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Network Vision/LTE - Chicago Market


thesickness069

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There is hope for Chicago. Have been suffering with poor 3G for the longest time only thing keeping me was WiMAX but now for some reason I'm seeing slower speeds. Can't wait for LTE launch here in chi town.

 

My sentiments 100%. The 3G is so bad its almost inoperable for anything except calls/text. The only thing keeping me afloat is the 4G WiMax which is well satisfactory, my speeds are 500K-1.5M, but service is spotty outside of the city proper and even in the city the phone prolly loses 4G and goes 3G on me 30x a day. BAD!

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Hey gang, just joined the site, though I've been reading a few articles here for a while now. I thought it was time to jump in and join the chicago forum.

 

I read a few posts about people talking about forcing roaming on their phones. Only problem is Sprint and Verizon don't have roaming contracts around Chicago, so you can't roam at all in the city or in the burbs. At least, this is what I've read and experienced. I've been as far west of the city as Woodstock and still no go on roaming there, last I checked.

 

I talked to the dev of Roam Control and he told me the same thing...no go on roaming in Chicago.

 

I too have noticed a drop in Wimax speeds lately. I would easily be able to get 10Mbps at my desk at work, and I'm lucky to get 3 now. I live in Elgin (but I could hit a golf ball into Hoffman Estates it's so close) but work in Schaumburg right next to Woodfield. Wife was dropping calls like crazy lately, but I'm holding out hope for Sprint in Chicago like the rest of you. My GSIII is waiting at home for me which I'll active tonight, leaving my trusty Epic behind...

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Well, seems like something is going on here in Aurora, specifically with site CH03XC684. Around 9:20pm, 3G dropped and I can only get 1x at this point. I know it's not my location since my home is only 1700~ feet from the tower. I'm really hoping they're cutting over to the new backhaul. I'll be periodically speed testing tonight.... Stay tuned for results. :)

 

Sent from my JB iPhone 4S using Forum Runner

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Its not that Sprint doesn't having a roaming deals with Verizon in Chicago. The contract Sprint has with Verizon allows Sprint customers to use the Verizon network anywhere.

 

However, Sprint decides with its PRL's what network you are going to use when roaming. The standard Sprint PRL's either have Verizon as the lowest priority, or maybe even excluded in your region. If you install a Verizon PRL, it would work in Chicago, though.

 

Robert via Samsung Galaxy S-III 32GB using Forum Runner

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Okay now this is getting weird. My iPhone refuses to hold onto 3G, while my work blackberry is now picking up 3G and speed testing a consistent 1.1-1.5 mbps down. My partners iPhone is definitely showing signs the new backhaul is live. He's getting between 1.5 - 2.5 Mbps down on 3G. I've updated my iPhone with ##update# and rebooted... Still nothing. Running field test and watching the Evdo status is nuts. It's keeps jumping between channel 725, 550, 675, 650... All over the place. Any ideas what's going on?

 

Sent from my JB iPhone 4S using Forum Runner

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Update: So after updating the PRL a bunch of times and rebooting, my iPhone is finally latching on to 3G. However... The 3G speeds are weird. Ping times are rock solid (between 90 and 110ms)... However download speeds are struggling to hit 1mbps but upload consistently is hitting 1mbps. My partner updated his PRL for the heck of it and now his iPhone can't latch onto 3G. Perhaps this PRL is no good or out of date for the network upgrade?? I've attached a speedtest screenshot.

 

 

 

image-4272247337.jpg

 

 

 

Sent from my JB iPhone 4S using Forum Runner

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Update: So after updating the PRL a bunch of times and rebooting' date=' my iPhone is finally latching on to 3G. However... The 3G speeds are weird. Ping times are rock solid (between 90 and 110ms)... However download speeds are struggling to hit 1mbps but upload consistently is hitting 1mbps. My partner updated his PRL for the heck of it and now his iPhone can't latch onto 3G. Perhaps this PRL is no good or out of date for the network upgrade?? I've attached a speedtest screenshot.

 

Sent from my JB iPhone 4S using Forum Runner[/quote']

 

When it comes to Chicago, I don't rule anything out. That's some weird stuff you are experiencing. I don't have any specific insight into your problems. :(

 

Robert via CM9 Kindle Fire using Forum Runner

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No worries! Turns out it might have been some sort of fluke or maybe a hiccup of bringing the new backhaul live. I just tested this morning and am consistently getting speeds faster than 2 mbps down. It's really amazing! For some reason forum runner is not letting me attach pics... I'll do it later when I get to a pc.

 

Sent from my JB iPhone 4S using Forum Runner

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Its not that Sprint doesn't having a roaming deals with Verizon in Chicago. The contract Sprint has with Verizon allows Sprint customers to use the Verizon network anywhere.

 

However, Sprint decides with its PRL's what network you are going to use when roaming. The standard Sprint PRL's either have Verizon as the lowest priority, or maybe even excluded in your region. If you install a Verizon PRL, it would work in Chicago, though.

 

Robert via Samsung Galaxy S-III 32GB using Forum Runner

 

Great, thanks for the info. Would you happen to have any information on SGSIII PRLs? I have a business account with Sprint, but I always got the 'general population' PRL when I had my Epic 4G. My assumption was because I've had a Sprint account for over 10 years, and I just got the business account discount maybe two years or so ago.

 

Business account should be able to get 3G roaming from Verizon, but even when I was able to roam (at least my assumption was it was always Verizon, I guess it could've been USC without me knowing it) I always got 1x speeds when up in Wisconsin.

 

Just got the SGSIII last night and the current PRL is 25005.

Edited by hayzooos
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Great, thanks for the info. Would you happen to have any information on SGSIII PRLs? I have a business account with Sprint, but I always got the 'general population' PRL when I had my Epic 4G. My assumption was because I've had a Sprint account for over 10 years, and I just got the business account discount maybe two years or so ago. Business account should be able to get 3G roaming from Verizon, but even when I was able to roam (at least my assumption was it was always Verizon, I guess it could've been USC without me knowing it) I always got 1x speeds when up in Wisconsin. Just got the SGSIII last night and the current PRL is 25005.

 

Yeah, USCC has a great network, but they still have some 1x only areas. I think they just got 3G in St. Louis on USCC about six months ago!

 

S4GRU Member, Digiblur, has a website where he posts info about PRL's: http://www.batonrougebroadband.info/

 

He is currently on vacation, so he will not likely post anything about the new PRL's for awhile. I use his analysis when deciding about PRL's. And then I hunt down the downloads for them on the internet and install.

 

Robert

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Yeah, USCC has a great network, but they still have some 1x only areas. I think they just got 3G in St. Louis on USCC about six months ago!

 

S4GRU Member, Digiblur, has a website where he posts info about PRL's: http://www.batonrougebroadband.info/

 

He is currently on vacation, so he will not likely post anything about the new PRL's for awhile. I use his analysis when deciding about PRL's. And then I hunt down the downloads for them on the internet and install.

 

Robert

 

I recognize the name from the XDA site as well, he's a very knowledgeable person, no question. I'll keep the PRL I have now and wait for his analysis until deciding what I want to do. It sounds like it might be quite a bit easier to change a PRL on the SGSIII vs the Epic I had before.

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wow, crazy speeds for 3G. I'd be happy with consistent speeds at 1.0 mbps.

 

Just curious, is your partner seeing this type of speed on his iphone today as well? I'm hoping this type of speed is consistent through out the day for multiple users.

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wow, crazy speeds for 3G. I'd be happy with consistent speeds at 1.0 mbps.

 

Just curious, is your partner seeing this type of speed on his iphone today as well? I'm hoping this type of speed is consistent through out the day for multiple users.

 

I didn't think to have him check this morning. Can't check now since we're both at work, but once we get home, I'll post some more results from my phone, and what he's getting as well.

 

 

P.S. - In case anyone lives in the Aurora/South Naperville/Montgomery/Oswego area, this is tower CH03XC684. Located basically on the intersection of Eola and Hafenrichter Roads. Feel free to speedtest it if you're in the area! ;) (if anyone has an LTE capable phone, I'm dying to know if that's live on this tower)

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Can't check now since we're both at work' date=' but once we get home, I'll post some more results from my phone, and what he's getting as well.

[/quote']

 

DJ's work during the day??? ;)

 

Robert via Samsung Galaxy S-III 32GB using Forum Runner

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DJ's work during the day??? ;)

 

Robert via Samsung Galaxy S-III 32GB using Forum Runner

 

LOL, yes... Imagine that! :P

My regular 9-5 gig is at a tech support call center. I don't DJ as much as I used to... moving into management has really taken a toll on my free time these days :(

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I didn't think to have him check this morning. Can't check now since we're both at work, but once we get home, I'll post some more results from my phone, and what he's getting as well.

 

 

P.S. - In case anyone lives in the Aurora/South Naperville/Montgomery/Oswego area, this is tower CH03XC684. Located basically on the intersection of Eola and Hafenrichter Roads. Feel free to speedtest it if you're in the area! ;) (if anyone has an LTE capable phone, I'm dying to know if that's live on this tower)

 

awesome! Can't wait till NV hits Schaumburg. My partners 5 year old Verizon 3G Blackberry still beats my Sprint iphone in Speeds Tests. not for long though.

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They just rolled it out in Palatine and Hoffman Estates last night. Schaumburg can't be far behind.

 

Sent from my EVO LTE

Really? I haven't seen info about this. Hope that includes backhaul.

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I am hitting a tower in Palatine right now and getting a ping of 189ms. I don't think it is complete yet.

 

Based on my speed tests the speed is a little slower than it was before. I'm sure that will be fixed soon enough.

 

Sent from my EVO LTE

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I am hitting a tower in Palatine right now and getting a ping of 189ms. I don't think it is complete yet.

 

Based on my speed tests the speed is a little slower than it was before. I'm sure that will be fixed soon enough.

 

Sent from my EVO LTE

 

Were the speeds faster in the evening? If so, that might be due to a lighter load on the tower you were accessing. Or, you might be accessing a different tower in Palatine. Like for me, not all towers in Aurora are complete. There's another tower about 1.5 miles away from the tower I access, and that one is still on the legacy backhaul. So, odds are, not all towers in a specific "city" are going live on the new backhaul at the same time.

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I've been on towers outside of schaumburg with pings in the low 100s, the speeds though were at .1 mbps to .5 mbps during the day. I see NV rolling, its the backhaul that needs to catch up.

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