T-Mobile LTE & Network Discussion

[cletus]

How is this new. When you are paying for the phone out right under no contact. I don't see how this is so wonderful. Oh by the way TMobile marks up by at least $50 on msrp. If I see a new phone that comes out on Sprint, I'll just go and buy it sans contact - the price I get for my trade in. Do that anytime I want.

if you have the cash to frequently buy phones outright then yes, maybe this isn't the best plan for you. However, if a few extra bucks a month gives you an easy trade in to the latest and greatest phone without any hassle it sounds like a good idea to MANY people. The reason? Most people tend to balk at lump sum purchases and not object to small monthly purchases even when the small monthly purchases end up costing more in the long run. That is what makes this a very interesting option.

[WiWavelength]

Most people tend to balk at lump sum purchases and not object to small monthly purchases even when the small monthly purchases end up costing more in the long run. That is what makes this a very interesting option.

 

And, with that, you just described phone subsidies.  As this is about T-Mobile, do you see the irony?

 

AJ

[maximus1987/lou99]

And, with that, you just described phone subsidies. As this is about T-Mobile, do you see the irony?

 

AJ

Lol. Just got it.

[maximus1987/lou99]

I've thought the reason why TMUS won't upgrade entire footprint, if not expand, to LTE is because DT would veto it. DT wants out as soon as possible and they don't want TMUS' high debt levels to depress the sale price.

 

Is this thinking correct?

[bigsnake49]

I've thought the reason why TMUS won't upgrade entire footprint, if not expand, to LTE is because DT would veto it. DT wants out as soon as possible and they don't want TMUS' high debt levels to depress the sale price. Is this thinking correct?

 

Yes, and the possibility of acquisition is priced into the stock price which has gone up 50% since March.

[cletus]

http://www.theverge.com/2013/7/10/4511160/t-mobile-announces-jump-two-phone-upgrades-per-year-for-10-monthly

 

"For $10 per month, customers will be able to upgrade their phones up to two times per year. It's similar to what we heard earlier today, though phone upgrades won't be unlimited. Also, you'll need to wait six months until you're eligible for your first upgrade. While there are definitely some caveats to this new plan, it's a far sight better than AT&T and Verizon's full two-year wait period before customers can upgrade with a subsidy."

"Additionally, T-Mobile is launching cheaper family plans: for $100 per month, four family members can get unlimited talk and text with 500MB of full-speed data per month, with no contract or credit check required. However, you'll need to put down a deposit (T-Mobile says it's about equal to one month of service) in lieu of a credit check."

 

At $10 a month I am not sure that I would consider it but it seems other people are pretty pumped about it.

[Rawvega]

T-Mobile's John Legere (something about that guy kinda creeps me out) and Neville Ray really took Sprint to task in their little event today. Son and Hesse better get the ball rolling quicker and respond in kind.

[soulgrnd]

When T-Mobile threw the switch on its first LTE markets back in March, the company promised to cover 100 million people by mid year. Four months on, there are 157 million potential customers with access to the un-carrier's still fledgling 4G LTE network. With true 4G now launched in 116 metro areas the expansion is actually ahead of schedule, and could match its HSPA+ footprint within a year. By the end of 2013, Big Magenta plans to cover 200 markets, encompassing 200 million people -- which actually seems quite conservative seeing how quickly the network has expanded so far. In fact, the speedy deployment kinda puts AT&T and Sprint to shame. T-Mo might have waited the longest to get on the LTE train, but it's hasn't wasted any time getting those blazing speeds to its loyal customers.

 

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/07/10/t-mobiles-lte-network-expanding/#continued

 

Weigh in

[Moropo]

This sounds so awesome... I hate being stuck with the same device for 2 years and up to now I have never been in a financial position to ever justify paying full price for a phone.

 

Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

 

 

[Jswets]

Correct me if i am wrong...but is Sprint the ONLY carrier putting 4G on EVERY single tower? If not then i give props to a carrier that can deploy that quickly. Tmo seems like they are going in the right direction, definately my second choice to Sprint atm.

[S4GRU]

When T-Mobile threw the switch on its first LTE markets back in March, the company promised to cover 100 million people by mid year. Four months on, there are 157 million potential customers with access to the un-carrier's still fledgling 4G LTE network. With true 4G now launched in 116 metro areas the expansion is actually ahead of schedule, and could match its HSPA+ footprint within a year. By the end of 2013, Big Magenta plans to cover 200 markets, encompassing 200 million people -- which actually seems quite conservative seeing how quickly the network has expanded so far. In fact, the speedy deployment kinda puts AT&T and Sprint to shame. T-Mo might have waited the longest to get on the LTE train, but it's hasn't wasted any time getting those blazing speeds to its loyal customers.

 

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/07/10/t-mobiles-lte-network-expanding/#continued

 

Weigh in

 

Tmo is just adding LTE panels to their existing high speed/high backhauled HSPA+ network.  If they couldn't do plug and play quickly, that would be a problem.  Now let's see how fast Tmo can add LTE to its virgin EDGE network with no backhaul.  That would be an apples to apples comparison to Sprint Network Vision.  I bet it takes Tmo longer to do that for their 15,000 EDGE/GPRS sites than Sprint did will with their 38,000.  In fact, they already lost.  The clock started ticking on those sites back in 2011.

 

Robert

[supert0nes]

I would even call this a duplicate of the other T-Mobile thread, where this has been discussed extensively

[lilotimz]

Tmo is just adding LTE panels to their existing high speed/high backhauled HSPA+ network.  If they couldn't do plug and play quickly, that would be a problem.  Now let's see how fast Tmo can add LTE to its virgin EDGE network with no backhaul.  That would be an apples to apples comparison to Sprint Network Vision.  I bet it takes Tmo longer to do that for their 15,000 EDGE/GPRS sites than Sprint did will with their 38,000.  In fact, they already lost.  The clock started ticking on those sites back in 2011.

 

Robert

 

In addition, they've also began doing GMO style setups with RRU's to existing antennas. Apparantly, according to Milan, Ericsson has ran into problems with manufacturing AIR 21's and T-mobile is resorting to using Ericsson RRU4 and RRUS12's with existing equipment. Put that along with the fact that they typically do not need to replace their RBS cabinets and the existence of high speed backhaul, it would be a colossal failure if they didn't deploy as fast as they did. 

[S4GRU]

I would even call this a duplicate of the other T-Mobile thread, where this has been discussed extensively

 

Good point.  Continue the discussion here:  http://s4gru.com/index.php?/topic/3420-why-t-mobile’s-4g-network-could-kick-everybody-elses/

 

 

Robert

[jamesinclair]

With all the changes recently, Im not quite sure if this is a consumer savings or not....but it sounds good. It looks like the $10 a month highway-robbery "protection" fee turns into a speedy upgrade AND protection fee.

 

As CEO John Legere put it -- it can stand for either "Just Upgrade My Phone" or "John Upgrade My Phone." Also included in the $10 (per phone, plus applicable taxes and other fees) a month deal is a total protection plan that helps out with malfunctions, damage, thefts and loss of handsets. Those interested are able to enroll as soon as six months after joining up. After that time, subscribers can trade in a working, eligible phone to a T-Mobile store. Equipment Installment Program fees will be eliminated, and they'll be able to buy a new phone for a new customer upfront price.

http://www.engadget.com/2013/07/10/t-mobile-jump/

 

 

Slap in the face to verizon and at&t which extended upgrades to 24 months....which Im sure Sprint has been thinking about.

[jamesinclair]

Sorry about that, didnt realize talk was all in this thread.

[maximus1987/lou99]

T-Mobile's John Legere (something about that guy kinda creeps me out) and Neville Ray really took Sprint to task in their little event today. Son and Hesse better get the ball rolling quicker and respond in kind.

Here's what sucks for TMO: if JUMP! Is successful, everyone will copy it and it'll gain no advantage lol!

Then, people will compare the networks and see that TMO still has least LTE coverage and it'll be back to square one: EXPAND YOUR NETWORK!

It's not as if there's a first mover advantage.

[S4GRU]

I have retitled this thread to something more appropriate to the ongoing network discussion.

 

Robert

[maximus1987/lou99]

I have retitled this thread to something more appropriate to the ongoing network discussion.

 

Robert

What about the other Tmobile thread? At one point, I was bouncing between the two cause I couldn't remember which one i was responding to.

 

Is merging out of the question?

[S4GRU]

What about the other Tmobile thread? At one point, I was bouncing between the two cause I couldn't remember which one i was responding to. Is merging out of the question?

 

Which other Tmo thread?  We can merge them.  Post a link and I'll look at it.

 

Robert

[maximus1987/lou99]

Tmo is just adding LTE panels to their existing high speed/high backhauled HSPA+ network. If they couldn't do plug and play quickly, that would be a problem. Now let's see how fast Tmo can add LTE to its virgin EDGE network with no backhaul. That would be an apples to apples comparison to Sprint Network Vision. I bet it takes Tmo longer to do that for their 15,000 EDGE/GPRS sites than Sprint did will with their 38,000. In fact, they already lost. The clock started ticking on those sites back in 2011.

 

Robert

Is that fact proof enough that TMUS is doing their upgrades solely to maximize DT's sale price?

 

Elaboration:

1)TMO knew how long it'd take to upgrade backhaul at EDGE-only sites.

2)TMO knew Sprint's network plans.

3)DT concluded they can't even match Sprint.

 

Therefore, upgrade TMO enough to not be completely wiped out and sell before TD-LTE comes online.

[maximus1987/lou99]

Which other Tmo thread? We can merge them. Post a link and I'll look at it.

 

Robert

TMobile 4G LTE vs Sprint 4G LTE

http://www.s4gru.com/index.php?/topic/3450-TMobile-4G-LTE-vs-Sprint-4G-LTE/page__view__findpost__p__163016

[khammondnm]

Tmo is just adding LTE panels to their existing high speed/high backhauled HSPA+ network. If they couldn't do plug and play quickly, that would be a problem. Now let's see how fast Tmo can add LTE to its virgin EDGE network with no backhaul. That would be an apples to apples comparison to Sprint Network Vision. I bet it takes Tmo longer to do that for their 15,000 EDGE/GPRS sites than Sprint did will with their 38,000. In fact, they already lost. The clock started ticking on those sites back in 2011.

 

Robert

they've been overlaying their hspa+ network. More capacity is great, but the added lte will really just be more of a good thing in certain areas and will not address their underlying issue, they have unusable data outside of major metros. Edge speed is unacceptable in 2013.

 

Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

 

 

[maximus1987/lou99]

they've been overlaying their hspa+ network. More capacity is great, but the added lte will really just be more of a good thing in certain areas and will not address their underlying issue, they have unusable data outside of major metros. Edge speed is unacceptable in 2013.

 

Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

Deutsche Telekom, 74% owner, doesn't care. They wanna sell so they can invest in Germany.

[S4GRU]

TMobile 4G LTE vs Sprint 4G LTE

http://www.s4gru.com/index.php?/topic/3450-TMobile-4G-LTE-vs-Sprint-4G-LTE/page__view__findpost__p__163016

 

Done!

 

Robert