Network Vision/LTE - Milwaukee Market (including Madison)

[andyp]

Unless you have upgraded from your 3D, you do not get to make these claims. There are at least 10 sites in and around Milwaukee that have LTE active. You are a sponsor. You have access to the maps, you should know this.

 

Is it widespread? No. But it is there. And if/when you get signal, it will work.

 

There are two WiMax sites in Milwaukee. WiMax is a much harder signal to catch and maintain. Unless you are in the right spot you won't see it. But it is there. Just like LTE is there.

 

Please yourself do not mis-inform people.

 

 

yeah i do have access to the support forums, and the public forums, there are sites marked LTE complete, but are not on. It is what has been reported on these forums. People at most get 10 minutes of LTE after flipping their phone from airplane mode to regular mode.

 

so please don't attack me for restating what has been reported on the forum. I realize you are a moderator, but you are also not in Milwaukee either, so you can't really make the claims either.

 

as it has been stated in this thread. and countless others, just because a tower is marked LTE completed on the sponsors map does not mean that it is broadcasting LTE, sprint is turning it on in clusters. As also has been noted Milwaukee has around 16/80 sites in Milwaukee completed, possibly more, none of which are consistently broadcasting LTE

 

would also point out the statements made by the members who are in madison where it shows most of their towers completed, yet they claim to not receive LTE yet.

 

not complaining, just repeating what has been stated in this, and other threads.

[Dkoellerwx]

yeah i do have access to the support forums, and the public forums, there are sites marked LTE complete, but are not on. It is what has been reported on these forums. People at most get 10 minutes of LTE after flipping their phone from airplane mode to regular mode.

 

so please don't attack me for restating what has been reported on the forum. I realize you are a moderator, but you are also not in Milwaukee either, so you can't really make the claims either.

 

as it has been stated in this thread. and countless others, just because a tower is marked LTE completed on the sponsors map does not mean that it is broadcasting LTE, sprint is turning it on in clusters. As also has been noted Milwaukee has around 16/80 sites in Milwaukee completed, possibly more, none of which are consistently broadcasting LTE

 

would also point out the statements made by the members who are in madison where it shows most of their towers completed, yet they claim to not receive LTE yet.

 

not complaining, just repeating what has been stated in this, and other threads.

 

If you took that as an attack, then please re-read. It was not an attack. It was a statement of information and a request.

 

Yes, sometimes sites are accepted and not active. 99% of the time they are active.

 

I do not see people complaining about getting kicked off of the sites. They have limited coverage, but that is to be expected in an urban/suburban area. Sites are configured to cover a smaller range so they can fit more sites in.

 

Until you have an LTE device and go to these sites and tell me they're not active, I don't have any proof they're not active. I have been reviewing this thread for the last 30 minutes or so, and I do not see claims of inactive, accepted sites. There are many, many sites that are installed but not active, nor accepted, this I am aware. This is the case in most, if not all Samsung markets at the moment. They are waiting for the Samsung teams to being to integrate the sites. Once that happens they should come up fairly quickly.

 

As for clusters, that is not the case. Samsung does not need to accepted sites in clusters in your area. LTE does not ever need to be accepted in clusters. This is for PCS 1x only. Clusters has nothing to do with it. 

 

Madison, yes I know about the installed sites. The ones that are accepted and on our maps, people do get LTE from. The sites in Milwaukee that are accepted are broadcasting LTE. Sprint would not turn them on, allow people to map them, and then turn them off.

 

If you have to post a disclaimer at the end of every post, then perhaps you need to re-evaluate your posting style.

[aackmann]

Moderator guy is right. I have an lte phone and live in the Milwaukee area. The sites that are accepted on the sponsors map as lte complete, are all broadcasting lte consistently. There was only a problem with one tower near 894 and Loomis rd that they had to shut down to fix an issue, but otherwise if you're in the coverage area of the lte sites in Milwaukee and you grab onto the lte signal, it will work, and won't boot you off as you claimed. The sensorly mappings are pretty darn accurate. Of course it always depends on the specific phone you have and all that jazz.

[apphysics]

I have to second that. I consistently lock onto LTE and hold it until I leave the coverage area of that tower. I don't know if my iPhone 5s has superior hardware to your HTC, but everywhere sensorly shows LTE I get it. I even get LTE in some areas that sensorly does not show.

[apphysics]

There are two WiMax sites in Milwaukee. WiMax is a much harder signal to catch and maintain. Unless you are in the right spot you won't see it. But it is there. 

 

I thought all the WiMax sites went down when the Nextel Network was shut down. Or are these Clearwire sites that are waiting for that shutdown to come?

[Dkoellerwx]

I thought all the WiMax sites went down when the Nextel Network was shut down. Or are these Clearwire sites that are waiting for that shutdown to come?

 

WiMax and Nextel are unrelated. Not sure where that idea came from?

 

WiMax is most certainly still in operation. Sprint committed to WiMax through at least 2015. All sites, even protection sites, which are the kind Milwaukee has, are still on. There are far to many OG EVOs, Galaxy S2s, EVO 3G, etc. out there to shut down the network. 

 

Clear is installing dual mode RRUs on all Clear sites to support the simultaneous broadcast of LTE and WiMax from Clear sites until WiMax is shut down in the future. 

[apphysics]

WiMax and Nextel are unrelated. Not sure where that idea came from?

 

WiMax is most certainly still in operation. Sprint committed to WiMax through at least 2015. All sites, even protection sites, which are the kind Milwaukee has, are still on. There are far to many OG EVOs, Galaxy S2s, EVO 3G, etc. out there to shut down the network. 

 

Clear is installing dual mode RRUs on all Clear sites to support the simultaneous broadcast of LTE and WiMax from Clear sites until WiMax is shut down in the future. 

 

Thanks for that. I must be confused. What technology did Nextel use? And will Clear ever be shut down like Nextel (a ways off however), or are they like a third party contractor? I thought Sprint bought them out...

[Dkoellerwx]

Thanks for that. I must be confused. What technology did Nextel use? And will Clear ever be shut down like Nextel (a ways off however), or are they like a third party contractor? I thought Sprint bought them out...

 

Nextel was iDen. They used the 800MHz spectrum that Sprint is re-purposing for LTE and 1x (voice).

 

WiMax and Clear use the 2500-2600MHz spetrum. They have so much of it that they can run WiMax and LTE on the same sites without interfering. 

 

Sprint did buy out Clear, but for the next 6 months or so Clear is still operating under it's own plans. By early(ish) next year, Sprint will fully take over all operations and Clear will cease to exist. Until that point, we're still referring to WiMax and TD-LTE and Clear's network because it's just easier, lol. 

 

At some point down the line, WiMax will be shut down. However, all the sites will remain operational, broadcasting TD-LTE instead of WiMax.

[Dkoellerwx]

I've noticed there are not many sites marked In-Progress across Milwaukee. If someone could put together a list of sites with equipment installed, and either post it in the In-Progress thread, or send it to me we can mark them so it's clearer how many sites are ready to go.

[apphysics]

Ok thank you for that. And I can tell you that the I-43/Brown Deer tower, and the next two north along I-43 (one just north and one just south of Mequon Road), and the one by Mequon Road and Cedarburg Road are completely installed and are just waiting for acceptance. 

 

Also, can you tell me if Sprint is on the tower right next to I-43 about halfway between Brown Deer Rd and Good Hope Rd? I've been watching that one, but no NV is on it, and I'm not even sure if Sprint is on that one. I drive by it every day, so if you can tell me if Sprint is on that site, I can provide updates for that tower.

[Dkoellerwx]

Ok thank you for that. And I can tell you that the I-43/Brown Deer tower, and the next two north along I-43 (one just north and one just south of Mequon Road), and the one by Mequon Road and Cedarburg Road are completely installed and are just waiting for acceptance. 

 

Sorry, should have been more specific. We'd need a Sponsor, or someone with access to Site IDs to do that. Since none of the staff is from that area, it's rather difficult to look them up without the Sprint site ID.

 

Also, can you tell me if Sprint is on the tower right next to I-43 about halfway between Brown Deer Rd and Good Hope Rd? I've been watching that one, but no NV is on it, and I'm not even sure if Sprint is on that one. I drive by it every day, so if you can tell me if Sprint is on that site, I can provide updates for that tower.

 

There is a tower in that area, but the description is a bit vague. Sorry.

 

We do have maps that show the location of every Sprint tower across the country in the Sponsor section if you felt so inclined. 

[apphysics]

Sorry, should have been more specific. We'd need a Sponsor, or someone with access to Site IDs to do that. Since none of the staff is from that area, it's rather difficult to look them up without the Sprint site ID.

 

 

 

There is a tower in that area, but the description is a bit vague. Sorry.

 

We do have maps that show the location of every Sprint tower across the country in the Sponsor section if you felt so inclined.

 

I wish I could be a sponsor, but my mom has shot that down. So I'm just doing what I can to help out here with what I do have available to me.

 

The Purple pin is the tower I was asking about. The red pin is the I-43/Brown Deer tower for some perspective. I don't know if that would help with finding the location, but I thought I would put it up.

 

 

 

Thank you!!

[Dkoellerwx]

I wish I could be a sponsor, but my mom has shot that down. So I'm just doing what I can to help out here with what I do have available to me.

 

The Purple pin is the tower I was asking about. The red pin is the I-43/Brown Deer tower for some perspective. I don't know if that would help with finding the location, but I thought I would put it up.

 

image.jpg

 

 

Thank you!!

 

That's unfortunate. Sorry to hear that.

 

Yes, the location you marked does correspond to a known Sprint location.

[apphysics]

That's unfortunate. Sorry to hear that.

 

Yes, the location you marked does correspond to a known Sprint location.

Ok I'll have to watch that one then because it is the only tower I am aware of in the area that does not have the NV upgrades. And that's my home tower (I pull 1 bar at best and my Airave doesn't like LTE devices), so having 800 would be amazing.

 

Thank you for the help. Are you able to find the site IDs from maps like that? If so I can drop a pin for all the towers that are complete in the area and put them up here for you.

[Dkoellerwx]

Ok I'll have to watch that one then because it is the only tower I am aware of in the area that does not have the NV upgrades. And that's my home tower (I pull 1 bar at best and my Airave doesn't like LTE devices), so having 800 would be amazing.

 

Thank you for the help. Are you able to find the site IDs from maps like that? If so I can drop a pin for all the towers that are complete in the area and put them up here for you.

 

It's possible, but more work than I usually have time for. If another member in the area would like to do it, that would be most helpful. 

[mmark27]

For the "sites in progress", we need 2 things to be posted in that thread in the sponsor section.

 

1) site ID

2) picture proof of new equipment (panels/antennas or fiber backhaul or cabinets or everything)

 

Must have both pieces for it to get on to the in progress map. For guys like Rickie, Dkoellerwx and Robert to update them to white pins.

 

Sponsorship can literally be $5 if that's all you have. I give what a can periodically in small lumps of cash. What I lack in large donations, I try to make up in contribution in knowledge (limited) and pictures! :-)

 

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk

 

 

[napali]

Possible good new update.... Take it for the grain of salt it is ....

 

Today I drove by the Muskego Water tower (Racine AVE) to verify the finish install of the NV equipment.  As promised the antenna was all in place. As I drove by there was a blue Jeep Cherokee (Ohio plates) backing up to the tower. I saw him parked once before by the Vernon Big Bend tower (nothing up top done there). I stopped and asked him if he was working on behalf of Sprint. He told me he was a Samsung programmer and was going in to do his work. I asked for a timeline on the tower to go live and told me (twice) to watch for the end of the month (Nov). He said he has been all over, but focusing a lot of work in this area lately. He gave the familiar story we have been hearing from others on the ground that it going to be done and activated in clusters. I tried getting additional information out of him, but like the others he was either unsure of the locations I was speaking of, or just did not want to say. This was the first time I ran across an actual Samsung employee and I am not sure if anyone out there knows the timeline from base programming to live?? I was also stunned how quickly this guy was following up on this upgraded site. This water tower was just finished equipment wise late last week. That seems like a good sign... Comments? ???

[ThomasM]

Like others have said, Sprint is rushing to get as many sites totally upgraded by winter.

 

It's too bad we have people running around blowing things up and shooting guns.  That is probably why the Samsung guy was suspicious of you asking questions.  Many years ago, I remember if you spotted someone working on something outside and you went and asked them questions they would bend over backwards to tell you all about what was going on.  Not any more.

 

I remember when I worked at Nextel, one day my group had a meeting at their main switch location in Elmhurst, IL.  There were 5 iDEN switches in the building which ran all of Chicago as well as Wisconsin and Indianapolis!!  The place was like a fortress!!  Even though at the time I was an employee, I had to wait while a security guard made phone calls to verify my identity and the purpose for my visit.  I'm sure things are even more secure now at Sprint switches and facilities.

[mmark27]

These guys must like to drive Cherokees....the crew I've been chasing around Madison doing the installs drives a Cherokee with Minnesota plates.

 

Eitherway, that's good intel! Hopefully he's right, actually I hope he's wrong and it goes live sooner!  It's nice to hear something though, whether or not its true.

[grumpwagon]

Yeah, knowing (nearly) all of the Madison equipment is installed makes a late November date hard to swallow. Still, I guess that's my own dumb fault for following all this so closely. 

 

On the bright side, it has prevented (well ok, delayed) me from spending a bunch of money on a new phone. Still torn between a G2 with GPE/CM or a N5.

[mmark27]

Yeah, knowing (nearly) all of the Madison equipment is installed makes a late November date hard to swallow. Still, I guess that's my own dumb fault for following all this so closely.

 

On the bright side, it has prevented (well ok, delayed) me from spending a bunch of money on a new phone. Still torn between a G2 with GPE/CM or a N5.

G2 is a pretty legit phone with a great camera. Played with one on Verizon. I'd probably go with a N5 though if I didn't care about removable batteries. Alas, I do, so Samsung is the only horse in that race.

 

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk

 

 

[grumpwagon]

G2 is a pretty legit phone with a great camera. Played with one on Verizon. I'd probably go with a N5 though if I didn't care about removable batteries. Alas, I do, so Samsung is the only horse in that race.

 

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk

 

Yeah, my concerns, in order, are:

 

1) Stock Android, with frequent updates or a very solid CM port. I keep my phones for a long time, and I'd like to stay current. This pretty much mandates a Qualcomm chipset, since they have far and away the best record for maintaining their kernel source.

2) Battery life. I want a big battery. I use my phone to stream music/podcasts, record my bike mileage (so lots of GPS), navigate, manage calendars, etc etc. Screw swapping batteries, I bike everywhere, so I don't want to carry a charger or spare battery. Both the battery and the SoC's efficiency matter to me. Again, this points towards the S800, since it has that new power enveloping, so very power efficient.

3) Tri-Band. I waited this long to get an LTE phone, may as well get a Sprint Spark phone.

4) SIM slot. I am satisfied with Sprint, but I want the ability to swap carriers if that changes.

 

The G2 gets 2, 3, and 4. The CM port will probably be good, since it's a S800, and I think all of this round of flagships will use some version of the S800, but I don't want to count on it.

 

The N5 gets 1, 3 and 4. Battery life is still up in the air, but I'm loathe to give up the extra 700 mah.

 

If there were a G2 GPE, I think that would be my best bet, but there isn't. I'm waiting on Anandtech's review of the N5 before doing anything. The Verge says the N5's battery life isn't very good, but they don't have a good battery testing methodology at all.

 

Now, to stay (somewhat) on topic, I went by the capital today, but couldn't get a good look at the towers there. I'll keep trying if I go down that way. It gets dark so early though, it's hard for me to get down there.

[mmark27]

For me, I'd rather carry a slim battery in my pocket knowing that I'm seconds away from a full charge. I go to quite a few conferences in a year and this is a big deal for me. I wish more manufacturers didn't get away from this option, it's limiting now.

 

I ran CM for a long time on my EVO and Epic 4G Touch. Haven't had the need on the S3 or S4. I prefer some of the things Samsung does, especially their camera app.

 

I like your break down though. Man knows his hardware!

 

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk

 

 

[apphysics]

Ok so good news here folks! A couple days ago I was talking about how the tower on I-43 between Brown Deer and Good Hope was the only tower left in the area that I was aware of that did not have upgrades. Well guess what?!?!? I was driving to school today and there are people up on the tower and wires hanging off of it. THE LAST TOWER (that I know did not have the upgrades) IS BEING UPGRADED!!!!!

[mmark27]

Interesting tid bit of information this AM that pertains to our area.  At Camp Randall Sports Complex (the Shell) where I work out on UW Madison's campus (obviously) they are putting in piping and such so I asked the worker what they were installing.  Turns out they are installing "cell phone" antennas that can be used by 6-9 different carriers and is work that is paid for by the carriers, not the UW.  They have already completed work inside Camp Randall for this new system.  The previous system that was installed in Camp Randall was in place for AT&T only in conjunction with UW, apparently there was a squabble between Verizon and AT&T over the area and equipment, so they decided as a group (under the directive of UW) to install all new equipment that can be used by all carriers at the same time. 

 

The worker said that he heard that ATT, Verizon, USCC and Sprint would be using the new equipment inside Camp Randall and in the CRSC (which is a bomb shelter of a facility really), but of course he didn't know any of the details.  He also wasn't the antenna guy, he was just the electrician that was installing the wiring and the conduits all over the CRSC.  He said that crew would be along next week most likely or whenever he's done.

 

So, question is, how would I find out more about this from anyone at Sprint?  I think I'll send an email to Hesse's account and see what they say about it. 

 

EDIT: I sent an email to Hesse, we'll see what they say. probably nothing.  But I did learn through some google searching that the system is brokered by Crown Castle Communications, who installed the DAS system at Camp Randall and such.  Apparently Verizon is already taking advantage of the new system from articles I've read.

 

EDIT #2:  Spoke with DoIT's tech officer a few minutes ago. He said that Verizon is the only carrier currently on the system.  AT&T will be using it by next football season.  USCC and Sprint have yet to approach them.  He said that AT&T users complained so much that's why they are getting on the system.....so, I think it's clear what we all need to do here.......(email Dan@sprint.com and tell them to add to this system because service is so piss poor there and I doubt that NV will save it, but who knows, maybe it will??)