LTE Plus / Enhanced LTE (was "Sprint Spark" - Official Name for the Tri-Band Network)

[JThorson]

2h 2016.

 

Devices will be released in 1h 2016 like the next few LG and Samsung flagships.

 

Sent from my Nexus 5

I've been wanting/needing a new phone and I don't need 3x ca but I really want it. I can wait

[Mercurial1]

You sure that's CA? I've gotten speeds as high as 72 Mb per second for downlink and usually get around 10 to 13 Mb per second on my iPhone 6

Yes i am-most of the towers in my area have ca on them though i did not screenshot my engineering screen. Also this tower is in the top third for data traffic in the boston market so it is a fairly heavily used one. Before ca it would generally get 15-25 down on 2.5.

 

Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk

[red_dog007]

I doubt it will happen until devices support it. I'm guessing 2016.

 

They still could deploy another carrier and load balance on it no?.  Don't have to wait for a 3xCA phone to use it. 

 

Sprint could make things interesting too by having a dl only carrier, as the ul carriers are one less than the dl.

[lilotimz]

 

 

T

 

Sprint could make things interesting too by having a dl only carrier, as the ul carriers are one less than the dl.

Do You want to cause massive interference because that's how you cause massive interference.

 

Sent from my Nexus 5

[RAvirani]

Do You want to cause massive interference because that's how you cause massive interference.

Sent from my Nexus 5

How would this cause interference?

[lilotimz]

How would this cause interference?

 

TDD is configured to allocate a certain number of slots to downlink or uplink in a time period which determines the thoroughput of the "carrier" utilizing a TDD technology on unpaired spectrum such as TDD-LTE or WiMax. 

 

To prevent interference to adjacent channels, TDD setups must be configured in such a manner that the downlink, uplink, and guard slot between DL and UL are as close to each other as possible. Ex. Sprint Band 41 TDD-LTE has to take into account the Clear WiMax time ratio configuration. 

[WiWavelength]

TDD is configured to allocate a certain number of slots to downlink or uplink in a time period which determines the thoroughput of the "carrier" utilizing a TDD technology on unpaired spectrum such as TDD-LTE or WiMax. 

 

To prevent interference to adjacent channels, TDD setups must be configured in such a manner that the downlink, uplink, and guard slot between DL and UL are as close to each other as possible. Ex. Sprint Band 41 TDD-LTE has to take into account the Clear WiMax time ratio configuration. 

 

Right.  But if Sprint has ample BRS/EBS spectrum, the carriers do not have to be adjacent.  Carriers with different TDD configurations or supplemental downlink CA could be placed as much as ~150 MHz apart in the BRS/EBS band plan.

 

Anyway, as much as I have been on the record for something like the last three years for BRS/EBS to be used as supplemental downlink CA, that is not going to happen soon, if ever.  It is not 3GPP standardized.

 

AJ

[red_dog007]

How would this cause interference?

Yeah, I'd like to get educated as well.

 

As I see it, it is TDD, so that same 20MHz is used for both UL/DL and the ratio can be changed for more DL or more UL.  Making that carrier 100% DL I don't see how that can cause an issue with what is already TDD.  If required, and is easily doable, pad it with a guard or place that DL only carrier away from the ther carriers. 

[lilotimz]

Yeah, I'd like to get educated as well.

 

As I see it, it is TDD, so that same 20MHz is used for both UL/DL and the ratio can be changed for more DL or more UL. Making that carrier 100% DL I don't see how that can cause an issue with what is already TDD. If required, and is easily doable, pad it with a guard or place that DL only carrier away from the ther carriers.

Except you can't do that. UEs are not compatible And you lock out a range of spectrum that can't be used for anything else. Place it in low 2500s you lock out everything around it up to high 2500s and likewise if you put it in the BRS range.

 

UEs are limited to configuration 1/2 due to time period of 5 ms. Ue are not compatible with 10 ms or other standardized TDD configurations.

 

The next configuration ratio change will be network wide for a more downlink oriented one a bit after Clearwire wimax shuts down.

 

Sent from my Nexus 5

[bmoses]

just posting confirmation that CA from 2 different B41 towers can happen. This is sort of unique situation though, the primary connection is coming from a tower that does not have CA enabled, and the secondary connection is coming from a tower that does have CA enabled.

 

[Rasta Cheesehead]

http://www.phonedog.com/2015/09/10/sprint-roll-spark-service-18-new-markets-september-11

 

[red_dog007]

Hmm...  Need more new 1.9 markets.

[RAvirani]

Hmm...  Need more new 1.9 markets.

 

And 800

[RAvirani]

http://www.phonedog.com/2015/09/10/sprint-roll-spark-service-18-new-markets-september-11

 

This is good news though - I'm definitely not complaining.  1.9 expansion is great and 2.5 will help congestion in a lot of markets.

[Terrell352]

This is good news though - I'm definitely not complaining. 1.9 expansion is great and 2.5 will help congestion in a lot of markets.

Seems outdated to me. Should have been announced a while ago. I doubt Sprint will have more than 200 spark markets by the end of the year.

[RAvirani]

Seems outdated to me. Should have been announced a while ago. I doubt Sprint will have more than 200 spark markets by the end of the year.

You're probably right. Also, some places like Buffalo, NY still don't show as spark on the map...

[MarshieZ]

You're probably right. Also, some places like Buffalo, NY still don't show as spark on the map...

 

I've been checking since 12:01 am on the 11th to see which cities are covered in Green Bay to update our premier thread info... I'm guessing they're all getting side tracked by the iPhone! 

[RAvirani]

Hey does anyone know how to tell if an iPhone is using CA in field test?

[S4GRU]

Hey does anyone know how to tell if an iPhone is using CA in field test?

 

We won't know until people start using the 6s in CA areas.  The 6 does not do CA on Sprint.

[RAvirani]

We won't know until people start using the 6s in CA areas. The 6 does not do CA on Sprint.

Doesn't the 6 CA on att?

[S4GRU]

Doesn't the 6 CA on att?

 

Don't know.  And Field Test may not currently support it.

[vkurani31]

I understand sprint is in the middle of adding 2xCA on 2.5GHz. If I am not wrong, sprint has on average 120 Mhz of spectrum in the 2.5 GHz band in 90 of the top 100 U.S. markets.

 

2.5 Ghz may not propagate far but the spectrum is excellent for capacity. 

 

Instead of deploying 2x20, why not roll out 3x20 and if i am being way too optimistic 4x20. Kill the competition basically and make you use of this large swath of spectrum now, instead of doing it in pieces while the competition zooms past them.

 

What is stopping them to do so ?

What are are the technological challenges to deploy 2x20, 3x20 simultaneously ? 

Edited September 28, 2015 by vkurani31

[anthony.spina97]

I understand sprint is in the middle of adding 2xCA on 2.5GHz. If I am not wrong, sprint has on average 120 Mhz of spectrum in the 2.5 GHz band in 90 of the top 100 U.S. markets.

 

2.5 Ghz may not propagate far but the spectrum is excellent for capacity. 

 

Instead of deploying 2x20, why not roll out 3x20 and if i am being way too optimistic 4x20. Kill the competition basically and make you use of this large swath of spectrum now, instead of doing it in pieces while the competition zooms past them.

 

What is stopping them to do so ?

What are are the technological challenges to deploy 2x20, 3x20 simultaneously ? 

I believe 3xCA/4xCA requires testing, just like every other thing that is rolled out. And also the backhaul requirements are there, too. Having 3xCA or 4xCA, one or two 5 MHz Band 25 carriers (maybe one 10 MHz and one 5 MHz carrier), a 5 MHz Band 26 carrier, and several carries of 1x and EVDO, on 3 different sectors really adds up in the amount of backhaul required. A lot of sites probably just don't have enough backhaul yet to support it.

 

There are other people on the site, such as Tim or Robert, that are much more knowledgeable on the subject than I am, so don't just take my word for it. I'm sure they will chime in soon.

 

-Anthony

 

edit: Also, like nick said, there aren't any devices out there that support 3xCA or 4xCA, so adding 3x and 4xCA wouldn't do anything. Adding a third and fourth carrier of band 41 would most certainly improve capacity a LOT, and would probably move Sprint to being the carrier with the most capacity at sites that have it enabled. But again, I'm not sure about the amount of backhaul that is there. So I'll let the more knowledgeable chime in.

[nick]

I understand sprint is in the middle of adding 2xCA on 2.5GHz. If I am not wrong, sprint has on average 120 Mhz of spectrum in the 2.5 GHz band in 90 of the top 100 U.S. markets.

 

2.5 Ghz may not propagate far but the spectrum is excellent for capacity.

 

Instead of deploying 2x20, why not roll out 3x20 and if i am being way too optimistic 4x20. Kill the competition basically and make you use of this large swath of spectrum now, instead of doing it in pieces while the competition zooms past them.

 

What is stopping them to do so ?

What are are the technological challenges to deploy 2x20, 3x20 simultaneously ?

phones don't yet support 3 carrier agitation for band 41, so adding a third carrier would add capacity not max speed. I am unsure of the hardware requirements for 3 band 41 carriers. Perhaps someone else can answer if the 8t8r panels are capable of 3 CA?

 

 

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[vkurani31]

I believe 3xCA/4xCA requires testing, just like every other thing that is rolled out. And also the backhaul requirements are there, too. Having 3xCA or 4xCA, one or two 5 MHz Band 25 carriers (maybe one 10 MHz and one 5 MHz carrier), a 5 MHz Band 26 carrier, and several carries of 1x and EVDO, on 3 different sectors really adds up in the amount of backhaul required. A lot of sites probably just don't have enough backhaul yet to support it.

 

There are other people on the site, such as Tim or Robert, that are much more knowledgeable on the subject than I am, so don't just take my word for it. I'm sure they will chime in soon.

 

-Anthony

Thanks for your response. From what i understand they are doing it in waves, first go for 2x20 then move on the three CA. I agree they would need the required backhaul to support this, but i think doing it in waves just adds the additional costs. But yes if the backhaul is not available, no point of adding it