Network Vision/LTE - Jacksonville Market (including Gainesville/St. Augustine/Ocala)

[yocubed]

long time lurker but first time poster. 

 

This roll out has been grossly depressing. If something doesn't happen drastically and soon I'll abandon ship break my contract and head to AT&T. Below are my most recent speed test results, pitiful to say the least and the 4 fastest ones are all 4G LTE tests. Yes 3.87 is the fastest of the 4G signals I've received at least recently. I'm holding out hope for a miracle but Sprint has a lot of work to do to convince me to stay in a short time frame.

Edited July 29, 2013 by yocubed

[njjdnt]

soon I'll abandon ship break my contract and head to AT&T.  I'm holding out hope for a miracle but Sprint has a lot of work to do to convince me to stay in a short time

Sprint doesn’t work for everyone.  Enjoy your false prophet, AT&T.

[tybo31316]

Go with what works for you. I'd rather enjoy 3mb unlimited than 60mb capped data. I've been with sprint this long I can stick it out a while longer. Now if s4gru want available to me I would have dumped Sprint before I upgraded to the Evo LTE.

 

Sent from my EVO

[ren857]

lake monster

 

Robert

Posted from my E4GT with ICS using Forum Runner

You're not the only one. I have 9 months left on my contract.

 

Me, my sister, and my mom were in the same car heading to St Augustine on I-95 this past Saturday. Me and my sis have sprint. My mom is on AT&T. My mom and sis tried to download the same app on their phones. Guess which one of them was actually able to do it? It wasn't my sister...

 

sent from my mobile device

 

 

[CaryTheLabelGuy]

long time lurker but first time poster.

 

This roll out has been grossly depressing. If something doesn't happen drastically and soon I'll abandon ship break my contract and head to AT&T. Below are my most recent speed test results, pitiful to say the least and the 4 fastest ones are all 4G LTE tests. Yes 3.87 is the fastest of the 4G signals I've received at least recently. I'm holding out hope for a miracle but Sprint has a lot of work to do to convince me to stay in a short time frame.

http://s4gru.com/public/style_images/master/attachicon.gif Screenshot_2013-07-29-08-06-25.png

That's the fastest 4G LTE signal you've gotten in the Jax area? What was your signal strength? LTE is very signal strength dependent. LTE has been great pretty much everywhere in Jax for me and has gotten a lot better even within the last week. With a LTE signal of -110 to -114, I can easily pull-down 6-12mbps and 1.5-5mbps uplink. Once I get a signal better than -104, my speeds increase drastically, sometimes upwards of 25mbps downlink and 8-10mbps uplink.

 

Just give Sprint some time to fill-in coverage holes and also get 800CDMA turned on. After that, you'll see better overall overage (especially for voice due to 800CDMA) and should see much faster LTE speeds due to getting better signal from having the towers all converted to NV. You'll also see your 3G EVDO speeds increase drastically once those towers are converted to NV. I easily get 1.5-2.5mbps downlink on EVDO now on the NV towers. They easily beat Verizon's speedtests on EVDO most of the time (I have devices on Verizon and AT&T).

 

If you experience slow LTE speeds, it's most likely because the site your connected to is the only one in your area and is serving a large swath of people trying to connect to it (or you're not getting a good signal). Once more sites get converted to NV, the congested towers will be less congested.

 

Once 800mhz LTE and 2.5/6ghz LTE gets lit-up in Jax, you'll really start to see Sprint shine (if you have a Tri-band LTE device).

 

I'm already starting to Sprint's consistency rival Verizon and AT&T's in my area. Verizon might have faster burst speeds than Sprint's but Sprint's stays pretty consistent and Verizon's can really slow-down, almost as slow as 1mbps. AT&T is no different.

 

Coming from somebody that has devices on all three carriers, there is no perfect carrier. Sprint is really starting to impress me and this time next year, Sprint will have the most advanced network in the industry and will probably be the first carrier to launch true 4G (LTE-Advanced).

 

 

Sent from my Sprint iPhone 5, not the old one (using Tapatalk 2).

[CaryTheLabelGuy]

Just took this one at the beach (congested).

 

 

Sent from my Sprint iPhone 5, not the old one (using Tapatalk 2).

[Terrell352]

While I agree that Sprint will eventually have the most advanced network I don't think they will be first with LTE advance even if its easier for them to do it than Verizon or AT&T because tmobile can upgrade just as easy since they are using release 9 too. Sprint is far behind the other carriers in deploying LTE because they way they are doing it just takes more time so about time sprint is finished with its initial deployment of LTE the other carriers probably would have got the jump on LTE Advanced 6-8 months before hand

 

That's the fastest 4G LTE signal you've gotten in the Jax area? What was your signal strength? LTE is very signal strength dependent. LTE has been great pretty much everywhere in Jax for me and has gotten a lot better even within the last week. With a LTE signal of -110 to -114, I can easily pull-down 6-12mbps and 1.5-5mbps uplink. Once I get a signal better than -104, my speeds increase drastically, sometimes upwards of 25mbps downlink and 8-10mbps uplink. Just give Sprint some time to fill-in coverage holes and also get 800CDMA turned on. After that, you'll see better overall overage (especially for voice due to 800CDMA) and should see much faster LTE speeds due to getting better signal from having the towers all converted to NV. You'll also see your 3G EVDO speeds increase drastically once those towers are converted to NV. I easily get 1.5-2.5mbps downlink on EVDO now on the NV towers. They easily beat Verizon's speedtests on EVDO most of the time (I have devices on Verizon and AT&T). If you experience slow LTE speeds, it's most likely because the site your connected to is the only one in your area and is serving a large swath of people trying to connect to it (or you're not getting a good signal). Once more sites get converted to NV, the congested towers will be less congested. Once 800mhz LTE and 2.5/6ghz LTE gets lit-up in Jax, you'll really start to see Sprint shine (if you have a Tri-band LTE device). I'm already starting to Sprint's consistency rival Verizon and AT&T's in my area. Verizon might have faster burst speeds than Sprint's but Sprint's stays pretty consistent and Verizon's can really slow-down, almost as slow as 1mbps. AT&T is no different. Coming from somebody that has devices on all three carriers, there is no perfect carrier. Sprint is really starting to impress me and this time next year, Sprint will have the most advanced network in the industry and will probably be the first carrier to launch true 4G (LTE-Advanced). Sent from my Sprint iPhone 5, not the old one (using Tapatalk 2).

[CaryTheLabelGuy]

While I agree that Sprint will eventually have the most advanced network I don't think they will be first with LTE advance even if its easier for them to do it than Verizon or AT&T because tmobile can upgrade just as easy since they are using release 9 too. Sprint is far behind the other carriers in deploying LTE because they way they are doing it just takes more time so about time sprint is finished with its initial deployment of LTE the other carriers probably would have got the jump on LTE Advanced 6-8 months before hand

It's all about back haul. The reason T-Mobile is able to deploy LTE so fast is because they have adequate bad haul at most of their sites, unlike Sprint. Sprint didn't have the money to upgrade their back haul until they implemented NV, but adequate back haul takes time to run. I'm sure you're totally aware of this, as you're a regular on this forum.

 

From what I've read, the other carriers have to upgrade a lot of sites to be able to run release 10 LTE-A, unlike Sprint. I think T-Mobile can also run LTE-A as well, with their LTE equipment. I was told that Sprint was in the best position to launch LTE-A first. I could be wrong.

 

 

Sent from my Sprint iPhone 5, not the old one (using Tapatalk 2).

[adu1982]

Just got back from helen, GA.. could not believe it but I had great 4g lte speed test 12mb to 28mb. Spotty as it was being the GA mountains it was crazy being faster then the cabin wifi....considering I get .5 mb in my house.

 

 

hope we get 4g o b Atlantic/Kernan soon....even 2-3mb looks awesome now.

[tybo31316]

I drove past the tower on i95 near broward road that was accepted about a month ago. The legacy panels are removed already. Has anyone else noticed any legacy panels being removed already.

 

Sent from my EVO

 

 

[yocubed]

That's the fastest 4G LTE signal you've gotten in the Jax area? What was your signal strength? LTE is very signal strength dependent. LTE has been great pretty much everywhere in Jax for me and has gotten a lot better even within the last week. With a LTE signal of -110 to -114, I can easily pull-down 6-12mbps and 1.5-5mbps uplink. Once I get a signal better than -104, my speeds increase drastically, sometimes upwards of 25mbps downlink and 8-10mbps uplink.

 

while that's not the fastest. I've seen 12-14Mbps a few times, the speed test result I've posted are far more common for me than the faster speeds. I spend most of my time on southside in the WindyHill area and over near Town Center but when I go to riverside unless i catch a wifi signal my phone is essentially useless. Only place I've been lucky to get a good consistent signal with decent speeds is downtown near my office. Other than that it's been pretty typical of my above post 

[CaryTheLabelGuy]

while that's not the fastest. I've seen 12-14Mbps a few times, the speed test result I've posted are far more common for me than the faster speeds. I spend most of my time on southside in the WindyHill area and over near Town Center but when I go to riverside unless i catch a wifi signal my phone is essentially useless. Only place I've been lucky to get a good consistent signal with decent speeds is downtown near my office. Other than that it's been pretty typical of my above post

Those two areas are huge holes in Sprint's LTE coverage, currently. It will get better. Riverside still has a few towers that have not been upgraded and the Southside of town has a TON of towers yet to be upgraded.

 

Are you a sponsor? If you are, you'll be able to see the completed sites map for yourself. If you compare that with the projected NV map, you'll see what I mean. Jax is only 49-50% finished.

 

 

Sent from my Sprint iPhone 5, not the old one (using Tapatalk 2).

[anasazi]

My phone is basically useless in and around town center. Literally a useless brick. 

 

Have had great success on the LTE network however. Only time I ran into troubles was downtown during the food truck rally and with a couple thousand people in one square block the cell network struggled even on LTE. 

 

Here at the beach at 9:15pm I just pulled 3.87 down / 0.55 up with two bars. Not spectacular but good enough for most anything I'm doing to include netflix. 

[CaryTheLabelGuy]

My phone is basically useless in and around town center. Literally a useless brick.

 

Have had great success on the LTE network however. Only time I ran into troubles was downtown during the food truck rally and with a couple thousand people in one square block the cell network struggled even on LTE.

 

Here at the beach at 9:15pm I just pulled 3.87 down / 0.55 up with two bars. Not spectacular but good enough for most anything I'm doing to include netflix.

Like I'm sure you're probably totally aware, this will be a thing of the past soon, when NV upgrades are finished. Legacy back haul is the issue with reduced capacity and performance on non-NV sites, especially in areas with lots of subs in one place. In those high traffic areas, on non-NV sites, performance really suffers, to the point of total uselessness. We've all experienced it. It will take a long time for Sprint to reverse their image.

 

When LTE 800 and LTE 2.5/6ghz gets turned on in Jax, coupled with PCS LTE (1900mhz), Sprint will really shine. Hopefully you guys can hang-on long enough to enjoy it.

 

 

Sent from my Sprint iPhone 5, not the old one (using Tapatalk 2).

[Nomadicgeek]

Just saw that Sprint officially launched Jacksonville today.

 

I'm trying to maintain some optimism, but the rollout has been painfully slow and my experience with LTE thus far is that if I stand outside, in the right spot, the speed is great. However, anywhere that I actually need to use it, you can't get an LTE signal, and the 3g is dial up slow.

 

I've been with Sprint for so long, that I think I have a little Stockholm syndrome. I don't want to wait another year or two for the upgrades, but I can't bring myself to throw in the towel either.

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

 

 

[Terrell352]

Im in the same boat

 

 

Just saw that Sprint officially launched Jacksonville today.

 

I'm trying to maintain some optimism, but the rollout has been painfully slow and my experience with LTE thus far is that if I stand outside, in the right spot, the speed is great. However, anywhere that I actually need to use it, you can't get an LTE signal, and the 3g is dial up slow.

 

I've been with Sprint for so long, that I think I have a little Stockholm syndrome. I don't want to wait another year or two for the upgrades, but I can't bring myself to throw in the towel either.

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

[tybo31316]

Well, for those of you that were questioning Sprint future. According to the earnings call today Sprint plans on install 2.6 TD-LTE on all 38k sites and the 12k+ sites that Clearwire are currently on. I know that some are co-located with Sprint sites. With 800/1900/2600 on all Sprint's site this makes for one bad ass network. I don't know about the rest of you all but I'm sticking around at least another 2 years. If Sprint can pull this off they will be top of the food chain as far as wireless goes. Also 2.6 band will be the global roaming band with Japan, China, India, and a few other countries using this band in their TD-LTE deployments. I'm in the same boat as you all here in Jacksonville. My biggest issue is not data but not being able to make phone calls inside of buildings since I'm not a data power user. The future will be bright for Sprint the dark days will be over soon.

[Terrell352]

My area Sprints 1900 mhz voice is actually really good and I only know 2 dead spots where I roam or get no service. Sprints problem to me has always been data. Right now im getting 1.89 down and 0.64 up because its 2:30am but in normal hours its pretty sad. I don't have much of a choice right now but to wait this out since my contract is not up til May 2014 and by then I'm sure there network will be a whole new animal

[Dkoellerwx]

 

 

 

 

 

Since the last few people who have posted are all sponsors, I'm sure you can see that Sprint really had no business "launching" Jacksonville yet. Just one look at the NV Sites complete map and you can see why coverage is spotty at times and slow. 

 

I think we've decided that the push to launch markets this week was all about marketing, trying to reel in the supposed loss to T-Mobile a couple weeks ago.

 

But, on the flip side, look at how much coverage is provided by the smattering of sites that have been upgraded, it doesn't take much to imagine how good the network will be when they're finally able to really start moving on upgrades and getting the market closer to completion. And if SoftBank has anything to to with it, things should speed up. Not to mention the very good Clear LTE news we got today!

 

So, I'm not trying to single anyone out, just reminding everyone that work is far from complete, and very good things are ahead! If we can be patient... which is the hardest part 

[Terrell352]

Patience is the hardest part. Not gonna lie I'm out of it waiting 3 years but I'm Damn sure gonna make more lol. 2600 news will make Sprint the almighty network and just renewed my hopes

[Faction]

I'm getting tired of having intermittent LTE signal from the tower 1/2 mile from my home. For a few weeks it'll broadcast LTE...then 3G...then LTE...and vice versa. I'm gonna call Sprint and see what they say.

[tybo31316]

Is it me or the LTE acceptance has gone down so much to the point to where it seems as of the roll out stopped. The 3G acceptance on already LTE accepted sites has been going strong. I wonder if the rain has been effecting the roll out.

 

Sent from my Nexus 7

 

 

[ren857]

I'm getting tired of having intermittent LTE signal from the tower 1/2 mile from my home. For a few weeks it'll broadcast LTE...then 3G...then LTE...and vice versa. I'm gonna call Sprint and see what they say.

This has been my experience as well. LTE has been intermittent when I can get it. Sometimes it's on. Sometimes it's not. Go figure.

 

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk HD

 

 

[Faction]

This has been my experience as well. LTE has been intermittent when I can get it. Sometimes it's on. Sometimes it's not. Go figure.

 

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk HD

Spoke with Sprint about it. Apparently it's a reported outage already. Ticket # 1565249. Rep said it will be fixed on 08/06/2013 at 17:00...hmm. I'm not familiar with how the trouble tickets work.

[tybo31316]

I drove past the tower on i95 near broward road that was accepted about a month ago. The legacy panels are removed already. Has anyone else noticed any legacy panels being removed already.

 

Sent from my EVO

I've noticed even more sites with legacy panels removed that are 3G/4G accepted.

 

Sent from my EVO