Network Vision/LTE - Chicago Market

[tommym65]

Sprint probably hasn't finished the rollout in your area (become a sponsor to see!), but you can only placate the masses with "a few months" for so long. So, I imagine many reps are telling people Network Vision is done in Chicago, when that's not really the case. If you live in an area that's completely done, then yes, the network isn't going to get better till they turn on 800LTE or 800SMR, if they haven't already.

 

 

Network vision is NOT complete in Chicagoland, and the Sponsor maps show a small but significant number of sites near downtown Chicago which are not LTE.  When they are complete, LTE will improve somewhat. (Realistically, though, not all that much.)

 

A missing link is the US Cellular spectrum which Sprint has bought in the Chicago Market, and which USCC will shut down on January 31st.  This is 1900 PCS spectrum, and can be re-farmed to provide at least one more Sprint LTE carrier (I think actually more than one).  This will vastly improve LTE speeds and feeds in all of Chicagoland, and will work on all current Sprint LTE-capable devices.  At this time, Sprint hasn't announced any details (such as dates) for this enhancement.

[UnlimitedDataIsInBeta]

 

A missing link is the US Cellular spectrum which Sprint has bought in the Chicago Market, and which USCC will shut down on January 31st. This is 1900 PCS spectrum, and can be re-farmed to provide at least one more Sprint LTE carrier (I think actually more than one). This will vastly improve LTE speeds and feeds in all of Chicagoland, and will work on all current Sprint LTE-capable devices. At this time, Sprint hasn't announced any details (such as dates) for this enhancement.

It cannot happen soon enough. But I'll still have USCC customers complaining to me that "you guys bought my towers, why won't my phone work?" after the shutdown.

 

But yes, that 1900 spectrum should help all existing LTE devices. I apologize for not including that in my explanation. The HTC One will surely benefit from the USCC acquisition.

 

Sent from my LG-LS980 using Tapatalk

 

 

[mhammett]

SNR:  20 is to die for.  10 is very good.  5 is OK.  0.4 (like much of downtown Chicago much of the time) is between terrible and "You've got to be kidding!". 0.0, just throw your phone in the river, it is useless for data.

 

Close...  LTE  uses up to 64-QAM (which coding rate, I'm not sure). With a 64-QAM modulation and a coding rate of 2/3 (for every three bits, two are data and one is parity), the SNR required is around 25 dB. With a coding rate of 5/6, 32 dB is required. For BPSK 1/2, 7 dB is required. How do these vary in throughput? If we put 64-QAM 5/6 as 100% throughput, 64-QAM 2/3 is 80% and BPSK 1/2 is 10%. Those low SNRs ruin everything. There are many steps between 64-QAM 5/6 and BPSK 1/2.

[tommym65]

Close...  LTE  uses up to 64-QAM (which coding rate, I'm not sure). With a 64-QAM modulation and a coding rate of 2/3 (for every three bits, two are data and one is parity), the SNR required is around 25 dB. With a coding rate of 5/6, 32 dB is required. For BPSK 1/2, 7 dB is required. How do these vary in throughput? If we put 64-QAM 5/6 as 100% throughput, 64-QAM 2/3 is 80% and BPSK 1/2 is 10%. Those low SNRs ruin everything. There are many steps between 64-QAM 5/6 and BPSK 1/2.

Right. 64-BQKS 2/3 modulo 19 80% franken coding. I knew that.

 

(No disrespect intended, but "Huh?")

[mhammett]

Right. 64-BQKS 2/3 modulo 19 80% franken coding. I knew that.

 

(No disrespect intended, but "Huh?")

 

The important parts are that the top modulation for the most of the 37.5 or whatever is available is likely going to require a 32 dB SNR. 7 dB of SNR only yields 10% of maximum throughput.

[tommym65]

The important parts are that the top modulation for the most of the 37.5 or whatever is available is likely going to require a 32 dB SNR. 7 dB of SNR only yields 10% of maximum throughput.

Which is still almost 4 Mbps. Got it. Thanks. For a moment there, I thought that living in Dekalb with no Sprint LTE had finally fried your brain!

[mhammett]

Which is still almost 4 Mbps. Got it. Thanks. For a moment there, I thought that living in Dekalb with no Sprint LTE had finally fried your brain!

haha, I still have LTE from Verizon. BTW: you had post 250,000.

 

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk

 

 

[Joeynach]

The important parts are that the top modulation for the most of the 37.5 or whatever is available is likely going to require a 32 dB SNR. 7 dB of SNR only yields 10% of maximum throughput.

Makes the 0 to 5 SNR I see in the Loop, River North, and Lincoln Park on a daily basis seem even more pathetic.

[UnlimitedDataIsInBeta]

Makes the 0 to 5 SNR I see in the Loop, River North, and Lincoln Park on a daily basis seem even more pathetic.

Clearly, I'm spoiled. 16 SNR. But I also sit next to a repeater all day.

 

Sent from my LG-LS980 using Tapatalk

 

 

[Joeynach]

New user here, so forgive me if I'm not posting in the correct thread.

 

I recently switched to Sprint from US Cellular since USCC is in the process of exiting the Chicago market and wanted to get some insight from people more in the know that I.

 

While overall I'm satisfied enough with Sprint's call quality (dropped calls somewhat regularly, not as good as USCC), I am pretty upset with Sprint's data service. I did quite a bit of research on the matter, and learned all about Network Vision, rip and replace of the old network, etc. Sprint Customer Service tells me the Chicago market is complete, and I should not be experiencing any issues. They have issued me a trouble ticket and assure me that engineers will be checking out the towers in my area (not holding my breath on that) in the following week. I have also taken my phone (HTC One) to a corporate Sprint store to make sure the device itself isn't faulty and that all its settings are correct. They ran a number of tests, including adjusting the phone's reception compatibility and profile updates (which all sound like pointless busy work, really) but concluded that nothing was wrong with the device.

 

What worries me is Sprint customer service telling me that they have completed Network Vision in Chicagoland, because that's essentially telling me my service isn't going to be getting any better. I keep hearing that Chicago is supposed to have a huge density of Sprint towers in comparison to other markets in the US, and that the 4G service here is supposedly among the best in the US for Sprint, but I'm not seeing it. What is the opinion of everyone here regarding the data network in Chicago? I'd love to keep my phone (which is awesome) and stick with Sprint, but it just seems like it might be all too much to deal with. Paying the hefty ETF might be worth it in the long run rather than paying 2 years for lackluster service.

 

I've run speed tests on Ookla, Sensorly, and the FCC app and for the most part, I do not get above 1mbps (sometimes as low as 0.01 mpbs up/down) at home (Near West Cook burbs) or work (Berwyn), whether I'm connected to 3G or 4G. A bit of a different story in the city, where at 4G I can get speeds upwards of 6 to 8 mpbs in the Loop, Wicker, Lakeview, etc. and ~2 mpbs on 3G. But even then, inside buildings that can drop down to 1 to 2 mbps on 4G and lose data entirely if on 3G.

 

TL;DR: Do I merely live, work and play in a coverage black hole, or is Sprint still rolling out network upgrades in Chicago? And if so, how much longer until Sprint begins to compare favorably to AT&T and Verizon?

 

 

Thanks in advance!

You are kind of late to the party here, this very exact topic has been discussed ad nasuem here over the past several months.  Many Sprint users, most of them city dwellers or city workers have noticed significant degradation of LTE speeds over the last few months.  The problem is this correlates with the almost complete NV build out and activation of LTE at every Sprint site in Chicago.  True there are still a few annoying holes out there that are 3G only, unfortunately for us in some pretty densely populated or traveled places like the Loop, McCormick Place, Mag Mile, etc.  When it comes to non LTE sites that remain all any of us can say is eventually they will be upgraded.  We have discussed issues surrounding site upgrade delays for a year now, mostly related to delays in backhaul and permitting issues to access towers located on the tops of buildings and structures.  It's annoying, but is what it is.  So when Sprint Care reps talk about how complete the market is, they are right, in the sense that 950 of the 1000 towers in this DMA are LTE active.

 

The problem is that isn't enough and thats about all a Sprint customer service rep can tell you and look at.  One of the major issues hasn't been the coverage of LTE, its been the reliability and speed of the network.  You can get LTE in most of this market, although as other users pointed out, for now its only available on the 1900 PCS Band, which has its own signal strength limitations and indoor coverage issues.  Unfortunately, LTE speeds are very signal strength dependent, so as another user pointed out deploying LTE800 will really improve LTE connectivity and speeds.  Again, for now Sprint's LTE in Chicago is like Jr. LTE in my opinion since its stuck on 1900 Band only. 

 

The other issues is the spectrum it's deployed on, its quite a narrow band, being limited by 5x5 deployment in the PCS 1900 G Block.  Most of the conversation on this board starting back in Sept/Oct was investigating if this 5x5 block had simply become over saturated already, even though its still a relatively new network.  The issue at hand is most people in the city proper were noticed degraded LTE speeds which correlated to weak SNR values (Signal to Noise Ratio).  Poor SNR values imply a lot of "noise" in the LTE signal, as a result, even with strong signal strength the data speeds plummet to what you have noted, and a lot of users myself included start noticing LTE speeds in the sub dial up domain during peak times and in dense downtown locations.  Needless to say that sucks.  After months of discussion on what could be causing such widespread poor SNR; interference from US Cellular, interference from TMobile on the adjacent 1900 PCS Block, interference from a rogue network, interferences from rumored Samsung GS3 poor antenna replacement, we came up with one generally agreed upon truth......that the one 5Mhz block of PCS G LTE is probably at capacity, especially in more dense areas of the city.

 

The truth is in the poor SNR values and the timing of Sprint's deployment.  When the market neared completion Sprint marketed the hell out of Chicago during the summer and fall months.  More and more users get LTE enabled devices and start taking advantage.  The new Iphones come out in September, meaning anyone with an Iphone 4 probably upgraded to an LTE device (they were 3G only).  Anyone with a WiMax device probably upgraded to an LTE device under the new #builtforChicago marketing campaign.  And when did we start noticing the poor SNR and poor LTE....September/October.  Coincidence, probably not.

 

So at the end of the day, that 5Mhz block of PCS isn't enough for this market and its showing.  When there are too many devices in the area competing for services from the towers this is called spectrum shortage. Its very similar to too many cars on the highway during rush hour for the number of lanes/capacity....therefore all the cars slow down.  Same thing here, and as a result, the LTE signal degrades, slows down, and shows us a low SNR value (which you can check using the Signal Check Lite App).  This is also why we see better SNR and speeds when the city empties or during off peak hours.  Its the same reason speeds and SNR are generally much better in the suburbs, there are just less people and less devices competing for the same airlink from the tower. 

 

 

So other people were correct in saying it's not really going to get any better on its own.  There are some upgrades around the corner that in due time, I'm guessing another year at least, will make a significant impact on LTE speed in this market.  Some people have discussed the USCC spectrum that Sprint will get for this market post 1/31/14.  That will help add capacity to that original 1900 LTE Band.  The other big kicker is the deployment of Sprint Spark or simply tri band LTE.  This includes the 800Mhz LTE band from Nextel and the 2500Mhz band of LTE from clearwire.  As many people have noted 800 LTE has much better building penetration and ability to hold an LTE signal, but the problem is here is timing.  Were talking about a whole nother site by site deployment for both 800 and 2500 Mhz LTE.  Its going to take some time, remember there are still many sites in Chicago and nationwide that are 3G only, so who knows how long it will be for LTE v2.0.  And furthermore, to access these additional bands of LTE the user has to have a tri-band enabled LTE device.  And not only that, many users will have to have tri-band devices to offload LTE demand from the 1900 block to the other bands and relax the spectrum crunch on the 1900 band.  For that to happen that requires millions of people to spend money, either something like $400-$500 out of pocket for a phone upgrade, or waiting for their contract with Sprint to expire so they can upgrade at an affordable price.  So to me, actually getting to a Sr. LTE network, as I believe its a Jr. LTE network now, will really take some time, in my opinion at least another year if not two.

 

So while the network in Chicago is quite LTE "built out" it still has a long way to go in really getting to the consistent high speed wide coverage net that other carriers offer as I believe ATT/VZW have deployed their core LTE in the 700/800 Mhz blocks with 10Mhz wide spectrum.  You can view RootMetrics reports to see how the carriers stack up on your own.  Don't get me wrong those carriers are also continuing to deploy LTE on additional bands to add capacity, everyone has spectrum and capacity issues.  At the end of the day that makes the other carriers more reliable right now in my opinion, but many people still prefer sprint for a variety of reasons; greater technology stack coming soon, lower prices, unlimited data, not being a customer of a giant telecom who supports PIPA and eliminating competition, etc.  It up to you to decide what's important to you, how patient you will be with your carrier, what you can afford, etc etc. 

[Fraydog]

800 MHz Spectrum. TD-LTE. Ditka. Bears.

[weatheremperor]

You are kind of late to the party here, this very exact topic has been discussed ad nasuem here over the past several months. Many Sprint users, most of them city dwellers or city workers have noticed significant degradation of LTE speeds over the last few months. The problem is this correlates with the almost complete NV build out and activation of LTE at every Sprint site in Chicago. True there are still a few annoying holes out there that are 3G only, unfortunately for us in some pretty densely populated or traveled places like the Loop, McCormick Place, Mag Mile, etc. When it comes to non LTE sites that remain all any of us can say is eventually they will be upgraded. We have discussed issues surrounding site upgrade delays for a year now, mostly related to delays in backhaul and permitting issues to access towers located on the tops of buildings and structures. It's annoying, but is what it is. So when Sprint Care reps talk about how complete the market is, they are right, in the sense that 950 of the 1000 towers in this DMA are LTE active.

 

The problem is that isn't enough and thats about all a Sprint customer service rep can tell you and look at. One of the major issues hasn't been the coverage of LTE, its been the reliability and speed of the network. You can get LTE in most of this market, although as other users pointed out, for now its only available on the 1900 PCS Band, which has its own signal strength limitations and indoor coverage issues. Unfortunately, LTE speeds are very signal strength dependent, so as another user pointed out deploying LTE800 will really improve LTE connectivity and speeds. Again, for now Sprint's LTE in Chicago is like Jr. LTE in my opinion since its stuck on 1900 Band only.

 

The other issues is the spectrum it's deployed on, its quite a narrow band, being limited by 5x5 deployment in the PCS 1900 G Block. Most of the conversation on this board starting back in Sept/Oct was investigating if this 5x5 block had simply become over saturated already, even though its still a relatively new network. The issue at hand is most people in the city proper were noticed degraded LTE speeds which correlated to weak SNR values (Signal to Noise Ratio). Poor SNR values imply a lot of "noise" in the LTE signal, as a result, even with strong signal strength the data speeds plummet to what you have noted, and a lot of users myself included start noticing LTE speeds in the sub dial up domain during peak times and in dense downtown locations. Needless to say that sucks. After months of discussion on what could be causing such widespread poor SNR; interference from US Cellular, interference from TMobile on the adjacent 1900 PCS Block, interference from a rogue network, interferences from rumored Samsung GS3 poor antenna replacement, we came up with one generally agreed upon truth......that the one 5Mhz block of PCS G LTE is probably at capacity, especially in more dense areas of the city.

 

The truth is in the poor SNR values and the timing of Sprint's deployment. When the market neared completion Sprint marketed the hell out of Chicago during the summer and fall months. More and more users get LTE enabled devices and start taking advantage. The new Iphones come out in September, meaning anyone with an Iphone 4 probably upgraded to an LTE device (they were 3G only). Anyone with a WiMax device probably upgraded to an LTE device under the new #builtforChicago marketing campaign. And when did we start noticing the poor SNR and poor LTE....September/October. Coincidence, probably not.

 

So at the end of the day, that 5Mhz block of PCS isn't enough for this market and its showing. When there are too many devices in the area competing for services from the towers this is called spectrum shortage. Its very similar to too many cars on the highway during rush hour for the number of lanes/capacity....therefore all the cars slow down. Same thing here, and as a result, the LTE signal degrades, slows down, and shows us a low SNR value (which you can check using the Signal Check Lite App). This is also why we see better SNR and speeds when the city empties or during off peak hours. Its the same reason speeds and SNR are generally much better in the suburbs, there are just less people and less devices competing for the same airlink from the tower.

 

 

So other people were correct in saying it's not really going to get any better on its own. There are some upgrades around the corner that in due time, I'm guessing another year at least, will make a significant impact on LTE speed in this market. Some people have discussed the USCC spectrum that Sprint will get for this market post 1/31/14. That will help add capacity to that original 1900 LTE Band. The other big kicker is the deployment of Sprint Spark or simply tri band LTE. This includes the 800Mhz LTE band from Nextel and the 2500Mhz band of LTE from clearwire. As many people have noted 800 LTE has much better building penetration and ability to hold an LTE signal, but the problem is here is timing. Were talking about a whole nother site by site deployment for both 800 and 2500 Mhz LTE. Its going to take some time, remember there are still many sites in Chicago and nationwide that are 3G only, so who knows how long it will be for LTE v2.0. And furthermore, to access these additional bands of LTE the user has to have a tri-band enabled LTE device. And not only that, many users will have to have tri-band devices to offload LTE demand from the 1900 block to the other bands and relax the spectrum crunch on the 1900 band. For that to happen that requires millions of people to spend money, either something like $400-$500 out of pocket for a phone upgrade, or waiting for their contract with Sprint to expire so they can upgrade at an affordable price. So to me, actually getting to a Sr. LTE network, as I believe its a Jr. LTE network now, will really take some time, in my opinion at least another year if not two.

 

So while the network in Chicago is quite LTE "built out" it still has a long way to go in really getting to the consistent high speed wide coverage net that other carriers offer as I believe ATT/VZW have deployed their core LTE in the 700/800 Mhz blocks with 10Mhz wide spectrum. You can view RootMetrics reports to see how the carriers stack up on your own. Don't get me wrong those carriers are also continuing to deploy LTE on additional bands to add capacity, everyone has spectrum and capacity issues. At the end of the day that makes the other carriers more reliable right now in my opinion, but many people still prefer sprint for a variety of reasons; greater technology stack coming soon, lower prices, unlimited data, not being a customer of a giant telecom who supports PIPA and eliminating competition, etc. It up to you to decide what's important to you, how patient you will be with your carrier, what you can afford, etc etc.

Dude, that was one of the most informative posts i have ever read here. U have no idea how much I just learned. I wish I could thumb up your post a thousand times...but I can only do it once :-)

 

Sent from my HTC EVO 4G LTE

 

 

[digiblur]

Dude, that was one of the most informative posts i have ever read here. U have no idea how much I just learned. I wish I could thumb up your post a thousand times...but I can only do it once :-)

 

Sent from my HTC EVO 4G LTE

We are glad you quoted the entire thing as well.

[weatheremperor]

We are glad you quoted the entire thing as well.

You are very welcome! The next time I quote such a large post, Ill be sure to quote it especially for you

 

Sent from my HTC EVO 4G LTE

 

 

[mark]

joeynach--best post ever. Thanks

[Mr.Nuke]

 Were talking about a whole nother site by site deployment for both 800 and 2500 Mhz LTE.

While technically true, there are numerous reasons why it probably isn't going to take all that long, many of them having been previously discussed in this thread and elsewhere on the site. The 800 (26) equipment was simultaneously installed on every site that went full build (new antennas). Theoretically, it could be fired in mass at any time. And as this thread and the Sprint Spark PR release mentioned band 41 sites are out there ready to be accessed by tri-band devices in Chicago when the updates get pushed to the phones.

And not only that, many users will have to have tri-band devices to offload LTE demand from the 1900 block to the other bands and relax the spectrum crunch on the 1900 band.  For that to happen that requires millions of people to spend money, either something like $400-$500 out of pocket for a phone upgrade, or waiting for their contract with Sprint to expire so they can upgrade at an affordable price.  So to me, actually getting to a Sr. LTE network, as I believe its a Jr. LTE network now, will really take some time, in my opinion at least another year if not two.

The flip side of this is there will be relatively unburdened bands in Chicago for early adopters. Whether or not you chose to upgrade early your choice as a consumer. That $400-500 seems excessive. A Nexus can obviously be had for $350 and your average Sprint year old phone can be sold for ~$200.

[Vince]

I thought that the necessary equipment to activate 800 LTE was not installed during the initial install, other than the antennae. I thought some kind of carrier card had to be installed (site by site visit) and they had to provision the fiber for the new band. Correct me if I'm wrong. I also thought that from this point on, everything will be installed at once, allowing them to turn sites on remotely.

[ks-man]

While I'm disappointed about Sprint's LTE roll out in Chicago based on what was promised (and recently read about the 1mbps limit for streaming video which seems like bull based on earlier promises) I will admit that their phone reception has improved significantly.  In the past Sprint would drop calls so frequently that they weren't a viable cell phone provide IMO.  Now while their data performance in congested areas is pitiful I can at least hold onto calls so I can use my phone for what it is mainly intended for.  Sprint is a cheaper service provider and we can see that the promise of a better network was pure marketing spin, however if you don't want to spend more for Verizon or AT&T then Sprint can be used which in the past was debatable.

[Vince]

While I'm disappointed about Sprint's LTE roll out in Chicago based on what was promised (and recently read about the 1mbps limit for streaming video which seems like bull based on earlier promises) I will admit that their phone reception has improved significantly. In the past Sprint would drop calls so frequently that they weren't a viable cell phone provide IMO. Now while their data performance in congested areas is pitiful I can at least hold onto calls so I can use my phone for what it is mainly intended for. Sprint is a cheaper service provider and we can see that the promise of a better network was pure marketing spin, however if you don't want to spend more for Verizon or AT&T then Sprint can be used which in the past was debatable.

Yes, call quality is fantastic in and around the city. Sprint gets an A+ for that. We'll see what happens around here in the next few months with more spectrum becoming available, and LTE 800. I test drove a tri-band hotspot, and from what I saw with 2600 LTE, I was impressed. Consistent 10+Mbps with 7-10mbps upload with terrible signal. That's promising and I'm excited about a full launch here within the next year. If I wasn't so wrapped up in the iOS environment, I'd be running with a tri-band android because 2600 is awesome when available. I have faith in Sprint. Been with them this long. Might as well ride it out a little more.

[Joeynach]

While technically true, there are numerous reasons why it probably isn't going to take all that long, many of them having been previously discussed in this thread and elsewhere on the site. The 800 (26) equipment was simultaneously installed on every site that went full build (new antennas). Theoretically, it could be fired in mass at any time. And as this thread and the Sprint Spark PR release mentioned band 41 sites are out there ready to be accessed by tri-band devices in Chicago when the updates get pushed to the phones.

The flip side of this is there will be relatively unburdened bands in Chicago for early adopters. Whether or not you chose to upgrade early your choice as a consumer. That $400-500 seems excessive. A Nexus can obviously be had for $350 and your average Sprint year old phone can be sold for ~$200.

I think you kind of misinterpreted my point.  My point wasn't so much about what the actual cost of these devices are, its about the propensity of hundreds of thousands of Sprint users to understand why they should upgrade to Tri Band devices and why they should pay whatever it winds up being, $350, $400, $500 out of pocket.  That's a lot of money, and to most people sure when your contract is up and you have gotten the life you wanted out of your current device you can justify spending $100-$200 for a shiny new top shelf device on a contract renewal.  My point is to get to this point, where the general Sprint population is upgrading to and purchasing the top shelf Tri Band LTE devices over all other devices, will take years.  The point you are trying to make, that you can get a N5 from Google for $350 or sell a GS3 on ebay or something to me is irrelevant.  Sure to the likes of Sprint groupies and S4GRU users that is like Gold, and we are willing to do enough research and bargain hunt to find what we need, but in order for the LTE demand to be spread out amongst the various bands in the Tri-Band spectrum we need the masses to have Tri Band devices, not the junkies and Sprint homers that troll this board like us.  We are simply too few.

 

How many Sprint users even know you can get an N5 from Google for $350, how many care?  Most Sprint users buy phones from Sprint stores, and don't even think about buying a new device until their 2 year contract is up (b/c they know without the contract renewal price phones are crazy expensive). If you want the N5 without being a new user or having a contract upgrade Sprint says its costs $449, the G2 $549, the GS4 $599, HTC One Max $599, Moto X $549.  How many Sprint users (not associated with S4GRU) are going to recognize they must acquire one of the previous mentioned devices, get to Tri Band LTE, both for their own ability to access the shiny new faster 800LTE and 2600LTE bands, but also to help the network offload LTE demands across multiple bands as to free up demand on the core 1900LTE band for themselves and all Sprint users.......and shell out $400, $500, or  possibly $600 to do so (out of contract).  My guess for December 2013, zero percent.  And that is my point, give it a year, two, maybe three, and sure by attrition of user devices, new users with new phones, and perhaps additional marketing and messaging from Sprint that number could be significantly higher, high enough to physically spread the demand for LTE out across the three bands of Spark.  It will just take time.

[jman02]

Which forum topic would be the best location to discuss band 41, band 26 sightings? I know that premier members have access to maps with the 41 band deployment, however some of us cannot afford that level of membership. Can we and where should we post regarding this?

 

On this note, I was able to pick up band 41 on N St Clair St & E Huron St in Chicago last Tuesday and pulled 22 down and 0.8 mbits up.

[lilotimz]

Which forum topic would be the best location to discuss band 41, band 26 sightings? I know that premier members have access to maps with the 41 band deployment, however some of us cannot afford that level of membership. Can we and where should we post regarding this?

 

On this note, I was able to pick up band 41 on N St Clair St & E Huron St in Chicago last Tuesday and pulled 22 down and 0.8 mbits up.

 

There threads: 

 

1) http://s4gru.com/index.php?/topic/4950-sprint-spark-official-name-for-the-tri-band-network-was-sprint-to-demo-its-25ghz-network-technology/

 

2) http://s4gru.com/index.php?/topic/4083-sprint-td-lte-25002600mhz-discussion/

[wobbypetty]

Which forum topic would be the best location to discuss band 41, band 26 sightings? I know that premier members have access to maps with the 41 band deployment, however some of us cannot afford that level of membership. Can we and where should we post regarding this?

 

On this note, I was able to pick up band 41 on N St Clair St & E Huron St in Chicago last Tuesday and pulled 22 down and 0.8 mbits up.

 

Perhaps this is why 

 

http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/sprint-touts-network-upgrades-chicago-including-launch-spark-lte-service/2013-12-10

 

More info here: http://www.fiercewireless.com/press-releases/sprint-turns-volume-3g-and-4g-lte-chicago

 

and more http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/sprints-hesse-spark-tri-mode-lte-service-could-eventually-provide-real-worl/2013-12-10

[bitslizer]

has anyone confirm 800mhz LTE for Chicago loop area?

[Vince]

has anyone confirm 800mhz LTE for Chicago loop area?

It has been accepted at several sites in the Chicago market. No confirmed sightings yet.