Network Vision/LTE - West Michigan Market (Grand Rapids/Lansing/Kalamazoo)

[newboyx]

 

It's Lansing, not the biggest population and there are other towers around it. Back in the day I would say yes to high traffic due to the old GM plants, but those got tore down years ago. It is fairly close to the freeway that bisects town. I'm going to try and get some pics with my DSLR in the next few days.

 

The techs were installing RRUs yesterday.

Another member posted pics of a 2 panel site here

http://www.s4gru.com/index.php?/topic/2122-Network-Vision/LTE---Indianapolis-Market#entry88720

 

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

 

 

[newboyx]

Another member posted pics of a 2 panel site here

http://www.s4gru.com/index.php?/topic/2122-Network-Vision/LTE---Indianapolis-Market#entry88720

 

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

Post #442 I am not going to try a dreaded Tapatalk edit...

 

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

 

 

[labunjef]

I'm currently in the South part of Lansing and our speed here has dramatically increased. Last month my speedtest upload was around 300-400 kbps and today its coming in at 1.8 mbps which seems almost super speed compared to what we used to get here. Hoping it only goes up from here. At least maybe there is hope!

[labunjef]

The strange thing is that earlier in South Lansing I was pulling down 1.8 mbps and now its hitting a max of 300 kbps. Would it be that they are testing or was it just sheer luck that i would get the 1.8 mbps? I really can't wait for the network upgrade to be completed in this area.

[Deval]

Thanks. It really isn't anything all that special, it's an old Canon Powershot S5-IS, that I picked up at Circuit City about 5 years ago for about $300. The trick for getting good close ups like that is having a camera with a 10x OPTICAL zoom or better and also take the picture in the higher resolution range. I emphasized the word OPTICAL for a reason, "digital zoom" on most cameras is a fluff feature, it doesn't do much good. You need that big lens in front. My camera is a 12x zoom that takes 8 megapixel images. I have been thinking about buying one that Best Buy has on sale right now. It is a Canon Powershot SX500, that camera has 30x OPTICAL zoom and takes 16 megapixel images. Only $249.99. That unit would get some awesome tower close ups, for those sites in hard to reach places!

 

Yep, optical is the way to go. Unfortunately the Powershot line are too big for that pocket point and shoot that I'm looking for.

 

Although the Nikon pocket size with removable lens is appealing.

 

Link: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Nikon+-+1+J1+10.1-Megapixel+Digital+Camera+with+10-30mm+Kit+-+White/3628065.p?id=1218422887927&skuId=3628065

[Deval]

The strange thing is that earlier in South Lansing I was pulling down 1.8 mbps and now its hitting a max of 300 kbps. Would it be that they are testing or was it just sheer luck that i would get the 1.8 mbps? I really can't wait for the network upgrade to be completed in this area.

 

Maybe it received an EVDO update for backhaul and you got lucky no one else was really on it.

[Theot]

Hello everyone, found this forum today and read thru this thread. Just came back to Sprint after two years with Verizon (missing LTE bad) to save money and keep unlimited data while upgrading my phone. I work near downtown GR and have had almost unusable data speeds for two weeks. Been talking to Sprint care on twitter daily about it and they are checking into data issues at the tower in that area (which I'm pretty sure is a block away) and every day I'm assured they are looking into it. We shall see, I get anywhere from .5-2+ mbps on 3g at home (south of GR). So if I find LTE or a sudden increase in 3G speeds anywhere I'll let you guys know. Check out this screen shot from today's speed test from near downtown.

 

[S4GRU]

Hello everyone, found this forum today and read thru this thread. Just came back to Sprint after two years with Verizon (missing LTE bad) to save money and keep unlimited data while upgrading my phone. I work near downtown GR and have had almost unusable data speeds for two weeks. Been talking to Sprint care on twitter daily about it and they are checking into data issues at the tower in that area (which I'm pretty sure is a block away) and every day I'm assured they are looking into it. We shall see, I get anywhere from .5-2+ mbps on 3g at home (south of GR). So if I find LTE or a sudden increase in 3G speeds anywhere I'll let you guys know. Check out this screen shot from today's speed test from near downtown.

 

It's going to be a painful first few months. It will get better and the move will be good for you in the long term. However, Sprint is not going to be doing anything to legacy sites in your area now that Network Vision upgrades are occurring.

 

When the sites in your area get NV upgrades, the 3G speeds will increase and LTE will appear. That's when you will see relief. Sites go live one at a time as soon as each completes. Sprint allows connections to each site early and does not wait for the whole market to be ready.

 

Oh...and welcome to S4GRU!

 

Robert via Samsung Note II via Tapatalk

[Theot]

 

It's going to be a painful first few months. It will get better and the move will be good for you in the long term. However, Sprint is not going to be doing anything to legacy sites in your area now that Network Vision upgrades are occurring.

 

When the sites in your area get NV upgrades, the 3G speeds will increase and LTE will appear. That's when you will see relief. Sites go live one at a time as soon as each completes. Sprint allows connections to each site early and does not wait for the whole market to be ready.

 

Oh...and welcome to S4GRU!

 

Robert via Samsung Note II via Tapatalk

 

Appreciate the welcome. I'm sitting in a big brick building on the west side of town right now (Wyoming) getting 2.08 mbps on 3g which to me is more than acceptable. If I could get that consistently I'd be very happy. There has to be something wrong with that downtown tower to consistently be getting under 200 kbps though.

[S4GRU]

 

Appreciate the welcome. I'm sitting in a big brick building on the west side of town right now (Wyoming) getting 2.08 mbps on 3g which to me is more than acceptable. If I could get that consistently I'd be very happy. There has to be something wrong with that downtown tower to consistently be getting under 200 kbps though.

 

There is. The legacy backhaul is insufficient. And they may even be over capacity with the air link too. Additional spectrum needs to be deployed via new EVDO carriers. Both of these issues will be fixed when the site downtown receives Network Vision upgrades.

 

Robert via Nexus 7 with Tapatalk HD

[Luuminator]

I would love to get 2mbps or even 1. The legacy equipment here in metro Detroit is really bad, but I just keep my head up everyday knowing it will get better soon"tm"

[jefbal99]

Can anyone in the GR area spot check a tower for me I saw while driving yesterday? Near Cutlerville, northside of the M-6, just east of exit 11. I swear there is NV panels and RRUs on the tower, but couldn't get pictures while driving.

[Theot]

Can anyone in the GR area spot check a tower for me I saw while driving yesterday? Near Cutlerville, northside of the M-6, just east of exit 11. I swear there is NV panels and RRUs on the tower, but couldn't get pictures while driving.

 

I might be able to this afternoon actually.

[labunjef]

I agree that there has to be something wrong with the tower to be getting anything under 200kbps. On the West Side of Lansing (Delta Township) I can't even usually get 100kbps so basically my phone is useless unless i'm making a phone call.

[S4GRU]

One more 4G accepted in the West Michigan market. Sponsors can see more details here: http://s4gru.com/ind...dpost__p__94200

 

Robert

[keelerman8042]

Looks like someone got LTE in Byron

[daneslord]

Hey ya'll...first time poster long time lurker. I drove through byron with sensorly going tonight....looks like most Byron has 4g, stretches up into south wyoming. I think metro village might even be covered, i'll check that out tomorrow or the next day.

[BRUCEinGR]

Looks like someone got LTE in Byron

 

Looks like you caught me in progress last night, I hit a few more spots since you got that screen cap. There is still plenty of area to map out there, I mostly just ran the major East/West and North/South routes. It goes pretty damn good to the West, mostly flat and open out that way, then it runs uphill for a bit, very nice! Then it, geographically and signal wise, all goes down hill! I did have to toggle airplane mode a few times on high spots in other areas to get it back after a loss. Looks like the start of something good!

[BRUCEinGR]

Hey ya'll...first time poster long time lurker. I drove through byron with sensorly going tonight....looks like most Byron has 4g, stretches up into south wyoming. I think metro village might even be covered, i'll check that out tomorrow or the next day.

 

So I wasn't the only one to go out late on a Sunday night in less than pleasant weather. I think Metro will get SOME coverage, I didn't go into the campus, but I was heading North on Byron Center Ave and lost it just before the new Speedway, but I stopped in there since I needed fuel, and $.10 off a gallon there with a Rewards card. I managed to toggle it back on and took it almost to 52nd St. It will be rough in that area since there are Sprint antennas on the water tank nearby that are not NV updated (that I know of). But, when those get fired up, people in the Metro Health Campus will sure enjoy it.

[BRUCEinGR]

Yep, optical is the way to go. Unfortunately the Powershot line are too big for that pocket point and shoot that I'm looking for.

 

Although the Nikon pocket size with removable lens is appealing.

 

Link: http://www.bestbuy.c...7&skuId=3628065

 

Sorry for the delayed response, saw this the other day but was kinda busy at the time and then it slipped my old man mind. (it sucks getting old, but it beats the alternative) That does look like a nice camera, but just a bit more than I wanna drop right now, and I'm kinda partial to Canon right now since that's my current unit, and I do kinda like the big lens out front. I stopped in to Best Buy on Saturday night and purchased the Canon SX500. I was kinda surprised at how much lighter and smaller it was from my S5 IS, but I was very impressed with how the Image Stabilization worked. Kinda nice especially for those long zooms. But everyone has their own things that they like and if you go with that Nikon, I'm sure you can get some great pics and enjoyment from it. I'll be looking forward to seeing some nice tower shots from you if you get it. Overall more people having a good zoom lens camera will help us all to identify all that glorious new NV equipment! Haven't had a chance to do much with mine yet, but I hope to have some great shots posted here soon.

[BigPoppy87]

Got some LTE on Byron Center between 44th and M-6 just now *does happy dance, finally*

[jefbal99]

I'll be back in Byron Center on Thursday and do as much mapping as I can. Missed it by just a couple of days.

[Rickie546]

well its something...

http://classifieds.mlive.com/?temp_type=detail&category=detail&tp=ME_mlive&property=mlive.com&classification=Notices%20and%20Announcements&ads_per_page=50&ad_id=668575318

[MattVeltkamp]

Looks like someone got LTE in Byron

IS THIS AN APP YOU CAN RUN TO SEE IF PEOPLE ARE USING LTE?

[keelerman8042]

IS THIS AN APP YOU CAN RUN TO SEE IF PEOPLE ARE USING LTE?

Its an app called Sensorly, it tracks where people have reported having LTE by running the the map while having an LTE connection. Then plots points to show where it has been reported.