Network Vision/LTE - Orlando Market

[jamisonshaw125]

So. Along with the SoftBank deal and having a lot of extra cash now, and shutting down iden network..... It should speed up everything else then. Wishfull thinking. Staying optimistic after experiencing LTE over in cocoa. My phone was actually more usable outside of the house, than in my sisters house with her wifi. LOL irony since its the exact opposite in my apartment

[Zandar]

When Orlando grows up to be like the Miami Beach area, this is what our speeds will look like.

 

[jamisonshaw125]

When Orlando grows up to be like the Miami Beach area, this is what our speeds will look like.

 

 

[mike656]

Not sure if this is Sprint but these guys appeared to be removing what look like legacy 1900 Sprint panels near University and Forsyth by Costco, with RRU panels (3 per sector) on the same level. As I'm not familiar with the installs in this area, if this is another carrier then my mistake  .

[UCFKnight]

Not sure if this is Sprint but these guys appeared to be removing what look like legacy 1900 Sprint panels near University and Forsyth by Costco, with RRU panels (3 per sector) on the same level. As I'm not familiar with the installs in this area, if this is another carrier then my mistake  .

I've been waiting for them to touch that site, I drive by it everyday. Its supposed to be receiving two upgrades and there is a huge bird nest at the top. The tower itself is owned and maintained by Spectrasite Communications, and has licenses for Sprint, Nextel, and Clearwire antennas, so I would assume they are dismantling the Nextel equipment and possibly adding NV/LTE equipment

[mike656]

I figured Clearwire (single wide panels), Nextel (4 shark fins per sector), and Sprint from bottom to top?? Looks like the top is empty, would have been nice to have Verizon LTE panels there as they were dead in Costco and running like -108 RSRP at the intersection, with high 90's RSSI indoors on EVDO (I don't carry my Sprint phone with me everywhere).

 

I modded the pic to show the panel being removed better.

[jamisonshaw125]

Not going to be able to get anything done with this rain.....Its like a hurricane outside rn

[UCFKnight]

Not going to be able to get anything done with this rain.....Its like a hurricane outside rn

it'll be over momentarily, its heading Northward into Oviedo

[jamisonshaw125]

it'll be over momentarily, its heading Northward into Oviedo

What should we expect for range on these towers with all the upgrades done.. I think the closest one to where I live is on lake underhill  which is like 2 miles away..

[UCFKnight]

judging by the height, I'd expect it to cover a fair distance. The tower closest to me is less than 1700ft away and is about as tall as the one on University - maybe a bit shorter. Second one being 1.5 miles away (Winter Park Towers) and I got LTE from that location when it was in testing (which has since ceased). The tower on University is only a mile from me. Now the tower by UCF, that one will probably cover quite a distance given how tall it is in relation to these.

[UCFKnight]

I ran a search on that particular road, no permits pulled unless they are doing it under orange county's radar. The address for the tower is 2000 Hillcrest St.

[lilsamwl]

I got stuck on I4 and I had no voice or data service. I've had the last straw with Sprint. I've been with them for over 12 years. AT&T launch 25+ new market every two weeks. They launch 35 new markets today and have had LTE in Orlando since January of 2012

Maybe in two years I'm come back.

[gf11speed]

I got stuck on I4 and I had no voice or data service. I've had the last straw with Sprint. I've been with them for over 12 years. AT&T launch 25+ new market every two weeks. They launch 35 new markets today and have had LTE in Orlando since January of 2012

Maybe in two years I'm come back.

 

My feelings exactly. Only reason I'm still with them is because they are taking $30 off my bill every month until their garbage network is fixed.

Edited July 2, 2013 by gf11speed

[gf11speed]

So, what are we seeing in launched cities as far as Sprint vs AT&T vs Verizon? How does the completed Sprint LTE network compare? Is it faster/slower than the other LTE networks? Is this even worth the wait?

[UCFKnight]

last time I remember when I saw the article, Sprint's LTE tests were pretty pathetic when compared to the other carriers

[Dkoellerwx]

So, what are we seeing in launched cities as far as Sprint vs AT&T vs Verizon? How does the completed Sprint LTE network compare? Is it faster/slower than the other LTE networks? Is this even worth the wait?

 

Couple things to note here.

 

One, is that even launched markets are not complete yet. There is not a single market that is 100% complete at this point. There are some areas within a market that have been mostly upgraded, but very few areas that are actually complete. And even then, you won't see the full effect of NV until 800MHz LTE is online, and Clearwire has their 2500 LTE running. 

 

Two, due to differences in the way the network is set up, Sprint's PCS and SMR LTE will never be as fast as Verizon's. This is because they have less spectrum to use than Verizon does. The max speed for Sprint's PCS and SMR LTE is 37.5Mbps. 

 

Once Clearwire is online, they should offer speeds much faster than that, but it will only be in congested metro areas, at least at first.

 

Finally, Sprint's network doesn't need to be faster than Verizon or AT&T, it just needs to be consistent. With pings generally below 100ms, all you need is a consistent 5-8Mbps or so and you will be fine. In my experience in Kansas City (where the network is largely upgraded) LTE performs very well, and I have seen on average 10+Mbps speeds, and great coverage. 

 

So, yes, it is worth the wait.

[Dkoellerwx]

last time I remember when I saw the article, Sprint's LTE tests were pretty pathetic when compared to the other carriers

 

Those were hardly fair comparisons. Sprint's network is nowhere near complete, whereas Verizon's and to some degree AT&T's networks are largely mature in the markets they have launched. 

[Dkoellerwx]

AT&T launch 25+ new market every two weeks. They launch 35 new markets today a

 

Markets? Ha. Lawton, OK is a market? (No offense to anyone living there) But that's not really a "market." It's a town. They launched 35 more towns/cities today. It's a marketing ploy, same one that Sprint is playing. Be prepared for a ton of Sprint "markets" to "launch" in the next week or two. 

[gf11speed]

Markets? Ha. Lawton, OK is a market? (No offense to anyone living there) But that's not really a "market." It's a town. They launched 35 more towns/cities today. It's a marketing ploy, same one that Sprint is playing. Be prepared for a ton of Sprint "markets" to "launch" in the next week or two. 

 

Couple things to note here.

 

One, is that even launched markets are not complete yet. There is not a single market that is 100% complete at this point. There are some areas within a market that have been mostly upgraded, but very few areas that are actually complete. And even then, you won't see the full effect of NV until 800MHz LTE is online, and Clearwire has their 2500 LTE running. 

 

Two, due to differences in the way the network is set up, Sprint's PCS and SMR LTE will never be as fast as Verizon's. This is because they have less spectrum to use than Verizon does. The max speed for Sprint's PCS and SMR LTE is 37.5Mbps. 

 

Once Clearwire is online, they should offer speeds much faster than that, but it will only be in congested metro areas, at least at first.

 

Finally, Sprint's network doesn't need to be faster than Verizon or AT&T, it just needs to be consistent. With pings generally below 100ms, all you need is a consistent 5-8Mbps or so and you will be fine. In my experience in Kansas City (where the network is largely upgraded) LTE performs very well, and I have seen on average 10+Mbps speeds, and great coverage. 

 

So, yes, it is worth the wait.

 

This pretty much sounds to me like we're just "waiting" now for an inferior network to appear. And then sometime down the line we'll see one that is somewhere remotely comparable to what other carriers currently have and have had for over a year in Orlando. Scary thought.

 

So Sprint's claim to fame is "consistency" over pure speed. Are other carriers having a problem with being consistent? Do they have more extreme highs and lows? I wasn't aware of them being unreliable.

[jamisonshaw125]

Markets? Ha. Lawton, OK is a market? (No offense to anyone living there) But that's not really a "market." It's a town. They launched 35 more towns/cities today. It's a marketing ploy, same one that Sprint is playing. Be prepared for a ton of Sprint "markets" to "launch" in the next week or two.

 

now this I hope for.... Would really LOVE Sprint to launch a bunch more markets. They're done negotiating, get the hell on with it and get LTE out and available. Even usable 3G would make me happy at this point.

 

People will be complaining about how my bill is only 76 bucks with insurance on my phone, and there's is 120 with a data cap. So yeh. Worth it? Hopefully

Edited July 2, 2013 by jamisonshaw125

[Dkoellerwx]

So Sprint's claim to fame is "consistency" over pure speed. Are other carriers having a problem with being consistent? Do they have more extreme highs and lows? I wasn't aware of them being unreliable.

 

Well, no that's not Sprint's "claim to fame." That would be unlimited. And yes, Verizon especially is having issues being consistent. There are places where their LTE network is already overloaded and slowing down.

 

You need to understand that fastest /=/ best. 

 

Lower pings, and speeds around 10Mbps will accomplish anything, ANYTHING you need on a smartphone. Heck, Verizon only advertises speeds of 8-12Mpgs. Can it be faster? Sure. Does it need to be? Not really. 

 

Yes, Sprint is still building the network. In places, it's taking a lot longer than they would like. It's not due to inaction or lack of funding. Sprint would like the project to be completed as quickly as possible. In most places, they are being held up by certain cities refusing to issue or being slow to issue work permits, or backhaul providers dragging their feet in getting the acceptable backhaul to the cell sites. 

[Dkoellerwx]

now this I hope for.... Would really LOVE Sprint to launch a bunch more markets. They're done negotiating, get the hell on with it and get LTE out and available.

 

Sprint would love to be able to switch on LTE for everyone right now. They're trying to get things done as quick as possible. As i just posted, it is not inaction or lack of funding that is holding them back. It is communities dragging their feet on permits, and ISPs dragging their feet on backhaul. 

[jamisonshaw125]

I would gladly take consistency over having fast speeds one hour and slow the next because more people are on their network sucking up the data....

 

If sprint can handle that, promise reliable coverage, excellent voice quality, and at least 7-8 download with a ping below 100.... I'll take it any day. I experienced speeds of 21 plus while in cocoa so it's not like its a slow network. Lol

[Dkoellerwx]

I would gladly take consistency over having fast speeds one hour and slow the next because more people are on their network sucking up the data....

 

If sprint can handle that, promise reliable coverage, excellent voice quality, and at least 7-8 download with a ping below 100.... I'll take it any day.

 

That's the plan! Once 800Mhz LTE starts going online, that will really help to fill in any gaps left by PCS LTE.

 

Part of Sprint's contract with the backhaul providers is pings below 100ms on LTE (usually well below) and ~100 on 3G.

 

A 3G connection with a low ping can feel just as snappy as an LTE connection, so once complete, it really should be a good experience!

[kyle_4thousand]

Anyone know what's up with the signal around UCF? I used to get consistent EHRPD 3G running around 2.2 mps but as of yesterday I'm getting shotty EVDO rev A around .450 mps. Still get faint LTE here and there, but i primarily keep it on CDMA only because those LTE signals are barely usable.

I could guess:

1. IDEN shutdown
2. LTE NV upgrades
3. Lightning?

Also, is there an app to figure out what frequency I'm on? I'm curious because of the whole iDen thing as well as when I roam. I remember when I had one of those iDen/CDMA hybird phones (nextel chirp with sprint voice) it would tell me in the menu but I can't seem to find it on the S3 or any app in the play store that will tell me.