Network Vision/LTE - Milwaukee Market (including Madison)

[mangurt]

I finally got a taste of the LTE from the Rimrock Road tower last night.  I had to do the airplane mode trick to get the signal, but the speedtest came up with 20 megs down/10 megs up.  I wish I could get speeds like that in Sun Prairie..Oh well, at least it's somewhat here in the Madison area.  It would be nice if everything was up and rocking by the end of the month so I could actually use my phone at the Badger game.....

[norsairius]

The flippy floppy service (From 1x, to 3G to roaming) isn't unusual while they work the sites. It WILL settle down and you'll have tasty LTE goodness with lots of speed slathered on for flavor in no time.

 

The sucky part about downtown sites is that it's difficult to physically see progress because the antenna panels are mounted on a building so the work is less obvious. If you're lucky, you'll see work trucks parked in an alley.

 

This gives me hope then that work is indeed being done here and that I can hopefully see improvements soon. I don't necessarily even NEED LTE, I'd be very happy with reliable and usable 3G with speeds of at least 50 KB/s. That'd still only be between 1/4 to 1/3 of what I got with AT&T, but it'd be passable until the rest of the improvements are done.

 

It's simply embarassing when I'm hanging out with people and I can't do a thing on my phone. I've had the situation come up several times where I'll mention something hilarious or otherwise something I want to show my friends but the data connection just isn't there to pull it up on my phone to show them. I usually just tell them to hang on and hope that they get off track and talk about something else and forget that I mentioned anything.

[Schikka]

I guess being a long time Sprint user has its advantages! For me all the upgrades are so awesome as I have nothing to compare them to……

[norsairius]

Ok, so I got some sweet LTE over lunch. This was around Grand Ave. Mall. It didn't stick around though.

 

The test at the bottom was when I first noticed my phone flip to LTE. The test at the very top was just after it flipped back to 3G. The last 3G test did that weird thing where upload was crazy fast before settling down to a slower speed like I mentioned in a previous post (peaked around 250 KB/s).

 

Speeds are about what I got on AT&T Faux G a while back, but as we've all discussed plenty, they're doing work so this may not reflect what the speeds will be when it's finished. It's been shown to be faster in other cities. I know it's not the first time it's showed up, but this is easily the fastest it's been since I've noticed it.

 

 

As of right now, my phone is on 1xRTT and hasn't changed for the past half hour or so.

 

Also, a shameless plug for a company I have NO stake in: Spigen. If you have a Galaxy S4 or an iPhone 5, they make some sweet cases. I got the slim armor case for my iPhone and it's really slick! I didn't browse their catalog much, so they may have cases for other popular models.

Edited August 9, 2013 by norsairius

[mr.phoneguy]

Ok, so I got some sweet LTE over lunch. This was around Grand Ave. Mall. It didn't stick around though.

 

The test at the bottom was when I first noticed my phone flip to LTE. The test at the very top was just after it flipped back to 3G. The last 3G test did that weird thing where upload was crazy fast before settling down to a slower speed like I mentioned in a previous post (peaked around 250 KB/s).

 

Speeds are about what I got on AT&T Faux G a while back, but as we've all discussed plenty, they're doing work so this may not reflect what the speeds will be when it's finished. It's been shown to be faster in other cities. I know it's not the first time it's showed up, but this is easily the fastest it's been since I've noticed it.

 

photo2.jpg

 

As of right now, my phone is on 1xRTT and hasn't changed for the past half hour or so.

 

Also, a shameless plug for a company I have NO stake in: Spigen. If you have a Galaxy S4 or an iPhone 5, they make some sweet cases. I got the slim armor case for my iPhone and it's really slick! I didn't browse their catalog much, so they may have cases for other popular models.

1x all around west Madison today. Data is virtually useless. The Middleton tower which is supposedly 4g accepted is back to 1x. Sprint is ruining my rhapsody music experience. Times like this I wish I were still on Verizon.

[mr.phoneguy]

Sprints network is getting worse not better.

[snowmobiler487]

Sprints network is getting worse not better.

In my opinion, Sprint's 3G has gotten much better since January.  I haven't spent much time using the LTE that has started showing up yet.

[Calvin200]

Sprints network is getting worse not better.

Growing pains. 

[waoonetwork]

I was buying gas in downtown Oconomowoc and notice I had LTE for the first time there. I ran a speed test, and it was sad. Altho this is the first time seeing LTE here. It will only get faster going forward.

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 4

 

[dannyrotten]

Sprints network is getting worse not better.

I agree. It's sad that I'm so excited for my service to improve from barely usable to still crappy. I always argue to my friends on what a great deal it is for Sprint with unlimited everything, but I only use 1gb a month because it's so frustratingly slow. I was promised 4g 2 years ago like everyone else yada yada yada, but I think it's time to finally switch over to Verizon. My girlfriend pays quite a bit more than I do, but she gets 15-25mb speeds everywhere she goes- inside big buildings, in houses, downtown, state fair, Summerfest, you name it. I've been awfully patient, but they're not moving fast enough to save a once-loyal customer.

[Jeffas332]

Ok, so I got some sweet LTE over lunch. This was around Grand Ave. Mall. It didn't stick around though.

 

The test at the bottom was when I first noticed my phone flip to LTE. The test at the very top was just after it flipped back to 3G. The last 3G test did that weird thing where upload was crazy fast before settling down to a slower speed like I mentioned in a previous post (peaked around 250 KB/s).

 

Speeds are about what I got on AT&T Faux G a while back, but as we've all discussed plenty, they're doing work so this may not reflect what the speeds will be when it's finished. It's been shown to be faster in other cities. I know it's not the first time it's showed up, but this is easily the fastest it's been since I've noticed it.

 

photo2.jpg

 

As of right now, my phone is on 1xRTT and hasn't changed for the past half hour or so.

 

Also, a shameless plug for a company I have NO stake in: Spigen. If you have a Galaxy S4 or an iPhone 5, they make some sweet cases. I got the slim armor case for my iPhone and it's really slick! I didn't browse their catalog much, so they may have cases for other popular models.

 

Not sure if you're aware of it or not but 1x is simply your voice and text connection. Nothing more. Your 3G connection will be either EVDO or EHRPD. That's where all your data comes from.

[Jeffas332]

I got a little closer to the NV site near my house (which is still smokin' fast) and I noticed there is no fiber backhaul. It's microwave. If you look at the center of the cluster in the pic, you'll see a thin mast with two white microwave antennas.

 

[jreuschl]

I'm in Seattle at the Mariners Brewers game and the 4G speeds were 3g like! And now dropped out. So I guess no better here!?

 

Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk 2

 

[ernicoats]

Today will be the day I get to use LTE all day, in madison at great taste near rimrock

[eljayyy91]

Not sure if you're aware of it or not but 1x is simply your voice and text connection. Nothing more. Your 3G connection will be either EVDO or EHRPD. That's where all your data comes from.

1x is technically a 3g tech... and does provide internet connection just a slow one. Lol

[Jeffas332]

1x is technically a 3g tech... and does provide internet connection just a slow one. Lol

 

You're right. I failed to add "low speed data" to my explanation.

[kb122]

I wish non rooted sprint phones would still show that you are 1X in those areas (ie: roaming). 3G icon is there even in 1X areas on any phone I've had after my Treo 700wx. Gives me false hope that I have a usable data connection, when in reality it's worse than dial up. At least there's signalcheck pro.

 

And I agree that the network is terrible right now in the Milwaukee area unless you're near an LTE tower. I honestly thought we were upgraded to NV 3G here in Sussex a year or so ago... I was getting 1.5-2M down consistently. Even showed data speed upgrades on Sprint's tower upgrade map. Now I'm lucky to get above 400k. Usually 200 or less, as low as 3. Just wait til it's official... it will get better.

[Jswets]

Tell me if this makes sense:

 

i was sitting at my uncle's house today and i had around a -98ehrpd signal. I thought i was in range of the west allis LTE tower but was not getting the LTE signal after doing all cycles and prl updates, so i figured i was out of range. All of a sudden LTE rings in at -109. The funny thing is i kept losing the LTE because the ehrpd signal was stronger. The only problem was that ehrpd was unusable which is pretty much expected of 3G in milwaukee. so frustrating. 

[randp1]

Yeah, 3g has got worse since the rollout. So, I wait till I get home to use data on my phone. Luckily, I get 4g at my house on the east side of Milwaukee.

 

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2

 

 

[mmark27]

Today will be the day I get to use LTE all day, in madison at great taste near rimrock

Well, how was it? Did you get LTE? Were you able to use your phone for more than a paperweight?

 

I'd imagine you're still heavily hung over and sleeping.

 

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk 4

 

 

[jreuschl]

Tell me if this makes sense:

 

i was sitting at my uncle's house today and i had around a -98ehrpd signal. I thought i was in range of the west allis LTE tower but was not getting the LTE signal after doing all cycles and prl updates, so i figured i was out of range. All of a sudden LTE rings in at -109. The funny thing is i kept losing the LTE because the ehrpd signal was stronger. The only problem was that ehrpd was unusable which is pretty much expected of 3G in milwaukee. so frustrating. 

 

Makes sense if you are an EVO 4G LTE user  Sounds like one of the problems with that phone is it can lock on to a stronger 3G signal.

[Mooeydj]

Makes sense if you are an EVO 4G LTE user  Sounds like one of the problems with that phone is it can lock on to a stronger 3G signal.

 

I disagree in my case. The place where I work has Sprint antennas on the roof and I have access to them. I can stand next to the antennas and get a strongest 3G signal you will ever see, but my phone will connect to a 4G signal from a different site farther away.

[ernicoats]

Well, how was it? Did you get LTE? Were you able to use your phone for more than a paperweight?

 

I'd imagine you're still heavily hung over and sleeping.

 

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk 4

 

It was good, however waiting in line of over 3K dropped me down to almost no 3G...  Once people spread out it was nice, took a few photos and they uploaded to facebook in no time.

[norsairius]

Ah, yeah. Regarding the 1x data thing, I got an iPhone recently and thought I read somewhere that if I have a circle instead of "3G" or "LTE" it meant that I just had 1x for data so I kinda ran with it, haha. Thanks everyone for clarifying that!

 

In any case, I've been seeing LTE pop up more and more lately, so I think there's hope. I saw some LTE at an apartment complex my friend lives at a bit north of the Brookfield Majestic Theater but it went away too quickly after I realized it for me to run a speed test. I saw Elysium, btw. Great sci-fi movie. I think Pacific Rim is definitely the more fun sci-fi movie though and Elysium is a great more serious sci-fi movie.

 

Other than that, I've seen LTE popping up while downtown here and there and I would say I've been seeing it more frequently. So perhaps we'll be getting there sooner rather than later! Fingers crossed!

[bbrossard]

My phone switched to LTE today in downtown Greendale.

 

My parents live in Greendale and we went out to lunch today.  Sprint services are usually pretty rough in the downtown area of Greendale for whatever reason.