Network Vision on 1x Only Towers

[nahum365]

I am sure it will happen the day I open the coverage map and see this.

 

 

 

I'm guessing you're talking about the towers on the map? I'm really tired right now... But I would love an implementation of that. Along with some real coverage maps. Clear's coverage map is how to do it correctly...

[lynyrd65]

You have it flipped. Sprint has very little 900mhz, while having 14Mhz of 800SMR nationwide( well except in the southeast where they share some of it with SouthernLINC)

 

 

Sprint should deploy another 1x carrier on that 900mhz (is ev-do possible?)

[rwhittaker13]

I can answer one of your questions for ya. With network vision, all cell sites on the sprint network will be upgraded with backhaul, which will bring faster 3G speeds. As far as 1X goes, sprint will more than likely replace the 1X equipment with EVDO equipment. After the EVDO equipment is installed, sprint will activate a technology known as eHRPD, which will allow a quick and smooth 3G to 4G transition. If eHRPD didnt exist, it could take up to 10 minutes to transition from CDMA to LTE. That would be a pain in the a** lol. The main idea here is sprint will upgrade every tower with network vision technology.. or so they say they will.

 

Sent from my LG-LS840 using Forum Runner

[Rawvega]

One thing that most folks beating the drum for other-than-iDen push-to-talk networks repeatedly seem to miss is the last-ditch performance when the towers fail: iDen devices can be used as point-to-point walkie-talkies even without the tower. None of the other types of service offer that.

 

In any mission-critical communication system, the ability of folks at a site to maintain communication when everything external fails is very much a desired feature.

 

This is one reason why emergency services or companies that work to restore utilities prefer iDen over anything else.

 

They are walkie-talkies that can also make PSTN calls so long as the towers are working. They have their own built-in backup that NONE of the CDMA or GSM variants can match.

 

BTW: Motorola still has a viable worldwide market in iDEN for this very reason...

 

Sent from Photon Q LTE - Tapatalk

 

*If* I'm understand correctly though, the technolgy that enables MOTOtalk/Direct Talk actually has nothing to do with iDEN itself. If that's the case, why not buy up some old Nextel handsets and issue them out since they don't require the iDEN network to function as walkie talkies. They should be going for a song as we get closer to 6/6/13.

 

Interestingly, I saw an article that made me think about this topic: http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=226725&

 

 

 

Qualcomm Preps 4G Walkie-Talkie Tech

 

 

 

November 5, 2012 | Dan Jones

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Qualcomm Inc. is among the companies working on simplfying radio communications for emergency workers with 4G walkie-talkie technology that can operate even if the infrastructure goes down.

 

The work is part of a larger project to build a nationwide Long Term Evolution (LTE) network in the 700MHz D-Block spectrum for first responders. Emil Olbrich, lead project engineer for the office of law enforcement standards at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, talked about the project at the 4G World show in Chicago last week.

 

Part of the aim of the work is to reduce the amount of radios that emergency services currently need to support in order to communicate with each other by providing a 4G LTE radio that works nationwide across a 4G network.

 

For the radios, Qualcomm is "taking the lead" in developing a push-to-talk technology for public safety LTE that can allow communications even if the network goes down, Olbrich says.

 

"In the event that that happens, the public safety radios can be switched so they work like walkie-talkies, talking to each other without the need for infrastructure in between,” he explains.

[jefbal99]

Sprint should deploy another 1x carrier on that 900mhz (is ev-do possible?)

 

Do any of the current devices support the 900Mhz band? Does any of the NV equipment support 900Mhz? I think the answer to both of those is no.

[rwhittaker13]

 

Do any of the current devices support the 900Mhz band? Does any of the NV equipment support 900Mhz? I think the answer to both of those is no.

 

I don't believe any devices as of now support the 900Mhz spectrum. As for the future of network vision towers, I believe (correct me if I'm wrong) that sprint will be replacing the 700Mhz spectrum used for the aged iDEN network to deploy LTE on within time

 

Sent from my LG-LS840 using Forum Runner

[bigsnake49]

One thing that most folks beating the drum for other-than-iDen push-to-talk networks repeatedly seem to miss is the last-ditch performance when the towers fail: iDen devices can be used as point-to-point walkie-talkies even without the tower. None of the other types of service offer that.

 

In any mission-critical communication system, the ability of folks at a site to maintain communication when everything external fails is very much a desired feature.

 

This is one reason why emergency services or companies that work to restore utilities prefer iDen over anything else.

 

They are walkie-talkies that can also make PSTN calls so long as the towers are working. They have their own built-in backup that NONE of the CDMA or GSM variants can match.

 

BTW: Motorola still has a viable worldwide market in iDEN for this very reason...

 

Sent from Photon Q LTE - Tapatalk

 

Direct Talk can be incorporated into any phone since it uses the 900MHz ISM band. The problem is that the number of people that need phones to have that functionality is pretty small, namely first responders and utility people. They already have radios that have that functionality built in.

Edited November 8, 2012 by bigsnake49

[Substantive]

I don't believe any devices as of now support the 900Mhz spectrum. As for the future of network vision towers, I believe (correct me if I'm wrong) that sprint will be replacing the 700Mhz spectrum used for the aged iDEN network to deploy LTE on within time

 

You mean SMR, not 700, right?

[rwhittaker13]

Correct. Still working on learning more about sprint, lol.

[normnet]

One thing that most folks beating the drum for other-than-iDen push-to-talk networks repeatedly seem to miss is the last-ditch performance when the towers fail: iDen devices can be used as point-to-point walkie-talkies even without the tower. None of the other types of service offer that.

 

In any mission-critical communication system, the ability of folks at a site to maintain communication when everything external fails is very much a desired feature.

 

This is one reason why emergency services or companies that work to restore utilities prefer iDen over anything else.

 

They are walkie-talkies that can also make PSTN calls so long as the towers are working. They have their own built-in backup that NONE of the CDMA or GSM variants can match.

 

BTW: Motorola still has a viable worldwide market in iDEN for this very reason...

 

Sent from Photon Q LTE - Tapatalk

Can the direct talk feature of iDen phones be used without a contract as they are now or soon will be obsolete? Norm

[Rawvega]

No contract or activated service is needed to use Direct Talk. I do believe a SIM card is needed in the iDEN handsets though.

[maximus1987/lou99]

You have it flipped. Sprint has very little 900mhz, while having 14Mhz of 800SMR nationwide( well except in the southeast where they share some of it with SouthernLINC)

 

 

1) How in the world does 900MHz exist here? I thought it was non-North America? I guess it can be used for GSM, correct? Phones always list GSM 850/900/1800/1900

2) Is that 4MHz useful for anything to Sprint? Why doesn't it just sell it and get something out of it.

3) Does it have a buildout requirement?

[maximus1987/lou99]

Moffett works for Sanford Bernstein. I worry less about his personal positions than those of his company and its clients. Moffett can use his bully pulpit to manipulate the market in their favor.

 

On the other hand, Moffett does seem to hold a grudge against Sprint, so maybe it is personal. Sprint probably turned him away because he had bad credit.

 

 

AJ

 

As long as we're talking about people with a vendetta, what do you guys think of Joan Lappin (on Forbes)? I've read most her articles and she seems REAALLY angry that Sprint might get Clearwire for $2.2bil but it's not only about Clearwire. She'll take any bad news about Sprint, like their impending losses from Nextel

 

http://www.forbes.com/sites/joanlappin/2013/04/24/sprint-in-play-now-itself-sees-losses-mount-in-current-quarter/

 

and she'll pivot like "and another thing!: Sprint should give me more money for my Clearwire shares!"

[WiWavelength]

1) How in the world does 900MHz exist here? I thought it was non-North America? I guess it can be used for GSM, correct? Phones always list GSM 850/900/1800/1900

 

No, you cannot look at an unlabeled frequency, such as "900 MHz," and jump to a conclusion. The GSM 900 MHz band does not exist in North America, but the ISM 900 MHz and SMR 900 MHz bands do. The former is an unlicensed band that has been used for cordless phones, garage door openers, etc. The latter is a paging band that Nextel adapted for iDEN for added capacity.

 

2) Is that 4MHz useful for anything to Sprint? Why doesn't it just sell it and get something out of it.

 

No, it is not useful for any broadband operations. As for selling it, who wants to buy it? Likely, no one.

 

3) Does it have a buildout requirement?

 

Paging and iDEN 900 took care of that.

 

AJ

[Boosted20V]

No, you cannot look at an unlabeled frequency, such as "900 MHz," and jump to a conclusion. The GSM 900 MHz band does not exist in North America, but the ISM 900 MHz and SMR 900 MHz bands do. The former is an unlicensed band that has been used for cordless phones, garage door openers, etc. The latter is a paging band that Nextel adapted for iDEN for added capacity.

 

 

 

No, it is not useful for any broadband operations. As for selling it, who wants to buy it? Likely, no one.

 

 

 

Paging and iDEN 900 took care of that.

 

AJ

 

I understand historical services met buildout requirements... but wouldn't you agree that the FCC would rather not see this spectrum go to waste?

[lynyrd65]

I understand historical services met buildout requirements... but wouldn't you agree that the FCC would rather not see this spectrum go to waste?

 

it is interleaved in 25khz channels of use to no one but iden operations. Buying out the other licensees to make it contiguous may be costly.

[WiWavelength]

it is interleaved in 25khz channels of use to no one but iden operations. Buying out the other licensees to make it contiguous may be costly.

 

Actually, SMR 900 MHz is based on 12.5 kHz FDD channelization. Nextel paired adjacent channels to deploy iDEN 900.

 

Some uses still require narrowband spectrum. Paging is one, and refarming the SMR 900 MHz band would require relocating a big portion of the paging industry.

 

AJ

[maximus1987/lou99]

 

No, it is not useful for any broadband operations. As for selling it, who wants to buy it? Likely, no one.

 

AJ

 

So from here to eternity, it'll be totally useless?

If it's totally useless, why doesn't Sprint just open it up for unlicensed service?

[dnwk]

You have it flipped. Sprint has very little 900mhz, while having 14Mhz of 800SMR nationwide( well except in the southeast where they share some of it with SouthernLINC)

 

 

Why BRS show up as 0?

[WiWavelength]

Why BRS show up as 0?

 

BRS 2600 MHz is attributable to Clearwire, not Sprint.

 

AJ

[WiWavelength]

So from here to eternity, it'll be totally useless?

If it's totally useless, why doesn't Sprint just open it up for unlicensed service?

A licensee cannot just unleash licensed spectrum for unlicensed access. That would make the licensee liable for any improper or illegal use of said spectrum.

 

Plus, as I mentioned previously, almost no one these days wants narrowband, interleaved spectrum.

 

AJ

[dnwk]

BRS 2600 MHz is attributable to Clearwire, not Sprint.

 

AJ

Wan't that the same as licensed to Sprint? No practical difference.

[WiWavelength]

Wan't that the same as licensed to Sprint?

Nope. Sprint transferred its BRS/EBS 2600 MHz spectrum to Clearwire about five years ago. Clearwire then wholesales WiMAX to Sprint and other operators.

 

AJ

[maximus1987/lou99]

 

So from here to eternity, it'll be totally useless?

 

If it's totally useless, why doesn't Sprint just open it up for unlicensed service?

 

A licensee cannot just unleash licensed spectrum for unlicensed access. That would make the licensee liable for any improper or illegal use of said spectrum.

 

 

Plus, as I mentioned previously, almost no one these days wants narrowband, interleaved spectrum.

 

 

AJ

But my point is: it's currently unused now so why not collaborate with FCC to officially declare it unlicensed?

 

Surely someone will find some use for it. Even if its low data rate, something > nothing.

[WiWavelength]

But my point is: it's currently unused now so why not collaborate with FCC to officially declare it unlicensed?

 

Surely someone will find some use for it. Even if its low data rate, something > nothing.

 

SMR 900 MHz is currently in use for paging, dispatch, and iDEN 900.  Maybe there will be discussions with the FCC following the iDEN shutdown but not until then.

 

Plus, if you want "low data rate" usage, well, you already have paging in the band.  So, there you go.  If you want broadband operations instead, you would have to kick out all other SMR 900 MHz users.

 

To understand the interleaved nature of the SMR 900 MHz band, I think that you really need to read the following thread:

 

http://s4gru.com/index.php?/topic/390-how-much-of-the-900-mhz-band-being-used/

 

AJ