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(UPDATED) Sprint-USCC spectrum deal: Sprint gets 20 MHz broader in the "City of Broad Shoulders"

by Andrew J. Shepherd Sprint 4G Rollout Updates Thursday, November 8, 2012 - 1:10 PM MST   Update: Six weeks later, Sprint and U.S. Cellular have finally filed their PCS 1900 MHz license assignment applications in the FCC ULS database. From the filing, we have learned that USCC will not relinquish all of its PCS spectrum in Springfield and Champaign, so the primary market spectrum table below has been updated to reflect that clarification. In a nutshell, Sprint will acquire a consisten

WiWavelength

WiWavelength

Sur la tablet: Apple iPad 4, iPad mini add Sprint LTE support

by Andrew J. Shepherd Sprint 4G Rollout Updates Wednesday, October 24, 2012 - 12:05 PM MDT   Over the past six months, Apple's iPad 3 has racked up millions of sales, yet Google's (and Asus') Nexus 7 and Microsoft's Surface tablets have grabbed the headlines over the summer and into the fall. Yesterday, Apple struck back by not only rolling out iPad 4 the same year as iPad 3 but also introducing the long rumored iPad mini. S4GRU readers will recall that Sprint was left out of the iPad

WiWavelength

WiWavelength

Network Vision/LTE Deployment is starting now in Providence, Upstate NY Central, Southern Jersey and Delaware Markets ahead of schedule

by Robert Herron Sprint 4G Rollout Updates Monday, October 22, 2012 - 2:50 PM MDT Four more Sprint markets that were slated to begin Network Vision/LTE deployments in 2013 are beginning early. Good news for Sprint customers in the Providence, Upstate NY Central, Southern Jersey and Delaware markets. S4GRU has been able to confirm that Network Vision is now under way in these four markets, all of them being deployed by Alcatel Lucent. This past week, AlcaLu has completed 3G upgrades in

S4GRU

S4GRU

Sprint "brings" LTE service to Greater Chicago and Other Communities

by Robert Herron Sprint 4G Rollout Updates Monday, October 22, 2012 - 11:00 AM MDT   Today, Sprint announced in four separate Press Releases that they have brought 4G LTE Service to the Chicagoland area, as well as Wichita Falls Texas, Hutchinson and McPherson Kansas, New Bedford and Fall River, Massachusetts. It is probably no accident that Sprint selected to use the phrase "Sprint brings 4G LTE" in lieu of "launched." Don't misunderstand though that this is good news. LTE servic

S4GRU

S4GRU

Network Vision/LTE Deployment is starting now in East Kentucky, North LA, Upstate New York East and VT/NH/ME Markets ahead of schedule

by Robert Herron Sprint 4G Rollout Updates Tuesday, October 16, 2012 - 7:00 AM MDT   Four Sprint markets that were slated to begin Network Vision/LTE deployments in 2013 are beginning early. Good news for Sprint customers in the East Kentucky, Upstate New York East, North LA and Vermont/New Hampshire/Maine Sprint markets.   S4GRU has been able to confirm that Network Vision is now under way in these blessed locations. Three of these markets are being deployed by Alcatel Lucent (Upstate N

S4GRU

S4GRU

Deal worked out for Japan's SoftBank to purchase 70% stake in Sprint Nextel forming a "New Sprint"

by Robert Herron Sprint 4G Rollout Updates Monday, October 15, 2012 - 2:39 AM MDT Japanese mobile carrier SoftBank and Sprint Nextel formally announced a new venture called "New Sprint" that includes the foreign carrier taking a 70% stake in Sprint. The $20 Billion deal was revealed in the middle of the pre-dawn morning here in the United States as it was timed to be better for the business day where the event announcement was held in Tokyo. The stage was co-hosted by SoftBank CEO Masayoshi

S4GRU

S4GRU

Sprint Marketing Updates 4G LTE City List where work is under way and adds 20 more

by Robert Herron Sprint 4G Rollout Updates Friday, October 12, 2012 - 8:19 AM MDT   On this Friday morning, Sprint's marketing cranked out a new Press Release adding 20 additional communities that Sprint anticipates having at least a prelaunch amount of service available to use by its LTE customers before the end of the year.   All of these appear to be in areas where Sprint is already working. But just expanding out to other communities within those markets. A coup

S4GRU

S4GRU

Samsung Galaxy Note 2: Big enough for everything (except SVDO)

by Andrew J. Shepherd Sprint 4G Rollout Updates Friday, October 5, 2012 - 2:00 PM MDT   Earlier this week, the Samsung SPH-L900 authorization filing hit the FCC OET (Office of Engineering and Technology) database. Judging by the handset's expansive 150 mm x 80 mm dimensions, S4GRU firmly expects this device to be the upcoming Sprint version of the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 "phablet." In keeping with our previous articles on the HTC EVO 4G LTE, Samsung Galaxy S3, Motorola Photon Q 4G, and yet t

WiWavelength

WiWavelength

NewCo needs to drop some of the PCS from MetroPCS

by Andrew J. Shepherd Sprint 4G Rollout Updates Friday, October 5, 2012 - 8:00 AM MDT   Unless you have been under a telecom rock the past 48 hours -- or stuck in the boonies with only a GSM device (I kid, I kid) -- you have read that T-Mobile USA and MetroPCS have agreed in principle to a complicated reverse merger arrangement that would create a combined carrier, at least provisionally called NewCo. Now, Sprint has jumped back into the fray, this after Sprint's executive leadership h

WiWavelength

WiWavelength

CONFIRMED: Network Vision/LTE deployment is under way in the Indianapolis market

by Robert Herron Sprint 4G Rollout Updates Saturday, September 29, 2012 - 9:45 AM MDT   S4GRU members in the Indianapolis market have been wondering if something is up recently. Seeing a little activity at Sprint sites in the area. The past couple of days, flickerings of Sprint LTE have been discovered in the NE and East Indy suburbs. Network Vision/LTE deployment is now confirmed under way in the Indianapolis market. As you can see in the map at the bottom, diligent S4GRU members

S4GRU

S4GRU

CONFIRMED: Network Vision/LTE deployment is under way in the Ft. Wayne/South Bend market

by Robert Herron Sprint 4G Rollout Updates Friday, September 28, 2012 - 5:15 AM MDT   S4GRU received a tip from one of our members in Northern Indiana ten days ago Network Vision was spotted underway in the Ft. Wayne/South Bend market. He was able to take some photos (below) to show that new Network Vision panels indeed have been added at Site #CH03HO119 located on the south west side of Elkhart, Indiana. Yesterday, S4GRU members found Sprint LTE signals in this vicinity, reaching

S4GRU

S4GRU

A Win for the Midrange: Samsung Galaxy Victory OET Review

by Ian Littman Sprint 4G Rollout Updates Tuesday, September 18, 2012 - 7:05 AM MDT   At around $100 with a contract (before the inevitable wave of promotional offers that have already hit its big brother, the Galaxy SIII), the Samsung Galaxy Victory falls under the definition of a midrange smartphone. It has specs somewhat reminiscent of the old Epic 4G: a 5 megapixel rear camera with 720p video recording, a front camera, a 4-inch 800x480 screen and a not-particularly-slim profile.

S4GRU

S4GRU

Jack of all bands: iPhone 5 FCC OET review

by Ian Littman Sprint 4G Rollout Updates Friday, September 14, 2012 - 9:35 AM MDT   In the past, Apple’s iPhone wasn’t quite the ideal Sprint phone from a network perspective; it lacked 4G of any sort and didn’t include support for Sprint’s nascent SMR-800 1x CDMA network (in place of Nextel iDEN). The situation could be worse (for example, CricKet iPhones can’t get native service in many of the company’s newer, AWS-only markets), but as a flagship phone it was odd to see the iPhone la

S4GRU

S4GRU

Sprint Marketing Releases a 4G LTE City List where work is under way

by Robert Herron Sprint 4G Rollout Updates Monday, September 10, 2012 - 8:05 AM MDT   This morning, we received a Press Release from Sprint Marketing that shows some of Sprint's plan in their LTE deployment through the end of the year. In this Press Release, Sprint officially names 12 more markets that have received/starting to receive LTE deployments currently, and names more than 100 communities names. None of these are any surprise to people who follow S4GRU closely, especially

S4GRU

S4GRU

CONFIRMED: Network Vision/LTE deployment is under way in the Austin market

by Robert Herron Sprint 4G Rollout Updates Wednesday, September 5, 2012 - 7:45 AM MDT   S4GRU has received a tip that Network Vision was spotted underway in the Austin metro area. We were able to send out a core member to verify. We are happy to report that Sprint is indeed under way with Network Vision/LTE deployment in the Austin market.   S4GRU Member ATX4G first reported the work at the site. Later S4GRU Member boomerbubba, went out to verify for this article. While at Site #SA14XC

S4GRU

S4GRU

Sprint announces that Baltimore is now formally launched, as well as some other communities in already launched markets

by Robert Herron Sprint 4G Rollout Updates Wednesday, August 29, 2012 - 7:20 AM MDT   Today, Sprint announces they have launched service in Baltimore, Maryland, as well as in Gainesville, Georgia (in the Atlanta/Athens market) and Manhattan, Kansas and Sedalia, Missouri (in the Kansas market).   However, S4GRU members have been reporting LTE service has been usable for weeks in these locations. Additionally, coverage showed up at coverage.sprint.com last Thursday. Service around Baltim

S4GRU

S4GRU

Can toggling airplane mode actually improve your 3G data speeds?

by Andrew J. Shepherd Sprint 4G Rollout Updates Friday, August 17, 2012 - 1:14 PM MDT   CDMA1X and EV-DO carrier channels are shared resources. In CDMA1X, many subscribers share the same carrier channel, their individual traffic kept theoretically orthogonal by code division. Likewise, in EV-DO, individual traffic is separated by time division. But what happens when Sprint (or any other CDMA2000 network provider) has deployed greater than one CDMA1X and/or EV-DO carrier channel on a gi

WiWavelength

WiWavelength

(UPDATED) LG Eclipse 4G casts an early shadow

by Andrew J. Shepherd Sprint 4G Rollout Updates Friday, August 10, 2012 - 6:54 PM MDT   Update: The previously dubbed LG Eclipse is being released November 11 as the Optimus G. Additionally, the LTE 1900 EIRP figures that were missing from the original FCC filing were added six weeks later in a Class II Permissive Change application. Max LTE 1900 EIRP is 23.51 dBm -- though with substantial variability (up to 4.5 dB) due to differences in carrier frequency, bandwidth, and modulation (Q

WiWavelength

WiWavelength

Louisville/West Kentucky appears to be a late Second Round Network Vision/LTE deployment market

by Robert Herron Sprint 4G Rollout Updates Tuesday, August 7, 2012 - 9:39 AM MDT   S4GRU has recently been apprised of some additional Network Vision information. As you may recall, when Sprint originally announced Network Vision details and explained their change to LTE for its 4G technology, Sprint also said that planning/design/permitting is under way at the first 22,000 sites. S4GRU was able to obtain the information about these first 22,000 sites last Spring and we have received sever

S4GRU

S4GRU

S4GRU Compares our LTE Coverage Map with Sprint's in St. Joseph, Missouri

by Robert Herron Sprint 4G Rollout Updates Friday, August 3, 2012 - 4:25 PM MDT   There has been a lot of discussion around our forums, and certainly in many other places, how Sprint's LTE coverage maps of launched markets have been pretty overly optimistic. To say it nicely. Today I decided to create some LTE coverage maps for St. Joseph, Missouri for our members usage, and for grins, I pulled up the Sprint LTE coverage map for the same area. The difference is pretty noticeable.

S4GRU

S4GRU

Ft. Wayne/South Bend Network Vision/LTE Deployment schedule update

by Robert Herron Sprint 4G Rollout Updates Tuesday, July 31, 2012 - 7:35 AM MDT   The final market in our Network Vision/LTE deployment schedule update series is...Fort Wayne/South Bend. This market has yet to be announced by Sprint, and may not be announced until as late as this Fall.   The Sprint Ft. Wayne/South Bend market covers most of Northern Indiana, except for the NW corner which is in the Chicago market. This includes Fort Wayne, South Bend, Mishawaka, Elkhart, Goshen, Marion,

S4GRU

S4GRU

Coverage of the Q2 12 Sprint Nextel Corp Earnings Conference Call

Sprint Nextel revealed their second quarter 2012 corporate earnings in a conference call to their investors today and S4GRU was covering for news on Network Vision. Network thinning of the iDEN network is complete, taking 1/3 of Nextel towers off air. The Nextel network was built to support 20 million subscribers, but was only supporting 4.4 million subscribers, so it could easily be thinned without [much] noticeable change in street coverage. Sprint also converted 60% of the Nextel subscri

pyroscott

pyroscott

Sprint LTE launch market connection issues

by Robert Herron Sprint 4G Rollout Updates Wednesday, July 18, 2012 - 12:59 PM MDT   As many of you already know, the ability to connect and keep connected to LTE signals in Sprint's launch markets has been problematic for Sprint customers. What's going on? Here at our forums at S4GRU, we have been busy talking with our members and trying to figure out the issue since LTE markets started going live last Thursday. Some members were able to connect early and often. Some had problems

S4GRU

S4GRU

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