Network Vision/LTE - Central Iowa Market (Des Moines and surrounding areas)

[Dkoellerwx]

Shoot. Didn't realize there was a scenario where NV was accepted but the service still isn't usable. So LTE won't go live with outstanding backhaul issues but NV will - correct?

Correct. They are able to hook up the 3G NV equipment to the legacy backhaul (which is where the bottleneck is). They have to be able to do this now because of the incompatibilities between legacy and NV towers.

 

However, they will not activate LTE until the upgraded backhaul arrives.

 

You may see some improvement in service with NV equipment, at least temporarily, because the new equipment allows them to bond the T1 lines, whereas the old equipment required separate lines for data and voice. However, when service improves, the load generally improves a few days later, negating the improvement.

[bmoses]

Shoot. Didn't realize there was a scenario where NV was accepted but the service still isn't usable. So LTE won't go live with outstanding backhaul issues but NV will - correct?

 

Never could figure out what the issue was at Jordan Creek. With the Wells Fargo campus and Aviva out there I could never understand how backhaul could be an issue out there.

 

i'm fairly certain that backhaul has been run to most of the WDM sites. i just don't think the focus of the integration/acceptance crews that came through the past few weeks to get all the towers on NV was to hook up the backhaul as part of it. either that or there is some final piece that mediacom needed to do so it could be hooked up that they haven't done yet. i know the day after WDM got accepted i went around to collect 1x800 data and there was a mediacom truck at the marriott, could have been there for sprint, could have been for something else.

[Dkoellerwx]

i'm fairly certain that backhaul has been run to most of the WDM sites. i just don't think the focus of the integration/acceptance crews that came through the past few weeks to get all the towers on NV was to hook up the backhaul as part of it. either that or there is some final piece that mediacom needed to do so it could be hooked up that they haven't done yet. i know the day after WDM got accepted i went around to collect 1x800 data and there was a mediacom truck at the marriott, could have been there for sprint, could have been for something else.

Until you start to see LTE light up, sites are connected to legacy backhaul. The connection to the new backhaul is done by a different crew than the original acceptance. This is why we are seeing a lag between 3G mass acceptance and the LTE acceptance. If upgraded backhaul is available, you'll see LTE integrated in the next couple of weeks.

 

Best examples of this right now are Colorado Springs, and Salt Lake City. Both cities had nearly all their sites accepted on the same day, and 1x800 go live at the same time. However, LTE activation lagged by a week. Just this week Colorado Springs has had nearly 40 LTE acceptances (about 80% of their sites). SLC saw 4 or 5 a day starting about 5 days after the mass acceptance.

[koolaide]

Just drove from DSM to Lincoln, NE and picked up some LTE somewhere along I-80. Had to do a quick speed test, and HOLY CRAP!

 

http://i.imgur.com/GZysvQf.jpg

[4starcashier]

I was sooo happy today.  Despite the large amount of crowds at Jordan Creek today, my data was working almost flawlessly!  That NEVER happens!  It is an 800 tower, but hopefully the days of wondering if your data  will work there will soon be over

[gostallion]

phone doing weird things tonight, no bars then full bars then back again, calls dropping, from the 1701 E Washington tower

[koolaide]

phone doing weird things tonight, no bars then full bars then back again, calls dropping, from the 1701 E Washington tower

 

 

 

My phone has been doing that for the past five nights. Won't say which tower since we're not in the sponsor section. I'm assuming they're testing and/or tweaking the new NV equipment.

[meadisu]

Been getting LTE signal at my house near Jethros Waukee for the last 4 days or so, but no throughput. Broadcasting LTE but not hooked up to anything??? Seems odd. Any insight?

[S4GRU]

i'm fairly certain that backhaul has been run to most of the WDM sites. i just don't think the focus of the integration/acceptance crews that came through the past few weeks to get all the towers on NV was to hook up the backhaul as part of it. either that or there is some final piece that mediacom needed to do so it could be hooked up that they haven't done yet. i know the day after WDM got accepted i went around to collect 1x800 data and there was a mediacom truck at the marriott, could have been there for sprint, could have been for something else.

Don't confuse seeing orange fiber conduit installed as fiber being installed. The conduit is great and means that fiber is ready to be pulled. But it doesn't mean that fiber has been pulled in it. And it doesn't mean that all the connections have been made on the entire fiber run.

 

Also, some times even when a fiber connection is made at a site, it just may be the final piece off a distribution trunk. But the trunk itself may still be waiting to be installed/upgraded or connected.

 

So seeing orange conduits being buried on site and run to the telco box is a wonderful thing, it does not mean backhaul is ready. LTE Integration can be done quickly at a site. 1-3 hours if everything is ready and operating as it should. Sites that truly have their backhaul ready will come online very soon. The others will come online one by one by one as their backhaul is ready and the site is integrated.

 

Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

 

[bmoses]

Don't confuse seeing orange fiber conduit installed as fiber being installed. The conduit is great and means that fiber is ready to be pulled. But it doesn't mean that fiber has been pulled in it. And it doesn't mean that all the connections have been made on the entire fiber run. Also, some times even when a fiber connection is made at a site, it just may be the final piece off a distribution trunk. But the trunk itself may still be waiting to be installed/upgraded or connected. So seeing orange conduits being buried on site and run to the telco box is a wonderful thing, it does not mean backhaul is ready. LTE Integration can be done quickly at a site. 1-3 hours if everything is ready and operating as it should. Sites that truly have their backhaul ready will come online very soon. The others will come online one by one by one as their backhaul is ready and the site is integrated. Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

 

i know, i'm not, i wasn't talking about the orange fiber conduits. last time i saw those being run to a site was over 4 months ago. i'm talking about the box that gets installed that says "mediacom business" on it. that didn't start showing up until well after the orange conduits were seen at sites.

 

thats what i'm basing my guess that fiber is ready at a site on, that box being there and installed. Sure there could still be something that needs hooked up inside that box or somewhere on the backend, but it being there means the site is that much closer to being ready, if not actually ready, with fiber. 

 

i am very familiar with a lot of the sites around here and what their "normal" 3G speeds are on legacy backhaul. some sites are still running at these slow speeds after being 3G accepted. others i'm getting fantastic speeds from, and during times when the sites are normally saturated. speeds that are above and beyond just having the voice T1's added to the pool. these sites i'm confident have had fiber hooked up to them even though LTE hasn't been lit up yet.

[S4GRU]

i know, i'm not, i wasn't talking about the orange fiber conduits. last time i saw those being run to a site was over 4 months ago. i'm talking about the box that gets installed that says "mediacom business" on it. that didn't start showing up until well after the orange conduits were seen at sites.

 

thats what i'm basing my guess that fiber is ready at a site on, that box being there and installed. Sure there could still be something that needs hooked up inside that box or somewhere on the backend, but it being there means the site is that much closer to being ready, if not actually ready, with fiber.

 

i am very familiar with a lot of the sites around here and what their "normal" 3G speeds are on legacy backhaul. some sites are still running at these slow speeds after being 3G accepted. others i'm getting fantastic speeds from, and during times when the sites are normally saturated. speeds that are above and beyond just having the voice T1's added to the pool. these sites i'm confident have had fiber hooked up to them even though LTE hasn't been lit up yet.

I know you're intimately familiar with your sites. You have done a fantastic job cataloging your region's progress and been instrumental in spearheading your market threads and rallying the troops. Excellent work. I've enjoyed coming along for the ride with you. Feel like I was in Iowa the whole time.

 

I just wanted to clarify that there is likely still a lot of backhaul work still going on even when it appears to be complete. Don't want the S4GRU masses to turn on us when their site appears complete and wondering why their site still doesn't have live LTE.

 

Keep up the good work. Watching your complete conversion to a wireless nerd is one of my crowning achievements! You were with me from the very beginning back on Facebook. I'll never forget.

 

Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

[bmoses]

I know you're intimately familiar with your sites. You have done a fantastic job cataloging your region's progress and been instrumental in spearheading your market threads and rallying the troops. Excellent work. I've enjoyed coming along for the ride with you. Feel like I was in Iowa the whole time.

 

I just wanted to clarify that there is likely still a lot of backhaul work still going on even when it appears to be complete. Don't want the S4GRU masses to turn on us when their site appears complete and wondering why their site still doesn't have live LTE.

 

Keep up the good work. Watching your complete conversion to a wireless nerd is one of my crowning achievements! You were with me from the very beginning back on Facebook. I'll never forget.

 

Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

 

thanks  

 

yeah those darn masses with their pitchforks and torches!!!! 

[dave99]

Been getting LTE signal at my house near Jethros Waukee for the last 4 days or so, but no throughput. Broadcasting LTE but not hooked up to anything??? Seems odd. Any insight?

 

I was able to get throughput on it the other day from west des moines, but nothing today. Good signal, doesn't go anywhere. Had to switch back to 3g mode to get any traffic to move. 

[jeffcarp]

I was sooo happy today. Despite the large amount of crowds at Jordan Creek today, my data was working almost flawlessly! That NEVER happens! It is an 800 tower, but hopefully the days of wondering if your data will work there will soon be over

Really? Was that Saturday? I was out there around 2pm and data for me was the typical - approaching unusable. Interesting to compare notes out there.

[douglumpkin]

Did this thread die?  It has been a week with no posts.  Over the last month there have been two or three a day.

 

Did it get relocated?

 

Thanks!

[Mr.Nuke]

Did this thread die?  It has been a week with no posts.  Over the last month there have been two or three a day.

 

Did it get relocated?

 

Thanks!

Welcome! It is a holiday week with little activity going on. Plus, with virtually all of the Central Iowa sites on the new equipment now, there isn't much to report until more LTE acceptances start coming.

[4starcashier]

I'm still alive!  Happy New Year!  Now, has anyone driven on Fleur Drive and notice it briefly connect to LTE?  It could possibly be the tower over on 14th Street, but it's never done that before...I have a screenshot below:

[dleewee]

Yes I did the week of Christmas, I believe there are now 7 active LTE towers in Des Moines and one is just reaching over to Fleur. The sponsor thread can help you see which tower it is.

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

 

 

[TMan]

The signal status helps me remember which level of my house I'm on:  upstairs, 4G; downstairs, 3G, despite having the appearance of a strong signal in either place  

[bmoses]

me and everyone else at my work just lost 4G about 15 minutes ago. not sure if its just the 1 tower that covers us here or all of them. just posting as a heads up

[bmoses]

looks like It was just the 1 tower. Drove by some others on the way home and got LTE from them.

[xenzox321]

They guy at sprint today said all LTE should be turned on by the end of the month.

 

He said Des Moines Market is next in line.

 

Is he right?

[bmoses]

They guy at sprint today said all LTE should be turned on by the end of the month.

 

He said Des Moines Market is next in line.

 

Is he right?

 

know one knows for sure. will there be more LTE turned on by the end of the month? most likely. will all of the towers left to get LTE turned on get turned on by the end of the month? not very likely.

 

i'm finding more and more sites that appear to be running 3G on fiber, even ones that still had slow speeds after getting 3G accepted are now running higher speeds. so thats a good sign since fiber needs to be there for LTE. but there are still plenty of sites that don't appear to have had fiber run to them yet.

[Justindcarter79]

I would think it will be slow for a bit, especially with the weather. I can't bead about that, it's damn cold out.

[gostallion]

I would think it will be slow for a bit, especially with the weather. I can't bead about that, it's damn cold out.

 

soooooooo, how cold is it??? 

 

 

{to avoid confusion this is to prompt homemade jokes}