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billyjoejimbob

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  1. Thanks Chris92 for the info, that sounds like great news as far as Sprint's potential capacity goes in the Quad Cities. I'm actually considering getting rid of my cable internet at home and just using the Sprint cell phones I currently have, which have 50GB of hotspot data per phone. Sprint has really come a long way compared to not long ago in this area when Sprint's typical speeds were under 1mbps.
  2. So Sprint upgraded the towers around me in the Quad Cities to tri-band antennas a few months ago. On recent speedtests I've been getting around 60mbps for download speeds which is a gigantic improvement over Sprint's historical speeds in this region. Upload is under 10mbps though. I have to assume the huge increase in speed is due to the B41 coverage in this area. Anyone know how much spectrum on B41 they can use in the Quad Cities now? For a long time I think Speedconnect had license to most of it, but I don't know what the current status is. Thanks!
  3. Looks like Sprint is currently upgrading site DM03IP579 to tri-band antennas. Anyone know what the status is on Sprint's and SpeedConnect's 2500mhz usage in the Quad Cities?
  4. It's been awhile since I followed what Sprint had going on in the Quad Cities, but I just recently got my wife an unlocked Moto G6 and switched her to Sprint. She says that her phone basically doesn't work inside most stores that she goes to (likely data service specifically), etc... I had assumed that Sprint's B26 800mhz would have helped in-building coverage. What does Sprint have on B26 in the Quad Cities, 1x/3g only? On the bright side, the data speeds seem fine outdoors, driving around town, etc... Anyone able to recap where Sprint is in the Quad Cities regarding frequency usage etc? Thanks!
  5. Anyone know the current status of the Sprint/AT&T spectrum swap in the Davenport/Moline BTA 105 area, referenced in the following article? http://s4gru.com/index.php?/blog/1/entry-406-whats-the-frequency-kenneth-sprint-and-att-tango-to-trade-pcs-frequencies/ I see a related discussion in the following thread about some Sprint MVNO phones not working because they can't get a PRL update, and it mentions July 1. http://s4gru.com/index.php?/topic/7525-certain-phones-wont-work-after-7116/ I assume something must be happening on the AT&T side anyway, I've got a handful of HSPA+ AT&T devices that in the middle of last week were only able to connect to AT&T's EDGE 2G network. Calling AT&T they did a "device refresh" which I assume probably updated the PRL and got them back on AT&T's HSPA+ network.
  6. @Mr. Nuke> Yeah, I'm with you on that reaction. That just shows how much people hate the incumbent cable company who can give them decent speeds, and how little alternative they are given by the incumbent Telco who often cannot.
  7. The big 2 are fine in the Quad Cities. US Cellular is also fine in the Quad Cities, but I personally don't see why anyone would pick them when they're basically the same price as the other 2 carriers but with a much smaller network that got even smaller when they sold off their Chicago market to Sprint. With US Cellular drive an hour east of the Quad Cities and you're roaming (often at 1X data). As has been mentioned in this thread, if Sprint would add some more towers it would probably help tremendously. There are many towers in the Quad Cities that the other carriers use that Sprint could co-locate on if they chose to, so it wouldn't even involve the trouble and expense of actually building a new tower. And unless I'm mis-reading Sprint's own coverage map, there are spots (albeit little) right in the main urban areas in the Quad Cities that are roaming coverage *boggle* On the subject of 2500mhz, it does appear that Speedconnect is using their spectrum in the Quad Cities. Here is an article in the local newspaper about it. http://qctimes.com/news/local/quad-city-providers-unveil-new-residential-broadband-services/article_4b3c61aa-50ee-5926-ae5a-35e98c57f453.html
  8. Thanks for the input bkco14, I really appreciate it. I also found the following thread on Sprint's messageboard that mentions the same thing you're finding, slow data on various towers. Interestingly it seems to indicate that at least one tower has 4G in the 2.5ghz frequency range (for almost a year now). http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:DAnNgH4xnDcJ:https://community.sprint.com/baw/message/992589+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us Though I think I could probably put up with 0.16-0.24mbps if it's at least reliable and doesn't quit working entirely. I had a Sprint phone and it was unacceptable back in 2011-2012 when often I couldn't even sync my email or bring up a website at all because the data was so unusable. But that is very disheartening to hear that even with the Network Vision overhaul that data still performs poorly In Bettendorf on the tower at 21st St, Sprint installed 6 antennas (2 per sector) instead of the typical 3 antennas back when they replaced everything, so if data is still slow in Bettendorf I'm not sure what else Sprint can do in that area. And looking at Sensorly's speedtest data it shows slow data all around that tower. I believe Sprint is working on going back to some of those 3 antenna towers in the Quad Cities and adding another 3 antennas on them as well. I assume this is what's needed to add another LTE/EVDO carrier that was mentioned in previous messages in this thread? Or are the additional 3 antennas for 2.5ghz use? I'm torn on this, it's tempting to switch back for mostly free service for a year, but it sounds like it's one of those things where I will get what I pay for.
  9. Hi all, I'm considering switching my phone to Sprint to take advantage of the DirecTV promotion and was wondering if anyone can provide any rough idea of Sprint's current service in the Quad Cities. From what I remember about Sprint in 2011-2012 before Network Vision, their network was unusable from a data standpoint on quite a few towers around the Quad Cities. I would hope this has changed by now. I don't care about super fast 4G speeds, I would be quite satisfied with reliable calls and data speeds at 500k-1Mb. Any input would be awesome. Thanks!
  10. I happened to be in the neighborhood of the tower on Utica Ridge Road in Bettendorf (Quad Cities) and took a couple of pictures. It appears the new panels and RRUs have been installed in the middle spot of each sector. Attached are a couple of pictures.
  11. I didn't take any new pictures, but if it helps to compare, here are pictures from the Scott County Assessor's office of what the site previously looked like (unknown date, but probably from a couple of years ago knowing how often photos get updated by the Assessor's office). http://parcels.scottcountyiowa.com/pmc/show_images.asp?pid=841721201%2D%2DL
  12. Yep, that one. Unless I was hallucinating as I was driving by it looked like it has additional wiring and antennas.
  13. Driving on Utica Ridge Road in Bettendorf today I noticed that it looks like Sprint's tower there has new antennas and wiring on it (closest address to it is 4038 Utica Ridge Road, Bettendorf, IA, 52722). I didn't get up close to the tower though, just what I could see driving by.
  14. Chuckle, if you want to compare Cedar Rapids to the Quad Cities, then try comparing the main metro areas instead of tons of square miles of nothing. Very similar population densities. Rock Island has a population of 39000 with a density of 2400 people per sq/mi. Moline has a population of 43000 with a density of 2750 people per sq/mi. Bettendorf population 33000, density 1560 people per sq/mi Davenport population 100000, density 1583 people per sq/mi
  15. No problem, I feel your pain on this one. Sprint for whatever reason, in my opinion, seems to completely disregard the Quad Cities even though it's a metro area with 400,000+ people. Story time. I was a Sprint customer back in 2011 when the data network really started getting slow, and Sprint has seemed to be behind the curve on upgrades ever since then. When it got really slow, I opened network tickets with Sprint and was told that upgrades were scheduled to the nearby towers, the time frame I was given for the upgrade installs was 5 months. I was under contract, so what choice did I have but to wait. So I waited, and waited, and 10 months later Sprint called me saying that the upgrades were installed, 50% capacity upgrade. Sadly, by then the 3G network had gotten so slow that the upgrades only got it back to the slowness it was when I first called them. I opened more network tickets, they admitted that the previous upgrades weren't adequate and they had immediately ordered more upgrades. Time frame for install? 6 more months. I really hope Sprint succeeds with Network Vision, I'd really love to come back if they had a data network throughout the Quad Cities, and the region in general, that functioned in my perception even close to comparably to the other carriers. The reality though in my opinion? Even after they get their new antennas and equipment installed, they'll probably be telling you they're still waiting on backhaul. For my guess on when the problems in the Quad Cities will be fixed...... summer 2014 or optimistically spring 2014 based on all of my past experiences, and experiences of friends that are still Sprint customers. I really hope I'm wrong and Sprint gets a move on it. I'll keep an eye on the towers that I'm in close proximity to though and I'll be sure to post back if something actually happens regarding Network Vision.
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