Network Vision/LTE - SF Bay Market

[WillieFDiazSF]

There is limited 4G LTE coverage near my house, actually about 3 blocks away, over the freeway area Mission/Potrero in SF. Directly at SF General Hospital, however, the speed there is 4x slower than WiMAX in the same area, and slightly slower than the eHRPD speed just a block away. So it definitely is testing, however there is connectivity up and downlink.

 

Unfortunately, in Downtown SF there is no coverage at all, and along the Embarcadero, while there is coverage, it only works for a few seconds to authenticate the device (since these are testing sites) and then stops connectivity for data, even though the device will remain connected to LTE. Kinda pointless if you ask me.

 

I'd post my speed test results, but I can't find a place to attach a file.

[Dkoellerwx]

There is limited 4G LTE coverage near my house, actually about 3 blocks away, over the freeway area Mission/Potrero in SF. Directly at SF General Hospital, however, the speed there is 4x slower than WiMAX in the same area, and slightly slower than the eHRPD speed just a block away. So it definitely is testing, however there is connectivity up and downlink.

 

Unfortunately, in Downtown SF there is no coverage at all, and along the Embarcadero, while there is coverage, it only works for a few seconds to authenticate the device (since these are testing sites) and then stops connectivity for data, even though the device will remain connected to LTE. Kinda pointless if you ask me.

 

I'd post my speed test results, but I can't find a place to attach a file.

 

Is it possible you weren't as close to the signal as you thought? I looked at the speed test you posted, and speeds like that are usually the result of a weak signal. The LTE signal is very fragile, and once you go beyond a certain threshold, the speeds fall off very quickly.

[rwong48]

I believe you just connected to a far-away LTE tower, despite having closer towers not broadcasting LTE. Your coverage and speeds should be better once your local tower is the one broadcasting LTE.

[S4GRU]

There is limited 4G LTE coverage near my house, actually about 3 blocks away, over the freeway area Mission/Potrero in SF. Directly at SF General Hospital, however, the speed there is 4x slower than WiMAX in the same area, and slightly slower than the eHRPD speed just a block away. So it definitely is testing, however there is connectivity up and downlink.

 

Unfortunately, in Downtown SF there is no coverage at all, and along the Embarcadero, while there is coverage, it only works for a few seconds to authenticate the device (since these are testing sites) and then stops connectivity for data, even though the device will remain connected to LTE. Kinda pointless if you ask me.

 

I'd post my speed test results, but I can't find a place to attach a file.

 

LTE performance is very signal strength dependent. Weak and distant LTE signals will produce mediocre results. Sprint Android devices (except for LG's) do not show LTE signal strength, even when 4G icon is shown. It is discussed here: http://s4gru.com/index.php?/topic/2040-bars-lie-for-lte-signal-strength-how-to-determine-your-actual-lte-signal-strength/

 

Robert

[WillieFDiazSF]

Is it possible you weren't as close to the signal as you thought? I looked at the speed test you posted, and speeds like that are usually the result of a weak signal. The LTE signal is very fragile, and once you go beyond a certain threshold, the speeds fall off very quickly.

 

Seems that LTE is very similar to WiMAX in that comparison of fragile, thresholds of speed, etc. I should be extremely used to that by now too..haha..

[S4GRU]

 

Seems that LTE is very similar to WiMAX in that comparison of fragile, thresholds of speed, etc. I should be extremely used to that by now too..haha..

 

It's true of all high speed networks. HSPA+ and LTE Advanced too. They use a much higher modulation which is much more fragile with a weaker air link.

 

I have Verizon LTE also on a work phone and a personal hotspot. Verizon LTE maxes out around -93dBm RSSI (-118 RSRP equivalence). Around the same as Sprint LTE. Tmo HSPA+ will still work beyond -93dBm, but performance plummets.

 

There is no perfect high speed wireless network that has great performance even with weak signals. But in areas with weak signals, LTE is still faster than 3G in most instances.

 

Robert via Nexus 7 on Tapatalk

 

 

[rwong48]

Thought it was going to be another typical commute.. I was wrong!

 

http://sensorly.com/...0lundy,%2095131

 

I will plot more Sensorly later.. I kept my detour to 5 minutes

[cuetlachtli]

Well I looked through the last nine pages of this thread and haven't seen anyone mention this .. I have been getting a steady strong 4G LTE signal where I work in Fremont, CA on the corner of Grimmer Blvd & Fremont Blvd. I get it inside the buildings and much stronger outside fastest test result was 30 up 22 down. Been getting this signal for about 6 weeks straight now.. I will download that app and see what's on it and try to post or whatever more areas.

 

[cuetlachtli]

Well I looked through the last nine pages of this thread and haven't seen anyone mention this .. I have been getting a steady strong 4G LTE signal where I work in Fremont, CA on the corner of Grimmer Blvd & Fremont Blvd. I get it inside the buildings and much stronger outside fastest test result was 30 up 22 down. Been getting this signal for about 6 weeks straight now.. I will download that app and see what's on it and try to post or whatever more areas.

 

Just got sensorly.. that area is on there. Hah now to try to add to it then XD

[rwong48]

Well I looked through the last nine pages of this thread and haven't seen anyone mention this .. I have been getting a steady strong 4G LTE signal where I work in Fremont, CA on the corner of Grimmer Blvd & Fremont Blvd. I get it inside the buildings and much stronger outside fastest test result was 30 up 22 down. Been getting this signal for about 6 weeks straight now.. I will download that app and see what's on it and try to post or whatever more areas.

Those areas have been plotted on Sensorly for a while; perhaps indeed no one posted about them. Definitely check out Sensorly, and contribute when you can.

 

If you donate, you can see the exact locations of towers, and which towers have completed work.

[cuetlachtli]

 

Those areas have been plotted on Sensorly for a while; perhaps indeed no one posted about them. Definitely check out Sensorly, and contribute when you can.

 

If you donate, you can see the exact locations of towers, and which towers have completed work.

 

Yes, I saw that after downloading the app.. and I have read that. Good info.. I came to this site for coverage in san Jose anyway since I've been seeing one of the spots I am usually at light up as 4G for a little while. I'm not too concerned about the rest of Fremont area as where I work is covered. Now just to wait for where I live and locations I am most often at..

[rwong48]

Yes, I saw that after downloading the app.. and I have read that. Good info.. I came to this site for coverage in san Jose anyway since I've been seeing one of the spots I am usually at light up as 4G for a little while. I'm not too concerned about the rest of Fremont area as where I work is covered. Now just to wait for where I live and locations I am most often at..

 

Sorry, I totally posted that before I saw your second post. Welcome! I wish my office was covered..

[cuetlachtli]

 

 

Sorry, I totally posted that before I saw your second post. Welcome! I wish my office was covered..

 

:] ya I love having 4G in my office again. I had the Evo Shift Nd WiMAX was okay there- a little spotty. But the LTE has my whole building. Inside and out covered.. I'd really like to see my brother's house and my friend's house covered (they live around the corner from each other) good for LTE. My friend plans on getting the iPhone 5 and my brother just got the LTE evo. And I'm at both places a lot as well, but 3G sucks in that area. WiMAX was okay but there's times when there's no service at all there

[Xodium]

Hey guys, Concord resident here.

 

I'm on an iPhone 5, and I was visiting the Starbucks near the Treat and Clayton intersection, and my phone's LTE indicator lit up. I didn't think to grab a speed test at the time, but I can likely swing back around and nab one tomorrow when I'm out doing errands.

 

Sitting inside the Starbucks I was pulling around 20Mbps with 5 bars. I'd go map it on Sensorly, but it doesn't support mapping on the iPhone 5, sadly.

[jvillanueva77]

How is LTE deployment in Hayward, CA? How many sites are completed? Is sprint putting upgrading the backhaul too?

[lilotimz]

How is LTE deployment in Hayward, CA? How many sites are completed? Is sprint putting upgrading the backhaul too?

 

1. Ongoing

2. Many -- Sponsor info [donation required]

3. http://s4gru.com/index.php?/topic/32-network-vision-explained/

[ddon]

I just received 4g LTE for the first time inside my building (near the 4th & King Caltrain). Not very impressed with the speeds, yet -- only 3-4Mbps.

[Dkoellerwx]

I just received 4g LTE for the first time inside my building (near the 4th & King Caltrain). Not very impressed with the speeds, yet -- only 3-4Mbps.

 

Probably a weak signal. It may get better if/when a closer site goes live, but your building may block out a lot of the signal as well.

[briank86]

I just received 4g LTE for the first time inside my building (near the 4th & King Caltrain). Not very impressed with the speeds, yet -- only 3-4Mbps.

Probably a weak signal. It may get better if/when a closer site goes live, but your building may block out a lot of the signal as well.

Another possibility is the backhaul has not been completed yet. If possible, determine which tower you are connected to for LTE (possibly different from voice), and move closer to it. If your speed increases as you get closer that would mean the weak signal is causing the slow speeds. If your speeds stay the same, the backhaul has probably not been completed yet.

[lilotimz]

Another possibility is the backhaul has not been completed yet. If possible, determine which tower you are connected to for LTE (possibly different from voice), and move closer to it. If your speed increases as you get closer that would mean the weak signal is causing the slow speeds. If your speeds stay the same, the backhaul has probably not been completed yet.

 

Incorrect. Backhaul has to be completed and in place before LTE is activated. Slow speeds are an indication of a weak signal or in other cases, heavy load on a sector/tower (as is happening to Verizon) but that is highly unlikely.at this stage or ever with sprints immense spectrum.

[Dkoellerwx]

Incorrect. Backhaul has to be completed and in place before LTE is activated. Slow speeds are an indication of a weak signal or in other cases, heavy load on a sector/tower (as is happening to Verizon) but that is highly unlikely.at this stage or ever with sprints immense spectrum.

 

This. ^

 

There have been some instances of users reporting slow speeds on LTE even with a good signal. That is probably equipment related, and gets corrected pretty quickly.

 

ddon, if you can go into the LTE engineering screen and verify your signal strength, we can determine if it really is a tower issue or just a weak signal.

[S4GRU]

To clarify, LTE is only connected to new backhaul. Occasionally there is a problem with provisioning the new backhaul that causes slow speeds, but this is often easily fixed. Most LTE slow speeds are related to signal strength.

 

http://s4gru.com/index.php?/topic/2040-bars-lie-for-lte-signal-strength-how-to-determine-your-actual-lte-signal-strength/

 

Robert via Samsung Note II via Tapatalk

 

 

[briank86]

To clarify, LTE is only connected to new backhaul. Occasionally there is a problem with provisioning the new backhaul that causes slow speeds, but this is often easily fixed. Most LTE slow speeds are related to signal strength.

 

http://s4gru.com/ind...ignal-strength/

 

Robert via Samsung Note II via Tapatalk

What does setting up backhaul for a tower entail (connecting, provisioning, etc.)?

[S4GRU]

What does setting up backhaul for a tower entail (connecting, provisioning, etc.)?

 

I do not know all the details. However, it has to be set up to connect to the 4G cores through the backhaul. If there is an error in that setup, it can cause problems. There have been a handful of limited instances where there has been full strength LTE connections that have been slow. They go back out to the site and reconfigure a few things, and then the site is running at full speed. However, most instances of slow LTE observed by S4GRU members have been related to weak signal strength.

 

Robert

[briank86]

I do not know all the details. However, it has to be set up to connect to the 4G cores through the backhaul. If there is an error in that setup, it can cause problems. There have been a handful of limited instances where there has been full strength LTE connections that have been slow. They go back out to the site and reconfigure a few things, and then the site is running at full speed. However, most instances of slow LTE observed by S4GRU members have been related to weak signal strength.

 

Robert

Thanks for the clarification Robert. If i can find some more info I think some readers might be interested in knowing more on the topic.

 

Brian