Peplink Releases The UBR Plus Router With Dual Cat-7 Modems

Today Peplink released a new dual-modem router called the UBR Plus. While similar in some ways to the dual-modem Max Transit Pro routers with dual LTE modems, there are some significant differences to be aware of. 

Besides the new UBR Plus released today, the UBR line only has one other product, the UBR LTE, which is a dual Cat-4 modem primarily intended for industrial deployments.

While the UBR Plus shares the UBR series name, it's far more capable than the UBR LTE and comes in a case that looks like it's from the MAX BR series.

The router internals are based on the Balance 20X with 900 Mbps internal routing speed, Wi-Fi 5 connectivity, a plethora of Ethernet ports, and the ability to use a Pepwave SIM injector.

The UBR Plus provides a lot of capability and features for $849, but it is not without downsides. 

UBR Plus First Look Video

 

UBR Plus Features

The UBR Plus is an indoor router that is similar to other Peplink/Pepwave routers but with a different mix of features that may appeal to specific users. 

It comes with the following features:

Dual Modems

The new UBR Plus comes with two Cat-7 LTE modems.

In a world of 5G and LTE Cat-20 Gigabit speed monsters, Cat-7 may not sound that impressive, but it's a great modern entry-level modem that provides some key LTE advantages like carrier aggregation on both download and uploads, with peak speeds of 300 Mbps down and 150 Mbps up, and includes support for all the major LTE bands for the current three major carriers.

The following cellular bands are supported: 2, 4, 5, 7, 12(17), 13, 14, 25, 26, 41, 42, 43, 48, 66, and 71.

These bands support all of the key AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile LTE bands, so can work well with any provider.

Two modems also provide the opportunity for greater speed, redundancy, and reliability thanks to Peplink's SpeedFusion bonding, instant failover, and advanced data management tools. 

However, like the Balance 20x, the UBR Plus has an internal cellular bus limitation that caps cellular speeds to 150 Mbps. 

LAN - Wi-Fi 5 and 1 Gbps Ethernet

One disappointment with the UBR Plus is that it only supports Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) when Wi-Fi 6 has become the de facto modern standard. Even so, Wi-Fi 5 does offer good performance and should be more than adequate for most users' needs, so this isn't a major downside.

The Wi-Fi can also support Wi-Fi-as-WAN to utilize other Wi-Fi networks as an internet source.

One nice feature of the UBR Plus is that it comes with five gigabit Ethernet ports - 1x WAN port and 4x LAN ports. Many other Peplink routers have fewer ports, but the newer and higher-end Pro series is now sporting 2.5 Gbps WAN ports. All of the UBR Plus ports are 1 Gbps.

Faster CPU Internals

The internals are based on the Balance 20X, and while an upgrade over its UBR LTE older sibling - it's not as fast as the as the higher-end MAX Transit Pro and BR Pro routers.

UBR Plus offers 900 Mbps local area networking throughput and 60 Mbps when using SpeedFusion with encryption, which can adequately support most connection options. However, it's important to note that this CPU also inherits a 150 Mbps cellular bus limitation, which means you'll never see speeds over that when using a connection over either of the internal modems. 

SIM Options

As is standard with most mobile routers, the UBR Plus comes with two SIM slots for each modem, for a total of four slots. This allows for quick changing between data plans on each modem, although it can still take the modem a couple of minutes to initialize a connection when switching SIMs.  

Like Peplink's newer products, these slots support Nano (4FF) SIMs, a nice change since most newer gear and smartphones now support this SIM form factor.

Peplink is also listing future eSIM support in this router, which has been standard on many of their newer options since 2021. However, we suspect this is probably like other Peplink devices that support eSIM, which will only be able to activate Peplink's own very pricey but flexible SpeedFusion Connect data plans. 

The UBR Plus can also support a Peplink SIM Injector, a feature usually found only on external routers like the HD Dome series and higher-end indoor routers. This allows eight additional physical SIMs that can be up to 100 feet away from the main router. But the irony is that the SIM injector costs more ($999 when bundled) than the UBR Plus router itself. Nomads interested in springing for remote SIM capability will probably want to use that with a higher-end router.

Ports and Power

For antennas, the router uses standard SMA ports for the cellular antennas (2x ports for each modem) and the GPS antenna. For Wi-Fi, two standard 2x RP-SMA ports are used.

One downside is that the UBR Plus does not include a USB port, so cannot support USB tethering or other USB options.

For power, the UBR Plus only comes with a single option, a four-pin Molex connector, which also supports ignition sensing.

Comparison To Other Peplink Dual Modem Routers

The UBR Plus fills a niche in dual-modem router options in Peplink's lineup, sitting between the low-end MAX BR1 Mini and Max BR2 Pro. Here are some key differences between the UBR Plus and other popular dual-modem Peplink routers:

• MAX BR1 Mini ($479) - Only has a single Cat-7 modem and Wi-Fi 5, with many features disabled until purchased for an extra fee. 
• UBR LTE ($499) - Only has Cat-4 modems, comes with much slower internals, and Wi-Fi 4 that supports 2.4GHz or 5GHz but not both at the same time.
• Balance 20X ($579) - Comes with a single Cat-7 modem, but an additional module can be added. Also has 5 Ethernet ports, two being usable as WAN (for an additional charge) and USB tethering. However, it lacks Wi-Fi as WAN. 
• UBR Plus ($849) - Comes with dual Cat-7 modems, 5 Ethernet ports (1 WAN), 900 Mbps routing speed, and Wi-Fi 5. 
• MAX Transit Pro ($1199) - Comes with 1x Cat-7 modem, 1x Cat-12 modem, faster internals, and Wi-Fi 6, but only two Ethernet ports (1xWAN, 1xLAN/WAN)
• MAX BR2 Pro ($2899) - The current flagship for Pepwave, this router comes with 2x 5G/Cat-20 modems, Wi-Fi 6, faster internals, 2x 2.5 Gbps Ethernet WAN, 4x 1GB Ethernet LAN, and a USB port for tethering.

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Concluding Thoughts

For those who want a dual-modem embedded router's flexibility and redundancy, the UBR Plus is a great entry-level option at $849. The Cat-7 modems, while not speed demons, will work well with the LTE networks for AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile for years to come. 

With a WAN Ethernet port, you can add additional redundancy with another mobile internet option such as Starlink, T-Mobile Home Internet, or a 5G hotspot device).  The 900 Mbps internal routing speed will be able to take advantage of the faster speeds available with external internet sources, while the internal modems will be limited by the 150 Mbps cellular bus. 

And, of course, the big advantage of dual modems in a Pepwave router is the ability to combine connections via SpeedFusion and also provide for instant failover. 

The other features of the UBR Plus should meet the needs of most nomads and could be a great choice for RVers and boaters looking for a value-priced dual modem router.

Where to Purchase

If you're interested in purchasing any of the items mentioned in this article, here are affiliate links for the vendors where they can be purchased. Using these links helps support MIRC's mission.

If you're an MIA, please be logged in to use your vendor discounts instead - they pass along our affiliate kickbacks to you!

Affiliate Vendor Links - Using these links helps support MIRC's mission (MIAs, please log in to get special discounts):

• MobileMustHave: UBR Plus | Road Warrior VR2 Internet Bundle
• Onboard Wireless: UBR Plus
• Amazon: UBR Plus 
•  

Other Vendors (non-affiliate):

• 5GStore: UBR Plus

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