Network Vision/LTE - Chicago Market

[tommym65]

Just wanted to let everyone know, that is caption won. I let vince pick since he started it and I agreed that it was funniest one,I wish we have more captions. But never the less, it was still fun. I will be making a donation to gift/scholarship account.

 

Merry Christmas everyone

 

 

Aw, shucks, what can I say?

 

Well, I guess I can say that if you let me know the amount of the donation, I will match it. So there!

 

And Happy New Year!

[Cubbiefan82]

Aw, shucks, what can I say?

 

Well, I guess I can say that if you let me know the amount of the donation, I will match it. So there!

 

And Happy New Year!

You don't have to match my donation, I just gave a little more because of the contest.

[nexgencpu]

I have both a TMO (GS5) and Sprint Device (GS3).  In regards to their similar spectrum holdings, B4 vs. B25, indoor penetration and coverage is generally the same for both on LTE.  So far calling/texting for me has been slightly better on TMO, both indoors and out.  I have had a taste of HD calling too, its miraculously better, only TMO to TMO right now.  The biggest difference I have noticed is that between eHRPD and HSPA+.  I have mentioned this already, in terms of data speeds there is no comparison, HSPA+ is the winner.  Though I am not sure how much HSPA+ there is outside of the cities, I don't get out much.  Don't know much about family plans I am a single guy, but I have unlimited everything for $60/month (including tax). Referral/Corporate discount . 

 

The biggest difference to me has been network experience.  There are some cool things I have fallen in love with on TMO.  The wifi calling and texting is great.  When your in a basement or poor coverage building its amazing.  I love the in flight texting too, I am always flying AA/Alaska and they use COGO, which is where TMO has their in flight texting agreement (for free).  I also love the fact that I can WiFi call/text back to the USA when I am out of the country, and I get no international data roam charges, although they throttle the service to 128K.  Still, I am pumped the moment I land in Brazil/Argentina (next week) I will have workable data service, no fees, no need to get a SIM, and can make calls/texts to back home once I am on WiFi.  That's so cool.

So single band vs GS5 on Tmobile, did you ever get to sample a triband device on Sprint?

 

I mean Sprint has HD calling, WiFi calling international and domestic, and 2 other bands.

 

So I dont understand this comparison.

[jamisonshaw125]

So single band vs GS5 on Tmobile, did you ever get to sample a triband device on Sprint?

 

I mean Sprint has HD calling, WiFi calling international and domestic, and 2 other bands.

 

So I dont understand this comparison.

His work provides him with a different service now I think. He knows that he won't get the full experience until he has  triband device.

[Cubbiefan82]

B12 for Chicago is a looooooong ways off.

t-mobile doesn't have a band 12 for chicago, the big t and vz own the block. They won't be giving that up neither

[lou99/maximus1987]

t-mobile doesn't have a band 12 for chicago, the big t and vz own the block. They won't be giving that up neither

Att will sell 700a it acquired with leap. Part of merger condition.

[Joeynach]

So single band vs GS5 on Tmobile, did you ever get to sample a triband device on Sprint?

 

I mean Sprint has HD calling, WiFi calling international and domestic, and 2 other bands.

 

So I dont understand this comparison.

I did with Speed Tests, but only in Seattle where my project has been.  I tested a GS5 TMO vs. GS5 Sprint (from a coworker).  Coverage was pretty much the same indoors and out.  I saw TMO slightly better because I could stay on calls in Elevators occasionally where Sprint dropped (both carriers had a tower on our corporate campus).  Speeds were faster on TMO LTE, I don't know if there was B41 for Sprint in the market and how dense it is.  I tested in Seattle and Bellevue and it was obvious to me I was getting only B25 and like 3-5 occasionally 6-7 Mpbs there.  Saw some speeds in the 25-30 Mbps range on my TMO B4 LTE.  I know Seattle is IBEZ so there is no B26 or 1x800 right now.

[Joeynach]

His work provides him with a different service now I think. He knows that he won't get the full experience until he has  triband device.

Yeah, some of the perks of being placed on a long term project I guess.  But it diminishes my need to shell out for a tri-band, It actually diminishes my need to keep my Sprint service, especially if I stay with this company for a while and get the international assignment I have been seeking.  In a few days I go on vacation to Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and I am eager to see what kind of data service with this TMO no roaming but throttled service abroad.  That could be a deal breaker for me.

[Joeynach]

t-mobile doesn't have a band 12 for chicago, the big t and vz own the block. They won't be giving that up neither

Their B12 service is going be a hodge poge for years, if that is your game changer for TMO I would go somewhere else.  Sprint will have all their 800Mhz and IBEZ issues figured out by the time B12 is in handful of major cities.  I saw this map that showed how scattered their deployment with B12 is going to be because of the ownership issues and TV protections around that spectrum. 

 

https://sites.google.com/site/cellularbinder/t-mobile-700a-spectrum

[gusherb]

Chinatown is still one of the last places in Chicago you'd wanna be caught using Sprint, unfortunately I spent the whole evening there and nothing's changed. Either unusable 3G or slow B26 or B25. They should focus in on this area (and around 33rd and Halsted) and make something happen to improve things.

I think I would've been happy if there were more B41 but I didn't pick much up tonight.

 

Outside of tonight I've been enjoying my service everywhere else. (Though many of the sites within "Spark Turbo" areas still are being limited by backhaul/site configuration and not able to reach more then 30 Mbps)

[Calvin200]

Less than 30?  Boohoo.  

[Vince]

Chinatown is still one of the last places in Chicago you'd wanna be caught using Sprint, unfortunately I spent the whole evening there and nothing's changed. Either unusable 3G or slow B26 or B25. They should focus in on this area (and around 33rd and Halsted) and make something happen to improve things.

I think I would've been happy if there were more B41 but I didn't pick much up tonight.

 

Outside of tonight I've been enjoying my service everywhere else. (Though many of the sites within "Spark Turbo" areas still are being limited by backhaul/site configuration and not able to reach more then 30 Mbps)

I haven't been to Chinatown in quite some time. But it's easy to see why service could be poor around 33/Halsted. There was an LTE site over there that was deactivated/moved and the new site hasn't received LTE yet.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone 6+

[payturr]

(Though many of the sites within "Spark Turbo" areas still are being limited by backhaul/site configuration and not able to reach more then 30 Mbps)

Still beats 2Mbps on a single band 25 carrier

[gusherb]

Still beats 2Mbps on a single band 25 carrier

That's about how it was around Chinatown, 1-2mbps out of B25 and B26

[Joeynach]

Chinatown is still one of the last places in Chicago you'd wanna be caught using Sprint, unfortunately I spent the whole evening there and nothing's changed. Either unusable 3G or slow B26 or B25. They should focus in on this area (and around 33rd and Halsted) and make something happen to improve things.

I think I would've been happy if there were more B41 but I didn't pick much up tonight.

 

Outside of tonight I've been enjoying my service everywhere else. (Though many of the sites within "Spark Turbo" areas still are being limited by backhaul/site configuration and not able to reach more then 30 Mbps)

Funny I was in chinatown last night.  It's what my people do on christmas!  Indoors at the restaurant I had 3G only on my Sprint device and HSPA+ on my TMO device.  Speeds weren't pretty on either.

[Joeynach]

I haven't been to Chinatown in quite some time. But it's easy to see why service could be poor around 33/Halsted. There was an LTE site over there that was deactivated/moved and the new site hasn't received LTE yet.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone 6+

I don't think thats accurate.  There is a full 3G/4G/800 site at 24th and Canal.  That's about 1/4 mile from Wentworth and 22nd, which is the heart of Chinatown.  eHRPD and B25 should be strong, won't speak for B26 and B41 in this forum.

[gusherb]

I don't think thats accurate. There is a full 3G/4G/800 site at 24th and Canal. That's about 1/4 mile from Wentworth and 22nd, which is the heart of Chinatown. eHRPD and B25 should be strong, won't speak for B26 and B41 in this forum.

22nd and Wentworth was 2 Mbps on B25 back on Tuesday with reasonably good signal. The mall is the worst. T-Mobile does great in the mall with LTE even indoors where Sprint can vary from weak 3G to nothing at all.

[Joeynach]

22nd and Wentworth was 2 Mbps on B25 back on Tuesday with reasonably good signal. The mall is the worst. T-Mobile does great in the mall with LTE even indoors where Sprint can vary from weak 3G to nothing at all.

Unless there is TMO tower ontop of the mall there how can that be, the Sprint B25 and TMO B4 have similar propagation characteristics because they lie in almost the same spot in the electromagnetic spectrum.

[saywhatman]

Unless there is TMO tower ontop of the mall there how can that be, the Sprint B25 and TMO B4 have similar propagation characteristics because they lie in almost the same spot in the electromagnetic spectrum.

 

There are a lot of instances in areas that Sprint doesn't cater to very well (Hyde Park, Chinatown) where T-Mobile performs better with the same spacing, or maybe a little denser. It's usually because T-Mobile B4 is better optimized than B25 from Sprint's towers, at least that's how I've heard it explained to me on this forum. 

[Vince]

Exactly. T-Mobile has their network tuned here whereas Sprint really doesn't. Plus, 4x2 MIMO helps a lot with fringe performance and other network factors.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone 6+

[eljayyy91]

Could this be the result of sprints "shotgun fire" deployment ya think? Not able to tune neighboring sites right away?

[Joeynach]

There are a lot of instances in areas that Sprint doesn't cater to very well (Hyde Park, Chinatown) where T-Mobile performs better with the same spacing, or maybe a little denser. It's usually because T-Mobile B4 is better optimized than B25 from Sprint's towers, at least that's how I've heard it explained to me on this forum. 

Ahh, tuning, makes sense.

[Vince]

Could this be the result of sprints "shotgun fire" deployment ya think? Not able to tune neighboring sites right away?

Who knows. We've been deployed for a little over 2 years now with band 26 for 9 months and nothing really seems different. Same dead spots/slow speeds/LTE drops/pocket 3G in the same places. I don't know if it's the network or phones not being able to deal with 3 different bands the way Sprint wants. I've had numerous phones on Sprint and for the most part, they behave the same way. T-Mobile launched LTE here 7/13 lightning fast and then optimized everything shortly thereafter, and it works great in this area. I want Sprint to win here, but it seems like they're in some sort of stall on network activity other than the rapid, and I mean REALLY rapid Sprint band 41 installations. Maybe they're waiting until that is done to optimize everything at once?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone 6+

[kyle_4thousand]

Power levels are too low across the board is what this is all sounding like.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[bucdenny]

Who knows. We've been deployed for a little over 2 years now with band 26 for 9 months and nothing really seems different. Same dead spots/slow speeds/LTE drops/pocket 3G in the same places. I don't know if it's the network or phones not being able to deal with 3 different bands the way Sprint wants. I've had numerous phones on Sprint and for the most part, they behave the same way. T-Mobile launched LTE here 7/13 lightning fast and then optimized everything shortly thereafter, and it works great in this area. I want Sprint to win here, but it seems like they're in some sort of stall on network activity other than the rapid, and I mean REALLY rapid Sprint band 41 installations. Maybe they're waiting until that is done to optimize everything at once?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone 6+

 

We can maybe get Sprint executives involved because B26 should have cleaned up all the 3G pockets.  We need more information to see if it can be fixed before doing so.  In those 3G pockets, any confirmed B26 from same site or nearby sites?