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Network Vision/LTE - Upstate New York Markets - Central & East (including Syracuse, Albany, Binghamton, Ithaca, Utica)


bstrignano

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I called the Sprint telesales number to get a SIM card to switch back to Sprint for the free year promo they're running, and when I gave the rep my address (north of Saratoga), she said I'm covered by Sprint's LTE Plus network where I live. That's news to me. There definitely wasn't any B41 in the area before I ported out to Cricket in July, and Sprint's coverage map still doesn't show any LTE Plus coverage in the Albany area. I suspect she was mistaken in telling me it's available here, but I should find out in a couple days after I get the SIM. I'll report back here when I find out.

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Found some AT&T LTE roaming south of Syracuse in the Onondaga Nation. It's good to have some LTE coverage available down there, even if it is roaming.

 

On a side note, band 41 in Syracuse is a lot more usable now that I upgraded to a LG G6. This phone holds onto band 41 down to -130 and it's still usable.098f4ce01f20bf7f5de1e26b2e2ae48a.jpgff664e4608d4fe2b3dc87b66547a5e61.jpg

 

Sent from my LG-LS993 using Tapatalk

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Found some AT&T LTE roaming south of Syracuse in the Onondaga Nation. It's good to have some LTE coverage available down there, even if it is roaming.

 

On a side note, band 41 in Syracuse is a lot more usable now that I upgraded to a LG G6. This phone holds onto band 41 down to -130 and it's still usable.

 

Sent from my LG-LS993 using Tapatalk

 

Even without HPUE you're phone would still hold on to weak B41 signals. Sprint changed something recently which causes phones to hold weak LTE signals better. Most likely to prepare for VoLTE

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Even without HPUE you're phone would still hold on to weak B41 signals. Sprint changed something recently which causes phones to hold weak LTE signals better. Most likely to prepare for VoLTE

My non hpue devices still consistently drop band 41 around -118.

 

Sent from my LG-LS993 using Tapatalk

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Found some AT&T LTE roaming south of Syracuse in the Onondaga Nation. It's good to have some LTE coverage available down there, even if it is roaming.

 

On a side note, band 41 in Syracuse is a lot more usable now that I upgraded to a LG G6. This phone holds onto band 41 down to -130 and it's still usable.ff664e4608d4fe2b3dc87b66547a5e61.jpg

 

Sent from my LG-LS993 using Tapatalk

-131dBm and that clean of an SNR, thats crazy!

 

Im getting a G6 today and will compare it to my GS8+.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Anyone on here know if Sprint is making any kind of improvements in Glens Falls/Queensbury NY? We are moving there and coverage last week was just awful. I'd get a mile away from the tower and would drop to 3G/1X or extended coverage. The LTE was 8665 EARFCN so 5 MHz band 25. I could get 5mb down if I stood under the tower otherwise 2-3 at best with some congestion. I can't see sticking with Sprint for this type of coverage. Even the NYS Thruway was mainly 3G/1X with scattered LTE until Utica when it switched to mainly LTE but still horribly slow.

 

 

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Anyone on here know if Sprint is making any kind of improvements in Glens Falls/Queensbury NY? We are moving there and coverage last week was just awful. I'd get a mile away from the tower and would drop to 3G/1X or extended coverage. The LTE was 8665 EARFCN so 5 MHz band 25. I could get 5mb down if I stood under the tower otherwise 2-3 at best with some congestion. I can't see sticking with Sprint for this type of coverage. Even the NYS Thruway was mainly 3G/1X with scattered LTE until Utica when it switched to mainly LTE but still horribly slow.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

The more north you get in the East upstate NY market the worse it gets. A lot of GMO sites lacking LTE. The capital  Albany doesn't have any B41. 

 

The Central Upstate market is only good in Syracuse and Binghamton due to having B41. A few other smaller cities have B41 like Oneonta and Utica. There is also a lot of GMO sites lacking any LTE too. Any smaller cities either have only 3G or very little LTE. Honestly though there aren't many subscribers so the LTE isn't usually congested like many place. 5 Mbps is good for B25 on Sprint. 

 

In many markets Sprint has started to turn on LTE on GMO sites but both of these upstate markets haven't received any love yet.

 

The best you can hope for is more GMO sites to get LTE and for Sprint to turn on a second 5x5 B25 carrier. 

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Anyone on here know if Sprint is making any kind of improvements in Glens Falls/Queensbury NY? We are moving there and coverage last week was just awful. I'd get a mile away from the tower and would drop to 3G/1X or extended coverage. The LTE was 8665 EARFCN so 5 MHz band 25. I could get 5mb down if I stood under the tower otherwise 2-3 at best with some congestion. I can't see sticking with Sprint for this type of coverage. Even the NYS Thruway was mainly 3G/1X with scattered LTE until Utica when it switched to mainly LTE but still horribly slow.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I was just at Lake George and Glenn Falls with my wife for July 4th weekend and she had B25 useable data in Glenn Falls at the Holiday Inn we were staying at but once we got further up north it was either very slow 3G or 1x. I have Verizon and I would have to turn on my hotspot so she could use the internet.

 

In Lake George she had 1x and couldn't do anything unless she was connected to my phone.

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I called the Sprint telesales number to get a SIM card to switch back to Sprint for the free year promo they're running, and when I gave the rep my address (north of Saratoga), she said I'm covered by Sprint's LTE Plus network where I live. That's news to me. There definitely wasn't any B41 in the area before I ported out to Cricket in July, and Sprint's coverage map still doesn't show any LTE Plus coverage in the Albany area. I suspect she was mistaken in telling me it's available here, but I should find out in a couple days after I get the SIM. I'll report back here when I find out.

Please provide an update on your experience after receiving your SIM card.

 

I'm with Verizon and the one free year of service is very tempting. I live in Brooklyn so I am sure my experience will be much different than yours.

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Anyone on here know if Sprint is making any kind of improvements in Glens Falls/Queensbury NY? We are moving there and coverage last week was just awful. I'd get a mile away from the tower and would drop to 3G/1X or extended coverage. The LTE was 8665 EARFCN so 5 MHz band 25. I could get 5mb down if I stood under the tower otherwise 2-3 at best with some congestion. I can't see sticking with Sprint for this type of coverage. Even the NYS Thruway was mainly 3G/1X with scattered LTE until Utica when it switched to mainly LTE but still horribly slow.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I live in Queensbury. I left Sprint last July and switched to Cricket, then I came back to Sprint last month for the free year promo they're running. I honestly haven't noticed any improvement from a year ago when I switched. LTE is usable (usually 10-15 Mbps) in most areas of Glens Falls (particularly downtown) and Queensbury, but the further north in Queensbury you go (toward Lake George) you lose LTE. And LTE (or 3G for that matter) doesn't work well in buildings (especially big-box stores). Honestly, I'd still be on Cricket if it wasn't for the free year of service from Sprint. My office is about a quarter-mile from a Sprint tower so I have good LTE service there and that's good enough for me since I'm on Wi-Fi at home. It's good enough but if you're looking for the best LTE coverage or the fastest speeds, you won't find it in this area with Sprint. I was pulling down 90 Mbps speeds on 3xCA a couple weeks ago when I was in Houston. You won't find those sorts of speeds here.

 

I haven't been to Lake George since I switched back, but from what I hear from other Sprint customers there's still no LTE up there, which isn't surprising given the lack of LTE I experience the closer I get to Lake George.

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Please provide an update on your experience after receiving your SIM card.

 

I'm with Verizon and the one free year of service is very tempting. I live in Brooklyn so I am sure my experience will be much different than yours.

No B41 at all in the Albany area that I've experienced since I switched back to Sprint. And that's with using a Galaxy S8+, which should get the best service/coverage Sprint has around here. As I said in my last post, no noticeable improvement since I left Sprint a year ago. That's pretty sad. And if it stays this way a year from now, I'll be switching again when my free year is up (if not before then).

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No B41 at all in the Albany area that I've experienced since I switched back to Sprint. And that's with using a Galaxy S8+, which should get the best service/coverage Sprint has around here. As I said in my last post, no noticeable improvement since I left Sprint a year ago. That's pretty sad. And if it stays this way a year from now, I'll be switching again when my free year is up (if not before then).

What kind of speeds do you experience in Albany?

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No B41 at all in the Albany area that I've experienced since I switched back to Sprint. And that's with using a Galaxy S8+, which should get the best service/coverage Sprint has around here. As I said in my last post, no noticeable improvement since I left Sprint a year ago. That's pretty sad. And if it stays this way a year from now, I'll be switching again when my free year is up (if not before then).

The speeds you are getting are sufficient to do basically anything you want but I do understand the frustration when going up north to Lake George. My wife could barely load google maps, would take a while to do so. I will add that even Verizon was slow as I was going up on 9N. My phone would indicate LTE and 1-2 bars but nothing would load. I had to put it in airplane mode a few times, it was getting frustrating.

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What kind of speeds do you experience in Albany?

I haven't been in Albany long enough to do any kind of tests. Since there's no B41, I'd imagine the speeds are similar to what I experience up here, if not a little slower since I'm sure there are more users down there, potentially putting a bigger strain on the network.

 

The speeds you are getting are sufficient to do basically anything you want but I do understand the frustration when going up north to Lake George. My wife could barely load google maps, would take a while to do so. I will add that even Verizon was slow as I was going up on 9N. My phone would indicate LTE and 1-2 bars but nothing would load. I had to put it in airplane mode a few times, it was getting frustrating.

Agreed about the speeds being sufficient, that's why I said the network is good enough. My complaint with Sprint is the lack of consistency with the LTE coverage around here, not the speeds (I was fine with the 8 Mbps cap I had on Cricket). It doesn't surprise me that other carriers also suffer in Lake George. It's not easy for them to build/upgrade towers there because the residents have a NIMBY attitude and usually fight the carriers when they want to improve the service.

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Thanks for the responses everyone, if I was in downtown Glens Falls I had decent enough reception to have usable LTE. Lake George was all 3G/1X for me. The 3G was usable for 3G but nothing great. I would be happy with a second carrier on B25 as I doubt B41 will come anytime soon. Verizon is king upstate and ATT is quickly catching up. Sprint is cheaper for us until January when I have to pay for lines 3-5 so if no real improvement comes I'll switch to Verizon or AT&T then.

 

 

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A few days ago there was a technician walking around the top of a Sprint-only tower in Endwell. It's been LTE/3G accepted for months now, could he have been hooking up the 800Mhz gear perhaps? It's not broadcasting, but maybe he was getting it ready for 800 1x/LTE soon?

 

I know this is an old post but just curious which tower you are talking about?  Hooper rd one? 

 

 

Thanks 

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I know this is an old post but just curious which tower you are talking about?  Hooper rd one? 

 

 

Thanks 

Yup! This tower was slated for B41 (They had permits and everything) however it never received it. B25/B26 only now.

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  • 1 month later...

I'm in downtown Albany for a little while this afternoon and noticed my phone is connected to B41 on a mini-macro site (if I'm understanding Signal Check Pro's MM indicator correctly). I'm getting a signal of -98 and download speed of 57 Mbps indoors.

 

I've linked screenshots to the SCP screen and the speed test result below. I'm leaving Albany shortly so won't be able to do any further investigating today.

 

https://goo.gl/photos/1QuE2zjyYErANDFm9

https://goo.gl/photos/1WVN9ykCtZPpCoam9

 

After stepping outside for a minute, my signal was hovering in the highs 80s/low 90s but the speeds were a little slower than the indoor test linked above.

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I'm in downtown Albany for a little while this afternoon and noticed my phone is connected to B41 on a mini-macro site (if I'm understanding Signal Check Pro's MM indicator correctly). I'm getting a signal of -98 and download speed of 57 Mbps indoors.

 

I've linked screenshots to the SCP screen and the speed test result below. I'm leaving Albany shortly so won't be able to do any further investigating today.

 

https://goo.gl/photos/1QuE2zjyYErANDFm9

https://goo.gl/photos/1WVN9ykCtZPpCoam9

 

After stepping outside for a minute, my signal was hovering in the highs 80s/low 90s but the speeds were a little slower than the indoor test linked above.

 

This is great news. Hopefully they do some full builds as well so they can get 3xCA

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We spotted some LTE between Binghamton and Oneonta on 88 yesterday, where the map says it's 3G. That's definitely gotten built out very recently.

 

Also, we got Sprint LTE on a hike in Lake Placid. Downtown Lake Placid is still 3G, but I think there is another site in the area that is broadcasting LTE. (There's probably only two Sprint sites up here in total, if I had to guess)

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We spotted some LTE between Binghamton and Oneonta on 88 yesterday, where the map says it's 3G. That's definitely gotten built out very recently.

 

Also, we got Sprint LTE on a hike in Lake Placid. Downtown Lake Placid is still 3G, but I think there is another site in the area that is broadcasting LTE. (There's probably only two Sprint sites up here in total, if I had to guess)

 

There was only 4 LTE sites between Albany and Binghamton. 2 were in Oneonta and 1 or 2 near Cobleskill. This is great news.

 

There is also a lot of LTE between Binghamton and Liberty along NY17. Before there was none at all. This doesn't up on the coverage map either. 

 

I've spoke to someone at Sprint who is in touch with the coverage map team and they are fully aware of the issue. I missed the cut of for the update last month. Hopefully will be in the September update in about a week. If not defiantly in October. 

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