SouthernLinc continuing iDEN despite Sprint iDEN shutdown

[Boosted20V]

Pardon my blunt response..but you don't know what you're talking about. One of the stacks at my wife's plant burns coal...and the expelled "waste" is LESS THAN ONE PERCENT harmful (so of the coal burned, less than 1% of it is wasted and can't be captured.)

 

I won't even go into the huge (Federally funded, and operated) Carbon capture units they have on the plant site...

so obviously while coal USED to be nasty to burn...we get the prospectus each year that shows how much money they invest into "green" and efficient technology. And there are still some plants that aren't up to par..but they aren't a part of SoComp...so don't just assume ...

 

(then again..why in the hell would we want to use something that WE HAVE PLENTY OF on our own soil..when we can move towards full foreign dependency if we do away with it?)

 

Your last line is innaccurate. We have a huge amount of natural gas. And your comments regarding coal are tied to emissions AFTER pollutants are captured. What happens to the pollutants which ARE captured? They don't dissapear.

[Boosted20V]

Certain factions in this country would like to cling to the past/present because of economic convenience. The problem with that strategy is that it is not sustainable. It is nothing more than procrastination and just makes the inevitable transition that much more traumatic. This applies to fossil fuels, iDEN, etc.

 

AJ

 

I had a hunch you and I would agree on this.

[lynyrd65]

Maybe there will be iDen/CDMA/LTE phones.

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

 

 

[Boosted20V]

Maybe there will be iDen/CDMA/LTE phones.

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

 

Gary Forsee would be proud.

[lynyrd65]

Or for the ultimate phone of failure.

 

IDen/WiMax

 

The new marketing slogan, "WhyDen, WhyMax, WhyNot?"

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

 

 

[xcharles718]

Simply the fact is that SoLinc has no interest of shutting down their iDEN network in the near future. iDEN still is the most reliable PTT solution on the market, and I don't see them moving on from that until they see QChat or whatever other equivalent is up to par. When that happens, they might just decide to sell-off their wireless operations or just upgrade to a iDEN-like service.

 

This can be an interesting opportunity for Sprint to work towards a Shentel-like relationship with SoLinc, in which SoLinc continues to operates and own their QChat(CDMA)/LTE network, and excess capacity is sold through Sprint.

 

Time will tell.

[Thomas L.]

Isn't a big part of the allure of their current network that it essentially already just works for what they need? Besides being a big investment, time and money wise, to upgrade the network. it's a question of proven vs. unproven technology in a mission critical field (in this case a utility, though they also have other customers). Maybe they're waiting for Sprint to deal with all the initial problems and then swoop in when it reaches acceptable maturity. Also, if I understand correctly, one issue is that, even with a complete overlay of LTE 800, the increased fragility of the link will make the effective coverage area smaller. I get why they're being prudent, to be honest.

 

The only thing I find a little difficult to understand in this conversation is why SouthernLinc would choose AT&T as their nationwide roaming partner, as it seems like it would take a fair amount of effort and money to integrate those chipsets and enable seamless roaming. That said, it's good to keep in mind that, though it's in decline, iDen IS still used in and has been used in quite a few countries, and I haven't checked to see if in those countries iDEN providers have created solutions with GSM carriers that maybe now SouthernLinc could adapt without fully engineering a new hybrid phone. If they are engineering a new hybrid phone, or having Motorola do that for them, what would the costs for that be like? How many units would they have to sell to break even with development costs and everything? I find it all very fascinating.

 

Tommy

[digiblur]

So when are they getting the iPhone?

 

I hope they stay running for a little bit. Sprint needs someone to sell off all the truckloads and truckloads of iden basestation equipment.

 

Really hard to imagine all the massive amounts of gear and probably the only thing worth anything is the copper lines.

 

Sent from a little old Note 2

 

 

[WiWavelength]

The new marketing slogan, "WhyDen, WhyMax, WhyNot?"

 

And that slogan is even more precious in light of the fact that iDEN had an ill fated channel aggregation technology called WiDEN...

 

AJ

[pyroscott]

Doing what is smart and/or in the best interests of their customers' pocketbooks is not necessarily important to a government regulated monopoly. Southern company can do whatever it wants with southernlinc and pass the costs on to its customers. The cost is "justified" as operating expense, and southern company still takes their profit margin. Meanwhile, the customers, who have no choice in their power needs, subsidise the poor decision making. Anyone who approves the decision-making of southern company should also approve of the "10,000 dollar hammers" that the government is known to buy.

[S4GRU]

Please refrain from the off topic political conversation. Coal and Natural Gas energy, while a riveting conversation topic, is out of place here. And will only lead to political polarization. This is something I like to avoid at S4GRU. Other than AJ, none of you know my political leanings. And that is by design.

 

Robert via Samsung Note II via Tapatalk

 

 

[xcharles718]

Doing what is smart and/or in the best interests of their customers' pocketbooks is not necessarily important to a government regulated monopoly. Southern company can do whatever it wants with southernlinc and pass the costs on to its customers. The cost is "justified" as operating expense, and southern company still takes their profit margin. Meanwhile, the customers, who have no choice in their power needs, subsidise the poor decision making. Anyone who approves the decision-making of southern company should also approve of the "10,000 dollar hammers" that the government is known to buy.

I doubt any change in their network technology is going to result in savings passed on to the customers.

I would love one of those $10,000 hammers though :achoo:

[pyroscott]

I would love one of those 10' date='000 hammers though :achoo:[/quote']

 

Sure, we have at least 500 of them and never use any. LOL

[xcharles718]

Sure, we have at least 500 of them and never use any. LOL

Nevertheless, SoLinc has no intention to move off of iDEN anytime soon.

[lynyrd65]

One thing I do believe is still for certain. Iden will no longer be the only game in town for southernlinc. They played a major role along with Sprint in reforming part 90 restrictions to allow wideband operations.

 

If they really are planning to use AT&T as a roaming partner as someone else here suggested, they could be going the same way Nextel Mexico is going, (using HSPA based PTT). Its possible there are already dual mode widen/hspa PTT phones for that reason.

 

How they will put HSPA and GSM along with SMR on their SMR band is still an odd problem though.

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

 

 

[WiWavelength]

Other than AJ, none of you know my political leanings.

 

...and, to be clear to other members, that was within the context of a relevant discussion of spectrum management and carrier regulation vs the public interest.

 

I have no problem with some political discussion. For example, like it or not, the FCC is a political body. But political discussion on S4GRU should avoid labels and stay relevant to wireless policy.

 

AJ

[WiWavelength]

How they will put HSPA and GSM along with SMR on their SMR band is still an odd problem though.

 

No can do. In Atlanta, SouthernLINC holds 3.75 MHz x 3.75 MHz of rebanded SMR 800 MHz spectrum. That is not even enough bandwidth to launch a single W-CDMA carrier, let alone run it alongside iDEN.

 

So, SouthernLINC may go the route of iDEN/GSM/W-CDMA devices. But the GSM/W-CDMA capability would be for roaming purposes only.

 

AJ

[S4GRU]

But political discussion on S4GRU should avoid labels and stay relevant to wireless policy.

 

AJ

 

Exactly.

 

Robert via Samsung Note II via Tapatalk

 

 

[pyroscott]

 

But political discussion on S4GRU should avoid labels.

 

 

Does that mean the label "asshat" is being retired.

[WiWavelength]

Does that mean the label "asshat" is being retired.

 

"Asshat" is not a label. It is a title that can be earned only through much concerted effort.

 

 

AJ

[pyroscott]

 

"Asshat" is not a label. It is a title that can be earned only through much concerted effort.

 

 

AJ

 

I'm still trying.

[WiWavelength]

I'm still trying.

 

Trade in a few boxes of those $10,000 hammers for some licensed spectrum, then abuse the public trust. If you are lucky, you just might earn my esteemed title.

 

AJ

[jonathanm1978]

Has anyone checked on pricing of southern Linc service before assuming they pass the buck? Line of service, no minute restriction: $27.95/month, data add-on = $10, text add-on = $5. Insurance and other extras available at comparable prices of other carriers. I don't really see where in the past two years they've passed the buck on to external customers.

 

Oh, and they foot the bill for their 26,000 employees that they give phones to.

Someone said that they had around 32,000 subs but it says in the article they have 150,000. add to that the employees that they don't collect money from and you have a pretty reasonable amount for a small carrier.

 

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(edit)

 

And you would think, since they have to cover their employees phones, that they would pass that cost onto paying customers that are stuck in two year/one year agreements...but it doesn't appear that they do...their pricing doesn't reflect that, rather.

I know for what SoLinc costs per line..and what I pay for Sprint, per line...and I don't understand how they do it so cheap. Where a phone with data and text on Solinc costs about $42/$45 a month...it costs me on average, $70/month. I have 3 lines, and the Airvana...bill runs right at $192...and we divide by 3 and my sis-in-law pays $70/month for her line (after taxes/insurance blah blah, it comes to $212 a month total).

[bigsnake49]

The Motorola i930 was an iDEN/GSM hybrid, although it only supported 900/1800/1900MHz GSM frequencies. I'm sure that they can definitely construct a hybrid IDEN/WCDMA phone. WCDMA chipsets are a dime a dozen, so it will be relatively cheap.

[pyroscott]

Has anyone checked on pricing of southern Linc service before assuming they pass the buck? Line of service, no minute restriction: $27.95/month, data add-on = $10, text add-on = $5. Insurance and other extras available at comparable prices of other carriers. I don't really see where in the past two years they've passed the buck on to external customers.

 

Oh, and they foot the bill for their 26,000 employees that they give phones to.

Someone said that they had around 32,000 subs but it says in the article they have 150,000. add to that the employees that they don't collect money from and you have a pretty reasonable amount for a small carrier.

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

 

(edit)

 

And you would think, since they have to cover their employees phones, that they would pass that cost onto paying customers that are stuck in two year/one year agreements...but it doesn't appear that they do...their pricing doesn't reflect that, rather.

I know for what SoLinc costs per line..and what I pay for Sprint, per line...and I don't understand how they do it so cheap. Where a phone with data and text on Solinc costs about $42/$45 a month...it costs me on average, $70/month. I have 3 lines, and the Airvana...bill runs right at $192...and we divide by 3 and my sis-in-law pays $70/month for her line (after taxes/insurance blah blah, it comes to $212 a month total).

 

I wasn't saying the costs are passed on to the other southernlinc subs. I said it is written off as an operating expense for the southern company as a whole and passed off to the millions of "customers" that have no choice but to purchase their power from southern (short of building their own power generator)