Network Vision Explained

[jefbal99]

They are only deploying needed radios, and it varies greatly from site to site. In a place where they are deploying CDMA 800, CDMA 1900 and LTE 1900 now, there would be three radios per panel. The CDMA 800 radio would only be connected to one carrier card, but would have room for up to three more. The LTE 1900 radio would only be connected to one carrier card, leaving availability for up to three more.

 

The CDMA 1900 radio could support up to four carriers. About 25% of Sprint sites have more than four carriers. In these locations, they would need an additional CDMA 1900 radio. And there are approximately less than 1% with more than 8 carriers. These would need a third CDMA 1900 radio.

 

However, back to your basic premise, there is a lot of LTE 1900 capacity in that radio. Up to three more carrier cards. No need to worry.

 

Robert

 

Wow, was I off base, I was think radio based on RF alone, not RF and carrier type. So a typical Sprint NV tower is going to have 3-4 radios/sector and a total of 9-12 radios/tower. That seems future proofed to me for the short term

 

Thanks so much for the great info

[S4GRU]

Wow, was I off base, I was think radio based on RF alone, not RF and carrier type. So a typical Sprint NV tower is going to have 3-4 radios/sector and a total of 9-12 radios/tower. That seems future proofed to me for the short term

 

Thanks so much for the great info

 

I have seen several with two though. Presumably LTE 1900 and CDMA 1900.

 

Robert

[irev210]

 

However, back to your basic premise, there is a lot of LTE 1900 capacity in that radio. Up to three more carrier cards. No need to worry.

 

Robert

 

Do radios care about channel width? If the radio supports four carrier cards can it be 4*10x10 carriers? Also, what about aggregation? Say, like clearwire, can they aggregate 20+20 over one carrier card?

 

jefball99 asked some good questions!

[S4GRU]

Do radios care about channel width? If the radio supports four carrier cards can it be 4*10x10 carriers? Also, what about aggregation? Say, like clearwire, can they aggregate 20+20 over one carrier card?

 

jefball99 asked some good questions!

 

I don't believe that the radio is limited by carrier width. I do know it can support 4 carriers. I assume it could be any variation of carrier widths that each card controls. However, I do not know with 100% certainty. As for carrier aggregation, that would be two separate cards for the radio. Carrier Aggregation is mostly handled on the device end, it's just a software issue on the network end (at least for NV it is just software).

 

If Clearwire is aggregating two 20MHz TDD carriers, that would be two different carrier cards. If it was just one card, it would essentially be a single 40MHz carrier (which currently do not exist).

 

Robert

[LookInToMyEyes]

Hey Robert,

 

I have another question and once again I am sorry if it has been answered but I feel better if I get the answer straight from the man! So my question is will Sprint turn off all there IDEN towers? Or will they be converting some and using them for there new Network Vision? Thank you very much and I appropriated your time.

[S4GRU]

Hey Robert,

 

I have another question and once again I am sorry if it has been answered but I feel better if I get the answer straight from the man! So my question is will Sprint turn off all there IDEN towers? Or will they be converting some and using them for there new Network Vision? Thank you very much and I appropriated your time.

 

Starting in July 2013, Sprint will start decommissioning the remaining iDEN network. They are dismantling almost the entire network. They are leaving only a very small amount of iDEN sites to be converted to Network Vision CDMA/LTE. Only approximately 100 sites around the whole country from the last info I heard.

 

Robert

[shockerengr]

Ok, so I've looked around, but couldn't find an answer...

So I see how post network vision how all the equipment is done and put together, and how it looks before, but what about mid-rollout?

 

I.e. when a tower is updated for the LTE portion, what happens with the legacy 1xRTT and EVDO side? Do they keep the equipment up in parallel (antennas and such) or do they start to migrate over to the RRUs?

 

I'm curious as to what work is involved in finishing NV on a tower once the intial update is made.

[S4GRU]

Ok, so I've looked around, but couldn't find an answer...

So I see how post network vision how all the equipment is done and put together, and how it looks before, but what about mid-rollout?

 

I.e. when a tower is updated for the LTE portion, what happens with the legacy 1xRTT and EVDO side? Do they keep the equipment up in parallel (antennas and such) or do they start to migrate over to the RRUs?

 

I'm curious as to what work is involved in finishing NV on a tower once the intial update is made.

 

One thing to note, the post Network Vision site photos used in PR's can be misleading. There are three different vendors for Network Vision. Samsung, Ericsson and Alcatel/Lucent. All three have varyingly different looking equipment. From panels to cabinets.

 

To answer some of your questions, if only the LTE is upgraded at the site, it is assumed that 1x/EVDO are still being broadcast from legacy equipment and only the LTE is on NV equipment. But we are not 100% certain. However, if they did move over the 1x/EVDO to Network Vision equipment, then likely, it would be marked as not just LTE 1900 complete, but CDMA 1900 too. So, that is why we make this assumption. So in a LTE only upgraded LTE site, you would have both legacy and NV panels together on the tower, and NV/legacy base cabinets. The legacy equipment would not be removed until at least 45 days after CDMA is finally switched over.

 

At a site where LTE and 1x/EVDO are both complete to Network Vision, then the legacy equipment stays in place for at least 45 days after switch over. So initially you see the Network Vision and legacy panels and base cabinets together. But eventually, they will come back and remove the legacy equipment. I have to think that removal of legacy equipment is pretty low priority as it does not effect current operations at all.

 

At a site where only 1x/EVDO is complete to Network Vision, they will keep up legacy equipment at least 45 days after switch over. And some time after that they will remove it. This is regardless of LTE install dates. Because the LTE does not use any part of the legacy network, it does not matter if it is completely removed before they start LTE work at the site.

 

Hopefully I have understood your questions and responded.

 

Robert

[S4GRU]

One other additional caveat that now comes to mind is hot swap. At some sites they cannot install NV and legacy side by side. Usually because of space limitations on the ground or on the tower. When that happens a hot swap is required. Then they actually remove the legacy equipment and put back NV equipment in its place. And there is no cohabitation when this occurs.

 

However, this a rare thing and happens at less than 1% of sites.

 

Robert

[digiblur]

My Site that covers my home is like that. The racks off the radio comm tower only has spots for 3 panels. 1 for each sector.

 

They would have to replace the racks which would be pointless as they would have to take down the legacy anyways. Might as well just hot swap.

 

Sent from my C64 w/Epyx FastLoad cartridge

[TheForce627]

My Site that covers my home is like that. The racks off the radio comm tower only has spots for 3 panels. 1 for each sector.

 

They would have to replace the racks which would be pointless as they would have to take down the legacy anyways. Might as well just hot swap.

 

Sent from my C64 w/Epyx FastLoad cartridge

Mine is like that too. I was wondering how they would do that

[leozno1]

With additional signal strength that will be experienced due to the new equipment and RRU's on the towers, how much farther would the signal travel compared to Sprint's current coverage? (With both 800 and 1900mhz)

[S4GRU]

With additional signal strength that will be experienced due to the new equipment and RRU's on the towers' date=' how much farther would the signal travel compared to Sprint's current coverage? (With both 800 and 1900mhz)[/quote']

 

CDMA 1900 can travel up to 20% farther on sites where downtilt is minimal on a post Network Vision site. We cannot compare the increase on 800 because there is no legacy 800 service.

 

However, CDMA 800 can be up to 50% further coverage from legacy 1900. However, it is dependent on downtilt variability at each site.

 

Robert via Samsung Galaxy S-III 32GB using Forum Runner

[leozno1]

 

 

CDMA 1900 can travel up to 20% farther on sites where downtilt is minimal on a post Network Vision site. We cannot compare the increase on 800 because there is no legacy 800 service.

 

However, CDMA 800 can be up to 50% further coverage from legacy 1900. However, it is dependent on downtilt variability at each site.

 

Robert via Samsung Galaxy S-III 32GB using Forum Runner

 

Wow I didn't know the increase would be that dramatic going from legacy 1900 to NV 1900.

I have seen some numbers such as a 10% increase in signal strength but I didn't know it would result in a 20% increase in the distance the signal could travel.

 

I learn something new everyday on this website.

And thanks for responding in such a timely fashion.

[Brandonlmbrt]

I've seen a network vision completion coverage map online Sprint‑4G‑LTE‑map.jpg and im wondering if this is with or without the 800mhz nextel spectrum.

[boomerbubba]

I've seen a network vision completion coverage map online Sprint‑4G‑LTE‑map.jpg and im wondering if this is with or without the 800mhz nextel spectrum.

 

I really don't think that low-resolution raster map would look any different at this far-out zoom level either way. But I believe that since it is supposed to represent "at completion of NV," that would include the 800 MHz coverage.

 

BTW, did anybody else read the blog post behind it? Pretty far off on its facts.

[Brandonlmbrt]

this looks like an awful lot of roaming though and not alot of in house spectrum. With unlimited data, wouldn't this lead to a spectrum cruch much sooner than other networks?

[shockerengr]

this looks like an awful lot of roaming though and not alot of in house spectrum. With unlimited data, wouldn't this lead to a spectrum cruch much sooner than other networks?

 

Depends on how you measure it... What that image shows is largely sprints native network...the area's that show gaps have a pretty low population density and it doesn't make a lot of sense to have multiple carriers. It's pretty typical to have roaming agreements to cover those area's

 

The spectrum crunch is really only going to be an issue in the large cities where physical distance isn't much of an issue..in those areas, Sprints plan is to use clearwire's spectrum, where they have plenty.

[MacinJosh]

this looks like an awful lot of roaming though and not alot of in house spectrum. With unlimited data, wouldn't this lead to a spectrum cruch much sooner than other networks?

 

Most of the areas that Sprint does not now have service pretty much match up to the areas you see on the map. Network Vision is about replacing their existing equipment and putting in much, MUCH better and longer lasting equipment. Maybe someday down the road they will start to expand to new service areas if there are a sufficient number of people wanting service in that area, but for now it's all about rebuilding.

[Kevster1321]

when NV is done how many ppl can be on the tower at once.

[WiWavelength]

when NV is done how many ppl can be on the tower at once.

 

Before or after Network Vision, no one (except for trained professionals) should be on the tower. Tower climbing is very dangerous.

 

AJ

[S4GRU]

when NV is done how many ppl can be on the tower at once.

 

That question is too vague, and there are so many variables considering which technology, peak demands/what each user is doing, number of sectors/carriers deployed and amount of spectrum available to deploy.

 

Robert via Nexus 7 using Forum Runner

[Kevster1321]

Lol AJ.i have one tower in my town. I want to no the max number of phones that can connect to the tower at once

[WiWavelength]

That question is too vague, and there are so many variables considering which technology, peak demands/what each user is doing, number of sectors/carriers deployed and amount of spectrum available to deploy.

 

Oh, was that what he meant?

 

 

AJ

[Kevster1321]

We have the Thompson raceway in town and the tower is right next to the raceway. Now that Sprint has control of Clearwire do you think they will put up Clearwire's LTE on the tower in the future. I think this is what they should do outside of dense urban areas. Do you think they would add clears LTE to tower that get loaded a couple of times a year.