Network Vision/LTE - Chicago Market

[dannible]

Were you inside of a lead bunker or something?

no lol. ive gotten used to sub .10/mbps speeds as of late but my tower is a few hundred yards down the road and im near an upstairs window. it has been a bad transition to NV in my area. i have -76dbm.

 

ive never pinged over 1000ms though.

[S4GRU]

Friend of mine showed me some documents were Sprint has submitted request for licences to use microwave backhaul in some rural towns....mine being one if those towns. How reliable is microwave???

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Forum Runner

 

Very reliable. There are naysayers who complain that Sprint should have an all fiber LTE network. But that is not realistic. Microwave technologies have improved tremendously in the past 5 years as well. It is less reliable than fiber, of course. But if you ever get a fiber line cut, the repair time is much longer than if you lose a microwave link.

 

Robert

 

Is the average only 2-5 weeks? For my site, the Antenna/RRU/Cabinets went in on 3/8 and went live on NV 3/19. However, I didn't see backhaul come live until 7/11. I know you stated average... but I would think for my site, that would skew the average pretty bad

 

You know, there is so much variability, that I should not have even bothered to quote anything. There are two issues going on. Backhaul was behind, even before acceleration. And now it is compounded even further because of market acceleration. Sites where NV is being installed on time, backhaul is running approximately 2-5 weeks behind what was scheduled. And some of these, the backhaul just plain did not show up as scheduled (which is probably the case with your site).

 

In other instances where the site deployment is ahead of schedule, the backhaul will still not show up until its originally scheduled date, and probably 2-5 weeks later than that. So an accelerated site may not get backhaul for several months after NV upgrades. It's just really all over the place.

 

The only thing we can say for certain is backhaul continues to be deployed at a good steady clip and will eventually arrive at all sites. It does seem like backhaul deployment has picked up pace around Chicago.

 

Robert

[djmiro83]

You know, there is so much variability, that I should not have even bothered to quote anything. There are two issues going on. Backhaul was behind, even before acceleration. And now it is compounded even further because of market acceleration. Sites where NV is being installed on time, backhaul is running approximately 2-5 weeks behind what was scheduled. And some of these, the backhaul just plain did not show up as scheduled (which is probably the case with your site).

 

In other instances where the site deployment is ahead of schedule, the backhaul will still not show up until its originally scheduled date, and probably 2-5 weeks later than that. So an accelerated site may not get backhaul for several months after NV upgrades. It's just really all over the place.

 

The only thing we can say for certain is backhaul continues to be deployed at a good steady clip and will eventually arrive at all sites. It does seem like backhaul deployment has picked up pace around Chicago.

 

Robert

 

Just to be clear, I wasn't trying to call BS on the 2-5 weeks, I was more surprised about it considering how complex this market has proved for the field techs out there. But, you do make a good point that the back haul upgrades are starting to ramp up.... which is a real good thing

[S4GRU]

Just to be clear, I wasn't trying to call BS on the 2-5 weeks, I was more surprised about it considering how complex this market has proved for the field techs out there. But, you do make a good point that the back haul upgrades are starting to ramp up.... which is a real good thing

 

I didn't take it that way. Sometimes I forget that not everyone has the same background info in their head when I communicate a point. To me, my point was obvious in context with what I said. Once I read your response, I realized I need to add a lot more information to the explanation.

 

I'm not a thin skinned guy. I eat too much fried chicken.

 

Robert

[OddProject]

Any idea what's going on in Manhattan? My sister moved out there two months ago and has horrible reception. She can't make a phone call without it getting dropped, misses phone calls completely, and gets super slow data speeds.

 

Because of this, she wants to change carriers, but we're on a plan together. Are the issues a part of the tower transition, or does Manhattan just have bad service? Should I tell her to wait or switch?

[S4GRU]

Any idea what's going on in Manhattan? My sister moved out there two months ago and has horrible reception. She can't make a phone call without it getting dropped, misses phone calls completely, and gets super slow data speeds.

 

Because of this, she wants to change carriers, but we're on a plan together. Are the issues a part of the tower transition, or does Manhattan just have bad service? Should I tell her to wait or switch?

 

I don't give advice. Everyone has to make individual decisions for themselves and their needs. The New York market is an active Network Vision deployment area. Issues will likely be intermittent, but will happen at locations all over the market until it is completed. Once it is done, the Sprint experience in NYC will be very much improved. For more information about the NY deployment, you can read this article: http://s4gru.com/index.php?/blog/1/entry-279-new-york-city-network-visionlte-deployment-schedule-update/

 

Robert

[OddProject]

I'm sorry, I should have been more specific. I was talking about Manhattan, IL, a southwest suburb of Chicago. It's near Joliet.

 

It used to be a rural area but has been building up in recent years, still a lot of rural land though, so I'm thinking maybe they just don't have many towers out that way.

Edited July 12, 2012 by OddProject

[S4GRU]

I'm sorry, I should have been more specific. I was talking about Manhattan, IL, a southwest suburb of Chicago. It's near Joliet.

 

It used to be a rural area but has been building up in recent years, still a lot of rural land though, so I'm thinking maybe they just don't have many towers out that way.

 

There is not a lot of coverage in the Manhattan, IL area. One of the problems right now in that area is the site closest to town has Network Vision upgrades complete. The other sites that she may pick up are not NV sites. So transferring from the NV site to the non NV sites will cause problems. We wrote about the issue in this article: http://s4gru.com/index.php?/blog/1/entry-166-sprint-battling-network-vision-deployment-woes-in-the-windy-city/

 

These problems will be temporary. Once the other towers in the area also get upgraded, she will no longer have dropped calls and slow data. Coverage should also be a little better too once all the sites in the area are upgraded.

 

However, if she is experiencing significant coverage problems now, it will probably not be a lot better for her until Sprint starts to deploy 800MHz service. 800 Voice services should be available in Manhattan this year (unless she has an iPhone). 800 LTE will arrive in this area in another year or two.

 

Robert

[aerxx]

 

Very reliable. There are naysayers who complain that Sprint should have an all fiber LTE network. But that is not realistic. Microwave technologies have improved tremendously in the past 5 years as well. It is less reliable than fiber' date=' of course. But if you ever get a fiber line cut, the repair time is much longer than if you lose a microwave link.

[/quote']

 

Thats great news. Now I just play the waiting game.... :-(

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Forum Runner

[OddProject]

There is not a lot of coverage in the Manhattan, IL area. One of the problems right now in that area is the site closest to town has Network Vision upgrades complete. The other sites that she may pick up are not NV sites. So transferring from the NV site to the non NV sites will cause problems. We wrote about the issue in this article: http://s4gru.com/ind...the-windy-city/

 

These problems will be temporary. Once the other towers in the area also get upgraded, she will no longer have dropped calls and slow data. Coverage should also be a little better too once all the sites in the area are upgraded.

 

However, if she is experiencing significant coverage problems now, it will probably not be a lot better for her until Sprint starts to deploy 800MHz service. 800 Voice services should be available in Manhattan this year (unless she has an iPhone). 800 LTE will arrive in this area in another year or two.

 

Robert

 

 

Thank you very much, I appreciate it.

[djmiro83]

I didn't take it that way. Sometimes I forget that not everyone has the same background info in their head when I communicate a point. To me, my point was obvious in context with what I said. Once I read your response, I realized I need to add a lot more information to the explanation.

 

I'm not a thin skinned guy. I eat too much fried chicken.

 

Robert

 

LOL, and I just had wings for lunch... mmmm

 

Anyhoo, sorry, I didn't take your post incorrectly either... was just making sure we're all on the same page

[hayzooos]

Anybody know if any towers are completed by the intersection of US 20 and South McLean Blvd in Elgin? Just convinced a friend and her mom to go with Sprint (iPhone and GSIII). Any towers in Elgin at all going to be done by July 20th?

 

Are you talking NV upgrades or LTE being done by July 20th? I don't have the fine details on towers, but I know work is already moving inward from Elgin. They started outside the city (Chicago) and are working their way in from what it sounds like. I would expect most of the NV towers in Elgin have been done, but as stated in this thread, there is work to be done with backhaul so speeds may not be great until that's done.

 

As far as LTE goes, I give it about a 2% chance being done and turned on in the next 8 days. I have noticed that my 3G speeds with my GSIII are far better than they were with my OG Epic, for what that's worth.

[wtsguy]

It's so weird in the Chicago suburbs right now because you're either on an upgraded tower, or you're on a legacy tower and the differences are so stark that it almost breaks the phone. For instance, streaming music on a car ride is almost impossible because one minute you're getting >1mpbs speeds and the next you're getting <100kbps and back and forth continually. There is no middle ground, I'm either getting the best speeds I've ever seen on 3g or, or the worst.

 

http://i.imgur.com/KlEJN.png

[newspapercrane]

It's so weird in the Chicago suburbs right now because you're either on an upgraded tower, or you're on a legacy tower and the differences are so stark that it almost breaks the phone. For instance, streaming music on a car ride is almost impossible because one minute you're getting >1mpbs speeds and the next you're getting <100kbps and back and forth continually. There is no middle ground, I'm either getting the best speeds I've ever seen on 3g or, or the worst.

 

http://i.imgur.com/KlEJN.png

Very similar to my experience. Luckily my drive home is all NV so pandora makes the drive nice.

[mellimel2212]

Lucky most of the towers near the west side is either getting worked on or complete somewhat I can do daily tasks like streaming multitasking ect

 

Sent from my Nexus S 4g using Tapatalk 2

[S4GRU]

Lucky most of the towers near the west side is either getting worked on or complete somewhat I can do daily tasks like streaming multitasking ect

 

Sent from my Nexus S 4g using Tapatalk 2

 

Soon, most of us will be saying you are lucky too. The Western exurbs were really bad at one point, but most of their problems have been worked through. It is a painful process, but it will be worked out over the next weeks/months and you will then be on of the most state of the art networks ever. You will have 18 months of a great network in Chicago before they even start my market.

 

Robert

[Hiro11]

It's so weird in the Chicago suburbs right now because you're either on an upgraded tower, or you're on a legacy tower and the differences are so stark that it almost breaks the phone. For instance, streaming music on a car ride is almost impossible because one minute you're getting >1mpbs speeds and the next you're getting <100kbps and back and forth continually. There is no middle ground, I'm either getting the best speeds I've ever seen on 3g or, or the worst.

 

http://i.imgur.com/KlEJN.png

This is exactly my experience. Now, mix in constant dropped calls. Basically the entire 355-290-53 (I hate how this road has three names) stretch from Ogden all the way up to Lake-Cook Rd is completely nuked and unreliable at this time if you're driving. Unforetunately, this is my commute. Last night and this morning, it seems to have hit a nadir. I tried to call my brother on the way home and the call dropped 5 times in about 15 mnutes and was terrible quality when I had a signal. I had to give up. Meanwhile, Rdio and Pandora remain completely unusable, despite the phone showing full bars. Backhaul update in progress?

[S4GRU]

This is exactly my experience. Now' date=' mix in constant dropped calls. Basically the entire 355-290-53 (I hate how this road has three names) stretch from Ogden all the way up to Lake-Cook Rd is completely nuked and unreliable at this time if you're driving. Unforetunately, this is my commute. Last night and this morning, it seems to have hit a nadir. I tried to call my brother on the way home and the call dropped 5 times in about 15 mnutes and was terrible quality when I had a signal. I had to give up. Meanwhile, Rdio and Pandora remain completely unusable, despite the phone showing full bars. Backhaul update in progress?[/quote']

 

It will get better week after week until your areas are completed. And then the problem areas will inch closer and closer to the center of the city. Eventually the problems will all be gone and Chicago will be the envy of all Sprint customers nationwide.

 

Robert via CM9 Kindle Fire using Forum Runner

[wtsguy]

Robert, who says you've lost your optimism?!?

[S4GRU]

Robert' date=' who says you've lost your optimism?!?[/quote']

 

I guess I woke up on the correct side of the bed today.

 

Robert via CM9 Kindle Fire using Forum Runner

[Madfelon]

It will get better week after week until your areas are completed. And then the problem areas will inch closer and closer to the center of the city. Eventually the problems will all be gone and Chicago will be the envy of all Sprint customers nationwide.

 

Robert via CM9 Kindle Fire using Forum Runner

 

I like the sound of that! I'm hoping for a nice Iphone LTE/Sprint LTE combo payoff here in September, I been waiting to upgrade for months now and hope it pays off.

[pyroscott]

 

It will get better week after week until your areas are completed. And then the problem areas will inch closer and closer to the center of the city. Eventually the problems will all be gone and Chicago will be the envy of all Sprint customers nationwide.

 

Robert via CM9 Kindle Fire using Forum Runner

 

Can you set up the forum so that the comment you wrote auto-posts after every comment with the keyword "Chicago"

 

From JBtoro on Forum Runner

[dannible]

what kind of backhaul is used on the Wimax towers? why does that allow 5/mbsish data and a 3g connection is getting .01/mbps? that is the case at the tower near me. is the wimax backhaul not connected to the 3g cabinet?

[wtsguy]

WiMAX and 3G are two different technologies, run off two different pieces of equipment, run by two separate companies.

[dannible]

WiMAX and 3G are two different technologies, run off two different pieces of equipment, run by two separate companies.

clear doesnt put their equiptment on the sprint towers? is there a map of clear wimax sites?