Sprint lte vs Verizon lte

[JohnHovah]

It is not a technical question. It is a philosophical question.

I'm sure that there will always be a usage scenario that necessitates these change.  On a sad sidenote, clearly the porn industry has been instrumental in pushing forward the internets growth... can anyone say POV p@rn via google glass.  It may not be Johnny Nuemonic status yet, but more and more data is pushed to and from our devices, whether handheld or not, each and every day.

[z250kid]

I get 65mbpd down and 17 up. On Verizon work phone

[leerage]

I get 65mbpd down and 17 up. On Verizon work phone

Yeah......... but how fast can it load Crysis?

[Mobilesolutions]

Verizon Lte is the gold standard for right now. 

Is it perfect,no.  Does Sprint have an opportunity to beat them, well yes and no.  

 

Sprint is a 5x5 carrier with much higher frequencies and a smaller overall network footprint. 

 

Theoretical max speeds on Sprint will be slower, coverage in most areas is smaller.  

 

Once network vision is complete, where Sprint has coverage it will go head to head with Vzw. 

[Fraydog]

The key is Clear. 

 

I think people are underplaying how badly Sprint needs that. 

[z250kid]

clear is going to be good for high congested areas.  But if its like Wimax higher frequency it has extremely limited penetration.

[Paynefanbro]

People tend to put off Clear and their potential to be a game changer for Sprint. In a statement made by a T-Mobile representative, he believes that they will pass Sprint and become #3 because they will be able to launch a 20X20 network soon. He never bothered to mention that Sprint is doing the same and likely sooner than T-Mobile, Verizon, or AT&T.

[maximus1987/lou99]

Please point me towards that direction.

 

Heard of Google? "s4gru clearwire"

[dnwk]

This is one of those long stories that gets repeating many times in the forums.  Maybe someone on this forum will want to explain it.

 

As far as I go over wikipedia on Rev. B. Looks like Rev. B is faster only because of carrier aggregation. And sounds like if Rev. B is deployed on Sprint, it will only increase the congestion.

[milan03]

People tend to put off Clear and their potential to be a game changer for Sprint. In a statement made by a T-Mobile representative, he believes that they will pass Sprint and become #3 because they will be able to launch a 20X20 network soon. He never bothered to mention that Sprint is doing the same and likely sooner than T-Mobile, Verizon, or AT&T.

 

How so? Verizon will have quite a few markets with 2x20Mhz this year, T-Mobile will have potentially a few markets this and a lot more next year. 

What mathematical formula did you use to conclude that Sprint can have 2x20Mhz FDD LTE sooner than that?

[WiWavelength]

What mathematical formula did you use to conclude that Sprint can have 2x20Mhz FDD LTE sooner than that?

 

 

Sprint may never have 20 MHz FDD LTE.  He is referring to one or more 20 MHz TDD LTE carriers.

 

AJ

[milan03]

Sprint may never have 20 MHz FDD LTE.  He is referring to one or more 20 MHz TDD LTE carriers.

 

AJ

20x20Mhz would have to be an FDD configuration, but oh well. Clear's TDD can definitely be an amazing asset to Sprint's spectrum portfolio, but still I don't see that being deployed sooner than Verizon's or T-Mo's 2x20Mhz network. I hope I'm wrong.

[lilotimz]

20x20Mhz would have to be an FDD configuration, but oh well. Clear's TDD can definitely be an amazing asset to Sprint's spectrum portfolio, but still I don't see that being deployed sooner than Verizon's or T-Mo's 2x20Mhz network. I hope I'm wrong.

Clearwire is already deploying TDD-LTE / Wimax capable BRS 2500 equipment in the Midwest markets. In addition, LTE 800 is also slated to begin deployment in the midwest markets in the next 3 months. It isn't too hard to see that clearwire tdd-lte hotspots will possibly also go live in this time frame as Clearwire already has 2000+ sites completed for TDD-LTE but awaiting permission to hook up to sprints MSC.

[maximus1987/lou99]

The key is Clear. 

 

I think people are underplaying how badly Sprint needs that. 

 

Yes, but, Sprint's towers are at PCS spacing, right?

So even if Sprint eventually puts 2.5GHz on all its 38k+ towers, it's gonna be an uneven experience.

[avb]

Yes, but, Sprint's towers are at PCS spacing, right?

So even if Sprint eventually puts 2.5GHz on all its 38k+ towers, it's gonna be an uneven experience.

You don't need to be on Clear's frequency to get a better network experience.  Everyone else who is on Clear's frequency means that they're not on the Sprint tower you're connected to and overloading the tower.

[tommym65]

Yes, but, Sprint's towers are at PCS spacing, right?

So even if Sprint eventually puts 2.5GHz on all its 38k+ towers, it's gonna be an uneven experience.

 

Sprint's towers ARE at PCS spacing, and are projected to provide sustainable 4-8 Mbps performance on the 1900 PCS band once they are built-out to LTE. (Keeping in mind that theoretical performance =~37Mbps.)

 

The 2500 LTE band will provide very-high-bandwidth overlay capability in densely used areas (read: cities), so that you will be shifted from 1900 to 2500 where your 2500 signal is strong enough, and 1900 capacity is heavily used. I don't remember the expected speeds, although someone has posted them somewhere.  They are FAST.

 

Then, add the 800 SMR band LTE capability (even though it will not be on 100% of towers), and you will get yet another layer of overlay for those situations where you are out of range of 2500 and getting a weak signal on 1900.  Again, I'm not sure of probable speeds.

 

If Sprint is able to carry this strategy to completion, Sprint subs with the right handsets and hot-spots will have an LTE experience at least as good as on any other carrier, and probably significantly better.

[maximus1987/lou99]

You don't need to be on Clear's frequency to get a better network experience.  Everyone else who is on Clear's frequency means that they're not on the Sprint tower you're connected to and overloading the tower.

 

 

Sprint's towers ARE at PCS spacing, and are projected to provide sustainable 4-8 Mbps performance on the 1900 PCS band once they are built-out to LTE. (Keeping in mind that theoretical performance =~37Mbps.)

 

The 2500 LTE band will provide very-high-bandwidth overlay capability in densely used areas (read: cities), so that you will be shifted from 1900 to 2500 where your 2500 signal is strong enough, and 1900 capacity is heavily used. I don't remember the expected speeds, although someone has posted them somewhere.  They are FAST.

 

Then, add the 800 SMR band LTE capability (even though it will not be on 100% of towers), and you will get yet another layer of overlay for those situations where you are out of range of 2500 and getting a weak signal on 1900.  Again, I'm not sure of probable speeds.

 

If Sprint is able to carry this strategy to completion, Sprint subs with the right handsets and hot-spots will have an LTE experience at least as good as on any other carrier, and probably significantly better.

 

That's all good but what about building penetration? I've never had a WiMax phone but all forums are filled with complaints about signal strength.

 

My point was that 2.5GHz will only be useful outside.

[avb]

That's all good but what about building penetration? I've never had a WiMax phone but all forums are filled with complaints about signal strength.

 

My point was that 2.5GHz will only be useful outside.

 

That's where the 800 SMR band LTE comes into play.

[maximus1987/lou99]

That's where the 800 SMR band LTE comes into play.

 

That was my point regarding uneven experience: it's a huge drop in speeds from 2.5GHz to 800MHz.

[maximus1987/lou99]

You don't need to be on Clear's frequency to get a better network experience.  Everyone else who is on Clear's frequency means that they're not on the Sprint tower you're connected to and overloading the tower.

 

I said uneven, not better.

[tommym65]

That's all good but what about building penetration? I've never had a WiMax phone but all forums are filled with complaints about signal strength.

 

My point was that 2.5GHz will only be useful outside.

 

2500 will be good inside if you are close enough. WiMax was never deployed densely enough to provide good results, but I know from my local experience that if you were very close to a WiMax site, you would get an excellent signal even inside a building (I clocked over 10 Mbps in one of my customer's buildings, for example).  The problem was that few people were close enough.  Sprint's apparent plan with 2500 LTE is to use very dense spacing in those areas where it will be deployed.

 

As far as speed vs. frequency, the available speed is not a function of frequency, but of channel bandwidth.  A wide channel at 800 Mhz can provide more speed than a narrow one at 2500.  Keep in mind that AT&T or Verizon, maybe both, are running LTE at ~750 Mhz and getting very fast speeds.  But to really understand this, we need a guru like Digiblur or AJ to weigh in, as I don't recall the actual bandwidths available on either 800 or 2500.

[maximus1987/lou99]

 Sprint's apparent plan with 2500 LTE is to use very dense spacing in those areas where it will be deployed.

 

Documentation/article?

[avb]

That was my point regarding uneven experience: it's a huge drop in speeds from 2.5GHz to 800MHz.

 

Sprint will have 5x5 channels in most places with 800 SMR LTE, so speeds should be similar to the current 5x5 LTE they're deploying.  Does it really matter on your phone if speeds drop from 20-30 mb/s to 6-8 mb/s?  It's not like Tmobile where you can be on 4g (either their LTE or HSPA) and switch to edge.

[maximus1987/lou99]

Sprint will have 5x5 channels in most places with 800 SMR LTE, so speeds should be similar to the current 5x5 LTE they're deploying.  Does it really matter on your phone if speeds drop from 20-30 mb/s to 6-8 mb/s?  It's not like Tmobile where you can be on 4g (either their LTE or HSPA) and switch to edge.

 

It's the exact numbers that are going to be important. Even if inside speeds are half of what you stated, it's gonna be perfect and indistinguishable unless you do a speed test.

 

If PCS can reach inside, that'll be good enough because Sprint is gonna eventually add more 2x5 LTE carriers, leaving one 2x5 block for 2x1.25 voice carriers, and speeds will be plenty fast.

[jefbal99]

It's the exact numbers that are going to be important. Even if inside speeds are half of what you stated, it's gonna be perfect and indistinguishable unless you do a speed test.

 

If PCS can reach inside, that'll be good enough because Sprint is gonna eventually add more 2x5 LTE carriers, leaving one 2x5 block for 2x1.25 voice carriers, and speeds will be plenty fast.

Actually in 5Mhz FDD, if 1xA takes 1.25Mhz FDD, you could fit 3 carriers, unless the guard bands were too big.