and never received an LTE upgrade. It's broadcasting HSPA+ on AWS-1, and that's it!

On my iPhone, it's impossible to connect to this tower as the phone holds onto a very weak LTE/5G signal from a tower a few kilometres away. I wasn't entirely sure if it were still broadcasting.

I came back with my S22 and my SDR and confirmed that the site is 3G-only. After disabling the LTE bands on my S22, I was able to connect to this site and run some speed + ping tests. I wouldn't be surprised if I were the only device connected to this tower at the time of testing, since roaming onto Bell/Rogers takes priority over dropping down to Freedom 3G...

So, did Freedom forget about this site? Or do they just want to waste electricity? haha.

Sector Antennas: RFS APXV18-203219-C-A20 & Kathrein 80010727.

'4G' Indicator?: Samsung phones on Freedom are configured to show '4G' when connected to Freedom's 3G network.

N44.25374 W79.602834

The speeds are definitely limited by the microwave backhaul, which is capable of 592 mbps.

N44.12425 W79.1374

Backhaul:

• Antenna: Commscope UHX8-59W.
• Modulation: 4096-QAM.
• Max Throughput: 592 mbps.
• PTP Distance: 22.0km.

Bands:

• 20MHz of b71/n71 (DSS)
• 10MHz of b12
• 10MHz of b4
• 20MHz of b7
• 70MHz of n78
• 30MHz of n77

Antennas:

• Tongyu T2008M6R032V03
• Ericsson (unknown model number; decommissioned)

I see a lot of discussion on this subreddit about slow Nationwide speeds, with people concluding that they are throttled compared to a subscriber on the native network. However, the CRTC specifically states that VPLMN roaming partners must provide a comparable quality of service that they provide to their own customers.

In other words, if Nationwide is slow, then the Rogers / Bellus LTE network is just slow in that area. I hope this helps :)

New tower spotted in Ballantree ON.

Antennas:

• Andrew FFV4S4-65B-R7-V2
• Ericsson Air 3258

RRUs: are all Ericsson products (expected for Rogers):

• Radio 4415
• Radio 4426
• Radio 4449
• Radio 4480

Test device: iPhone 17 on Priority High-Speed Data plan.

I saw this unique site in Cookstown, ON. It’s a cell-on-wheels trailer, but the antennas are mounted to a hydro pole. The site has been here for over a year.

Interesting combination of permanent and temporary. It’s broadcasting b4/b7/b12/b66/n71 and is using microwave backhaul. I got a throughput of ~200 mbps on speed test (over LTE).