The pinephone only has a wifi radio and lacks any cell radios, thus it is incapable of connecting to cellular networks. It's basically an 'internet tablet' and not a phone (at least in the 'traditional' sense) like the name suggests.
we also settled on the number, and the implementation of, privacy switches on the phone – there will be 4 switches in total: for the i) BT/Wifi module, ii) the modem, iii) cameras (front/back) and iv) lastly for the microphone.
and right on the pinephone page it says it has this chip:
Key Benefits
● LTE Cat 4 module optimized for M2M and IoT applications
● Worldwide LTE, UMTS/HSPA+ and GSM/GPRS/EDGE coverage
● Multi-constellation GNSS receiver available for applications requiring fast and accurate fixes in any environment
● Feature refinements: supports DFOTA*, eCall and DTMF*
● MIMO technology meets demands for data rate and link reliability in modem wireless communication systems
I think you are talking about the Necunos device. The pinephone is ... a phone. See https://www.pine64.org/pinephone/ where they list the modem being a "Quectel EG-25G with worldwide bands".
