Network Vision and LTE deployment strategy

[S4GRU]

I would assume that's the Vz LTE slowdown that Roberts been mentioning.

 

I had a 1.95Mbps download speed on VZW LTE today at one point with a pretty strong signal. The Upload was 13Mbps at the same exact moment. I turned over to VZW 3G for comparison and pulled down 1.6Mbps DL. Sprint 3G was 900kbps and Tmo HSPA was 1.2Mbps.

 

Robert

[stormchaser68]

It will not take a year from when its starts to launch service. Also, sites will likely start going live within 30-45 days of work starting. The UCV market will likely start before Spring. Please stop with your unsubstantiated negative comments. You appear to be a troll. Trolls will not be tolerated.

 

Robert

 

Robert, Do you need this to get rid of those pesty trolls? LOL

[DaQue]

Don't most trolls end up with a radio show on the EIB network?

[S4GRU]

Don't most trolls end up with a radio show on the EIB network?

 

I had to Google that.

 

Robert via Nexus 7 on Tapatalk

 

 

[rwhittaker13]

There are not 5 million people in the Sacramento market, and there is not a round 5. This is a blog created to help spread the word of the spread of 4G before Sprint is planning to announce it, not to answer your unending questions about "why why why why why I don't have LTE but Verizon and AT&T have it." Sprint already offers 4G WiMax in Sacramento, and beat both Verizon and ATT to market. Either drop it or go check out www.community.sprint.com or dan@sprint.com

I agree with this. Sprint users, do not be fooled by what their track record is like now. Think of it. Unlimited LTE, and faster 3G. If anything, i would kill for faster 3G, and that would hold me over until they activated LTE in my area. The bottom line is that sprint has been deploying LTE much faster than when AT&T started their LTE deployment roughly a year ago. If you go over to verizon, thats like giving a 14 year old girl your credit card, and telling her to go nuts.. on sprint however, you pay a flat rate for unlimited talk, text, and unlimited data! And besides, when sprint does further enhance LTE, i have a feeling we may just be faster than verizon`s LTE, maybe not AT&T, but hey we do not know what the future holds for us.

[rwhittaker13]

This may be a bit unrelated to the topic, but has anyone noticed the Hershey, PA market has seemed to get more purple blotches on sensorly?? ;D

Edited December 10, 2012 by rwhittaker13

[JediFusion]

I understand that rolling out LTE and doing network upgrades is not as simple as some may think.

 

I can also understand how some people are upset I guess. At least some of the people upset have cities that have been announced.

 

I just think maybe they shouldn't continue to announce dozens of cities as coming soon when in reality that coming soon won't be for half a year.

 

 

[JeffDTD]

I always assumed the lte / nv strategy was strategic, touching markets with the highest concentration % of sprint users on maxed network resources and those places most simple to deploy and plant the lte flag. The first is very calculated while the later is random, a la verizon. Just looking at how many people live in a city or a market has no bearing on how many sprint users are there and how their general network experience may be.

 

The sour grapes are just unnecessary. Sprint is still one of the two budget carriers. Trolls need not apply... cough up the bones and go ride the red unicorn if sprint is such a meanie.

 

Haha and I also still dont understand why my market wasnt first. Oh wait, there arent many sprint users here and competition is saturated here by a 4th carrier. Oh it hurts so bad lol.

[Deval]

I think people just do not realize what it takes to rebuild a network. There is a reason why so many wireless companies go the MVNO route, much easier and cheaper to lease access than build a network from ground up.

[S4GRU]

I just think maybe they shouldn't continue to announce dozens of cities as coming soon when in reality that coming soon won't be for half a year.

 

I disagree. Sprint's OEM's are actively working or mobilizing in all the cities they have named. These are not places that will not start for six months. If so, most Sprint markets would be on that list, as most of NV markets will be under way within six months from now.

 

People want to know this. Even if maybe you don't. They didn't say launch was imminent. They said work was starting in the coming months in these cities and LTE may be available at sites as they complete. I think this is pretty good info to pass on to your customers. Its no different than what Verizon did. They posted a list in late 2011 of the cities that will begin LTE work in 2012. Except their list was for a whole year. Sprint has broken theirs down to a much smaller chunk.

 

Obviously people want to know where Sprint is working and where they are working next, or S4GRU wouldn't be so popular.

 

Robert via Nexus 7 on Tapatalk

 

 

[rwhittaker13]

I say we all go back to dial-up.. Anyone??? Nah, that would not be a good idea.. too much noise.. I need my eight hours of sleep without something sounding like its shorting out.. lol

[halcyoncmdr]

Now I have to question if it is due to the unrealistic expectations of the customers.

 

No comment, but I work in a retail service and repair store, and I have seen just about everything. Use your imagination.

[rwhittaker13]

The NV upgrade is going to do wonders yes. But they have made bad business decisions and are making a move that albeit they are 3 years behind in tech. The aggravating aspect is several folder 1) they are doing it on the back of customers, so now we fall victim to some dude making 6 figures to make bad choices. 2) They claim first 4g carrier excuse me they went to a deadend tech. and on top of it spun it as better than 4g in their marketing. so wimax 10mbps lte 20+mbps. I struggle to just get 3g in orange county ,ca. As for unlimited data Sprint throttles all day long. They cannot handle the bandwidth and consequently speeds drop to 60kpbs in places. really.

When i am in Pittsburgh, PA, speeds stay fairly constant, even directly in the city, but yes there has been times where i have noticed my speeds dramatically decreasing, probably due to sprint limiting the speeds. Honestly i didnt even know they did cap speeds

[Deval]

When i am in Pittsburgh, PA, speeds stay fairly constant, even directly in the city, but yes there has been times where i have noticed my speeds dramatically decreasing, probably due to sprint limiting the speeds. Honestly i didnt even know they did cap speeds

 

Sprint doesn't cap speeds, please do not believe everything you read on a forum.

 

Usually low speeds are due to tower capacity and limited backhaul, both which are being alleviated with the Network Vision project.

[Deval]

The NV upgrade is going to do wonders yes. But they have made bad business decisions and are making a move that albeit they are 3 years behind in tech. The aggravating aspect is several folder 1) they are doing it on the back of customers, so now we fall victim to some dude making 6 figures to make bad choices. 2) They claim first 4g carrier excuse me they went to a deadend tech. and on top of it spun it as better than 4g in their marketing. so wimax 10mbps lte 20+mbps. I struggle to just get 3g in orange county ,ca. As for unlimited data Sprint throttles all day long. They cannot handle the bandwidth and consequently speeds drop to 60kpbs in places. really.

 

1) How is the Network Vision project 3 years behind in technology? As someone who's actually seen the equipment, I can tell you that it is most definitely NOT behind the curve.

 

2) WiMAX was the only 4G technology available in 2008, LTE wasn't even on the roadmap, with no chipsets, devices, etc. available.

 

You struggle for 3G because the network is due for an upgrade, which is exactly what Sprint is doing.

[gameaddict8]

1) How is the Network Vision project 3 years behind in technology? As someone who's actually seen the equipment, I can tell you that it is most definitely NOT behind the curve.

 

2) WiMAX was the only 4G technology available in 2008, LTE wasn't even on the roadmap, with no chipsets, devices, etc. available.

 

You struggle for 3G because the network is due for an upgrade, which is exactly what Sprint is doing.

 

Sprint is slow in LA, but I can see the improvement in my area already. Greater LA getting NV & LTE as we speak. Just pulled 14down/4up the next city over. I can see how it's frustrating in areas that are not 1st or 2nd market though.

[Deval]

Sprint is slow in LA, but I can see the improvement in my area already. Greater LA getting NV & LTE as we speak. Just pulled 14down/4up the next city over. I can see how it's frustrating in areas that are not 1st or 2nd market though.

 

The problem is, everyone believes their market should be done today, not tomorrow.

 

Realistically, that's impossible, simple as that. Those folks who are in the other market rounds will see incremental upgrades as part of the standard network maintenance (EVDO carrier adds, T1 adds, etc.). Once their market starts construction, they will see the vast changes like many of us are seeing now

 

Sprint is crawling slow in NYC too, much more densely populated than the majority of the country, but they are actively working on it here.

[gameaddict8]

The problem is, everyone believes their market should be done today, not tomorrow.

 

Realistically, that's impossible, simple as that. Those folks who are in the other market rounds will see incremental upgrades as part of the standard network maintenance (EVDO carrier adds, T1 adds, etc.). Once their market starts construction, they will see the vast changes like many of us are seeing now

 

Sprint is crawling slow in NYC too, much more densely populated than the majority of the country, but they are actively working on it here.

 

Seems to be a more gradual rollout than Wimax. But it'll be nice once it's done. Deval, you think next years phones will support more lte bands? My upgrade is jan 2014

[Dkoellerwx]

Seems to be a more gradual rollout than Wimax. But it'll be nice once it's done. Deval, you think next years phones will support more lte bands? My upgrade is jan 2014

 

I don't know if it's more gradual than WiMax, the difference may be that Sprint is allowing connections as soon as the towers are done, rather than waiting for the market to be finished before allowing connections. They're also rolling out LTE much faster than AT&T or Verizon have.

 

I believe we expect to see phone with additional LTE bands (LTE 800, possibly 2500) Q2 or 3 of next year, so you should be safe in Jan 2014. [Assuming we make it past Friday ... ]

[Deval]

Seems to be a more gradual rollout than Wimax. But it'll be nice once it's done. Deval, you think next years phones will support more lte bands? My upgrade is jan 2014

 

The WiMAX deployment was managed by Clearwire, and deployed in a very similar manner as Verizon's deployment of LTE. Basically drop in cabinets with dedicated radio heads, antenna panels, and backhaul. Even today, the vast majority of Verizon's network sites have multiple base stations, for each of their networks.

 

Sprint is basically overhauling the existing base stations, so every site (for 99%) will be broadcasting any and all available technologies. This unfortunately adds a huge time to work on the site, as they have multiple vendors to manage, including tower/building owners, AAVs, etc.

 

I believe next years device will support at least the SMR band (BC 26, or iDEN spectrum), but that is all contingent on getting LTE online on that frequency.

[gameaddict8]

I don't know if it's more gradual than WiMax, the difference may be that Sprint is allowing connections as soon as the towers are done, rather than waiting for the market to be finished before allowing connections. They're also rolling out LTE much faster than AT&T or Verizon have.

 

I believe we expect to see phone with additional LTE bands (LTE 800, possibly 2500) Q2 or 3 of next year, so you should be safe in Jan 2014. [Assuming we make it past Friday ... ]

 

Ok cool. I'll probably have lte for 1/2 the life of my phone and the next gen handsets look good. even stuff like the M7, sony odin and gs4 already look very impressive.

[Deval]

Keep in mind, there will be new devices coming out every year. Since your rebate is not up till Jan 2014, you'll see much better devices by then.

[S4GRU]

The LTE rollout is much faster than WiMax. WiMax was deployed from 2008-2011 and only in 71 cities. Sprint is actively deploying LTE in more cities right now than WiMax did in total. Sprint will wrap up 700+ cities in less time than Clearwire deployed 71.

 

You could say that Sprint is deploying 10x faster. The reason people get confused about WiMax deployment, is they don't realize that Clearwire had been deploying WiMax for two years before Sprint sold the EVO. And most of the markets launched in 2010 had been under deployment long before they went live.

 

If you could have seen weekly updates of Clearwire deployment in the way you see S4GRU, you'd be underwhelmed. Just like if people could see how long Verizon works in a market before they get LTE service, they may be a little more understanding. At least at Sprint we get to use LTE service immediately after a site is ready. The Verizon site near my house had panels and MW backhaul installed in February 2012, but the site didn't go live until December. However, VZW customers were oblivious that work was going on. But at Sprint, we have S4GRU. There is no V4GRU.

 

Robert via Samsung Note II via Tapatalk

 

 

[gameaddict8]

Keep in mind, there will be new devices coming out every year. Since your rebate is not up till Jan 2014, you'll see much better devices by then.

 

You think I would be happy with a Note 3? or something from lg/moto? (optimus or nexus device)

[gameaddict8]

The LTE rollout is much faster than WiMax. WiMax was deployed from 2008-2011 and only in 71 cities. Sprint is actively deploying LTE in more cities right now than WiMax did in total. Sprint will wrap up 700+ cities in less time than Clearwire deployed 71.

 

You could say that Sprint is deploying 10x faster. The reason people get confused about WiMax deployment, is they don't realize that Clearwire had been deploying WiMax for two years before Sprint sold the EVO. And most of the markets launched in 2010 had been under deployment long before they went live.

 

If you could have seen weekly updates of Clearwire deployment in the way you see S4GRU, you'd be underwhelmed. Just like if people could see how long Verizon works in a market before they get LTE service, they may be a little more understanding. At least at Sprint we get to use LTE service immediately after a site is ready. The Verizon site near my house had panels and MW backhaul installed in February 2012, but the site didn't go live until December. However, VZW customers were oblivious that work was going on. But at Sprint, we have S4GRU. There is no V4GRU.

 

Robert via Samsung Note II via Tapatalk

 

Well, it's easy to track lte currently, since we have this site and sensorly. lol.

 

I'm happy that lte connects better since the jb update. SGV valley area could use some NV love too. Hopefully it slowly headed east of Metro LA.