Cellular, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth antennas typically function to both transmit and receive radio signals. Antennas for GPS/GNSS only receive radio signals. Whether transmitting or receiving, antennas generally require the same considerations for best performance:
The antennas must be tuned appropriately for the frequencies used in the endpoint.
The antennas must be connected to the appropriate endpoint ports/connectors.
The antennas should have low internal losses (good efficiency) at operating frequencies. All antennas have been optimized for efficienct performance for the radio functions and frequencies particular to each endpoint.
The antennas need to be adequately spaced from one another and from objects near the antennas. Antennas that are too close to one another or to walls, shelves, filled boxes, soda cans, wiring, etc., can experience coupling, detuning and/or blockage of their radiation patterns.
Antennas that are closely spaced and aligned with each other can reduce MIMO (multi-data-stream) performance which reduces data throughput.
Antennas in enclosures or very near to other objects, especially metal containers and metal objects, may experience reduced signal performance. Even closeby wood and concrete can reduce antenna performance.
Endpoint antennas that are spaced near other radio devices or high-emissions devices (cellphones, Bluetooth devices, and USB3 devices, for example) can experience reduced performance due to radio noise signal corruption.
Note that the Ericsson NetCloud Service packages offer features that can help monitor radio performance for endpoints, which includes antenna performance.
Note
Antenna types may be mixed and matched so long as they all have sufficient reception and do not exceed FCC regulations (for example, remote/wired-out antennas for two LTE antenna ports on main/aux0 and GPS on the 1200M-B modem, and direct attached paddle antennas on main/aux1of the 1200M-B modem and the Wi-Fi RP-SMA ports of an AER2200).