Network Vision/LTE - Charlotte Market

[djw39]

I had some issues briefly the other day but I am running a custom rom so I always blame myself.

[unccjester]

This is the most vulgar thing ever posted in S4GRU history.

 

 

 

You don't even want to know what the CCR area is.

 

 

Well I know that there is a Sprint tower over near Pharr Mill and Rocky River Rd, but as far as I know, B26 isn't activated on it. Frankly B26 will be our only saving grace when it comes to Sprint LTE in Harrisburg. There is Clearwire equipment on the water tower in between Robinson Church Road and Hickory Ridge Road on Rocky River Road, and there is also Clear equipment on that tower at Morehead and 49. Sprint should really consider adding NV equipment to those towers, because even if they only deploy B25 and EVDO 1900 on those towers, it would do wonders for this ever growing town!

 

-Anthony

 

The tower near Pharr Mill & Rocky River (the one I've mentioned before that's got 3 different carriers on it at Rocky River & Lower Rocky River - SignalCheck shows it as 8030 Lower Rocky River when I roam to VzW in the area) has zero Sprint service (that's active anyway). I come through that area once a week and the service there is caca. It'd be amazing if they'd put panels on that tower facing down Pharr Mill / Stallings Rd, down Rocky River towards 485 / Hickory Ridge Rd area, and probably another one facing Lower Rocky River / towards the 2 schools on Holden Dr.

[djw39]

So, my Charlotte Market pals with Android devices, I have noticed my Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 (the only Android device we have in our home) has recently switched back to connecting to EVDO Rev. A since at least last night. It used to be connecting to eHRPD but hasn't been for the past 12 hours or so. Anyone else been noticing this?

 

And yes, it is in CDMA/LTE/EVDO mode, so it should connect to eHRPD like it normally has been. I know that when it is in CDMA/EVDO only mode, it wouldn't connect to eHRPD because there was no need to since it wouldn't be connecting to LTE.

 

-Anthony

 

Confirmed, I am seeing LTE and EVDO but not eHRPD. Observed at Monroe/Idlewild intersection and uptown in general. Hopefully they are working on something?

[caspar347]

I'm afraid I left my phone at a friend's and was stuck on my EVO all weekend. I didn't get my N5 back till about an hour ago. So unfortunately I couldn't see any eHRPD or LTE.

 

That said, our market has ALWAYS had issues with eH and EV. eH was on for a few months then off for a year then on and off intermittently for a month then on solidly for awhile. I still suspect it has something to do with our crappy legacy moto network gear.

 

I have eH at the moment.

[anthony.spina97]

Yup, just looked at the Tab. Back on eHRPD. Odd.

 

-Anthony

[Brandonlmbrt]

 

Im noticing that there is no 800mhz lte in the Charlotte/Mooresville area in nc. Is there going to be a rollout of that or spark in the future? We had a lot of Nextel spectrum when it was in use, so where'd it go lol? I spoke to a customer service rep and he seemed to not know what I was talked by about. Any help would be great. Thanks

[anthony.spina97]

Im noticing that there is no 800mhz lte in the Charlotte/Mooresville area in nc. Is there going to be a rollout of that or spark in the future? We had a lot of Nextel spectrum when it was in use, so where'd it go lol? I spoke to a customer service rep and he seemed to not know what I was talked by about. Any help would be great. Thanks

Never listen to a CS rep, they almost always have no clue what they're talking about when it comes to the network. We have a decent bit of 800 LTE floating around in the surrounding areas of Charlotte. I've mostly found it in the Concord/Kannapolis area.

 

-Anthony

[Brandonlmbrt]

Never listen to a CS rep, they almost always have no clue what they're talking about when it comes to the network. We have a decent bit of 800 LTE floating around in the surrounding areas of Charlotte. I've mostly found it in the Concord/Kannapolis area.

 

-Anthony

Agreed. I only ask because in up in the air as to whether any thing would improve in the area. Woukd the new bands in the new iPhone potential help? I thought it would only help me pick up spark. They was an enormous amount of Nextel spectrum here in Iredell, because the sherries department used it.

[anthony.spina97]

Agreed. I only ask because in up in the air as to whether any thing would improve in the area. Woukd the new bands in the new iPhone potential help? I thought it would only help me pick up spark. They was an enormous amount of Nextel spectrum here in Iredell, because the sherries department used it.

The new bands in the iPhone 6 will allow us to connect to Spark (LTE Band 41). The current iPhone 5s has support for LTE Bands 25 (1900 PCS) and 26 (800 SMR). Charlotte is on it's way to being a pretty good Sprint market, once Bands 26 and 41 are fully rolled out. Band 41, I hear, is around, but not as prevalent as Band 25. And from my experiences, Band 26 has just recently started showing up. So I can guarantee that things will get MUCH better.

 

-Anthony

[Brandonlmbrt]

The new bands in the iPhone 6 will allow us to connect to Spark (LTE Band 41). The current iPhone 5s has support for LTE Bands 25 (1900 PCS) and 26 (800 SMR). Charlotte is on it's way to being a pretty good Sprint market, once Bands 26 and 41 are fully rolled out. Band 41, I hear, is around, but not as prevalent as Band 25. And from my experiences, Band 26 has just recently started showing up. So I can guarantee that things will get MUCH better.

-Anthony

Thanks man. I'm sure hoping so. Probably not in Mooresville though.pretty sure the clearwire spectrum is primarily in the Charlotte area. I'm not really familiar with band 26 though. Is that a higher or lower frequency? I just can't figure out that 800mhz here in town. It's everywhere, but not turned on or showing on the maps. I have a hard time thinking they'd come to town, upgrade the towers, then come back later for 800mhz lte. Maybe that's the case though. Who knows.

[S4GRU]

Sprint has B41 in the BRS spectrum in the whole state of North Carolina. And additional EBS within 35 miles of certain cities. I don't know anywhere in the country where Sprint cannot deploy B41 LTE at all. Not even exurban/rural North Carolina.

 

Robert via Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

[anthony.spina97]

Thanks man. I'm sure hoping so. Probably not in Mooresville though.pretty sure the clearwire spectrum is primarily in the Charlotte area. I'm not really familiar with band 26 though. Is that a higher or lower frequency? I just can't figure out that 800mhz here in town. It's everywhere, but not turned on or showing on the maps. I have a hard time thinking they'd come to town, upgrade the towers, then come back later for 800mhz lte. Maybe that's the case though. Who knows.

Band 26 is 800 MHz. So a lower frequency. When they upgraded the towers in our market, certain users of the 800 MHz spectrum that Sprint would use for LTE were still using it, so Sprint had to wait for them to move off of the spectrum in order to deploy it. The equipment was there, but Sprint couldn't turn it on. Now, the people who were using Sprint's spectrum have moved off of it, so Sprint is now deploying 800 MHz LTE in NC. Deploying 800 LTE is very easy compared to upgrading the tower. It consists of going to the site, installing something called a Carrier Card in the Base Station, and pretty much flipping the switch. That's the simplest way I can explain it.

 

-Anthony

[Brandonlmbrt]

Sprint has B41 in the BRS spectrum in the whole state of North Carolina. And additional EBS within 35 miles of certain cities. I don't know anywhere in the country where Sprint cannot deploy B41 LTE at all. Not even exurban/rural North Carolina.

Robert via Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

That's great news. But just because they can deploy doesn't mean they will though right? Not if the operating costs out weigh their benefits?

[S4GRU]

That's great news. But just because they can deploy doesn't mean they will though right? Not if the operating costs out weigh their benefits?

 

They are deploying B41 on every site that has the backhaul to support it.  And they will add it to the others when they get backhaul in the future too.  

[Brandonlmbrt]

They are deploying B41 on every site that has the backhaul to support it.  And they will add it to the others when they get backhaul in the future too.

 

Even more good news. Isn't band 41 the spark variety? Also if I were to upgrade to an iPhone 6, would the extra bands help with call reception/dropped calls, or only data?

[S4GRU]

Even more good news. Isn't band 41 the spark variety? Also if I were to upgrade to an iPhone 6, would the extra bands help with call reception/dropped calls, or only data?

 

Only data.  Currently, the iPhones do not put CDMA 800 as a priority.  I hope this changes soon.  With CDMA 800 being deployed all over NV right now, and if the iPhone started to prioritize this network, your call quality issues would improve dramatically.

[Brandonlmbrt]

Only data.  Currently, the iPhones do not put CDMA 800 as a priority.  I hope this changes soon.  With CDMA 800 being deployed all over NV right now, and if the iPhone started to prioritize this network, your call quality issues would improve dramatically.

When you say that iPhone doesn't put it as a priority, do you mean it has to addressed in a software update? Or a future version of the handset?

[S4GRU]

When you say that iPhone doesn't put it as a priority, do you mean it has to addressed in a software update? Or a future version of the handset?

 

The current PRL that all iPhones that support CDMA 800 use will not scan for 800MHz voice service until there is no 1900MHz service available at all.  This is not good, as sometimes you drop the call first before 800 kicks in.

 

On Android devices, 800 and 1900 are given the same priority.  So you can get on 800 before dropping and you may even stay there.  We don't know why the iPhone is not given a better 800 priority.  We feel it must be an Apple reason, as we cannot come up with a reason why Sprint would allow Windows Phone and Android to do this, but limit iPhones.  It either is a hardware issue that causes problems, or Apple is insisting on it.  Perhaps Apple wanted 800MHz to be better deployed before allowing iPhones to camp on it?  We aren't sure.

 

At either rate, we hope this is not the case for much longer.  If there is a hardware issue, we hope it's corrected in the iPhone 6 models and they can be on a better PRL with 800 as the same priority as 1900.  Or if it is an Apple or Sprint decision, it's probably time to get a revised PRL out there that has them as equal priority.

[djw39]

Yup, just looked at the Tab. Back on eHRPD. Odd.

 

-Anthony

A few days later, and I am still not seeing any eHRPD. Anthony, are you observing this uptown, or outside of the city somewhere?

[anthony.spina97]

A few days later, and I am still not seeing any eHRPD. Anthony, are you observing this uptown, or outside of the city somewhere?

In Harrisburg.

 

-Anthony

[djw39]

In Harrisburg.

 

-Anthony

OK, so hopefully it's just different towers and I don't need to keep fiddling with my data settings

[Brandonlmbrt]

So after reading around, am I correct in thinking that spark (band 41) will be deployed on EVERY single site sprint has at some point in the future? Or just where clearwire's footprint was before?

[caspar347]

So after reading around, am I correct in thinking that spark (band 41) will be deployed on EVERY single site sprint has at some point in the future? Or just where clearwire's footprint was before?

It will eventually be on EVERY Sprint site. The Clearwire sites got started with upgrades a bit early, but Sprint has repeatedly stated that they will install Band 41 on every single tower, and then some.

[Brandonlmbrt]

I know that the coverage is going to be all about capacity instead of range, but does anyone know what kind of range were talking about when it comes to that particular spectrum? Potentially adding more years to the network overhaul?

[caspar347]

I know that the coverage is going to be all about capacity instead of range, but does anyone know what kind of range were talking about when it comes to that particular spectrum? Potentially adding more years to the network overhaul?

Well due to the antenna design and channel size, it should actually be somewhat close to LTE on 1900 Band 25. Your phone can hold on to B41 signal to around -135 dBm whereas it can only hold B25 out to about -120 dBm.

 

Sprint has also stated that they will eventually add more sites in cities etc in order to completely blanket areas with B41. But the new sites are pretty much at the lowest priority. They'll finish the rest of the network upgrades before they begin adding tons of new sites.