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Network Vision/LTE - West Washington Market (Seattle/Puget Sound Region)


drlovety

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While I wish it was real, I highly doubt it is. The information I have seen in the sponsor section hasn't said anything about 800 up here yet. I don't think the government has made a deal with Canada yet.

 

I highly doubt it as well, but hopeful!  I know there was a site in Tacoma that showed 800 accepted but Robert said it was a testing site of some short.  The towers around me do not have 800 MHz RRU (but I haven’t checked for 3 mos).  Heck, I don't even know how to force a phone to use 800Mhz, anyone know?  Just luck?  If anyone spots it, please take a screen shot and tell us where the tower is located!

 

 

Not to trump the possible 800 news, but I have been getting A LOT of dropped calls.  Everyday actually.  I'm in a fully upgraded NV area.  Has anyone else been experiencing this?  I know there is a lot of work in King County going on, but I'm not in King County and I’m getting dropped call in random places.  Places I've never had dropped calls before.  It's not my phone either, as others have had similar problems.  It's almost WORSE than during the legacy to NV tower transition.  Any ideas?

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Seeing a lot of 800MHz 1XRTT popping up in West Washington using Sprints internal system. Some even as far north as Everett. I thought they couldn't build 800MHz that far north? System is showing 12 towers so far with these upgrades.

 

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I'd be curious as well. I asked the market manager via Glance a few months ago and he had nothing to contribute to 800mhz and I really am needing to see Bellingham lit up.

 

Sent from my LG-LS980 using Tapatalk

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Well if you guys are really interested in more 800 info, become a premier sponsor and you can get all the information you need. Last thing I heard was it would be a couple years before we see any 800.

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I'm not too sure about the legitimacy of these 800MHz "upgrades", however this information is coming from a system we use to view all towers and NV progress on each called Glance. It is most definitely accurate, however I'm not sure if there is a system error showing some sites with active 800MHz 1xRTT or if they actually have the upgrades done.

 

Either way there is a progress graph indicating more towers in the future are slated to get those upgrades so that leads me to believe they aren't errors. Definitely interesting.

 

I PMed Robert with a screenshot of a tower that shows an upgrade done so I'm waiting to hear back from him to see what he thinks.

 

Sent from my 831C using Tapatalk

Edited by fuunkychicken
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hmm... I don't know if you can give any information out about it but Robert may be interested in that. So far around Kenmore, Lake Forest Park, Shoreline, Mountlake Terrace and Lynnwood I haven't seen any 800. As with Roberts updates, he only gets the info from his sources when they have something. Hard to say, though I hope you're right.

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I'm not too sure about the legitimacy of these 800MHz "upgrades", however this information is coming from a system we use to view all towers and NV progress on each called Glance. It is most definitely accurate, however I'm not sure if there is a system error showing some sites with active 800MHz 1xRTT or if they actually have the upgrades done.

 

Either way there is a progress graph indicating more towers in the future are slated to get those upgrades so that leads me to believe they aren't errors. Definitely interesting.

 

I PMed Robert with a screenshot of a tower that shows an upgrade done so I'm waiting to hear back from him to see what he thinks.

 

Sent from my 831C using Tapatalk

 

Any update?  Have you gone to a tower and checked it out?  Like, look at the RRUs?  I've been driving around and have not spotted a 800 Mhz site.

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I haven't noticed very many observations regarding B41 in the Puget Sound area.  I was able to get a speed test done in the north parking lot of CenturyLink Field this morning, using a Galaxy S5 in LTE only mode.  The results were good:

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ejaxna9j0d857br/2014-04-29%2014.22.55.png

 

 

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I haven't noticed very many observations regarding B41 in the Puget Sound area.  I was able to get a speed test done in the north parking lot of CenturyLink Field this morning, using a Galaxy S5 in LTE only mode.  The results were good:

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ejaxna9j0d857br/2014-04-29%2014.22.55.png

Here's another B41 observation, this time a Western and University down by the waterfront in downtown Seattle.  Almost 50 Mbps down...

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I got a text yesterday saying the new network is here, though I'm still on 3G with okay speeds around .84 down or -98dbm and passable voice coverage with -88dbm. Though I'm only on a GS3, so no triband for me.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I was in downtown Seattle today when signalcheck pro alerted me that I had connected to 800MHz 1xRTT! I pulled my phone out and it wasn't connected to anything at the moment. This happened 3 times while I was out and about. I wanted to take a screen shot but it lost connection too quickly :/

 

Sent from my 831C using Tapatalk

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I was in downtown Seattle today when signalcheck pro alerted me that I had connected to 800MHz 1xRTT! I pulled my phone out and it wasn't connected to anything at the moment. This happened 3 times while I was out and about. I wanted to take a screen shot but it lost connection too quickly :/

 

Sent from my 831C using Tapatalk

 

When I've put my phone in LTE Only mode, toggling the radios off/on, I've seen some B26 show up momentarily on my LTE Engineering screen.  It isn't usable, and doesn't stay for long before the phone bounces to B25 or B41.  I posted a link to a screenshot of this in a premier sponsors forum, and folks there indicated that my phone wasn't connecting to Sprint, but something other.  It hasn't happened for a couple of days, but last week it seemed to happen frequently, even on a ferry boat on Puget Sound.

 

On another note, here's a link to a screenshot of the speeds I acquired on B41 this morning (4th Ave S/S Seattle St) down by CenturyLink field.  This is the fastest I've seen.

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Why can't Sprint simply repurpose the Nextel spectrum in the Seattle area for LTE if it's an area where they already provided service? Why does switching from iDEN to CDMA/LTE make any difference within the same coverage footprint?

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Why can't Sprint simply repurpose the Nextel spectrum in the Seattle area for LTE if it's an area where they already provided service? Why does switching from iDEN to CDMA/LTE make any difference within the same coverage footprint?

Sprint has repurposed iDEN for 800 MHz or band 26. They can't implement it up here yet because of IBEZ. Once the US and Canada come to an agreement, Sprint can start implementing band 26 up here. Hope that answers your question.

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Sprint has repurposed iDEN for 800 MHz or band 26. They can't implement it up here yet because of IBEZ. Once the US and Canada come to an agreement, Sprint can start implementing band 26 up here. Hope that answers your question.

A.J. wrote in a forum in the Premier Sponsors area that this is because of channelization agreements with Canada. iDEN is apparently a narrowband technology, while LTE requires a wider footprint.

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Thanks.  It just seemed odd that in an area where they already provided service in that spectrum, Sprint wouldn't be able to quickly and easily convert it to LTE. 

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Does anyone have the timetable for Band 41 deployment for Seattle, WA?

 

I know 1900Mhz is up and running, but I don't see how 2.5Ghz is gonna help me if I'm only getting 1-2 bars of service (on 1900mhz) at Barton St. & 15th Ave.

 

If you upgrade to Premier Sponsorship, you'll find a map of the Clearwire sites that will be converted to B41.  From that map, I strongly suspect that the White Center area will be well supported with B41.  If you have a tri-band phone that you can force to "LTE only" mode, then you might find it's already available.  Hopefully, very soon, in any event.  I've been getting B41 downtown, but I haven't been through White Center in a couple of weeks to test.

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Does anyone have the timetable for Band 41 deployment for Seattle, WA?

 

I know 1900Mhz is up and running, but I don't see how 2.5Ghz is gonna help me if I'm only getting 1-2 bars of service (on 1900mhz) at Barton St. & 15th Ave.

 

The simple answer is, you are unfortunately correct!  2.5Ghz will not propagate as well as 1900Mhz.  So don't bank on it.  However, there are somethings to consider.  First, Sprint and Clear towers are mostly co-located, I think like 60%, therefore 40 % are located separately, which may work in your favor.  Check this site out to see if there is a clear tower near you: http://www.clear.com/coverage  You also need a phone that can access band 41.  The primary objective with Band 41 is to give a bigger pipe, not to increase coverage.  But again, there are some areas where you'll have a clear tower and not a sprint.  This occurred on my old WiMax phone where I'd have no 1x coverage, so call calls went to VM, but I had fast data access as I was near a Clear tower.  Also, sprint is upgrading (most) clear towers, so the tower near you may only be broadcasting in WiMax.  Access to the premier section of this website will help tremulously with roll-out answers.

 

If coverage stinks now, NV will probably not help you in the Seattle area.  The only hope is Band 26 or 800Mhz, the old Nextel spectrum.  Over the last week, it appears that people have been seeing some 800 signals, but as of now the official status is that Sprint cannot deploy until our FCC comes to an agreement with Canada's version of the FCC.  Since the towers near me do not have 800 mhz gear, I presume it will be years.

 

Good luck!

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I have 4 bars of 3G service on my iPhone and 2 bars on LTE. At home and around my neighbourhood. Anywhere else I go I get 4-5 bars of LTE.

 

Be it Alki-beach, past Roxbury St., Highline, Burien, Renton, Bellevue...

 

I think I just live in a deadzone.

 

If I call Sprint and complain will they actually send a truck out here and survey White Center?

 

I have 15+ people willing and ready to switch but I CAN NOT recommend Sprint without 800Mhz SMR in the Seattle area.

 

Which really sucks.

 

What do you think will arrive first, 800Mhz liberation, or 600Mhz deployment?

 

600Mhz is a MUST for border states.

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I have 4 bars of 3G service on my iPhone and 2 bars on LTE. At home and around my neighbourhood. Anywhere else I go I get 4-5 bars of LTE.

 

Be it Alki-beach, past Roxbury St., Highline, Burien, Renton, Bellevue...

 

I think I just live in a deadzone.

 

If I call Sprint and complain will they actually send a truck out here and survey White Center?

 

I have 15+ people willing and ready to switch but I CAN NOT recommend Sprint without 800Mhz SMR in the Seattle area.

 

Which really sucks.

 

What do you think will arrive first, 800Mhz liberation, or 600Mhz deployment?

 

600Mhz is a MUST for border states.

 

To your first comment, different bars on 1x/EVDO vs LTE.  LTE is more fragile than 1x/EVDO, which may be a reason for the different bars.  Or, your phone is connecting to a not yet upgraded cell site broadcasting only 3G.  Therefore, your data antenna maybe connecting to an upgraded LTE site further away.  This second scenario would be the best for you, as it would give you HOPE that the tower closest to you would soon be upgraded and giving you great coverage from two towers.  Again, if you were a paid member (not a premier) you'd be able to access this map.

 

Also, bars aren't everything.  Is your LTE working well with just 1 bar?  If so, you are good!  People would die to have one bar inside their house.

 

You do not live in a deadzone.  You have 4-5 bars of 3G.  I have no bars of anything and use a Airave to get my cell phone to work.

 

Sprint will not send a survey truck, heck they won't even send a COW to a Seahawks game like verizon does.

 

I think 800 is the quickest plan of attack, and while there have been sightings of 800 signals (giving us hope) there isn't anything official.  I believe we are a year to years away from 800, which is just based on the fact that Sprint did not choose to install 800 equipment in the Seattle market.  There has always been talk about Softbank increasing coverage, such as building the network out, but that has been interpretations of what the Softbank CEO said in his speech, nothing official.

 

Sprint does not own 600, in fact I believe the auction for 600 will be held next year.  From the auction rules that the FCC are considering, it appears the real winner could be T-mo.  It's not clear if the FCC will consider Sprint lower 800 Mhz spectrum comparable.  T-mo just recently acquired a small batch of  low freq spectrum.  While the big three have nationwide lower freq.

 

If I had people looking at Sprint, I would ask them what they expected from Sprint before recommending them.  Not looking at the cost of plans and unlimited data, what else is needed?  For example, coverage at home and at work.  Those are the two places I need my phone and the places I spend the most time.  Not having coverage at those two places, would drive me NUTS!  If it were a year ago, I would never had recommended Sprint.  Now that NV build-out is coming to an end, I would recommend them.

 

Good Luck!

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Even if you aren't directly reaping the benefits of B41 by having a Tri-Band device, you'll be happy that all those people who do own one are now freeing up B25 spectrum.

 

I fully expect B25 to hover at around 10-15 Mb/s average throughput when NV is 100% complete

 

Sent from my SM-N900P using Tapatalk

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For anyone wondering about downtown Seattle:  I got on internal email (from Sprint) a couple of weeks ago that a micro site in my building would go live at the same time that downtown Seattle would finally light up.  That was scheduled for May 28th.  I found out this morning that this had been pushed back a day to May 29th, and sure enough, the building site lit up this afternoon. 

 

Additionally, I noticed on my commute home this afternoon that I was getting a strong 3G signal at the Colman Ferry Dock that hadn't seen previously.  Maybe it's true!

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