Network Vision/LTE - Lower Central Valley Market (Fresno, Bakersfield, Visalia)

[Robbarajas87]

I called sprint to see what was up with the service this past week in Tulare and it turns out two of the three towers are down for service which includes LTE upgrades :-D the rep I talked to really seemed to know what was going on even giving me the tower id #'s. I have seen them working on the tower on the north side of Tulare but I haven't been around to check out the others.

[Oedipus]

Take pics.

[Panther5150]

I have been mulling this question over for many, many years.  A while back when my contract was up and I was deciding whether or not to go with one of the other carriers I was hooked back in by many things.

 

The HTC EVO 4G with sprint with unlimited data and super speeds and all your needs in one awesome bundle was a pretty good sales point.  I need 2 cell phones and 1 data card for my current family operation and it seemed good to me.

 

When asked, I was promised by the person in the Sprint store that 4G was coming to Fresno in just a couple months so no worries on their $10 extra fee.  I would be rewarded with patience.

 

Now, its been over two years and no go on the 4g, wimax, or LTE even at this point. 

 

So, contract free again I have been shopping around.  One sticking point for me is that I ski in the shaver/Huntington lake area often and the only phone service with any reliable operations up there is AT&T.  Now, I would prefer to not wander over to AT&T or Verizon but my mounting frustrations with Sprint are beginning to move me despite my desire to remain loyal.

 

Today, I read a post on the Sprint Community forums where the Rep claimed that Fresno would get widespread coverage in a matter of months.   SO, the bait is out there again and shall I get hooked?

 

Too further complicate the situation is the matter of my data card.  I really, really, like unlimited data (such as it is) BUT I use my aircard in downtown Fresno and the issue is that while I have a "Great" signal, my speeds are criminal.  My Latency (ping) is usually over 1000 MS (often over 1500) and my download speed is usually around .05mbps

 

As you can see, streaming music is impossible, watching youtube is impossible, even surfing graphic heavy sites is impossible.  So, unlimited data is throttled by exceptionally limited speeds.  Every 3-4 months I call up sprint to file a complaint and I get moved up techs day after day for about a week before I get some half-hearted promise that tower upgrades are imminent. 

 

Another Spring issue that I experienced was with the phone protection plan.  When I dropped my phone and cracked my screen after almost 2 years of ownership I thought, well, this sucks but I will finally use that protection plan I have been paying for.  Lo and Behold the company they outsource to charges a whopping $200 deductible for refurbished phone.  The Sprint store would not replace/fix the screen and I ended up ordering all the parts on amazon for about $14, watched a youtube video (on a fast connection) and did the work myself.  I was disappointed that sprint would mislead their consumers about the nature of their program because that was definitely NOT was promised to me in the store.

 

Finally, when it comes to upgrading, I want to get a new and good phone.  For my needs, I selected the Samsung Galaxy 4G as my target.  Amazing device.  But, when I read the reviews and user issues, I found that I would be frustrated with anything less than the 32GB model...which Sprint does not offer nor does it plan on offering.  With my EVO (which has SD slot too) I have found that low internal storage is a recipe for disaster despite being able to move Aps to the SD.  It just doesn't cut it over time.  16GB in the modern era (really only 9 after bloatware) is too low.

 

From my readings on this forum, people here know and are responsive to the issues with Sprint and maintain some hope checked with a dose of real knowledge.

 

The new plans look pretty nice.  Something for me to consider for sure (unlimited my way, etc).

 

Are they really going to roll out 4G in Fresno in a couple of months?

Will they make the Samsung 32GB Galaxy4 available?

Even if they roll out 4G, will be stuck with a great signal but no ability to ping well/download well?

 

Is it worth it stick with Sprint over what Verizon is currently offering in Fresno?

 

Thanks for reading (wall of text)

 

Cheers.

[Oedipus]

Starting within a couple of months, probably, but not likely on all or even most of the towers.

[jamesinclair]

Are they really going to roll out 4G in Fresno in a couple of months?

Will they make the Samsung 32GB Galaxy4 available?

Even if they roll out 4G, will be stuck with a great signal but no ability to ping well/download well?

 

 

1) It will START in the next couple of months. Dont expect them to finish until next summer at the earliest. Possibly into 2015. Hopefully shaver gets 800mhz, although it really needs a second tower. Huntington has no Verizon service either which means no roaming

2) Probably not

3) That shouldnt be the case, but to be honest the experience Ive had in NV markets that are well on there way (LA, NYC) has not been amazing. They keep saying wait till its done, but I guess only the Chicago people can speak on that subject.

4) Bonus! Both Verizon and Sprint operate call centers in Fresno.

[lilotimz]

1) It will START in the next couple of months. Dont expect them to finish until next summer at the earliest. Possibly into 2015. Hopefully shaver gets 800mhz, although it really needs a second tower. Huntington has no Verizon service either which means no roaming

2) Probably not

3) That shouldnt be the case, but to be honest the experience Ive had in NV markets that are well on there way (LA, NYC) has not been amazing. They keep saying wait till its done, but I guess only the Chicago people can speak on that subject.

4) Bonus! Both Verizon and Sprint operate call centers in Fresno.

 

Alcatel-Lucents deployment methods are not the same as Samsung who are very aggressive compared to ALUs modus operandi of waiting for a certain threshold before activating LTE (looks at Tucson/Yuma - Phoenix). 

 

The entire lower central valley market has a full 14 mhz of SMR available for one 5x5mhz LTE carrier alongside one CDMA 1x carrier. 

[Da_Goo]

LA04UB153 - Same tower that I've been spying on lately which has some new additions compared to the last time I visited.

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/nhnmnqkeafc0qsz/2013-07-13%2013.32.44.jpg

https://www.dropbox.com/s/spjtq73gevvror8/2013-07-13%2013.32.41.jpg

https://www.dropbox.com/s/4lfu8hwinczqb0z/2013-07-13%2013.32.11.jpg

[Oedipus]

Post that one in the NV Sites in Progress thread.

[jfern001]

Awesome to see the upgrade. I don't know if this means anything but my data kept turning on and off throughout the day yesterday. Not sure if they were upgrading this tower but the 3G speed seems a little faster. I'm on white lane and stine

[Oedipus]

If you know where your tower is, go take some pics.

[Nextel49]

Awesome to see the upgrade. I don't know if this means anything but my data kept turning on and off throughout the day yesterday. Not sure if they were upgrading this tower but the 3G speed seems a little faster. I'm on white lane and stine

I am not to far from you I am on Stockdale & No Stine & have not seen anything on my phone yet maybe they were fixing the tower for being down

[Thomas L.]

I happened to be driving by a tower that was having NV upgrades being done to it (at least I assume it was, I had no signal in an area where I usually have good signal, and it looks like it was). This was on highway 152, technically in Dos Palos, I will refrain from posting the site ID. I was a passenger, so I took some pictures:

 

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/glyvw1ob9w5melo/2013-07-16%2012.40.31.jpg

https://www.dropbox.com/s/5icqrk29gb3mulh/2013-07-16%2016.57.17.jpg

https://www.dropbox.com/s/y2e3nijs97utaxw/2013-07-16%2012.40.28.jpg

[Oedipus]

The second pic looks like one of the in-progress sites I reported; high capacity. It would be nice to have a closer look, of course.

[dontsh00tmesanta]

DOS palos got wimax while Fresno didn't now they gonna get lte first nice

[Oedipus]

Well...

 

1. Fresno does have Wimax, it's just that it's a protection site and it's in the ghetto.

 

2. There is at least one site in Fresno that has new NV panels installed, so by that metric Dos Palos is no further along than we are.

[dontsh00tmesanta]

Protection sites dont count dos palos got the official deployment.  I know about that site I used it constantly with my GS2 when I was a FCC.

 

NV panels installed but not active?

 

Dos Palos is a bit further along ATM

[Thomas L.]

Actually the last time I was in Dos Palos proper, that tower was operational and I still had zero Sprint coverage, I was roaming the whole time. I don't know if 'downtown' Dos Palos will have Sprint coverage at any point.

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Xparent ICS Blue Tapatalk 2

[Oedipus]

Protection sites dont count dos palos got the official deployment.  I know about that site I used it constantly with my GS2 when I was a FCC.

 

NV panels installed but not active?

 

Dos Palos is a bit further along ATM

 

It looks like the panels on the site that I'm thinking of in Fresno were just installed, so they don't appear to be active. Not sure how you think DP is "further along" than Fresno is, considering both have one site confirmed in progress.

 

Edit - Actually, Thomas, were you able to confirm that the work you posted pics of is NV activity?

[jamesinclair]

First 800 in the market!

 

Now where any of us probably ever are, but sort of makes sense to want to extend coverage in that mountain area.

[Oedipus]

I've been out that way once, but I don't plan on doing that trip ever again.

 

I don't like the complete dearth of yellow, purple, and green markers in the LCV.

[MacinJosh]

I've been out that way once, but I don't plan on doing that trip ever again.

 

I don't like the complete dearth of yellow, purple, and green markers in the LCV.

 

I'm with you on that. It's been slow here in the LCV.

 

Hopefully things speed up soon.

[Nextel49]

Any more News on tower upgrade's here in Bakersfield really tired of 3G slow speeds thanx

Edited July 29, 2013 by Nextel49

[matthew23319]

Got word today from fresno city hall that sprint has submitted a large amount of permits and work is under way already so lte should be showing up in fresno soon

[Oedipus]

Very nice. Any idea which towers have been submitted for permits?

[MacinJosh]

Got word today from fresno city hall that sprint has submitted a large amount of permits and work is under way already so lte should be showing up in fresno soon

 

Very nice. Any idea which towers have been submitted for permits?

 

Matthew, If you can get the address information, Oedipus or I can add the permit information to the Lower Central Valley Permit map in the Sponsor's section. Just email it to us.