Network Vision/LTE - New York City Market

[digit]

I was wondering if someone could help me understand what’s going on. Since the tower in Forest Hills Queens came online with LTE, I am having serious problems accessing data when connected to 4G. Yesterday I parked my car a block from the tower and ran some speed tests. Almost half the times the speed tests failed due to network error and the other half the download speeds were similar to 3G. This has been going on for over 3 weeks. In the below screenshots, the signal strength is 73dBm but when the data doesn’t fail, I get around 0.5Mbps download speed. The upload seems slow but not terrible. Maybe Sprint has backhaul issues at this site? I am not sure if calling the support will help because LTE is not yet official in NY.

[TonyStylesNYC]

I was wondering if someone could help me understand what’s going on. Since the tower in Forest Hills Queens came online with LTE, I am having serious problems accessing data when connected to 4G. Yesterday I parked my car a block from the tower and ran some speed tests. Almost half the times the speed tests failed due to network error and the other half the download speeds were similar to 3G. This has been going on for over 3 weeks. In the below screenshots, the signal strength is 73dBm but when the data doesn’t fail, I get around 0.5Mbps download speed. The upload seems slow but not terrible. Maybe Sprint has backhaul issues at this site? I am not sure if calling the support will help because LTE is not yet official in NY.

 

I would say it just needs adustments. They will adjust signal strength and down tilt over the next few days and weeks at that location and every lte site so just hang tight. Also you may want to try 2 to 3 blocsks away instead of 1. I notice you get the best speed about two to 3 blocks away from the tower. Was across the street of the 23rd &7th tower and got similar results yesterday but two avenues over i got 8mbs. I assume they dont broadcast LTE at a site until backhaul was available but i dont know for sure.

Edited May 15, 2013 by TonyStylesNYC

[Paynefanbro]

Have you ever noticed that if you put your phone on top of a Wifi router and run a speedtest it is not as fast as if you are a couple of feet away, The same happens with towers, but on a much larger scale. If you are super close, the speeds will be slower than if you are a reasonable distance away but still within line of site.

[digiblur]

Have you ever noticed that if you put your phone on top of a Wifi router and run a speedtest it is not as fast as if you are a couple of feet away, The same happens with towers, but on a much larger scale. If you are super close, the speeds will be slower than if you are a reasonable distance away but still within line of site.

 

Jeez.. So you guys have those 5 foot antennas just hanging street level on the buildings?

 

I call shenanigans without a LTE engineering screenshot of a close up speed test and a further distant one.

 

Sent from my little Note2

 

 

[Dkoellerwx]

Have you ever noticed that if you put your phone on top of a Wifi router and run a speedtest it is not as fast as if you are a couple of feet away, The same happens with towers, but on a much larger scale. If you are super close, the speeds will be slower than if you are a reasonable distance away but still within line of site.

 

I get the fastest speeds sitting in the parking lot with a tower. Almost always 25+. If you stand directly underneath a site, maybe there'd a decline in performance, but I highly doubt it's be that drastic.

[nexgencpu]

Have you ever noticed that if you put your phone on top of a Wifi router and run a speedtest it is not as fast as if you are a couple of feet away, The same happens with towers, but on a much larger scale. If you are super close, the speeds will be slower than if you are a reasonable distance away but still within line of site.

I think the key is line of sight,1900 is very susceptible to slowdown due to obstruction. one corner away (within line of sight) max throughput is achievable, turn the corner and its considerably slower.

[IsaiahL]

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Edited May 16, 2013 by IsaiahL

[S4GRU]

 

I get the fastest speeds sitting in the parking lot with a tower. Almost always 25+. If you stand directly underneath a site, maybe there'd a decline in performance, but I highly doubt it's be that drastic.

 

The decline in performance is because you are now underneath the signal. Also, under the tower, you can pick up more sectors causing increased interference. I live on the south side of a two sector site, but occasionally I can connect to a sector on the north side, 180 degrees away. And the difference in strength is only 10-15dBm between the two sectors. So that helps to illustrate how much pollution you can get from other sectors on a site when really close to it.

 

The best signal you will get is with Line of Sight to the panel, being perfectly lined up with it, 0 degrees of its center point, at least 100-200' away.

 

I have held my phone right up to a panel before and watch my 1x signal strength go to -30dBm. I ran an EVDO test and got 1.35Mbps. I walked back to my car, about 750' away, but had direct LOS to the same panel. Signal strength was -65dBm and my speed test was 1.35Mbps.

 

This site I'm referring to is in Eldorado, New Mexico on top of a hill. The panels are on poles that stick out of the ground between 5' and 10'. You can walk right up to the panels. Pretty neat thing to check out. But it is a healthy walk up that steep hill.

 

Robert via Nexus 7 with Tapatalk HD

[nexgencpu]

I have held my phone right up to a panel before and watch my 1x signal strength go to -30dBm.

 

Robert via Nexus 7 with Tapatalk HD

HOLY F#%@ -30dBm! LOL!

[digiblur]

HOLY F#%@ -30dBm! LOL!

 

Here is a -38..and I couldn't even find the site. Damn stealth antennas.

 

http://www.digiblur.com/S4GLTE/RX38.png

 

Sent from my little Note2

 

 

[nexgencpu]

Here is a -38..and I couldn't even find the site. Damn stealth antennas.

 

http://www.digiblur....S4GLTE/RX38.png

 

Sent from my little Note2

These all sound like cancer inducing dBm...haha..

[TonyStylesNYC]

Jeez.. So you guys have those 5 foot antennas just hanging street level on the buildings?

 

I call shenanigans without a LTE engineering screenshot of a close up speed test and a further distant one.

 

Sent from my little Note2

 

I will post seed test tomorrow and engineering screens tomorrow when i go to work but u have to realize the panels are a good 50 to 75 feet off the ground in rooftops in the city so standing across the street from a tower will give you amazingly slow speeds because the signal is flying over head and optimized to reach a 5 to ten block radius. Unless the panels were pointed straight down to the street you need to be quite a bit away from the tower to get optimal signals. But if you point the panels straight down you wont get a good signal 5 bocks away from the tower. Once its launched a nearby tower will provide users close to or under a tower better speed because it will be farther away and have a pannel pointed at the people who live close and under a tower like my building. I have panels above me on my roof but i connect to towers 4 blocks away unless i go outside.

[Sonic13]

The lowest dBm I've seen was -42, the highest was -136 I believe.

[digit]

Jeez.. So you guys have those 5 foot antennas just hanging street level on the buildings?

 

I call shenanigans without a LTE engineering screenshot of a close up speed test and a further distant one.

 

Sent from my little Note2

 

I have verified the LTE engineering screen and CDMA Field test app and the LTE signal strength is always the same. I would have uninstalled the app if this was not the case .

 

I drove around the tower location and the speed tests are almost identical with signal strength from 58dBm to around 90dBm. I did notice that once I am home (5-6 blocks away), the signal falls to below 100dBm and the speeds go up to around 2-4 Mbps. I am not sure if this is because I am connected to a different tower which is around 2 miles away.

In the past, I have run several speed tests at different locations while literally standing underneath the tower (6 story apartment buildings) and always get around 25-30Mbps. I am wondering if someone else has ever experienced the same issue and this may get resolved in the future.

[digiblur]

I will post seed test tomorrow and engineering screens tomorrow when i go to work but u have to realize the panels are a good 50 to 75 feet off the ground in rooftops in the city so standing across the street from a tower will give you amazingly slow speeds because the signal is flying over head and optimized to reach a 5 to ten block radius. Unless the panels were pointed straight down to the street you need to be quite a bit away from the tower to get optimal signals. But if you point the panels straight down you wont get a good signal 5 bocks away from the tower. Once its launched a nearby tower will provide users close to or under a tower better speed because it will be farther away and have a pannel pointed at the people who live close and under a tower like my building. I have panels above me on my roof but i connect to towers 4 blocks away unless i go outside.

 

I'm probably one of the last that you have to explain RF design to.. I still call shenanigans unless this was maybe a 300ft lattice guyed boomer site. LTE engineering screens will explain the real reason in both locations.

[Paynefanbro]

I will post seed test tomorrow and engineering screens tomorrow when i go to work but u have to realize the panels are a good 50 to 75 feet off the ground in rooftops in the city so standing across the street from a tower will give you amazingly slow speeds because the signal is flying over head and optimized to reach a 5 to ten block radius. Unless the panels were pointed straight down to the street you need to be quite a bit away from the tower to get optimal signals. But if you point the panels straight down you wont get a good signal 5 bocks away from the tower. Once its launched a nearby tower will provide users close to or under a tower better speed because it will be farther away and have a pannel pointed at the people who live close and under a tower like my building. I have panels above me on my roof but i connect to towers 4 blocks away unless i go outside.

 

From my observations, most panels are pointed slightly downwards to give better coverage to those on the ground.

[digiblur]

From my observations, most panels are pointed slightly downwards to give better coverage to those on the ground.

 

And you are unable to to see inside the radome to see the adjustable tilt of the antenna.

[Paynefanbro]

And you are unable to to see inside the radome to see the adjustable tilt of the antenna.

 

The closest I have ever been to one of these panels is in Manhattan, on Houston and 6th Avenue, there is a cell site, not Sprint, but it is on the second floor of a building.

[WiWavelength]

The lowest dBm I've seen was -42, the highest was -136 I believe.

 

You reversed those figures. The first is the highest, the second, the lowest.

 

AJ

[LTEBrooklyn]

The lowest dBm I've seen was -42, the highest was -136 I believe.

 

I have seen in the 40's-50's when I was a few hundred feet from the panel. Speeds had no reflection even though I was so close.

[Paynefanbro]

Some LTE has been mapped on Sensorly in Long Beach, Long Island.

[nexgencpu]

Some LTE has been mapped on Sensorly in Long Beach, Long Island.

Somebody else mentioned that on the Long island thread, but I think its just bleedover from the Far rock side. Hopefully im wrong.

[Paynefanbro]

Somebody else mentioned that on the Long island thread, but I think its just bleedover from the Far rock side. Hopefully im wrong.

 

Kinda weird because the signal dropps and then appears to get stronger again. But we know that 1900Mhz behaves weirdly sometimes.

[nexgencpu]

Kinda weird because the signal dropps and then appears to get stronger again. But we know that 1900Mhz behaves weirdly sometimes.

Yea the key really seems to be a high concentration of sites for better stability when it comes to 1900, well get there. At the very least, there is a confirmed site north of LI on Port Jeff, so that's a good sign for peeps out on the island.

[LTEBrooklyn]

I get LTE in my house now with a 2 bar connection. Live in a brick house. I get outside my house 4 bars. Anyway to increase my signal inside?