Network Vision/LTE - Atlanta/Athens Market

[JonnygATL]

And my right to explain the facts, is my right too. I never said you are not allowed to be frustrated. But since your market is farther along than any other market except for possibly Chicago, most of us don't have much sympathy for your frustrations. Even though you are certiainly allowed to have them.

 

Robert via Samsung Note II using Forum Runner

 

It's the pace, mostly. And also the lack of movement by Ericsson re: the 3G side of the NV upgrade process. But, like you explained to me in our private conversation, this is due to equipment shortages and faulty equipment (though that thankfully seems to have been corrected now).

 

Having a Wimax only phone does nothing for me as it pertains to LTE. But expanded 3G coverage would be great, especially in the area of town in which I live. And, like I said, my 3G experience here in the Druid Hills/Emory area has been a little bizarre and I've never been able to fully understand it nor was anyone at Sprint able to tell me (Yes, I know CSRs have little to no access to any technical data whatsoever). But the experience has been thus: I moved to this part of town in Feb 2011. I realized Wimax was non-existent here. But 3G was practically non-existent, too. So I called Sprint. They gave me an airave and said by March 20th a new tower would be online which would greatly improve my service. Sure enough, around the end of March, I no longer needed by airave....I was getting at least 1mpbs down, even inside the house in the middle of the day. This lasted until August. Now I can hardly even get a signal at all, 3G or otherwise, even when standing outside the house in the clear. So I called Sprint back and reactivated my Airave. They tell me that I should have really fast data speeds at my location and should be getting a great signal. Clearly I am not but the Airave gives me consistent 2.0 mbps down. Which is fantastic. I just wish I didn't need it.

 

So why the up and down with the network? I have no idea. I have never been able to identify what might have caused that. Any ideas?

[bdinsmore]

Has anyone else lost 4g LTE signal in Midtown Atlanta? I live 15 stories up in a high rise at the corner of the 17th street bridge and have had weak LTE (110-120 signal and 2-6mbps down) service since day 1 of the market launch. I have recently (last week or so) completely lost signal even with the LTE only setting enabled which would always pick up signal before.

 

I am wondering if they took a tower down or if something has changed with my EVO4G LTE which is rooted running mean rom 5.7. I was running meanROM 4.8 and the loss of signal happened about when I upgraded to 5.0. Clean flashing 5.7 yesterday didn't change anything.

[S4GRU]

Has anyone else lost 4g LTE signal in Midtown Atlanta? I live 15 stories up in a high rise at the corner of the 17th street bridge and have had weak LTE (110-120 signal and 2-6mbps down) service since day 1 of the market launch. I have recently (last week or so) completely lost signal even with the LTE only setting enabled which would always pick up signal before.

 

I am wondering if they took a tower down or if something has changed with my EVO4G LTE which is rooted running mean rom 5.7. I was running meanROM 4.8 and the loss of signal happened about when I upgraded to 5.0. Clean flashing 5.7 yesterday didn't change anything.

 

You were at the very edge of service before. It is possible that the site you were connecting to has had its downtilt adjusted because a site closer to you is about to go live. If they do not adjust the downtilt on the existing tower, the two towers will interfere. Let us know if you get the signal back but even stronger in the next few days.

 

Robert via Nexus 7 using Forum Runner

[troyd96]

I was at my brother's condo at 1280 West Peachtree a couple of weeks ago and I had good LTE signal. He lives on the 39th floor. That is probably less than a mile from you.

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

 

 

[bdinsmore]

You were at the very edge of service before. It is possible that the site you were connecting to has had its downtilt adjusted because a site closer to you is about to go live. If they do not adjust the downtilt on the existing tower, the two towers will interfere. Let us know if you get the signal back but even stronger in the next few days.

 

Robert via Nexus 7 using Forum Runner

 

Great thank you for the information. I was hoping it was a positive sign for the area and not a tower taken back offline. There really has not been any towers added since the first week or two of launch in the midtown area so looking forward to another tower and a little better coverage. Based on the sponsor maps; I believe I was connecting to AT03XC069 about 2mi away, but directly in line of sight of my living room windows before. This would seem that your downtilt suggestion would make perfect sense. Looking at the map again it looks like tower AT03XC675 is now listed as accepted and is less than 500ft from my building. Maybe they are working on getting the signal from it live. I will report back if I see any new signal, and thanks for all the hard work on these forms.

[JonnygATL]

Great thank you for the information. I was hoping it was a positive sign for the area and not a tower taken back offline. There really has not been any towers added since the first week or two of launch in the midtown area so looking forward to another tower and a little better coverage. Based on the sponsor maps; I believe I was connecting to AT03XC069 about 2mi away, but directly in line of sight of my living room windows before. This would seem that your downtilt suggestion would make perfect sense. Looking at the map again it looks like tower AT03XC675 is now listed as accepted and is less than 500ft from my building. Maybe they are working on getting the signal from it live. I will report back if I see any new signal, and thanks for all the hard work on these forms.

 

I know exactly what building you are talking about. Either Twelve hotel/condo tower or the Atlantic across the street. I work right there, as well and that is precisely the location I was referencing (going back a few posts in this thread) regarding the Sprint reps and the conversation we had.

 

And, yeah, you're right. Midtown has been largely left out of the buzz while the suburbs and even exurbs have been getting all the love.

 

So maybe the situation is about to improve? I hope so!!!!!!!

[chong67]

In my experience, yes. And it is quite noticeable.

 

Robert via Moto Photon Q using Forum Runner

 

Why does the S3 has better tolerence than the HTC 4G LTE phone? Bigger antenna?

[Keisa]

Any news on the 30044 Lawrenceville area near club drive? My data speeds have been horrible for months now, I've been lurking here for awhile. Read on another forum to try ##update# and that actually helped with my 3G speeds A LOT. I'm even starting to hold LTE for longer times, but I'm still being switched back and forth between 3G and LTE every couple of minutes or so. Does anyone know if the Sensorly app will be on iOS ever?

[S4GRU]

 

Why does the S3 has better tolerence than the HTC 4G LTE phone? Bigger antenna?

 

I dont know.

 

Robert via Samsung Note II using Forum Runner

[bdinsmore]

I was at my brother's condo at 1280 West Peachtree a couple of weeks ago and I had good LTE signal. He lives on the 39th floor. That is probably less than a mile from you.

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

 

1280 West is where I am at as well. I had been getting signal consistently since the market launch in July, but it disappeared late October for a week or two which is what led me to inquire here if anyone else was experiencing the same.

 

As expected from Roberts’s reply, the signal came back last week mid-week and is a bit stronger now. I am seeing ~-95 to ~-105 on average based on the field trial menu which is resulting in 4mbps-10mbps downloads depending on how deep into the building I am.

 

I see with the new weekly update on the sponsor map a tower was added directly across 75 from the building about 300ft away. I would almost expect a stronger signal as I am directly facing the tower on the west side of the building and even outside on the balcony it maxes at ~-95. With other towers about the same distance I have seen as good as -75 signal and 32mbps downloads. Of course the signal at home doesn’t really matter too much with Wi-Fi available.

 

Does anyone know if this is the normal signal range for being ~300ft away?

[S4GRU]

 

1280 West is where I am at as well. I had been getting signal consistently since the market launch in July, but it disappeared late October for a week or two which is what led me to inquire here if anyone else was experiencing the same.

 

As expected from Roberts’s reply, the signal came back last week mid-week and is a bit stronger now. I am seeing ~-95 to ~-105 on average based on the field trial menu which is resulting in 4mbps-10mbps downloads depending on how deep into the building I am.

 

I see with the new weekly update on the sponsor map a tower was added directly across 75 from the building about 300ft away. I would almost expect a stronger signal as I am directly facing the tower on the west side of the building and even outside on the balcony it maxes at ~-95. With other towers about the same distance I have seen as good as -75 signal and 32mbps downloads. Of course the signal at home doesn’t really matter too much with Wi-Fi available.

 

Does anyone know if this is the normal signal range for being ~300ft away?

 

Highly unusual. But you could be between sectors, or the sector facing you may not be operating. There are lits of variables that could be at play. Keep us posted. Thanks.

 

Robert via Samsung Note II via Tapatalk

 

 

[dnatic09]

I'd just like to add my LTE coverage drama to the mix. I live in Buckhead (30305). I get 4G service consistently when INSIDE my condo on the 20th floor. The moment I leave my building, I am 3G only. I work at the headquarters of The Weather Channel near I-75 and I-285 (Cumberland area) and get no LTE service. I never get LTE service in Midtown either. The moment I get inside my condo or go to my parents' house in John's Creek (30005), I get LTE service. It is VERY frustrating. 3G speeds are consistently < 100 kbps. My phone is virtually unusable anywhere except in my condo or my parents' house ... conveniently in WIFI zones that make 4G useless anyway.

Edited November 24, 2012 by dnatic09

[dnatic09]

Update: I got moved from the 5th to 8th floor at my office (The Weather Channel). I now have 4g 75% of the time. More proof Sprint is pointing these towers horizontally. Do they not get it??? We cannot get reception on the ground. This is so frustrating.

 

EDIT: just to pile on. Speed tests never get speeds over 1500k. I am soooooo glad that I know get reasonable 3g speeds when I find a 4g pocket in my building.

Edited November 30, 2012 by dnatic09

[JonnygATL]

Update: I got moved from the 5th to 8th floor at my office (The Weather Channel). I now have 4g 75% of the time. More proof Sprint is pointing these towers horizontally. Do they not get it??? We cannot get reception on the ground. This is so frustrating.

 

EDIT: just to pile on. Speed tests never get speeds over 1500k. I am soooooo glad that I know get reasonable 3g speeds when I find a 4g pocket in my building.

 

That is so bizarre. And frustrating. I can tell you that several of my coworkers have Sprint LTE phones..mainly the Galaxy S3...and they all now seem to be getting fairly consistent 4G LTE. We work in Atlantic Station in West Midtown and LTE has been oddly slow in coming to Midtown but it seems to be here now, at least right where we work for sure. I guess things are still slowly improving. I just didn't realize that a market would take so long to complete. Having been officially launched in June (with work starting even well before that), I just assumed it would be done by now. Clearly I was mistaken as I am not terribly familiar with the Telecom industry. But if it takes up to a year or more to complete a market, how can Sprint meet its goal of finishing the rollout by 2013?? Can anyone explain? Thanks.

[dnatic09]

There is a very obvious answer as to why the network is so bad. Sprint noticed their 3g was crap and WiMAX was being outdone by AT&T's and T-Mobile's 3.5G network. They setup a few towers and claimed a release on LTE when they clearly were not ready. If they didn't roll with LTE phones, competition would have steamrolled them. sprint lied.

[Dkoellerwx]

That is so bizarre. And frustrating. I can tell you that several of my coworkers have Sprint LTE phones..mainly the Galaxy S3...and they all now seem to be getting fairly consistent 4G LTE. We work in Atlantic Station in West Midtown and LTE has been oddly slow in coming to Midtown but it seems to be here now, at least right where we work for sure. I guess things are still slowly improving. I just didn't realize that a market would take so long to complete. Having been officially launched in June (with work starting even well before that), I just assumed it would be done by now. Clearly I was mistaken as I am not terribly familiar with the Telecom industry. But if it takes up to a year or more to complete a market, how can Sprint meet its goal of finishing the rollout by 2013?? Can anyone explain? Thanks.

 

Rolling out a complete network overhaul takes a long time, they aren't just slapping LTE on a couple of towers and then moving on like Verizon did. They could have done a 'blanket' coverage plan, where they put it on a few strategic sites that barely cover the city and call it good. But that's not what they are doing. They are replacing EVERY SINGLE TOWER in EVERY SINGLE MARKET. That takes time, a lot of time. I'm sure they wish it was moving along faster than it is. The first markets (ie. Atalanta, Dallas, KC, Houston) were slated to be done in December or January. However, Ericsson, the company doing the upgrades, had gotten a little behind due to equipment issues, and backhaul not getting to sites quick enough. But the work is still going on, and it will be complete. It just requires a little more patience.

 

 

There is a very obvious answer as to why the network is so bad. Sprint noticed their 3g was crap and WiMAX was being outdone by AT&T's and T-Mobile's 3.5G network. They setup a few towers and claimed a release on LTE when they clearly were not ready. If they didn't roll with LTE phones, competition would have steamrolled them. sprint lied.

 

That's not true at all. Please see the site rules, as you are very near crossing them.

[themuffinman]

Rolling out a complete network overhaul takes a long time, they aren't just slapping LTE on a couple of towers and then moving on like Verizon did. They could have done a 'blanket' coverage plan, where they put it on a few strategic sites that barely cover the city and call it good. But that's not what they are doing. They are replacing EVERY SINGLE TOWER in EVERY SINGLE MARKET. That takes time, a lot of time. I'm sure they wish it was moving along faster than it is. The first markets (ie. Atalanta, Dallas, KC, Houston) were slated to be done in December or January. However, Ericsson, the company doing the upgrades, had gotten a little behind due to equipment issues, and backhaul not getting to sites quick enough. But the work is still going on, and it will be complete. It just requires a little more patience.

 

I wish I had two more hands so I can give this response 4 thumbs up.

[S4GRU]

There is a very obvious answer as to why the network is so bad. Sprint noticed their 3g was crap and WiMAX was being outdone by AT&T's and T-Mobile's 3.5G network. They setup a few towers and claimed a release on LTE when they clearly were not ready. If they didn't roll with LTE phones, competition would have steamrolled them. sprint lied.

 

Whenever you are on a higher floor you are more likely to be above ground clutter and get a signal from a much further site than normal. This happens with all networks, not just Sprint. However, at a higher floor (or elevation), the noise floor your device encounters goes up and will cause performance to drop.

 

Sprint is not doing anything wrong, or is bad, because your signal improves as your elevation increases. When more coverage is added in your area, signal will improve on the lower floors as well. If Sprint doesn't meet your needs, why don't you try AT&T? I'm sure they will treat you real good. Please stop trolling our forums.

 

Robert

[chong67]

Hi. I had not been back here a while cause I been getting my LTE when there is LTE.

 

Before I had my Radio update, I cant even get LTE even when I am 1 feet from the tower. Hows that for fun?

[Keisa]

No updates on the Pleasant Hill/Club Dr area of Gwinnett? I see LTE, but it drops in and out consistently.

[danielholt]

The weather today will be clear and sunny with a 75% chance of LTE

 

Update: I got moved from the 5th to 8th floor at my office (The Weather Channel). I now have 4g 75% of the time. More proof Sprint is pointing these towers horizontally. Do they not get it??? We cannot get reception on the ground. This is so frustrating.

 

EDIT: just to pile on. Speed tests never get speeds over 1500k. I am soooooo glad that I know get reasonable 3g speeds when I find a 4g pocket in my building.

 

 

 

[sualpine]

I've been in touch with Sprint over Buckhead/Lenox Square/Dunwoody/Sandy Springs. Apparently there is a "mismatch" with a local phone company needing reprovisioning. I started tracking their service ticket numbers about 30 days ago. Today, the ticket was delayed the 9th time to December 5 and December 8, respectively. I'm not sure what the rep meant by "mismatch" and I don't think she knew either. Any ideas?

Edited December 4, 2012 by sualpine

[sualpine]

Ticket numbers 9754817 and 9780868 for North Atlanta have been moved to closing date of December 8 and December 12. 10th missed date today.

[andycapps]

Anybody know in the Athens area if LTE goes to Watkinsville yet? Specifically, if it goes down 316 to Epps Bridge Connector and then down Mars Hill Rd? Will be in that area next week.

[dnatic09]

I've been in touch with Sprint over Buckhead/Lenox Square/Dunwoody/Sandy Springs. Apparently there is a "mismatch" with a local phone company needing reprovisioning. I started tracking their service ticket numbers about 30 days ago. Today, the ticket was delayed the 9th time to December 5 and December 8, respectively. I'm not sure what the rep meant by "mismatch" and I don't think she knew either. Any ideas?

 

This is excellent information. There is definitely a new issue with the network that seems to be related to this. I am getting more consistent LTE coverage after Sprint sent the JB update for the EVO 4G LTE. However, now my LTE speeds are in the trenches.

 

Any update? Speeds out in the metro are still decent.

 

Speed test this morning gave 896 down, 923 up.

 

Same to sualpine. Can you post an update on these tickets?