by Andrew J. Shepherd
Sprint 4G Rollout Updates
Thursday, September 5, 2013 - 5:33 PM MDT
About a month ago, our FCC OET reporter, Josh McDaniel, noted that a mystery handset, the LG D820, came and went from the FCC OET (Office of Engineering and Technology). Its authorizations were uploaded, then quickly rescinded, citing confidentiality reasons.
Well, today, the LG D820 authorization documents are back. And we are looking at a 3GPP/3GPP2 handset that runs near
by Andrew J. Shepherd
Sprint 4G Rollout Updates
Tuesday, September 3, 2013 - 11:35 AM MDT
Welcome back from summer vacation. The S4GRU writing staff, too, has returned and is ready to catch up on some of the developments from over the last two or three months.
In late July, Sprint released two tri band LTE mobile hotspots and one tri band LTE USB dongle. Meanwhile, Clearwire had lit up band 41 TD-LTE 2600 on numerous sites in several markets around the country.
by Josh McDaniel Sprint 4G Rollout Updates Sunday, August 25, 2013 - 2:30 AM MDT
On August 21, Samsung received approval from the FCC OET (Office of Engineering and Technology) for a Sprint variant of the Galaxy Tab 3 7.0, model number SM-T217S (Wi-Fi versions of the Galaxy Tab 3 7.0 are SM-T210 & SM-T211). According to the FCC authorization docs, the Galaxy Tab has a dual core 1.7 GHz processor and may come in a 16 GB storage size if the picture on the FCC label page is accurate.
by Travis Griggs Sprint 4G Rollout Updates Monday, May 20, 2013 - 10:15 AM MDT
In Part 1 of the "What is a PRL?" series we covered the the initial basics and building blocks of the PRL which covered the 1X portion of the wireless connection. I encourage you to read the article if you have not already done so.
You may have seen the various claims of receiving faster or even slower speeds with the mysterious PRL update procedure that seems to randomly happen to our devices. In rea
by Andrew J. Shepherd Sprint 4G Rollout Updates Friday, May 10, 2013 - 12:35 PM MDT
Welcome back to S4GRU's continuing series focused on understanding many of the signal metrics displayed on your devices' engineering screens. If you missed part one a few weeks ago, that is a good place to start for background info.
Last time out, we covered 3GPP2 band class 1 PCS 1900 MHz, in which Sprint has long operated its CDMA2000 network, and 3GPP band 25 PCS 1900 MHz, in which Sprint is c
by Josh McDaniel Sprint 4G Rollout Updates Thursday, May 2, 2013 - 9:35 AM MDT
Last year, LG released a mid-range device that made its way from one CDMA carrier to another. This year appears to be no exception. The LG LG870 recently passed through the FCC OET (Office of Engineering and Technology) with Sprint LTE and band 10 CDMA2000 on board.
If the LG Viper (LS840) last year is any indication, it was released as the Connect (MS840) on MetroPCS, and then as the Lucid (VS840) on
by Andrew J. Shepherd Sprint 4G Rollout Updates Friday, April 26, 2013 - 6:29 AM MDT
A significant piece of S4GRU's educational mission is helping our readers understand what goes on behind the scenes and underneath the hood in the operation of a wireless network. This often requires getting readers to access internal engineering (or debug) screens on their handsets to view numbers and metrics, such as PN offset, Ec/Io, cell identity, etc., as we track the progress of Sprint's Networ
by Josh McDaniel Sprint 4G Rollout Updates Monday, April 8, 2013 - 1:19 PM MDT
On April 5, the mysterious Samsung SPH-L500 passed thru the FCC OET (Office of Engineering and Technology), indicating that it is now authorized for use in the US on the Sprint network. S4GRU can report only the details that are currently available, but we will update the article as more info emerges.
The phone measures roughly 5.24 inches tall by 2.68 inches wide, making it slightly smaller than the
by Andrew J. Shepherd Sprint 4G Rollout Updates Thursday, March 28, 2013 - 10:10 AM MDT
Update: The Samsung review embargo has been lifted overnight, and Galaxy S4 reviews are being published around the Web today. Thanks to one of our favorite, highly thorough reviewers, Brian Klug at AnandTech, we can confirm that the Galaxy S4 follows the recent HTC One in providing a removable micro-SIM. So, while two data points do not necessarily a trend make, the One and Galaxy S4 do suggest th
by Andrew J. Shepherd
Sprint 4G Rollout Updates
Friday, February 22, 2013 - 2:55 PM MST
Update: Many hands on reviews of the HTC One are emerging this week. Courtesy of Engadget, we can report that the Sprint variant is one of the very first Sprint LTE handsets to include a removable micro-SIM. Removable SIM cards have long been part of the Network Vision roadmap for 2013, so it looks like that time may have arrived.
S4GRU welcomes you to the first major Sprint handset announcement
by Christina Herron
Sprint 4G Rollout Updates Thursday, February 14, 2013 - 3:10 AM MST
Travel back with me a few weeks ago. It’s a cold Saturday afternoon, and I am standing and staring into a gated area near a cell phone tower. My date for this outing is frantically taking pictures and discussing the exciting upgrades to the equipment which have occurred since our last visit. I have no idea what he is talking about, all the mechanical stuff looks exactly like it did a few weeks a
by Robert Herron Sprint 4G Rollout Updates Wednesday, February 13, 2013 - 1:13 AM MST
Often you may see us refer to a GMO site around S4GRU. But, what is a GMO site? GMO stands for Ground Mount Option. Or sometimes, it will be referred to as a GMR (Ground Mount RRU) site. In this article we will explain many points about the Ground Mount Option.
In the most basic explanation, a Ground Mount site is one where they are doing a partial Network Vision conversion instead of a full bu
by Robert Herron Sprint 4G Rollout Updates Thursday, January 31, 2013 - 10:33 AM MST
Today we feature text from internal correspondence that was distributed to Sprint employees regarding the state of the Network Vision deployment and addresses key points that employees often encounter with the public. It is from a Q&A session with Chad Elliott, Sprint's Director of Strategic Technology Programs.
Although there aren't really points in the memo that will be surprises for S4GRU
by Travis Griggs Sprint 4G Rollout Updates Wednesday, January 30, 2013 - 10:00 AM MST
A PRL file is a Preferred Roaming List. In simple terms, it tells the device how to scan for various wireless cell systems, which ones are native, and which priority to use them in. If there isn't a native Sprint signal available, the PRL defines which roaming partners to scan for, which ones should be used, and in what order of preference to scan for them in. Contrary to belief and what some Sprint rep
by Robert Herron Sprint 4G Rollout Updates Wednesday, December 19, 2012 - 10:20 AM MST
In the latest news from Sprint, they have added another 36 additional communities that they anticipate having at least a prelaunch amount of service available to use by its LTE customers in the "coming months." We were not able to confirm any dates for these cities with any of our sources this morning, but I would imagine there will be a usable amount of service in these areas by the end of March.
by Robert Herron Sprint 4G Rollout Updates Wednesday, November 21, 2012 - 12:55 PM MST
The Regional Affiliate Shentel that provides Sprint service from Virginia's Shenandoah Valley up into Central Pennsylvania is preparing to launch Network Vision improvements and LTE service in a significant portion of its coverage area on Black Friday. Many sites have quietly gone online over the past few months in these areas. However, a source close to the Shentel deployment has now provided S4GR
by Robert Herron Sprint 4G Rollout Updates Tuesday, November 12, 2012 - 12:39 AM MDT
In the latest news from Sprint, they have added another nine additional communities that they anticipate having at least a prelaunch amount of service available to use by its LTE customers in the next few months. Based on a source, these are expected to have usable service by the end of January, barring any unforseen conditions.
What's exciting in this list, is it includes not only areas
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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