Network Vision/LTE - South Carolina Market (Columbia/Greenville/Spartanburg)

[BowHunter]

I am getting an LTE signal all up and down Clemson Blvd here in Anderson...

 

It's about time.  Data speeds in Anderson were often some of the slowest I've ever seen on the Sprint network.

 

Further north on that same road, I had LTE from in Clemson all the way past Pendleton this last weekend.

 

[todontblink]

walked out of my apartment in downtown cola today and noticed a surprise. The fastest test i ran was in the vista but i had lte down huger st., blossom, and gervais st!

[ghostkilla1388]

Off white horse at QT I got almost 30 down and 20 up but when I got to big lots off Farris bridge it dropped to under 2 down and 1 up on 4g.

[stanleywinthrop]

Todon, yep got 4g for the first time in downtown today as well. Very exciting! I've also been getting good signal in Lexington near 378/6 area. Been getting 12-18 Mbps in that area.

[todontblink]

im hoping that tomorrow i can figure out what tower/s got turned on.

[BowHunter]

There's a tower a few miles south of Seneca at Tokeena and Sam Brown.  It has LTE to the north but not to the south.

[JONBOY345]

walked out of my apartment in downtown cola today and noticed a surprise. The fastest test i ran was in the vista but i had lte down huger st., blossom, and gervais st!

Yep! Noticed this today as well. Mapped a little bit down Huger into West Cola and ran a speed test on sensorly in the Bates House parking lot before I headed to class. I'll be taking alternate routes the next couple days with mapping on so we can find out the extent of the coverage downtown.

 

On the Rich Man's HTC, sipping moonshine. now Free

 

 

[Katt50]

It says LTE near Greenville Memorial Hospital, but the data is very weak. Works just fine on 3G.

 

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S3 using TapaTalk 4

 

 

[JONBOY345]

Looks like the monopole next to the Greek Village is now 4G live. See fresh tire tracks from the last rain as well.
 

 

 

 

On the Rich Man's HTC, sipping moonshine.
 

[dwsc]

When I went for my walk last night, I was glad to hear the Signal Check Pro chimes indicating 4G was on in my very rural neighborhood in Woodruff, near the intersection of 101 and 146. Glad to finally let DSL go. Sensorly data should be up soon.

 

[idenfreak]

Spoke to an Ericsson Tech last night.  It seems for our Market, Most Fiber (Backhaul) is not ready. Therefore the sites that are running LTE are still running on T1 circuits. And Thats the reason why the LTE is typically 15dm less than DO and 1X coverage. Once the more capable backhaul is integrated, the power will be turned up on the LTE to match the existing site coverage.

[JONBOY345]

Spoke to an Ericsson Tech last night.  It seems for our Market, Most Fiber (Backhaul) is not ready. Therefore the sites that are running LTE are still running on T1 circuits. And Thats the reason why the LTE is typically 15dm less than DO and 1X coverage. Once the more capable backhaul is integrated, the power will be turned up on the LTE to match the existing site coverage.

That makes sense - when I was speaking with the testing crew at the site just up from my house there hadn't been any new fiber run to the site before them testing LTE radios and the like.

 

Saw a crew running some form of underground cable on Airport Blvd this morning. 

Here's to hoping it's fiber and they're headed towards a tower.

[thewezgrays]

Spoke to an Ericsson Tech last night.  It seems for our Market, Most Fiber (Backhaul) is not ready. Therefore the sites that are running LTE are still running on T1 circuits. And Thats the reason why the LTE is typically 15dm less than DO and 1X coverage. Once the more capable backhaul is integrated, the power will be turned up on the LTE to match the existing site coverage.

Don't think this is correct... I don't think they go live with LTE until back haul is in place and I know that the db readings are lower on the LTE due to a difference in how they are read,,, a lower db is always expected on LTE... Someone with more techincal knowledge needs to step in though...

[lilotimz]

Spoke to an Ericsson Tech last night.  It seems for our Market, Most Fiber (Backhaul) is not ready. Therefore the sites that are running LTE are still running on T1 circuits. And Thats the reason why the LTE is typically 15dm less than DO and 1X coverage. Once the more capable backhaul is integrated, the power will be turned up on the LTE to match the existing site coverage.

 

LTE will not be fired up on anything other than Fiber / Microwave / AAV connections that meet network vision standards. If Fiber or advanced backhaul is not available then the crews will hook up the legacy T1 backhaul and utilize that for 1x and 3G. 

[idenfreak]

LTE will not be fired up on anything other than Fiber / Microwave / AAV connections that meet network vision standards. If Fiber or advanced backhaul is not available then the crews will hook up the legacy T1 backhaul and utilize that for 1x and 3G. 

This site does not have LTE active currently. Actually its been down since Friday due to T1 level errors. Why would he lie to me? He said that hardly any of the active LTE in columbia is using Fiber as there is an issue. Dukenet just sold out to TWT, so contracts have to be re negotiated. He said most of the LTE sites are up on multiple T1's. I was at the site with him in his Ericsson truck. I used to work for Ericsson maintaining the sprint and Nextel networks here in SC since 2000.  I am sure he knows and i know what we are talking about folks. 

[thewezgrays]

This site does not have LTE active currently. Actually its been down since Friday due to T1 level errors. Why would he lie to me? He said that hardly any of the active LTE in columbia is using Fiber as there is an issue. Dukenet just sold out to TWT, so contracts have to be re negotiated. He said most of the LTE sites are up on multiple T1's. I was at the site with him in his Ericsson truck. I used to work for Ericsson maintaining the sprint and Nextel networks here in SC since 2000.  I am sure he knows and i know what we are talking about folks. 

Not saying he lied and not saying you don't know what you are talking about -- I will dig more for the "facts" that Sprint is not firing up a live LTE site until they have proper backhaul -- but for now I will address the fact that LTE reads lower db readings.. I went through this recently in the Myrtle Beach thread and I was pointed to this:

 

http://s4gru.com/index.php?/topic/2040-bars-lie-for-lte-signal-strength-how-to-determine-your-actual-lte-signal-strength/

 

And specifically post #9:

 

http://s4gru.com/index.php?/topic/2040-bars-lie-for-lte-signal-strength-how-to-determine-your-actual-lte-signal-strength/&do=findComment&comment=46156

 

Two totally different readings... the "same" strength on 1X or EVDO will be a lower number than that of an LTE strength...

[ghostkilla1388]

Anyone have a good estimate on when we might get LTE turned on officially?

[VTHokies]

When I went for my walk last night, I was glad to hear the Signal Check Pro chimes indicating 4G was on in my very rural neighborhood in Woodruff, near the intersection of 101 and 146. Glad to finally let DSL go. Sensorly data should be up soon.

Thanks for the info! This bodes well for me since I live off of Coachman Rd. on the edge of Greenville and Laurens County. I'm looking to use Sprint 4G LTE as my primary internet provider at home since Charter and Frontier aren't prepared to invest in my neighborhood as of yet.

[dwsc]

Thanks for the info! This bodes well for me since I live off of Coachman Rd. on the edge of Greenville and Laurens County. I'm looking to use Sprint 4G LTE as my primary internet provider at home since Charter and Frontier aren't prepared to invest in my neighborhood as of yet.

You're almost a literal stone's throw from my house, right in the heart of Crescent. I've got a Netgear Zing hotspot hooked up to a Cradlepoint gateway that I run my entire network off of. If you'd like for me to bring the hotspot over to your location to test your signal, send me a PM and we'll arrange it. You're not missing anything with Frontier DSL, though.

[AJColaSC]

Spoke to an Ericsson Tech last night.  It seems for our Market, Most Fiber (Backhaul) is not ready. Therefore the sites that are running LTE are still running on T1 circuits. And Thats the reason why the LTE is typically 15dm less than DO and 1X coverage. Once the more capable backhaul is integrated, the power will be turned up on the LTE to match the existing site coverage.

LTE will not be turned up until appropriate backhaul is in place (not T1 lines).  It is true most backhaul is not ready and that is probably a big reason for the large amount of 3G only sites completed, the equipment may be ready but the 4G will not be activated until backhaul is ready.  Signal strength does not correlate to backhaul, it is true that you may receive LTE from a futher tower than 1x which would explain a huge difference (>15dbm).  I checked several sites that are 4G live and they are either ATT or TWC provided.

[idenfreak]

LTE will not be turned up until appropriate backhaul is in place (not T1 lines).  It is true most backhaul is not ready and that is probably a big reason for the large amount of 3G only sites completed, the equipment may be ready but the 4G will not be activated until backhaul is ready.  Signal strength does not correlate to backhaul, it is true that you may receive LTE from a futher tower than 1x which would explain a huge difference (>15dbm).  I checked several sites that are 4G live and they are either ATT or TWC provided.

I have been under a tower that is 4G live, and its still 15db lower than 1X/DO. For instance, The Gaston Cell site is almost an island, and LTE coverage is way smaller than its legacy footprint. This means spotty LTE even at launch except in the core where cells are closer in. As far as the Backhaul, Obviously our techs here in Columbia don't know their equipment and whether fiber or T1's are hooked up to them.  

[Katt50]

I have been under a tower that is 4G live, and its still 15db lower than 1X/DO. For instance, The Gaston Cell site is almost an island, and LTE coverage is way smaller than its legacy footprint. This means spotty LTE even at launch except in the core where cells are closer in. As far as the Backhaul, Obviously our techs here in Columbia don't know their equipment and whether fiber or T1's are hooked up to them.

It's not just in Columbia. The tower closest to my house is saying 4G, but the speed is slower than 3G.

 

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S3 using TapaTalk 4

 

 

[VTHokies]

You're almost a literal stone's throw from my house, right in the heart of Crescent. I've got a Netgear Zing hotspot hooked up to a Cradlepoint gateway that I run my entire network off of. If you'd like for me to bring the hotspot over to your location to test your signal, send me a PM and we'll arrange it. You're not missing anything with Frontier DSL, though.

PM Sent

[VTHokies]

I can't believe this.

After all this time of waiting for Sprint 4G LTE to come to the Upstate and having dwsc help me confirm that I have Sprint 4G LTE at my house just yesterday (big thanks to dwsc), I finally go to order service through wirelessnwifi.com and apparently Sprint is pulling the plug on selling service through them and other MVNO's including Millenicom!

AAARRGGHH!!!

[ghostkilla1388]

I've picked up some LTE at home but its dBm is -116 so its not really usable, at work outside(metal building) I get a dBm around the mid -90's