SouthernLINC Signs Nationwide GSM/UMTS Deal

[Deval]

http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/southernlinc-strikes-deal-add-nationwide-gsmumts-iden-service/2013-03-12

 

This brings up an interesting question, with SouthernLINC holding onto that precious 800mhz spectrum in the few states they have coverage, what happens to Sprint customers who want/need LTE and 1x on 800mhz there?

[dedub]

what happens to Sprint customers who want/need LTE and 1x on 800mhz there?

 

sounds like they will be 'SOL'.

[WiWavelength]

Guys, just to be clear, SouthernLINC has apparently signed a W-CDMA/GSM roaming agreement. But SouthernLINC will not be deploying W-CDMA in its SMR 800 MHz spectrum. In fact, it does not have sufficient bandwidth to do so. And SouthernLINC could still strike a spectrum sharing arrangement with Sprint for LTE 800, then utilize its roaming agreement for W-CDMA/GSM coverage outside of its footprint because essentially all LTE chipsets also contain W-CDMA/GSM capability per 3GPP standards.

 

AJ

[lynyrd65]

http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/southernlinc-strikes-deal-add-nationwide-gsmumts-iden-service/2013-03-12

 

This brings up an interesting question, with SouthernLINC holding onto that precious 800mhz spectrum in the few states they have coverage, what happens to Sprint customers who want/need LTE and 1x on 800mhz there?

 

They will enjoy their 1x at 800 and just have to deal with 3x3 LTE.

 

For the curious

 

10x10 -> 3.75*20 = 75mbps peak Verizon 700

 

5 x 5-> 3.75*10 = 37.5mbps peak Sprint G Block

 

3 x 3 -> 3.75*6 = 22.5mbps peak (Sprint SMR in SoLinc areas)

 

1.4x1.4 -> 3.75*2.8 = 10.5mbps peak (MetroPCS maybe?)

 

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[WiWavelength]

They will enjoy their 1x at 800 and just have to deal with 3x3 LTE.

 

I am somewhat dubious that 3 MHz FDD LTE will come to fruition. Off the top of my head, I cannot think of any Sprint LTE device that is FCC tested for 3 MHz FDD LTE.

 

AJ

[lynyrd65]

 

I am somewhat dubious that 3 MHz FDD LTE will come to fruition. Off the top of my head, I cannot think of any Sprint LTE device that is FCC tested for 3 MHz FDD LTE.

 

AJ

True but there haven't been any band 26 devices certified yet either unless you know something about that I don't (would be awesome if you did!).

 

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[WiWavelength]

True but there haven't been any band 26 devices certified yet either unless you know something about that I don't (would be awesome if you did!).

 

I suppose that is true. My counterexample is that both MetroPCS and Cricket LTE devices have typically been authorized for bands and bandwidths that neither will ever use. We certainly have not seen that from Sprint LTE devices, though. So, that is why I am "somewhat dubious" about Sprint 3 MHz FDD LTE. But we shall have to wait and see once the band 26 devices make an appearance.

 

AJ

[WiWavelength]

Here is the SouthernLINC press release:

 

http://www.southernlinc.com/pressroom/78-southernlinc-wireless-partners-with-prepaid-wireless-wholesale-to-sell-nationwide-voice-and-high-speed-data-services.aspx

 

AJ

[lynyrd65]

What GSM network does this company use?

 

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[JeffDTD]

This is silly if they continue to avoid network evolution. The big question for now will be the functionality and satisfaction with these devices.

 

Also, telling 100% of your customer base they have to upgrade to keep roaming ability?

[WiWavelength]

What GSM network does this company use?

 

Suspicion is that it is T-Mobile because Nextel International has multi mode iDEN SMR and W-CDMA AWS handsets already.

 

AJ

[Deval]

Makes sense, but for native Sprint users (non SLink) who live in the area, they may or may not see the added capacity if SLink decides not to deploy LTE on their existing SMR bands, correct?

[jefbal99]

Now through April 30, 2012, SouthernLINC Wireless is celebrating the launch of the Motorola i867 by offering one month of service on the So Easy Plus plan free with purchase of a Motorola smartphone and a 2-year agreement on the plan.

 

Does anyone else see the problem with this sentence?

[WiWavelength]

Does anyone else see the problem with this sentence?

 

Are you suggesting that SouthernLINC is behind the times? I think that is self evident.

 

 

AJ

[koiulpoi]

because essentially all LTE chipsets also contain W-CDMA/GSM capability per 3GPP standards.

Interesting! So why do you think, besides cost and testing, aren't all Sprint LTE devices also "Advanced Worldmode" devices?

[koiulpoi]

Suspicion is that it is T-Mobile because Nextel International has multi mode iDEN SMR and W-CDMA AWS handsets already.

 

AJ

A Google search of the name "Prepaid Wireless Wholesale, LLC", the company they're apparently partnering with, turned this up:

 

http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view;jsessionid=gNXLR3xS5xnhb7t3CcNrWxBpTFbL92Mlgp95l5FCmWVThGC0hLCn!-1705390101!956499833?id=7022127885

 

which says that they run on T-Mobile's GSM network. So, 10 points for Ravenclaw.

[WiWavelength]

Interesting! So why do you think, besides cost and testing, aren't all Sprint LTE devices also "Advanced Worldmode" devices?

 

Absent the Samsung Galaxy Nexus and maybe the LG Viper (both of which Sprint never should have released as LTE devices), all Sprint LTE devices have utilized Qualcomm baseband modems. And Qualcomm makes few, if any modems any longer that are CDMA2000 only. If the MSM has a "9" as its second digit (e.g. MSM8960), then it is 3GPP/3GPP2 with LTE. Similarly, if the MDM has a "6" as its second digit (e.g. MDM9615), then it is 3GPP/3GPP2 with LTE.

 

AJ

[koiulpoi]

Absent the Samsung Galaxy Nexus and maybe the LG Viper (both of which Sprint never should have released as LTE devices), all Sprint LTE devices have utilized Qualcomm baseband modems. And Qualcomm makes few, if any modems any longer that are CDMA2000 only. If the MSM has a "9" as its second digit (e.g. MSM8960), then it is 3GPP/3GPP2 with LTE. Similarly, if the MDM has a "6" as its second digit (e.g. MDM9615), then it is 3GPP/3GPP2 with LTE.

 

AJ

While I did not know that (super interesting stuff), it only adds more wonder to my question. The Galaxy S3 uses the MSM8960, as does the EVO 4G LTE, but neither are "advanced worldmode" devices, and are unable to connect to any GSM/UTMS service. The Photon Q, with the same chipset, is. What's the difference? If it's easy to include, why not do it?

[lynyrd65]

I wonder what customers will think of roaming with HSPA speeds outside of SoLinc coverage then returning to native iDen?

 

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[WiWavelength]

I wonder what customers will think of roaming with HSPA speeds outside of SoLinc coverage then returning to native iDen?

 

Upon further dissection of the SouthernLINC press release, it looks like users may able to utilize dual mode iDEN 800 voice/PTT and W-CDMA 2100+1700 data where available even within the SouthernLINC native footprint.

 

AJ

[lordsutch]

Upon further dissection of the SouthernLINC press release, it looks like users may able to utilize dual mode iDEN 800 voice/PTT and W-CDMA 2100+1700 data where available even within the SouthernLINC native footprint.

 

That's great until T-Mobile shifts all of W-CDMA onto PCS to make way for LTE carriers on AWS. Won't happen overnight but there can't be that many AWS-only (or non-1900 at least) handsets left on the T-Mobile network.

 

As for Sprint, the question is whether they need LTE on ESMR in the southeastern markets. Atlanta is probably the only place in the sharing region that spectrum constraints could be an issue, and outdoors the LTE on 1900 coverage is pretty dense already (even at 50%ish buildout). And, competitively... from Sprint's perspective, do you work with manufacturers trying to make 3x3 FD LTE come to the marketplace, in the process helping SouthernLINC deploy LTE in their spectrum too (nobody is going to commercialize 3x3 handsets for a customer base as small as SouthernLINC's), or do you try to bury, or at least not help, 1.4x1.4 and 3x3 to decrease the value of SouthernLINC's holdings?

 

If I were Softbank/Sprint I'd almost be tempted to throw up some EVDO carriers on ESMR in the southeast; the phones and chipsets that can take advantage of it are already built, it gets you more data footprint and less roaming on coverage maps than LTE would, and most of the non-overlap between 1900 and ESMR is in fringe areas where EVDO is speed-competitive with LTE.

[Deval]

I think they are planning only 1x carriers on eSMR, so the same buildout applies as the rest of the country no? 1.25mhz for 1xA? Good for a single 1xA carrier.

[lordsutch]

I think they are planning only 1x carriers on eSMR, so the same buildout applies as the rest of the country no? 1.25mhz for 1xA? Good for a single 1xA carrier.

 

Certainly that's the plan as currently stated, and I think in the end they will go with 3x3 LTE in the southeast (my guess is that the UE today can do 3x3 LTE carriers, it's just not been tested for certification because nobody has deployed 3x3 LTE in AWS or 1900 or 700), if only because they can inflate their LTE POPs count by deploying it instead of EVDO.

 

Then again there's always the possibility of a deal to obtain SouthernLINC's spare ESMR spectrum rather than SouthernLINC deploying LTE itself on it, to allow a full 5x5 carrier.

[Deval]

Certainly that's the plan as currently stated, and I think in the end they will go with 3x3 LTE in the southeast (my guess is that the UE today can do 3x3 LTE carriers, it's just not been tested for certification because nobody has deployed 3x3 LTE in AWS or 1900 or 700), if only because they can inflate their LTE POPs count by deploying it instead of EVDO.

 

Then again there's always the possibility of a deal to obtain SouthernLINC's spare ESMR spectrum rather than SouthernLINC deploying LTE itself on it, to allow a full 5x5 carrier.

 

I thought the whole issue with SLinc is that they want to keep the eSMR for their own PTT.

[Rawvega]

A Google search of the name "Prepaid Wireless Wholesale, LLC", the company they're apparently partnering with, turned this up:

 

http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view;jsessionid=gNXLR3xS5xnhb7t3CcNrWxBpTFbL92Mlgp95l5FCmWVThGC0hLCn!-1705390101!956499833?id=7022127885

 

which says that they run on T-Mobile's GSM network. So, 10 points for Ravenclaw.

 

Interesting. I'm a little surprised and disappointed that the mighty Southern Company didn't just reach into their chump change jar and buy t-mobile altogether...

 

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