Shentel / Sprint LTE - (was ntelos - West & N&W Virginia)

[Trip]

Another weekend, another trip down toward Farmville. T-Mobile has been BUSY.  These sites are now converted and operating:

Burkeville
Hooper Park (just south of the Burkeville tower)
Raines Tavern
A site in Cumberland county that I can't positively identify; possibly Ashby.
Arvonia
Radiant

These sites aren't running T-Mobile bands yet, and either have new equipment observed awaiting activation, or lost B26 and thus are presumed to have new gear in place awaiting activation:

Keysville
Amelia East
Sheppards
Dixie

Still waiting for more work to be done in Farmville proper as there are still three keep sites that haven't been touched, plus one T-Mobile site that still needs AWS and B41 added.

Additionally, B66 is still tripping my phones up on some sites.  Some just won't connect, but a select few actually kick my B66-locked phone off in such a way that it then refuses to connect at all to any site for some time afterward.  My hypothesis is that I have to switch to a new TAC before it will reconnect, but I've not proven that.  Not really sure what's going on.

- Trip

[Trip]

Wow, have I really not posted here in so long?  Well, let me update from recent trips to Farmville first, then the purpose of this post at the end.

As of our last visit in mid-January, these sites are now operating with T-Mobile gear in the Shentel region:

Keysville
Amelia East
Buffalo Hgts (Farmville)
Gross Creek Water Tower (Farmville)
Dixie
Cumberland
Rosney
Fordsville
Others in western Buckingham and southern Albemarle Counties

Also drove down US-29 on that visit and found a number of sites on wooden poles had been converted, and it looks like T-Mobile used the full-sized low-band antennas for them.  They look funny on the poles, but it implies the best possible service.  Also some more conversions spotted in Lynchburg, Campbell, and Appomattox Counties, plus B41 is now running in Amherst.

New T-Mobile gear was installed on the Verizon tower near Meherrin on US-360, but had not been turned on yet.  It will fill a gap on US-360 between the two Keysville sites and the Green Bay site.

I was able to verify, by locking a phone to B26 in Farmville, that Sheppards and Dillwyn still were on Shentel gear.  The WFLO tower also had yet to be upgraded.

We're going down again this weekend and my intent is to come across on US-60 and VA-45 to Farmville, to try and pick up new conversions that have appeared on the coverage map along the way.

=====

Anyway, that's not even why I looked at this thread today.  I saw a press article about Caswell County, NC cell towers, and it prompted me to look at Street View at some of them.  I was thoroughly amused when I looked at the one I call Providence, between Yanceyville and the Virginia state line.

https://imgur.com/a/pyjtIAV

Pretty sure Shentel is at the top and AT&T below, but look at what's on the ground. 

- Trip