T-Mobile LTE & Network Discussion

[illest_ios]

sadly, but i know sprint has alot of stuff they are doing in terms of NV.

[illest_ios]

Tmo is pretty much just software upgrades for LTE where as sprint is completely new hardware and backhaul, pretty much building from the ground up right?

[tybo31316]

Tmo is pretty much just software upgrades for LTE where as sprint is completely new hardware and backhaul, pretty much building from the ground up right?

Sprint is replacing everything except the tower itself. All the wiring, all the base station hardware, and the panels. Tmo isn't doing that. Also tmo has fiber back haul in place already which makes things happen faster. Back haul has been one of sprints biggest issues.

[Conan Kudo]

Tmo is pretty much just software upgrades for LTE where as sprint is completely new hardware and backhaul, pretty much building from the ground up right?

Not entirely. Some places are like that, but others are a modernization effort like Sprint's. 

[illest_ios]

yeah for sure. here in utah, a big issue has been the backhaul part, alot of towers have the new equipment and is ready to go. all besides fiber -_-

 

its love hate right now for me and sprint lol.

[lilotimz]

Tmo is pretty much just software upgrades for LTE where as sprint is completely new hardware and backhaul, pretty much building from the ground up right?

 

Tmobile is actually similar to Sprint in many ways while different in others.

 

In their Nokia Siemens Network markets, they're replacing all legacy equipment with new NSN Flexi RRUs and base stations along with new antennas. In Ericsson markets it's two different types of deployment. One is replacing all existing antenna with new Ericsson AIR 21s and adding / retrofitting cabinets. The other is add remote radio units (RRUS11s) to existing antennas and retrofit cabinets (aka Sprint ground mounted options). The full replacement takes about 30-60 days while just adding RRUs and refitting cabinets is about 2-3 day job. 

 

What they don't have to do is order and wait for backhaul to be delivered. This allows tmobile to activate LTE as soon as the equipment is installed and inspected. Just call up the service provider to boost your backhaul speeds and your site is up and running. Something Sprint cannot due and thus are at the mercy of whoever is contracted to do the backhaul. 

 

I would say the closet equivalent in terms of deployment speed is the Clearwires LTE overlay where clearwire is retrofitting cabinets and adding new radio units to enable TD-LTE. Clearwire can fire up TD-LTE at once as they already have backhaul in place that are somewhat scalable and the act of adding a RRU and retrofitting cabinet takes 2-3 days just like T-mobiles ericsson RRU add. Hundreds of sites can be converted this way every week. 

[illest_ios]

Not entirely. Some places are like that, but others are a modernization effort like Sprint's. 

 

 

i think where T-mobile and AT&T also have big advatage is the HSPA+ to fallback on, which is not to bad depending on the area in terms a speed and reliabilty.

[illest_ios]

Tmobile is actually similar to Sprint in many ways while different in others.

 

In their Nokia Siemens Network markets, they're replacing all legacy equipment with new NSN Flexi RRUs and base stations along with new antennas. In Ericsson markets it's two different types of deployment. One is replacing all existing antenna with new Ericsson AIR 21s and adding / retrofitting cabinets. The other is add remote radio units (RRUS11s) to existing antennas and retrofit cabinets (aka Sprint ground mounted options). The full replacement takes about 30-60 days while just adding RRUs and refitting cabinets is about 2-3 day job. 

 

What they don't have to do is order and wait for backhaul to be delivered. This allows tmobile to activate LTE as soon as the equipment is installed and inspected. Just call up the service provider to boost your backhaul speeds and your site is up and running. Something Sprint cannot due and thus are at the mercy of whoever is contracted to do the backhaul. 

 

I would say the closet equivalent in terms of speed are Clearwires LTE overlay where clearwire is retrofitting cabinets and adding new radio units to enable TD-LTE. Clearwire can fire up TD-LTE at once as they already have backhaul in place that are somewhat scalable and the act of adding a RRU and retrofitting cabinet takes 2-3 days just like T-mobiles ericsson RRU add. 

 

 

this is great news for anyone in a TD market with a triband device! i may switch to a LG G2 just for that.

[Terrell352]

Yea sprint is definitely not the best carrier to be on at this moment unless you live in Chicago and other first round markets. Everytime I hear news like this I want to throw my phone out the window and jump carriers . Sprint should be awesome in a year or two but I'm trying to live for today since there is no guarantee that any of us will be live tomorrow.

[cletus]

http://www.theverge.com/2013/10/9/4821692/t-mobile-announces-unlimited-global-data-roaming-at-no-extra-charge

 

T-Mobile just announced global unlimited data roaming at no extra cost.

 

Big moves out of T-Mobile these days

[illest_ios]

http://www.theverge.com/2013/10/9/4821692/t-mobile-announces-unlimited-global-data-roaming-at-no-extra-charge

 

T-Mobile just announced global unlimited data roaming at no extra cost.

 

Big moves out of T-Mobile these days

 

 

thanks pretty sweet actually...

 

your move sprint!

[Yuhfhrh]

http://www.theverge.com/2013/10/9/4821692/t-mobile-announces-unlimited-global-data-roaming-at-no-extra-charge

 

T-Mobile just announced global unlimited data roaming at no extra cost.

 

Big moves out of T-Mobile these days

 

This is why I hope a SprinT-mobile never happens. I doubt SprinT-mobile would have ever offered this.

 

Competition ftw!

[Terrell352]

Sprint needs more competition because unlimited is is not good enough on their network.

This is why I hope a SprinT-mobile never happens. I doubt SprinT-mobile would have ever offered this.

 

Competition ftw!

[Yuhfhrh]

http://www.theverge.com/2013/10/9/4821692/t-mobile-announces-unlimited-global-data-roaming-at-no-extra-charge

 

T-Mobile just announced global unlimited data roaming at no extra cost.

 

Big moves out of T-Mobile these days

 

So T-Mobile users now have unlimited data roaming almost anywhere in the world... except in America, where you're stuck with a 50mb roaming limit with no option to pay for more...

 

...But even worse- you are extremely limited on where you can actually roam, and most of the time you will only have "emergency calls only"

[ericdabbs]

Yea sprint is definitely not the best carrier to be on at this moment unless you live in Chicago and other first round markets. Everytime I hear news like this I want to throw my phone out the window and jump carriers . Sprint should be awesome in a year or two but I'm trying to live for today since there is no guarantee that any of us will be live tomorrow.

 

Haha...way to be a bit over dramatic.  In this case, maybe Sprint isn't for you.  Maybe jumping to Verizon or ATT is your best bet since who knows if you will live tomorrow.

[Terrell352]

Haha...way to be a bit over dramatic. In this case, maybe Sprint isn't for you. Maybe jumping to Verizon or ATT is your best bet since who knows if you will live tomorrow.

Not sure love/hate relationship. Some days I want to leave and some days I don't. I just wish next year was here already like everyone else. Hard when you've been waiting for a form of good 4G coverage since June 4, 2010

 

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk now Free

 

 

[ericdabbs]

Not sure love/hate relationship. Some days I want to leave and some days I don't. I just wish next year was here already like everyone else. Hard when you've been waiting for a form of good 4G coverage since June 4, 2010

 

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk now Free

 

You do have some LTE around Ocala though from looking at the map.  Maybe not at home where you live but there are sites that are upgraded to LTE from what I see.

[Terrell352]

There is but its almost everywhere that I don't go.

You do have some LTE around Ocala though from looking at the map. Maybe not at home where you live but there are sites that are upgraded to LTE from what I see.

[Conan Kudo]

So T-Mobile users now have unlimited data roaming almost anywhere in the world... except in America, where you're stuck with a 50mb roaming limit with no option to pay for more...

 

...But even worse- you are extremely limited on where you can actually roam, and most of the time you will only have "emergency calls only"

Unfortunately, domestic roaming agreements don't work the same way that international ones do. The closest analogue would be India, where T-Mobile has signed agreements with multiple operators to get pan-India coverage. And even then, the operators don't give T-Mobile any indication whether they truly offer that.

[maxsilver]

Unfortunately, domestic roaming agreements don't work the same way that international ones do.

Normally, this would be true. But in T-Mobile's case, it's not.

 

T-Mobile has a flat rate, price-locked, nationwide roaming agreement with AT&T. It was negotiated as a concession as part of the AT&T/TMO merger breakup.

 

There's nothing stopping T-Mobile from offering an 'unlimited edge-speed' nationwide US roaming agreement, just like the international one they announced today. AT&T could not retaliate (raise their roaming rates or restrict their roaming access) in any meaningful way if T-Mobile chose to do this. (AT&T is bound by contract, to let T-Mobile use any part of their network at decent rates for roughly the next 6 years).

 

I'd love them to open up domestic roaming, but I don't expect them to actually do this, because people would actually use it. Very few people travel internationally so often that this T-Mobile deal will cost them any great amount of money. Lots of subscribers would hit AT&T roaming every single day, if T-Mobile allowed roaming.

[Jaggrey]

Normally, this would be true. But in T-Mobile's case, it's not.

 

T-Mobile has a flat rate, price-locked, nationwide roaming agreement with AT&T. It was negotiated as a concession as part of the AT&T/TMO merger breakup.

 

There's nothing stopping T-Mobile from offering an 'unlimited edge-speed' nationwide US roaming agreement, just like the international one they announced today. AT&T could not retaliate (raise their roaming rates or restrict their roaming access) in any meaningful way if T-Mobile chose to do this. (AT&T is bound by contract, to let T-Mobile use any part of their network at decent rates for roughly the next 6 years).

 

I'd love them to open up domestic roaming, but I don't expect them to actually do this, because people would actually use it. Very few people travel internationally so often that this T-Mobile deal will cost them any great amount of money. Lots of subscribers would hit AT&T roaming every single day, if T-Mobile allowed roaming.

 

 

 

Wait, so are you saying that T-Mobile has an agreement where it can roam onto AT&T similar to how Sprint can roam onto Verizon, for example?  So if you're in an area with no T-Mobile coverage, the phone will roam onto AT&T?

Edited October 10, 2013 by Jaggrey

[cdk]

Wait, so are you saying that T-Mobile has an agreement where it can roam onto AT&T similar to how Sprint can roam onto Verizon, for example?  So if you're in an area with no T-Mobile coverage, the phone will roam onto AT&T?

They have an agreement, however its my understanding that T-Mobile has blocked their customers from using it in most areas.

[WiWavelength]

Wait, so are you saying that T-Mobile has an agreement where it can roam onto AT&T similar to how Sprint can roam onto Verizon, for example?  So if you're in an area with no T-Mobile coverage, the phone will roam onto AT&T?

 

No, not necessarily.  For financial or political reasons, T-Mobile and/or AT&T block roaming on the other in many LACs.  In plenty of locations -- both in market and out of market -- T-Mobile has no native coverage, AT&T does have native coverage, but roaming is not permitted.

 

AJ

[digiblur]

No, not necessarily.  For financial or political reasons, T-Mobile and/or AT&T block roaming on the other in many LACs.  In plenty of locations -- both in market and out of market -- T-Mobile has no native coverage, AT&T does have native coverage, but roaming is not permitted.

 

AJ

 

Saw that with a friend's phone.  TMobile in the city limits at my house, no coverage message showed up on his phone but with signal bars.  I assumed this was due to them blocking roaming on AT&T.  When we were in Alexandria, LA TMobile doesn't have any coverage in this area at all.  His phone showed Roaming or Extended or something like that and worked.

[dmplus]

No, not necessarily.  For financial or political reasons, T-Mobile and/or AT&T block roaming on the other in many LACs.  In plenty of locations -- both in market and out of market -- T-Mobile has no native coverage, AT&T does have native coverage, but roaming is not permitted.

 

AJ

There are areas that t-mobile does have good coverage (even some 4g/lte) that roaming is allowed and if you force your phone to UMTS 850 (or 1900 in non-refarmed areas), you'll pop right up on ATT.  Now almost no one ever roams in these cases (and maybe that's why they don't bother to block it) so it's not terribly noteworthy.  I've always tried to figure out how those two carriers decide on their roaming rules, but I've long given up because it really makes no sense.  It's not like there's a PRL one can wade through and make sense of anyways.