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

[falconhand]

Thank you for pulling that information! 

I agree, it seems unlikely that there would be a need for such capacity, but I know of several other Sprint retain sites that are within spitting distance of T-Mobile existing or new build sites around here. Some examples of such are:

81970 & 505922

85241 & (currently yet unmigrated) Sprint 746000

94058 and 505912

T-Mobile is also installing a new colocation on the old inactive Clearwire site at 47.555280 -122.681103, which is right next to 85240, though at a slightly higher elevation (I presume to enhance capacity to the new neighborhood going in nearby, though this area is already covered very well by 89246.) 

From my outside perspective, it seems like they are building in ridiculous amounts of capacity on the assumption that they will snatch some home internet customers, as the cable situation out here is ... shoddy at best, and monopolized by either Wave Broadband or Comcast, depending on neighborhood. 

Edited December 31, 2021 by falconhand

[RAvirani]

51 minutes ago, falconhand said:

81970 & 505922

505922/506064 improves service along WA-16 (especially on midband).  The capacity boost is a plus, too.  Using both of these locations also allows the use of narrower antennas (think three 45° antennas spaced at 90°) which tend to have better gain figures.

51 minutes ago, falconhand said:

85241 & (currently yet unmigrated) Sprint 746000

Not 100% sure on the logic here...I'll have to take a look at their plan.  

53 minutes ago, falconhand said:

94058 and 505912

505912/506054 provides much better service along WA-3 going north (almost LoS).  I think there were also capacity concerns here.

1 hour ago, falconhand said:

T-Mobile is also installing a new colocation on the old inactive Clearwire site at 47.555280 -122.681103, which is right next to 85240, though at a slightly higher elevation (I presume to enhance capacity to the new neighborhood going in nearby, though this area is already covered very well by 89246.) 

I'll have to take a look at the plan there.  From eyeballing it, the Clear site won't improve coverage significantly and keeping both sites would destroy C/(I+N) levels.

[falconhand]

I have been very happy to see T-Mobile densifying in my area, including several new rural sites out along Highway 3, 108, and the 8/12 corridor out to the coast. Unfortunately Sprint can't fix their deadzone at Pacific Beach, but it will certainly help on the way there! 

I appreciate the information and help Definitely helps me understand some of the decisions they have been making. Here's to hoping they continue to address their weak spots (like Silverdale) with new builds in the years to come! 

[RAvirani]

4 hours ago, falconhand said:

Unfortunately Sprint can't fix their deadzone at Pacific Beach, but it will certainly help on the way there! 

Check your PM about this!

[xmx1024]

On 12/30/2021 at 7:12 PM, RAvirani said:

Unlikely:

https://imgur.com/a/bWKGcPB

I don’t have a T-Mobile traffic map to run a Monte-Carlo simulation or anything, but I doubt there’s a capacity need in that area.

Can I ask what tool this is you use to generate these maps and data sources? Is this accessible to you or afforded to you by your (potential, idk for sure) involvement in the industry?

[RAvirani]

27 minutes ago, xmx1024 said:

Can I ask what tool this is you use to generate these maps and data sources? Is this accessible to you or afforded to you by your (potential, idk for sure) involvement in the industry?

The three big RF planning softwares are Atoll, Planet and Asset. They aren’t cheap or easily accessible; I have access to them because of my industry involvement. 

Here are links to more info:

https://www.forsk.com/atoll-overview

https://www.infovista.com/5g-network/planet-rf-planning-software

https://www.teoco.com/products-services/ran-solutions/planning/

[xmx1024]

Some photos from my visit to the site on Gregg's cycle in Bellevue with mmwave and 1G+ backhaul.
The 1G+ speed tests are on n41, the 800 one is on mmwave

[xmx1024]

Forgiving the utter mess, what panels are on the bottom here? I know it's an AT&T site but there is zero documentation or references I have been able to find. 

[RAvirani]

15 hours ago, xmx1024 said:

Forgiving the utter mess, what panels are on the bottom here? I know it's an AT&T site but there is zero documentation or references I have been able to find. 

Kathrein multiband antennas. 

[xmx1024]

5 hours ago, RAvirani said:

Kathrein multiband antennas. 

Are they in a shroud? I can't find any resources or reference to a large antenna like that from them

[PedroDaGr8]

On 12/16/2021 at 2:40 PM, xmx1024 said:

Do you know what all is on the monopole behind target at alderwood? I’m here visiting and I don’t recall. I know T-Mobile is on the power pylon right by it. 

 

When I drove by the 5/405 interchange today, they had started upgrading this tower. There  was a crane and workers on the Sprint rack. It looked like all of the Sprint equipment had been removed from the rack.

[RAvirani]

5 hours ago, PedroDaGr8 said:

When I drove by the 5/405 interchange today, they had started upgrading this tower. There  was a crane and workers on the Sprint rack. It looked like all of the Sprint equipment had been removed from the rack.

I was just about to post this - I drove by there today as well!

[PedroDaGr8]

Breaking this info out from my private messages with RAvirani, so that others can learn about these as well

I am almost 100% certain the following eNB are all strand mount gear for T-Mobile: 
177502, 177503, 177343, 177344, 178670, 178671, 178673, 178681, 178682, 178683, 178685, 178686, 178687, 178688, 178689, 178690, 178691, 178692

Being stand mount, each cell ID pair (B66/B2) is at a different location. For example, see the following (click on the link to go to Google StreetView): 

177502-3/13 (off NE 45th St)
177502-6/16 (South one on 25th St.)
177502-7/17 (North one on 25th St.)
177503-1/11 (South one on 25th St.)
177503-2/12 (North one on 25th St.)

For each of the above eNB I was able to locate the strand mount equipment for at least one of the sectors. I have a feeling the missing eNB (178674-178680 and 178684) are there but have just not been scanned yet. Furthermore these strand mount eNB can be spread over a wide area having up to 9 different locations (limit based on number of Cell ID pairs and fact that T-Mobile doesn't seem to use Cell ID 0 for these). 7-9 locations does appear to be common but I'm not sure if it is the norm. 

[falconhand]

These strand mounts also are deployed with Band 46 (LAA), in my experience. I have yet to encounter a strand mount with exclusively 2/66. 

[PedroDaGr8]

12 hours ago, falconhand said:

These strand mounts also are deployed with Band 46 (LAA), in my experience. I have yet to encounter a strand mount with exclusively 2/66. 

That's actually really useful information when trying to locate/map these. On CellMapper, if I look for B46 it cuts through a lot of th noise.

[xmx1024]

On 1/13/2022 at 4:58 PM, PedroDaGr8 said:

When I drove by the 5/405 interchange today, they had started upgrading this tower. There  was a crane and workers on the Sprint rack. It looked like all of the Sprint equipment had been removed from the rack.

Woah! I moved away, but would love to see if you snagged pics!

[falconhand]

NR CA live out in Kitsap County! Got n41 as SCC, with n71 PCCing. Couldn't force n41 by itself for some reason. 

[falconhand]

Would anyone happen to know if there are plans for new colocations or new build sites in Silverdale, WA? I was reviewing previous permits to try and determine why performance at the mall, Costco, etc is so incredibly poor, and noticed that when T-Mobile upgraded their site there with 71 and 41, they strongly deemphasized the heavy load areas around the mall and other stores (Photo attached). This change in azimuth would lead me to speculate that they plan a new site to be built, so I was wondering if this was an accurate assumption or if it’s just one of T-Mobile’s questionable decisions. Thank you!

 

 

 

[PedroDaGr8]

15 hours ago, falconhand said:

Would anyone happen to know if there are plans for new colocations or new build sites in Silverdale, WA? I was reviewing previous permits to try and determine why performance at the mall, Costco, etc is so incredibly poor, and noticed that when T-Mobile upgraded their site there with 71 and 41, they strongly deemphasized the heavy load areas around the mall and other stores (Photo attached). This change in azimuth would lead me to speculate that they plan a new site to be built, so I was wondering if this was an accurate assumption or if it’s just one of T-Mobile’s questionable decisions. Thank you!

 

 

 

That's a great question, hopefully Rev can chime in. 

Also, the permit for the Motel 6 in Totem Lake just got approved last week. Looks like they are pushing ahead with the full B2/B12/B41/N41/B66/B71/N71 upgrade: http://permits.kirklandwa.gov/WebDocs/2020121224/1d9365f9-f6c7-4c3d-9e87-8e14d89ef198.pdf

Interesting that this one has no mention of n2 or n66 in the configuration frequency map. 

[PedroDaGr8]

Also, the tower at NE 116th in. Kirkland just got the full suite of upgrades. The addition of B71/n71 and n41 should dramatically improve coverage/performance in the Forbes Creek area. 

[PedroDaGr8]

Interesting, the tower by the Shell station located just south of 405/522 interchange just got the full upgrade. This dramatically improves capacity in the north Kingsgate area.

Strangely though, the Sprint conversion across the 405 (just south of Cedar Park Christian School) is STILL not live. This site was fully converted months ago, way before the site by the Shell station, but isn't live. My guess is Tmo might have changed their mind about this site since it offers almost no benefit now that the other two nearby sites are live.

[dkyeager]

18 hours ago, PedroDaGr8 said:

Interesting, the tower by the Shell station located just south of 405/522 interchange just got the full upgrade. This dramatically improves capacity in the north Kingsgate area.

Strangely though, the Sprint conversion across the 405 (just south of Cedar Park Christian School) is STILL not live. This site was fully converted months ago, way before the site by the Shell station, but isn't live. My guess is Tmo might have changed their mind about this site since it offers almost no benefit now that the other two nearby sites are live.

My home site is similar. After 8 months, more fiber just arrived at the site.

[PedroDaGr8]

On 2/23/2022 at 7:40 AM, dkyeager said:

My home site is similar. After 8 months, more fiber just arrived at the site.

Honestly, this one is in a horrible location. It is located in a low spot in the area meaning it would only appreciably serve the small area around it. Everything else is better served by one of the other two towers nearby. 

We will see, they have made MANY dumb decisions before.

 

[PedroDaGr8]

For those who monitor permits, I just noticed that permits for Unicorporated King County (Starting second half of 2020) are now on MyBu8ldingPermit. 

[RAvirani]

Sprint eNB 747123 has been outfitted with Sprint equipment. I hope they null the southwest sector on eNB 84598/97496…