Network Vision/LTE - New York City Market

[dkyeager]

19 hours ago, mirskyc said:

Anyone know why Signal check Pro shows NR38 when connected to SA NR41? 

Whate does *#0011# show?

On the Galaxy S21 Ultra Unlocked and the Galaxy A32 5G, n41 is often reported as n7 in Columbus, OH..  *#0011# may show it is coming from the firmware.  Mike is trying to correct this in the SCP software.  Cellmapper shows it correctly.  Rooted NSG uses modem commands.

[AirlineFlyer]

On 9/2/2022 at 4:23 PM, AirlineFlyer said:

Ericsson AIR 6419 just replaced an older AIR 32 on this site in Fort Greene. eNB 56195. Guess that explains why HSPA vanished last week 😂

Tested this site with an iPhone 12 from the same vantage point as this photo. Couldn’t quite break the 1 Gbps barrier, but it was close.

[Paynefanbro]

Passed by both of those T-Mobile CBRS sites in Manhattan today. My phone wasn't seeing Band 48 at all. I was able to see every other band though. Maybe CBRS is being used for testing as opposed to commercial use on those sites.

[T-MoblieUser207]

On 9/26/2022 at 10:55 AM, wispiANt said:

A whole bunch more:

• Sprint eNB 79606 (40.75132648431523,-73.90146879382196) --> T-Mobile eNB 310071
• Sprint eNB ?? (40.76217959031908,-73.98290725716903) --> T-Mobile eNB 306359
• Sprint eNB ?? (40.73515112286398,-74.05620754132336) --> T-Mobile eNB 219100
• Sprint eNB 74287 (40.70103618706469,-73.88568221202024) --> T-Mobile eNB 307512
• Sprint eNB ?? (40.61153605033678,-73.97809151056654) --> T-Mobile eNB 216122 
• Sprint eNB ?? (40.85506888812853,-73.8833696864961) --> T-Mobile eNB 894975
• Sprint eNB 74711 (40.8825393882436,-73.8824177643403) --> T-Mobile eNB 894014 
• Sprint eNB ?? (40.853581236454886,-73.96895437356767) --> T-Mobile eNB 878599
• Sprint eNB ?? (40.858543517828,-73.99069077095734) --> T-Mobile eNB 879007
• Sprint eNB 103747 (40.72050408418687,-74.05430368479026) --> T-Mobile eNB 216911
• Sprint eNB ?? (40.71543795248539,-74.04311338634996) --> T-Mobile eNB 894452

On 9/28/2022 at 7:34 PM, wispiANt said:

Plus, one more Sprint convert in the Bronx:

• Sprint eNB ?? (40.86715407494202,-73.90311136271255) --> T-Mobile eNB 894795

I have added them all, and a few more:

1. Sprint eNB 6290 has been located (40.7484069,-73.8948223), switched to planned.
2. New unknown location sites: Sprint eNBs 6155, 73921, 6208, 15833, 6156 and 6214.

 

[wispiANt]

On 6/2/2022 at 8:26 PM, wispiANt said:

I feel like something is missing...

Spotted two more oDAS nodes in Williamsburg.

1. (Pictured) Corner of Graham and Boerum (40.7062348, -73.9431029). Extenet II.
2. (Not Pictured) Havemeyer St, between S 3rd and S 2nd (40.7111516, -73.9578876). Extenet II.

AT&T has an LTE-only node a half block away from the first sighting and an application in for a new node about a block away from the second node (under New Cingular). So guessing both of these are, once again, Verizon mmWave.

 

Walked by this new oDAS node yesterday and it's still missing its top - four months later. Wonder what's up with that.

[T-MoblieUser207]

T-Mobile has been going around and flipping on ULI at many subway stations, as the A/C stations in Brooklyn, and a few others in Manhattan have it now. The 6 line stations between 42nd and 14th seems like they have enabled B12 in addition to ULI, as I picked it up zooming by on the express. The L train tunnel is still the only place I have seen any NR underground.

[Paynefanbro]

1. Sprint eNB 74807 converted to T-Mobile eNB 893446 (40.912314944943354, -73.83685018328866)
   1. Bonus speed test from the site. 40MHz, no second carrier from what I could see.
      
       
2. Sprint eNB 74823 converted to T-Mobile eNB 879711 (40.918340614561544, -73.81986721486727)
3. Sprint eNB 76809 converted to T-Mobile eNB 878027 (40.92748872281188, -73.85343332944689)
4. Sprint eNB 74756 converted to T-Mobile eNB 893809 (40.92371008212241, -73.86538499506544)

[Paynefanbro]

1.9Gbps over 160MHz of spectrum (120MHz NR + 40MHz LTE) in Long Island City. 

— — — — —

As an aside, I'm surprised that with the amount of LAA T-Mobile has gone through the hassle of deploying they haven't allowed aggregating it with NR en masse or even enabling NR-U. I know Milan has seen LAA+5G on select sites in the past but that feature seems inconsistently deployed.

With LTE, T-Mobile was limited to 60MHz of Band 46 due to aggregation limits on the UE side but with 5G, they could easily go above 100MHz of n46.

[twospirits]

Wow.

[wispiANt]

1 hour ago, Paynefanbro said:

1.9Gbps over 160MHz of spectrum (120MHz NR + 40MHz LTE) in Long Island City. 

— — — — —

As an aside, I'm surprised that with the amount of LAA T-Mobile has gone through the hassle of deploying they haven't allowed aggregating it with NR en masse or even enabling NR-U. I know Milan has seen LAA+5G on select sites in the past but that feature seems inconsistently deployed.

With LTE, T-Mobile was limited to 60MHz of Band 46 due to aggregation limits on the UE side but with 5G, they could easily go above 100MHz of n46.

They'd have to roll out new radios to support NR-U - the Ericsson Micro Radio 2205 they have deployed is limited to 3x 20MHz B46 carriers. Ericsson hasn't filed any new documentation with the FCC since release (2017), so I'm figuring the product is essentially EOL.

Could be a possibility for their oDAS nodes, though? I'm not sure what radios they have deployed in those.

[T-MoblieUser207]

On 10/9/2022 at 1:12 PM, Paynefanbro said:

1. Sprint eNB 74807 converted to T-Mobile eNB 893446 (40.912314944943354, -73.83685018328866)
2. Sprint eNB 74823 converted to T-Mobile eNB 879711 (40.918340614561544, -73.81986721486727)
3. Sprint eNB 76809 converted to T-Mobile eNB 878027 (40.92748872281188, -73.85343332944689)
4. Sprint eNB 74756 converted to T-Mobile eNB 893809 (40.92371008212241, -73.86538499506544)

Added!

The subway DAS changes continue, as the L tunnel has B12 active, for a total of 4 bands active in the tunnel (B2, B12, B66, and n41). B71 and n71 (NSA nor SA) were not found in the tunnel. ULI has also been flipped on at select L train stations now as well.

[Paynefanbro]

One more keep site. This time in Coney Island:

T-Mobile eNB 894791

Location: 40.575474469699365, -73.98828739183008

[Paynefanbro]

Went down to Dumbo to test that site on Grimaldi's. The good news, speeds are great everywhere outdoors. I was seeing nearly 500Mbps sitting on a bench near Jane's Carousel without line of sight. The bad news is that in TimeOut Market speeds still suck. They're usable but they won't go above the low teens. The second you step outside, speeds climb back up above 200Mbps. T-Mobile just needs an infill site in the part of the neighborhood bound by the Manhattan Bridge, Brooklyn Bridge, and BQE.

— — — — —

Also the site on top of Sweet Chick in Prospect Heights is still insanely fast.

[T-MoblieUser207]

On 9/22/2022 at 11:06 PM, wispiANt said:

• I think Sprint eNB 253661 is the Sprint site at the Steinway and Sons factory. Haven't been able to confirm

Confirmed it on Sunday.

On 10/14/2022 at 11:08 AM, Paynefanbro said:

1.9Gbps over 160MHz of spectrum (120MHz NR + 40MHz LTE) in Long Island City. 

 

This site (T-Mobile eNB 879491) is near the Triboro bridge in Queens, and is also a convert site as well. It would be the second convert site that can do gig+ speeds.

[Paynefanbro]

Anyone else notice a backhaul increase recently in Lower Manhattan? Yesterday I ran into a number of sites between Canal and Houston that were showing speeds of 700Mbps+ in the middle of the day. 

For example:

 

Edit: eNB 50088 in Downtown Brooklyn too. This site never used to be this fast. First test on n41 120MHz, second test on mmWave 100MHz with the typical high ping. Once again these are at peak times so I'm assuming it can get over 1Gbps depending on the time of day.

[AirlineFlyer]

On 9/4/2021 at 9:55 PM, Paynefanbro said:

NYC DoITT and Public Design Commission approved a new design for multi-tenant small cells last month. They look very similar to the previously approved single-tenant design but they're quite a bit taller. Basically the new design means that going forward, a single light pole or utility can have multiple carriers and technologies on it, reducing the number of new poles that needs to be "converted" to densify 4G/5G coverage. It should definitely speed up mmWave deployment once the city starts allowing carriers to build out 5G small cells here.

They finally got around to installing the oDAS node on the pole used in renderings by the city and…it’s the older version lol.

 

Elsewhere Brooklyn, Verizon managed to squeeze c-band on to a site in Fort Greene that previously only had two antennas per sector. Nice to see that, but still plenty more to go in the area.

[AirlineFlyer]

11 hours ago, Paynefanbro said:

Anyone else notice a backhaul increase recently in Lower Manhattan? Yesterday I ran into a number of sites between Canal and Houston that were showing speeds of 700Mbps+ in the middle of the day. 

For example:

 

Edit: eNB 50088 in Downtown Brooklyn too. This site never used to be this fast. First test on n41 120MHz, second test on mmWave 100MHz with the typical high ping. Once again these are at peak times so I'm assuming it can get over 1Gbps depending on the time of day.

What’s with the high mmWave ping times on T-Mobile?

[Paynefanbro]

On 9/17/2022 at 2:32 PM, Paynefanbro said:

Stopped by the infamous Greenpoint Sprint keep site and it's not broadcasting anything. Antennas still up though.

It's back! Pretty much nobody on it. I nearly maxed out the 5MHz Band 26 carrier on it and I never used to see pings that low on Sprint LTE.

[wispiANt]

1 hour ago, Paynefanbro said:

It's back! Pretty much nobody on it. I nearly maxed out the 5MHz Band 26 carrier on it and I never used to see pings that low on Sprint LTE.

I'm now seeing an open permit for the site in the DOB database, so that essentially confirms it will be converted.

Quote

Sprint:Relocation of antenna sector, removal of antennas, replacement/relocation/installation of cabinet, replacement of RRUs & antennas, relocation of RRUs & installation of antennas with related kickbacks on the roof.No change of use,egress, or occupancy.

[Paynefanbro]

Another site with upgraded backhaul. eNB 45767 in Chelsea used to top out in the 600's a couple months back.

— — — — —

Nostrand Ave station on the 3 train has that switch flipped that makes your phone show 5G when you're only connected to LTE. My phone was reporting full bars on 5G but NrConnectionStats showed absolutely nothing on my phone. Still fast at 140Mbps but I'm not a fan of the false reporting. Also held signal well into the tunnels leaving the station so that was new for me.

Maybe I'm just late, I've ridden the subway only a handful of times since the pandemic started. Down from riding it literally every day of my life before that lol

[wispiANt]

Spotted some work on the Sprint site at CCNY's Steinman Hall (275 Convent Ave) today. 

This upgrade has been long overdue - the existing T-Mobile site serving the majority of the north side of the campus (eNB 55893) was a B2/B66-only site that hadn't been touched in years. The Sprint site had not been broadcasting the keep PLMN, though B26 remained active. I haven't seen any active permits, but I'm guessing this means they're decommissioning the T-Mobile site across the street. Looking forward to better building penetration and a more resilient n41 connection. 

Additionally, T-Mobile has converted the Sprint site at 50 W 131st St. It's now broadcasting eNBs 216061/216062. 

[wispiANt]

Just FYI, it seems like most (if not all) the DOBNow building permits can be viewed here. I did a quick scan of how many Sprint keep sites there might be and we're looking at 196, give or take. Not too far from the 160 @T-MoblieUser207 has on their map.

As far as Dish permits go, we're looking at 400, give or take.

[wispiANt]

Figured I'd share another project I have (slowly) been working on, as well. Here is a modified version of one of the older LTE-only oDAS maps I made that includes (some) carrier identification. Keep in mind that carrier identification is based solely on observations/assumptions I've previously made about oDAS node design and vendor, and that CellMapper and Streetview have been my main source for ID. Additionally, these observations/assumptions only seem to hold true for metal streetlights - wooden utility poles in the outer boroughs follow a totally different node design scheme.

Was hoping to get a bit more done before I shared it but have been occupied with other projects. 

[Paynefanbro]

17 hours ago, wispiANt said:

Just FYI, it seems like most (if not all) the DOBNow building permits can be viewed here. I did a quick scan of how many Sprint keep sites there might be and we're looking at 196, give or take. Not too far from the 160 @T-MoblieUser207 has on their map.

As far as Dish permits go, we're looking at 400, give or take.

Thanks to this I was able to find a bunch of keep sites we missed. 

— — — — —

eNB known, permit submitted:

Sprint eNB 9294 Location: 40.830928401503634, -73.81780539746549

Sprint eNB 79179 Location: 40.67973691573384, -73.77804925050886

Sprint eNB 196636 Location: 40.68111913290647, -73.8339083121252

Sprint eNB 73974 Location: 40.67631783868167, -73.88721591955405

Sprint eNB 9019 Location: 40.58568338251566, -73.9445502357372

Sprint eNB 80078 Location: 40.74589946533523, -73.85602436482927

Sprint eNB 9987/9988 Location: 40.79461727593334, -73.79656358971245

Sprint eNB 9100 Location: 40.76766721423075, -73.99561632478108

— — — — —

eNBs unknown, permit submitted:

Sprint eNB Unknown Location: 40.745437727615325, -73.89051607250086

Sprint eNB Unknown Location: 40.756427706128086, -73.98882983223739

Sprint eNB Unknown Location: 40.760189936486206, -73.96885442740289

Sprint eNB Unknown Location: 40.840684672278606, -73.873443189382

Sprint eNB Unknown Location: 40.86216305440526, -73.86242468456577

Sprint eNB Unknown Location: 40.88011736054097, -73.83639761487673

Sprint eNB Unknown Location: 40.898951728182226, -73.84563781456855

— — — — —

Sprint eNB 6714 is on the keep site map but is listed as location unknown. It's located at 40.715043365864, -74.01530642396074.

— — — — —

I'll probably visit some of these to determine if they've already been upgraded sometime this weekend.

[wispiANt]

On 5/22/2022 at 8:00 PM, Paynefanbro said:

T-Mobile eNB 880536 in the Bronx isn't a Sprint conversion, instead it looks like T-Mobile changed the eNB ID when they upgraded the site. The nearest Sprint site at 40.8150405321864, -73.93010756429787 still has all of its antennas up and is literally within spitting distance of two other T-Mobile sites in an area that's very industrial as opposed to residential or commercial so a keep site isn't particularly necessary. You can see on Cellmapper that the old eNB stopped broadcasting about two days after the new eNB went live.

Stumbled upon what actually happened here - the original site (eNB 41108) was just south of E 138th St. It was decommed and the new site (eNB 880536) was put up across the street.

Sept 2021 vs July 2022.