T-Mobile LTE & Network Discussion

[Conan Kudo]

Someone should tweet this to LiARgere.

 

Edit: kinda forgot the img.

Err, Sprint hasn't confirmed this, nor has Apple. In fact, they've said that T-Mobile and EE are the only carriers with it, even now.

 

That seems kind of fishy. It's a feature in iOS 8 - why would it be restricted to just one carrier in the U.S.? Especially restricted to the carrier with the smallest number of iPhone subscribers?

 

It seems like an awful lot of work for Apple to engineer a Wifi calling option for one network.

 

They did it for GSM/UMTS/LTE networks. T-Mobile US and EE are the first. Orange and Deutsche Telekom are huge supporters of the technology. I expect Telefónica to be next, as they would hugely benefit from it in Latin America.

 

"Proprietary T-Mobile technology" i.e. frequency bands.

 

The proprietary technology is likely to do with the patents they hold on adaptive traffic shaping for specialized services over non-controlled networks.

 

I'll say, though. This event was kind of weak. Wi-Fi enhancements are cool, and eSRVCC enhancements to add Wi-Fi radio continuity are nice. The Gogo partnership is good too. But it still wasn't much. Nothing like the earlier events...

[NateC]

Yeah..  this announcement was kind of a let down.  Sprint has provided the airave for free for a while.  WiFi calling? Everyone is doing that....

 

From what I can tell, the new feature with T-Mobile's WiFi calling is that they're implementing seamless handovers between VoLTE and WiFi calls.

[NateC]

Someone should tweet this to LiARgere.

 

Edit: kinda forgot the img.

 

You cannot trust a statement from a CSR.

[EvanA]

The proprietary technology is likely to do with the patents they hold on adaptive traffic shaping for specialized services over non-controlled networks.

That's called QoS.. been around for ages

 

From what I can tell, the new feature with T-Mobile's WiFi calling is that they're implementing seamless handovers between VoLTE and WiFi calls.

That effects how many devices? Only few android phones and the new iPhone support VoLTE right now.  They even said in the Q&A that only 3mil customers take advantage of VoLTE right now.  Plus republic wireless has done seamless handoff between WiFi and CDMA for a while now.

[jamisonshaw125]

Err, Sprint hasn't confirmed this, nor has Apple. In fact, they've said that T-Mobile and EE are the only carriers with it, even now.

 

True. Just wishful thinking then?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone 5s using Tapatalk

[Conan Kudo]

True. Just wishful thinking then?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone 5s using Tapatalk

Since Apple is using a mix of GAN and IMS technology (which is how it's supporting seamlessness), it makes sense that only T-Mobile and EE are capable. T-Mobile USA helped invent the technology along with Orange UK. Orange UK is now part of EE, so they are equipped to support it. Both Orange and Deutsche Telekom are huge proponents of GAN+IMS technology, and they've been working on rolling it out throughout their footprint. I expect to see Telefónica in the future.

 

It's unlikely that Sprint's brand of Wi-Fi Calling will be supported on iPhones anytime soon. It uses a slightly different protocol, different codecs, and some other mechanisms that are alien to the version used by other operators around the world.

[Paynefanbro]

People don't seem too happy or excited. http://www.tmonews.com/2014/09/uncarrier-7-0-wi-fi-unleashed-wi-fi-calling-and-texting-for-every-simple-choice-customer-from-anywhere/

[milan03]

To me this was a major announcement. Being able to seamlessly handoff VoLTE calls to WiFi and vice versa is HUGE! Considering that they have VoLTE covering 234million pops, this is big.

 

They also offer free phone replacement if your existing device isn't VoLTE/WiFi calling capable. And a FREE 802.11ac ASUS 3x3 MIMO router with proprietary QoS firmware that will prioritize voice packets within the WiFi environment, kind of similar to what LTE scheduler does in VoLTE.

 

I'm a happy camper

[reedacus25]

People don't seem too happy or excited. http://www.tmonews.com/2014/09/uncarrier-7-0-wi-fi-unleashed-wi-fi-calling-and-texting-for-every-simple-choice-customer-from-anywhere/

I'm very disappointed. I was hoping for a femto cell solution. The rest of this stuff isn't new or groundbreaking for me at least.

 

Yes I can handoff a volte call to wifi once I get my iPhone 6, but what good does that do me at home when I don't get LTE inside? I must end all calls before leaving home on a wifi call or have them ended for me! Femto solves this.

 

The exclusive period on jump is a way to get people to sign up for jump. Jump, while being a great service in my eyes, does not benefit me as an AppleCare+ buyer, and would be excess cash thrown at T-Mobile.

 

Very excited about the GoGo. I've used some airline wifi before and really enjoyed the iMessage possibilities, but it will be neat to have full SMS as well.

[Paynefanbro]

Actually, I think that they said they're offering the free upgrade if your phone isn't WiFi Calling capable, not VoLTE. That's only a small percentage of their customers. If it was also VoLTE, that'd mean a ton of people coming from mid range and low end devices to SGS5 and Note 3's and such.

 

And the glorified WiFi router is not of much interest to me.

[Paynefanbro]

And WiFi calling on Sprint sounds pretty similar to HD Voice in my experience.

[milan03]

Actually, I think that they said they're offering the free upgrade if your phone isn't WiFi Calling capable, not VoLTE. That's only a small percentage of their customers. 

Sure, but your new phone that they'll offer will most likely have VoLTE enabled as well. That's big.

[Conan Kudo]

 

I'm very disappointed. I was hoping for a femto cell solution. The rest of this stuff isn't new or groundbreaking for me at least.

Yes I can handoff a volte call to wifi once I get my iPhone 6, but what good does that do me at home when I don't get LTE inside? I must end all calls before leaving home on a wifi call or have them ended for me! Femto solves this.

The exclusive period on jump is a way to get people to sign up for jump. Jump, while being a great service in my eyes, does not benefit me as an AppleCare+ buyer, and would be excess cash thrown at T-Mobile.

Very excited about the GoGo. I've used some airline wifi before and really enjoyed the iMessage possibilities, but it will be neat to have full SMS as well.

Actually, your calls would hand back up to LTE once you leave Wi-Fi. It's not one-way, it's two-way. And after the upgrade, you don't have the keep JUMP! In fact, you can remove it after your upgrade is complete (you just lose the ability to JUMP! again the same way in 12 months). Given that most people want a new iPhone every year, the likelihood of people removing JUMP! after completing an upgrade is very low.

[milan03]

Yeah and on another note, this is also a huge incentive for operators deploying this technology, as they're offloading macro sites to WiFi, essentially handing all those resources back to the network for much better outdoor reuse. Accessing outdoor macro in an indoor environment, most likely with poor SINR/RSRQ will certainly diminish the spectral efficiency of any LTE network, let alone mid/high band one.

 

Obviously deploying small cells, or DAS for indoor use is one way for tackling this issue. What T-Mobile is trying to do is much more cost effective.

This is a heavy incentive for T-Mobile subscribers to use that WiFi connection (they're paying for anyway) while in the indoor environment, as the user experience gets better for everyone.

[jbom]

WiFi called tonight with my partner while he was leaving work. The voice quality was just incredible, he sounded better than a Skype to Skype call. It was as if he was in the room with me. 

[jbom]

That can't be true....

 

CTO Neville Ray's words at 01:01:00 from the Q&A: " [...] You can seamlessly hand off to that WiFi environment. It's very new ... You heard form the Apple guys what they're doing. They're the first to move with us on that capability"

Edited September 11, 2014 by jbom

[Rawvega]

Perhaps I missed something, but reading this here:

 

http://bgr.com/2014/09/10/t-mobile-wifi-unleashed-announcement/

 

 

The big news here is that T-Mobile’s WiFi calling and texting features will work on any WiFi connection, anywhere in the world. 

 

Except for the iPhone, didn't T-Mobile already have this? 

[Conan Kudo]

Perhaps I missed something, but reading this here:

 

http://bgr.com/2014/09/10/t-mobile-wifi-unleashed-announcement/

 

 

Except for the iPhone, didn't T-Mobile already have this? 

It did have this. The new thing is that seamless cellular/Wi-Fi handover is being re-introduced (using a mix of GAN and IMS technology). Over the next few weeks, most (if not all) T-Mobile Android and Windows Phones will receive updates to support the new version of Wi-Fi calling technology. The iPhone is gaining that feature as part of its implementation of Wi-Fi calling in iOS 8, too.

 

BGR is kind of stupid...

[milan03]

If anyone is interested, there is a video of the event: http://www.media-server.com/m/p/jdkrhz3d

 

Neville Ray portion is really what's worth watching.

[Yuhfhrh]

The WiFi to LTE phone call hand offs are exciting to see. Way to go T-Mobile!!! 

[kineticman]

If anyone is interested, there is a video of the event: http://www.media-server.com/m/p/jdkrhz3d

 

Neville Ray portion is really what's worth watching.

 

Everytime I see Neville Ray's name, I think of Aaron Neville and his o' so sweet singing voice.

 

[WiWavelength]

Everytime I see Neville Ray's name, I think of Aaron Neville and his o' so sweet singing voice.

 

"I don't know much…but I know I love you."

 

That sums up how most Magentans think and feel about T-Mobile.

 

AJ

[Deval]

I read somewhere though the handoffs only worked from WiFi <-> LTE, not WiFi <-> 3G, correct? 

[joshuam]

I read somewhere though the handoffs only worked from WiFi <-> LTE, not WiFi <-> 3G, correct?

Correct... voice over LTE required

 

Sent from my Galaxy S5 on the Sprint Network

[coorsleftfield]

Which means you can forget walking out of a building and have handoff work, because TMO almost never has LTE coverage inside a building. It's going to be a race to see if the phone can connect to LTE when you step outside before it loses connection to wifi.