Network Vision/LTE - Chicago Market

[Jamal46409]

Hanging out in terminal C (I think, United has all their flights out of it) and LTE connectivity is great. I'm watching Netflix while waiting two hours for a connecting flight and I have yet to hit buffering.

 

Not bad at all!

 

 

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I had the same experience at O'Hare while going to Texas a few weeks back.

[Jamal46409]

Anyone have any other update for the area ? At this point I don't visit the site too much because it feels too much like 2 AM Christmas morning and I keep looking at the clock every 2 minutes. I can only speak for Northwest Indiana in saying while there has been some progress, I would have thought everything would have been completed in Chicagoland, especially considering most of everything left is MW backhaul. I guess even with billions of dollars, it's still possible to bite off more than you can chew......

[Deval]

Anyone have any other update for the area ? At this point I don't visit the site too much because it feels too much like 2 AM Christmas morning and I keep looking at the clock every 2 minutes. I can only speak for Northwest Indiana in saying while there has been some progress, I would have thought everything would have been completed in Chicagoland, especially considering most of everything left is MW backhaul. I guess even with billions of dollars, it's still possible to bite off more than you can chew......

 

Isn't the vast majority of Chicago upgraded with some form of NV? The only thing left is getting backhaul in place?

[mhammett]

 

Isn't the vast majority of Chicago upgraded with some form of NV? The only thing left is getting backhaul in place?

Without backhaul, they haven't accomplished much.

 

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[Luke0536]

Anyone have any other update for the area ? At this point I don't visit the site too much because it feels too much like 2 AM Christmas morning and I keep looking at the clock every 2 minutes. I can only speak for Northwest Indiana in saying while there has been some progress, I would have thought everything would have been completed in Chicagoland, especially considering most of everything left is MW backhaul. I guess even with billions of dollars, it's still possible to bite off more than you can chew......

Almost all of valpo has lte, crown point, and Lowell are moving along. Was at menards in portage yesterday and once last week. while I was there the phone connected to lte momentarily. Doesn't appear to be working yet but the blip off coverage is on sensorly.Hobart, Miller and lake station appear to be unchanged. Chesterton has lte where it borders valpo so they will probably be next to start.

[Jamal46409]

Almost all of valpo has lte, crown point, and Lowell are moving along. Was at menards in portage yesterday and once last week. while I was there the phone connected to lte momentarily. Doesn't appear to be working yet but the blip off coverage is on sensorly.Hobart, Miller and lake station appear to be unchanged. Chesterton has lte where it borders valpo so they will probably be next to start.

 

That's the area i was more referring too. I live near Mendards but I haven't got anything yet. *insert sad face* It's funny to me that I was dropping off my wife at work in Westville (country) and got LTE on the way there, but can't get anything in Portage, Lake Station, Crown Point (a.k.a. the more populated areas). 

[Luke0536]

That's the area i was more referring too. I live near Mendards but I haven't got anything yet. *insert sad face* It's funny to me that I was dropping off my wife at work in Westville (country) and got LTE on the way there, but can't get anything in Portage, Lake Station, Crown Point (a.k.a. the more populated areas).

 

crown point near the high school has lte. might be a larger area now, but have not been there in a few weeks.

[Deval]

Without backhaul, they haven't accomplished much.

 

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I disagree, getting all the panels replaced and new base stations is quite an accomplishment. 

[mhammett]

I disagree, getting all the panels replaced and new base stations is quite an accomplishment. 

 

You are certainly free to disagree, but the effect on the end-user is minimal. New backhaul to existing sites would have produced more than new gear on old backhaul. I know this as someone that has lived (and still does) under new gear old backhaul since the beginning of NV.

[Deval]

You are certainly free to disagree, but the effect on the end-user is minimal. New backhaul to existing sites would have produced more than new gear on old backhaul. I know this as someone that has lived (and still does) under new gear old backhaul since the beginning of NV.

 

Of course, but then again, the full scope of the NV project is to rebuild the network from scratch, so waiting around for backhaul is counter productive, you know?

 

Plus, if I'm not mistaken, CDMA800 can be lit up on legacy backhaul, which automatically gives an end-user better experience. 

[tommym65]

Plus, if I'm not mistaken, CDMA800 can be lit up on legacy backhaul, which automatically gives an end-user better experience. 

 

Can be, and has been, in many places.  800 SMR spectrum is in use at many Chicagoland sites that don't even show up on Robert's acceptance reports.

[mhammett]

Of course, but then again, the full scope of the NV project is to rebuild the network from scratch, so waiting around for backhaul is counter productive, you know?

 

Plus, if I'm not mistaken, CDMA800 can be lit up on legacy backhaul, which automatically gives an end-user better experience. 

 

or find a new backhaul provider ;-)

 

Yes, 800 MHz can and is lit on legacy backhaul. It's nice, but not as good as new backhaul. Actually, it may be worse than not having it at all. It gives you a glimmer of hope that you might have Internet access...  then POOF...  nope! You have signal, but you can't do anything. For literally years (I'd estimate since the iPhone launch), the EVDO network in this area has been barely better than iDen data...  and I'm not exaggerating. I have speed tests coming in at a rocking 7 kilobits/s with 3,900 ms ping times. This is everywhere in my area. I'd suspect the improvements in data performance in my area have been due to churn and not technical improvement.

[Deval]

or find a new backhaul provider ;-)

 

Yes, 800 MHz can and is lit on legacy backhaul. It's nice, but not as good as new backhaul. Actually, it may be worse than not having it at all. It gives you a glimmer of hope that you might have Internet access...  then POOF...  nope! You have signal, but you can't do anything. For literally years (I'd estimate since the iPhone launch), the EVDO network in this area has been barely better than iDen data...  and I'm not exaggerating. I have speed tests coming in at a rocking 7 kilobits/s with 3,900 ms ping times. This is everywhere in my area. I'd suspect the improvements in data performance in my area have been due to churn and not technical improvement.

 

We're having a similar issue here, where 1/2 the market has some form of upgrades, but LTE isn't up everywhere.

[mellimel2212]

Where at in Chicago u don't have LTE??? I have it mostly everywhere.

 

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[Mobilesolutions]

I disagree, getting all the panels replaced and new base stations is quite an accomplishment. 

 

Yes its a feat of miracles to get all that permitting.  However to the end user there is nothing substantial until backhaul is in place. 

[Deval]

Where at in Chicago u don't have LTE??? I have it mostly everywhere.

 

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Here = New York City

[mhammett]

Where at in Chicago u don't have LTE??? I have it mostly everywhere.

 

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DeKalb area. Actually, most of the area west of Randall Rd.

[runagun]

There working on it. Union Tower got kicked on. Parts of Marengo is faintly receiving signal. my Backyard has Lte but my front doesn't.   I sensorlyed it.

DeKalb area. Actually, most of the area west of Randall Rd.

[Joeynach]

There working on it. Union Tower got kicked on. Parts of Marengo is faintly receiving signal. my Backyard has Lte but my front doesn't.   I sensorlyed it.

I thought all these exo burbs were like the first to get their NV upgrades, front and backhaul.

[tommym65]

I thought all these exo burbs were like the first to get their NV upgrades, front and backhaul.

 

Nope.  Lake County and the closer-in suburbs like Schaumburg, Wheaton, Naperville, Oak Brook, Oak Lawn, etc., etc, have gotten 4G and in many cases 800 and 3G also. And now, of course, Chicago is filling in majestically.

 

Some of the far Northwest and West exurbs (Antioch, McHenry, Crystal Lake, Dekalb) have kind of taken it in the shorts as far as LTE goes.  Lots of "3G" upgrades (which don't do a lot performance-wise, but are needed to be compatible with the new infrastructure) and a large number of 800 SMR upgrades, but (apparently because of MAJOR backhaul delays) 4G LTE is lagging. Even some sites showing 4G acceptance (there's a big one at IL 31 & Bull Valley south of McHenry) haven't broadcast a single detectable 4G blip so far.

 

But we are patient, sturdy fellows, and we shall wait patiently for our turn to come!  Well, actually, patience doesn't really matter, 'cause it ain't comin' till it's ready!

[Joeynach]

Nope.  Lake County and the closer-in suburbs like Schaumburg, Wheaton, Naperville, Oak Brook, Oak Lawn, etc., etc, have gotten 4G and in many cases 800 and 3G also. And now, of course, Chicago is filling in majestically.

 

Some of the far Northwest and West exurbs (Antioch, McHenry, Crystal Lake, Dekalb) have kind of taken it in the shorts as far as LTE goes.  Lots of "3G" upgrades (which don't do a lot performance-wise, but are needed to be compatible with the new infrastructure) and a large number of 800 SMR upgrades, but (apparently because of MAJOR backhaul delays) 4G LTE is lagging. Even some sites showing 4G acceptance (there's a big one at IL 31 & Bull Valley south of McHenry) haven't broadcast a single detectable 4G blip so far.

 

But we are patient, sturdy fellows, and we shall wait patiently for our turn to come!  Well, actually, patience doesn't really matter, 'cause it ain't comin' till it's ready!

Wonder if Sprint wants to make a public statement (with a time frame) if they have fielded a ton of complaints or requests about this region in particular.

[mhammett]

Its been a mess. DeKalb got its first tower in the last week. Three more to go within city limits. A tower near Sycamore that has been marked LTE for weeks isn't transmitting it now (not sure if it was). A site between DeKalb and Aurora that was accepted and transmitting LTE is no longer either.

 

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[mhammett]

I thought all these exo burbs were like the first to get their NV upgrades, front and backhaul.

Microwave has been in for months, the fiber feeding it hasn't been turned on.

 

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[Joeynach]

Its been a mess. DeKalb got its first tower in the last week. Three more to go within city limits. A tower near Sycamore that has been marked LTE for weeks isn't transmitting it now (not sure if it was). A site between DeKalb and Aurora that was accepted and transmitting LTE is no longer either.

 

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You probably share this same sentiment, but why would Sprint put any sort of additional or immediate efforts into an area such as dekalb with such a smaller population than the other areas undergoing NV upgrades around Chicago.  We have to be honest, most companies and governments just go where the money is, in this case Sprint Subscribers, if there are 5K sprint subscribers in Dekalb and 25K in Schaumburg then of course they are going to pay more attention to Schaumburg and getting those customers the upgrades first.  Plus, it might also be easier b/c in a denser environment they can make a few upgrades and reach more people, in Dekalb its so rural they have to make upgrades across dozens of miles to cover the 5K people with proper service.  It sounds like a bad experience, but its not a surprise to me to hear that a rural area with fewer customers and demands is last on the list.

[mhammett]

You apparently underestimate the size and data-hunger in the DeKalb\Sycamore area. Hah, people in the suburbs always make me laugh. Think they're the center of the earth when in reality, they haven't got a clue about anything outside of their pompous bubble.

 

I'd venture to say that there are 75k people in the area serviced by the DeKalb\Sycamore towers. There are 25k college kids here, so young data-hungry people where everyone has a cell phone. Given the univeristy, I'd venture to say that we are *MORE* dense than anywhere in Schaumburg, given larger lot sizes and no student dorms and large off-campus apartment buildings.

 

Given the likely higher density in DeKalb and definitely a larger percentage of data-hungry customers along with my travels throughout the suburbs, I can assure you that the data network in DeKalb was in need of an upgrade far more than most places in Chicagoland. Of course I am excepting the loop and anywhere there is a large event such as a Cubs game. It was just as bad as DeKalb.

 

When I have more time later, I'll see if I can calculate some density information for you, both people and towers.

 

 

Oh, and also...  the equipment has been in place for several months, some perhaps even a year. It just isn't turned on yet.