T-Mobile LTE & Network Discussion

[maximus1987/lou99]

Slide 10

http://edge.media-server.com/version/1375971396/m/a/6obxvmjt/iv/effdd551f05a346d6679c4c37f27bc9f41928466/?token=1bbb2e8829d206d62216d805820c11452168136

 

Looks like TMO will NOT be expanding AWS LTE past 225 million ie past their HSPA+ footprint.

HSPA+ aws is 228 million

HSPA+ PCS is 180 million

 

Edited August 9, 2013 by maximus1902

[milan03]

Legere's jabs at Sprint are indicative of his style:  Bolshy and Brash. Car Salesman. Rent to Own Furniture manager.    I applaud Tmo for finding a marketing strategy that resonated with 1+ million Americans.  However, tmo's growth doesn't mean a network strategy isn't flawed, nor does it mean Sprint network is "just a big turd".  The kindergarten mentality of those words is the tone of the message Legere exudes about his company.  I would challenge him the same way I challenge the undergraduate organization I advise: Stop talking trash about your competitors when you recruit and just focus on your competitive advantage.  

 

 

For T-mo users who pry deep enough into S4GRU to find this thread, resent the obvious Sprint slant inherent in THE NAME of the site, yet continue to come here for "information" .... 

 

These would be less "intimidating" places to get informed

http://www.tmonews.com/

http://www.howardforums.com/forumdisplay.php/52-T-Mobile

http://support.t-mobile.com/community/community

Yeah but if he was to stop talking thrash, he'd be just like all other CEOs in the wireless industry. And no one would care. This way using his car salesman-like approach, he gets everyone to talk about T-Mobile. And it works. His company is clearly profiting. And as a bonus, he gets people on forums and social media (including S4GRU) to love him or hate him. But his strategy clearly made us talk about him and his company.

 

So I'm pretty sure he isn't just gonna stop talking thrash about his competitors any time soon. That is his competitive advantage that clearly works for T-Mobile.

[Paynefanbro]

According to broadbandmap.gov, in June of last year Sprint covered about 270VMillion people while T-Mobile still covered about 225 Million. That was because of Sprint's extensive highway and rural coverage compared to T-Mobile. Verizon and AT&T covered over 300 Million people.

[wyatt:-)]

I am one of the 1 million who joined T-Mobile during their last quarter and I'll be coming back to Sprint later this month.

 

I don't understand why T-Mobile's building penetration is SO bad. T-Mo and Sprint both operate at 1900. Could it be tower spacing?

 

I mainly wanted to test out T so I got a Nexus 4 and a prepaid SIM. One of the most disappointing aspects of T-Mobile is how they purposely block roaming in large, touristy areas where they don't have service.

 

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4

 

[Rawvega]

Yeah but if he was to stop talking thrash, he'd be just like all other CEOs in the wireless industry. And no one would care. This way using his car salesman-like approach, he gets everyone to talk about T-Mobile. And it works. His company is clearly profiting. 

 

Well, not exactly. His company posted a $54 million loss in Q2. ARPU slid 6.5% y-o-y while adjusted EBITDA plummeted 30% y-o-y. They've also reduced their 2013 full year EBITDA estimates as well.

 

So while t-mobile definitely had a *good* Q2, it definitely wasn't all good.

[maximus1987/lou99]

I am one of the 1 million who joined T-Mobile during their last quarter and I'll be coming back to Sprint later this month. I don't understand why T-Mobile's building penetration is SO bad. T-Mo and Sprint both operate at 1900. Could it be tower spacing? I mainly wanted to test out T so I got a Nexus 4 and a prepaid SIM. One of the most disappointing aspects of T-Mobile is how they purposely block roaming in large, touristy areas where they don't have service.Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4

Yep. When I was in holland, mi my sister on TMO had no service on the beach near a $$$ marina.

 

Are you talking about voice or data penetration? Mind telling us where this happened?

 

TMO has 52k total towers: 15k gsm only and the rest HSPA+ or LTE.

 

Sprint has 38k total but I guess they're better placed? Idk

Edited August 9, 2013 by maximus1902

[wyatt:-)]

Yep. When I was in holland, mi my sister on TMO had no service on the beach near a $$$ marina.

 

Are you talking about voice or data penetration? Mind telling us where this happened?

Countless buildings in LA including my house. Outside, full bars -80dBM. Once you step inside, -100dBM and above. Sprint never had this problem, and they share the same tower.

 

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4

 

 

[maximus1987/lou99]

Countless buildings in LA including my house. Outside, full bars -80dBM. Once you step inside, -100dBM and above. Sprint never had this problem, and they share the same tower.

 

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4

Do you actually lose HSPA+/LTE?

[Rawvega]

I am one of the 1 million who joined T-Mobile during their last quarter and I'll be coming back to Sprint later this month. 

 

At this point, you might as well wait to get a tri-band phone if you can.

[wyatt:-)]

Do you actually lose HSPA+/LTE?

Yep. Reverting back to EDGE or losing service all together. And of course there's no in-market roaming here so you're out of luck. PSH...

 

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4

 

 

[wyatt:-)]

At this point, you might as well wait to get a tri-band phone if you can.

Unfortunately the phone I have my heart set on isn't tri-band. That LG G2 is just so ugly.

 

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4

 

 

[maximus1987/lou99]

Yep. Reverting back to EDGE or losing service all together. And of course there's no in-market roaming here so you're out of luck. PSH...

 

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4

I just can't understand why they block roaming where they have no service.

Yes, it's costing them but how about putting up a tower or two instead of saying "back to the ghettos!"

 

[Rawvega]

Unfortunately the phone I have my heart set on isn't tri-band. That LG G2 is just so ugly.

 

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4

 

Motorola X?

 

Anyway, Note III or a revised Galaxy S4 may be tri-band...With 800MHz LTE and 2.5GHz TD-LTE coming relatively soon, IMO it would kinda suck to get a phone that may be outdated (in a sense) a month or two after you've bought it.

[S4GRU]

Motorola X?

 

Anyway, Note III or a revised Galaxy S4 may be tri-band...With 800MHz LTE and 2.5GHz TD-LTE coming relatively soon, IMO it would kinda suck to get a phone that may be outdated (in a sense) a month or two after you've bought it.

I completely agree. I stopped buying phones in the Spring. And now we are so close to triband, it would be crazy to buy a subsidized phone on contract right before Triband LTE devices start selling.

 

Robert via Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 using Tapatalk

 

 

[JohnHovah]

I completely agree. I stopped buying phones in the Spring. And now we are so close to triband, it would be crazy to buy a subsidized phone on contract right before Triband LTE devices start selling.

 

Robert via Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 using Tapatalk

Same boat here.....   daddy has the itch to replace all the devices

[maxsilver]

Yep. When I was in holland, mi my sister on TMO had no service on the beach near a $$$ marina....Sprint has 38k total but I guess they're better placed? Idk

West Michigan is a bit of an anomaly. It's a metro area of more than 1 million people, but both Sprint and T-Mobile have equally terrible networks here.

 

T-Mobile has no service at all in places like Muskegon, Grand Haven, Traverse City, and EDGE only in Rockford, Byron Center, ect. But Sprint has 2G-only data service in places like Grand Rapids and Holland. Even LTE, where it exists in Grand Rapids, only gets slow 3G speeds at 1mbps down) It's basically a terrible tradeoff on either side.

 

The main problem is both Sprint and T-Mobile are critically short on towers in this market (running roughly half the total number of sites that AT&T and Nextel run in this market). But T-Mobile self-imposes an additional problem on their network -- they run their AWS gear underpowered by about 10 to 15dbm. That's why you'll see T-Mobile drop indoors in places where Sprint still has "1 bar" of service.

 

(This gets really obvious with MetroPCS. In West Michigan, MetroPCS LTE and T-Mobile HSPA+ both run on identical AWS spectrum, but MetroPCS LTE usually works indoors, where T-Mobile drops to EDGE, because MetroPCS runs AWS at full power, and T-mobile runs AWS under-powered a bit)

 

If you want the absolute best data service in West MI, you run AT&T. If you want a fairly priced, but still usable data service, you run MetroPCS CDMA + LTE. (It's not fast, but it's cheap and reliable, which is why the majority of those Boost mobile dealers switched to MetroPCS dealers in the last 12-24 months, and why Metro's new BYOD TMO GSM initiative hasn't started here yet)

[maxsilver]

However, T-Mobile's issue is that it has not kept up with the size of cities that have expanded in both population and SIZE such as Austin, San Antonio, Las Vegas. Austin city center is great on T-Mobile but heading beyond the "city limits" from 15 years ago and you will find tons of dead/roaming only areas.

This is my biggest complaint as well.

 

I'm ok with T-Mobile saying "we're a urban/suburban carrier, we don't service freeways/rural areas". That's fine as stated, I have no problem with that.

 

But T-Mobile and I seem to have different definitions of cities. If an area is large enough to support a Best Buy, I consider that an "urban" or "suburban" area. But according to their coverage, T-Mobile doesn't.

[wyatt:-)]

After testing all 4 carriers in LA, I can easily say that Sprint is #1. I've yet to see "No Service." The Root Metrics maps make my point valid. More green than any other carrier, especially in the San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys. I know this isn't the case with other cities, but Los Angeles is Sprint's territory. 

[milan03]

After testing all 4 carriers in LA, I can easily say that Sprint is #1. I've yet to see "No Service." The Root Metrics maps make my point valid. More green than any other carrier, especially in the San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys. I know this isn't the case with other cities, but Los Angeles is Sprint's territory. 

I assume you're exclusively talking about the coverage, right?

[maximus1987/lou99]

According to broadbandmap.gov, in June of last year Sprint covered about 270VMillion people while T-Mobile still covered about 225 Million. That was because of Sprint's extensive highway and rural coverage compared to T-Mobile. Verizon and AT&T covered over 300 Million people.

Mmmm. I think that 270 million includes roaming agreements.

[wyatt:-)]

I assume you're exclusively talking about the coverage, right?

Yeah. Where I can make a call.

[ericdabbs]

I assume you're exclusively talking about the coverage, right?

 

Haha...no need to get defensive.  We know how fast Sprint 3G EVDO is...blazing fast!!!

[maximus1987/lou99]

Haha...no need to get defensive. We know how fast Sprint 3G EVDO is...blazing fast!!!

Once it gets its Nv done, it really should be "enough": I can watch Netflix on iphone 4 VZW in Detroit.

I get speeds 700-1300kbps average. Some areas past 2000 Kbps, some below 500 Kbps but solid overall.

 

If sprint doesn't achieve similar results, its CDMA configuration needs to be seriously examined.

[Paynefanbro]

Mmmm. I think that 270 million includes roaming agreements.

 

Nope. broadbandmap.gov is strictly native. Including roaming Sprint covers over 300 Million

[maximus1987/lou99]

Nope. broadbandmap.gov is strictly native. Including roaming Sprint covers over 300 Million

Does it say that?