T-Mobile LTE & Network Discussion

[Yuhfhrh]

6:3

 

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

2:1? lol

 

Edit: Faint memory of their being 10 slots, and 1 can't be used?

[bigsnake49]

2:1? lol

 

Edit: Faint memory of their being 10 slots, and 1 can't be used?

Yes, the slot that can be used is the one that provides the separation between the download and upload.

[EvanA]

http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/t-mobile-focus-1900-mhz-lte-deployment-expand-network-footprint/2014-09-24

 

Looks like T-Mobile won't be replacing antennae for their rural LTE deployment.  This will speed it up significantly.

[transitwatch889]

The better there network gets the more pressure sprint has to execute. This sounds good. It's efficient use of what they have and can always go back to upgrade further when need arises.

http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/t-mobile-focus-1900-mhz-lte-deployment-expand-network-footprint/2014-09-24

 

Looks like T-Mobile won't be replacing antennae for their rural LTE deployment.  This will speed it up significantly.

[S4GRU]

Tmo going GMO LTE on PCS in rural areas?  That's rich!  In Ericsson areas it will be exceptionally primo!

 

I hope they aren't going to do this in Band 12 areas too.  Outside of B12, this is almost understandable as a stop gap while waiting.  But using PCS spectrum only, they really need the benefit of 4x2 MIMO.  And with a GMO setup, I don't think that's going to happen.

[S4GRU]

The better there network gets the more pressure sprint has to execute. This sounds good. It's efficient use of what they have and can always go back to upgrade further when need arises.

 

This will be zero pressure on Sprint.  Sprint rural LTE is full build, very little GMO LTE.  Also, Sprint will have Band 26 in these areas where Tmo will be deploying PCS GMO LTE.  It will be a dog in comparison, with significant coverage shortfalls.  It just goes to show you what Tmo thinks of the rurals.  It doesn't.

 

It's almost as if Tmo really only wants B12 for its urban customers too.

[lilotimz]

Tmo going GMO LTE on PCS in rural areas?  That's rich!  In Ericsson areas it will be exceptionally primo!

 

I hope they aren't going to do this in Band 12 areas too.  Outside of B12, this is almost understandable as a stop gap while waiting.  But using PCS spectrum only, they really need the benefit of 4x2 MIMO.  And with a GMO setup, I don't think that's going to happen.

 

RBS 6000s and RRUS12 B2s is what they're going to be using along with Nokia Flexi 1900s. No 4x2 MIMO or structural modifications. 

[S4GRU]

RBS 6000s and RRUS12 B2s is what they're going to be using and Nokia Flexi 1900s. No 4x2 MIMO. 

 

Yep.  And with a GMO antenna setup, it will be weak.  We have seen the GMO LTE mess at Sprint, and that's why very few sites are being run that way.  Especially with Ericsson.  Some will only work a few blocks.

[lilotimz]

Yep.  And with a GMO antenna setup, it will be weak.  We have seen the GMO LTE mess at Sprint, and that's why very sites are being run that way.  Especially with Ericsson.  Some will only work a few blocks.

 

But it's T-Mobile! The amazing T-mobile engineers will always do better than shitty sprint! It will be amazing coverage and speeds unlike the shit Sprint is doing because the management is lead by the greatest CEO of the 21st century Legere! 

 

/s

[WiWavelength]

Somewhere, a psychology grad student is writing a dissertation on this newly observed condition called "T-Mobile fanboi hypocrisy."

 

Read the comments to the Fierce Wireless article.  Commenters are actually excited about inadequate PCS only ground mount rural sites.  If Sprint had followed the same plan, they would be attacking it with knives.

 

AJ

[cdk]

But it's T-Mobile! The amazing T-mobile engineers will always do better than shitty sprint! It will be amazing coverage and speeds unlike the shit Sprint is doing because the management is lead by the greatest CEO of the 21st century Legere! 

 

/s

 

You forgot to include the #Uncarrier

[EvanA]

Somewhere, a psychology grad student is writing a dissertation on this newly observed condition called "T-Mobile fanboi hypocrisy."

 

Read the comments to the Fierce Wireless article.  Commenters are actually excited about inadequate PCS only ground mount rural sites.  If Sprint had followed the same plan, they would be attacking it with knives.

 

AJ

They'll learn quickly what it means....

[sbolen]

They'll learn quickly what it means....

They would need to return to an urban core to leave a comment on fierce wireless, though.

[Destroyallcubes]

Yep.  And with a GMO antenna setup, it will be weak.  We have seen the GMO LTE mess at Sprint, and that's why very few sites are being run that way.  Especially with Ericsson.  Some will only work a few blocks.

But they only work a few blocks here with antenna mounted RRUS...I'd had to see what more loss from a ground mounted radio for T-Mobile would be like. 

[milan03]

Yep.  And with a GMO antenna setup, it will be weak.  We have seen the GMO LTE mess at Sprint, and that's why very few sites are being run that way.  Especially with Ericsson.  Some will only work a few blocks.

Well, I guess we'll have to wait and see, but it looks like T-Mobile is serious about their backhaul at those rural sites which is already admirable by all means.

 

Also, Ericsson's been meeting previous contractual obligations and deployment deadlines just fine on other Tier 1 operators as those are already moving into the next stage of advanced deployment with Ericsson, and extending their contracts. There definitely seems to be a disconnect when it comes to their relationship with Sprint though.

 

I think this is going to work out just fine with GMO, but we shall see. Definitely nice to see LTE-Advanced talk as well.

[S4GRU]

Well, I guess we'll have to wait and see, but it looks like they're serious about the backhaul at those rural sites which is already admirable. Also, Ericsson's been meeting previous contractual obligations and deployment deadlines just fine on other Tier 1 operators. There seems to be a disconnect when it comes to their relationship with Sprint though.

 

I think this is going to work out just fine with GMO, but we shall see.

Oh, the improved backhaul will be nice. It's not all bad news. And where you get the signal, it will be nice to have LTE.

 

As for Ericsson, I don't know anyone who praises them. They suck. And it's not just a Sprint thing. They are everyone's weakest OEM.

 

Robert via Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

[bretton88]

Yep. And with a GMO antenna setup, it will be weak. We have seen the GMO LTE mess at Sprint, and that's why very few sites are being run that way. Especially with Ericsson. Some will only work a few blocks.

This explains why they haven't turned on any LTE on the GMOs here in eastern iowa. I thought that would be a good alternative until a full replacement occurs, but if you say it is more of a mess then maybe it's OK they aren't lighting LTE on the GMOs here.

[milan03]

Oh, the improved backhaul will be nice. It's not all bad news. And where you get the signal, it will be nice to have LTE.

 

As for Ericsson, I don't know anyone who praises them. They suck. And it's not just a Sprint thing. They are everyone's weakest OEM.

 

Robert via Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Considering that Verizon/AT&T/T-Mobile are all sticking with Ericsson by extending their contracts, it's fair to assume that they seem to be satisfied with that vendor. Ericsson is maintaining humongous contracts with the big two, fully completed the initial deployment phase, moving into the next phase. Same with T-Mobile. If anything, I'd think that ALU Verizon/AT&T markets tend to perform worse than their Ericsson markets, based on third party research as well as my own findings.

 

Do we actually know where does that disconnect come from in their relationship with Sprint? To be completely honest, it's still a mystery to me.

[S4GRU]

This explains why they haven't turned on any LTE on the GMOs here in eastern iowa. I thought that would be a good alternative until a full replacement occurs, but if you say it is more of a mess then maybe it's OK they aren't lighting LTE on the GMOs here.

My Samsung contact recently told me that Sprint officially poo-pooed LTE GMO's in early 2013 when they were not performing as well as they hoped. Now they only do LTE GMO's when deemed critical and they are prohibited from upgrading the site to full build because of a reason outside their control.

 

I always thought it would be good to fire up every site as a LTE GMO. And then convert to full build later when ready. And when I talk with OEM's and Integration techs they all unanimously say LTE GMO's are awful. And they should be avoided at all costs. And this is not just limited to Ericsson.

 

Robert via Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

[S4GRU]

Considering that Verizon/AT&T/T-Mobile are all sticking with Ericsson by extending their contracts, it's fair to assume that they seem to be satisfied with that vendor. Ericsson is maintaining humongous contracts with the big two, fully completed the initial deployment phase, moving into the next phase. Same with T-Mobile. If anything, I'd think that ALU Verizon/AT&T markets tend to perform worse than their Ericsson markets, based on third party research as well as my own findings.

 

Do we actually know where does that disconnect come from in their relationship with Sprint? To be completely honest, it's still a mystery to me.

I contend you're wrong. The fact they have not fired Ericsson is not sufficient evidence that everything is good and it's just Sprint's fault. You can't sell that kind of crap here, Milan. Yet Samsung, Nokia and ALU will be able to overcome how shitty Sprint is. Amazing! And Sprint has more of a relationship with Ericsson than any of their other vendors. Yes...I'm sure it's Sprint's fault.

 

I talk with folks that work with Ericsson and other providers. And other OEM's. And I even hear often of Ericsson employees bashing Ericsson. They all suffer with Ericsson more often than other vendors. Even Neal will give you a laundry list of Ericsson issues at Tmo. Ericsson sucks. I'm convinced of it.

 

Robert via Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

[MacinJosh]

My Samsung contact recently told me that Sprint officially poo-pooed LTE GMO's in early 2013 when they were not performing as well as they hoped. Now they only do LTE GMO's when deemed critical and they are prohibited from upgrading the site to full build because of a reason outside their control.

 

I always thought it would be good to fire up every site as a LTE GMO. And then convert to full build later when ready. And when I talk with OEM's and Integration techs they all unanimously say LTE GMO's are awful. And they should be avoided at all costs. And this is not just limited to Ericsson.

 

Robert via Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Speaking of LTE conversions, it appears, but I need to get pics when I go back to Visalia, that Sprint is converting another GMO site to full builds on the I-15 corridor between the Nevada border and Barstow, CA.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone 5S using Tapatalk

[lilotimz]

I contend you're wrong. The fact they have not fired Ericsson is not sufficient evidence that everything is good and it's just Sprint's fault. You can't sell that kind of crap here, Milan. Yet Samsung, Nokia and ALU will be able to overcome how shitty Sprint is. Amazing! And Sprint has more of a relationship with Ericsson than any of their other vendors. Yes...I'm sure it's Sprint's fault.

 

I talk with folks that work with Ericsson and other providers. And other OEM's. And I even hear often of Ericsson employees bashing Ericsson. They all suffer with Ericsson more often than other vendors. Even Neal will give you a laundry list of Ericsson issues at Tmo. Ericsson sucks. I'm convinced of it.

 

Robert via Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

Note*

 

The day Softbank bought out Sprint in July 2013 they immediately began the 65 mhz project to replace all Ericsson RRUS11 B25s with newly designed Ericsson JPN RRUS31s.

[milan03]

I contend you're wrong. The fact they have not fired Ericsson is not sufficient evidence that everything is good and it's just Sprint's fault. You can't sell that kind of crap here, Milan. Yet Samsung, Nokia and ALU will be able to overcome how shitty Sprint is. And Sprint has more of a relationship with Ericsson than any of their other vendors. Yes...I'm sure it's Sprint's fault.

 

I talk with folks that work with Ericsson and other providers. And other OEM's. And I even hear often if Ericsson employees bashing Ericsson. They all suffer with Ericsson more often than other vendors. Even Neal will give you a laundry list of Ericsson issues at Tmo. Ericsson sucks. I'm convinced of it.

 

Robert via Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Robert, I'm not selling anything here. And I never said that it's Sprint's fault. I'm literally presenting what's (at least to me) very obvious, based on my observations of the wireless marketplace. 

 

Ericsson holds contractual agreements with both Verizon and AT&T. Along with ALU, they've been successfully meeting their deadlines over the past 3 years, helping the duopoly deploy ~50% of their nationwide LTE coverage. The duopoly has only two vendors, and they seem to be sticking with them. That alone speak volumes.

 

I'm not trying to argue that Ericsson is or isn't the most incredible vendor out there. Most likely isn't, but good enough to be able to satisfy duopoly+T-Mobile, to the point where they're all re-signing their contracts. Also, as I've mentioned earlier, Alcatel-Lucent Verizon/AT&T markets seem to be much less efficient when it comes to overall performance including MIMO utilization among other parameters.

 

I totally respect your sources and your valuable posts, Robert, I'm just trying to learn more about this Sprint+Ericsson bag of hurt that I simply can't understand, and no one seems to be able to fully explain this to me in any logical way.

[S4GRU]

Robert, I'm not selling anything here. I'm literally presenting what's (at least to me) very obvious, based on my observations of the wireless marketplace.

 

Ericsson holds contractual agreements with with both Verizon and AT&T. Along with ALU, they've been delivering over the past 3 years helping the duopoly deploy ~50% of their nationwide LTE coverage. The duopoly has only two vendors, and they seem to be sticking with it. That speaks volume.

 

I'm not trying to argue that Ericsson is or isn't the most incredible vendor out there. Most likely isn't, but good enough to be able to satisfy duopoly+T-Mobile, to the point where they're all re-signing their contracts. Also, as I've mentioned earlier, Alcatel-Lucent Verizon/AT&T markets seem to be much less efficient when it comes to overall performance including MIMO utilization among others.

 

I totally respect your sources and your valuable posts, Robert, I'm just trying to learn more about this Sprint+Ericsson bag of hurt that I simply can't understand, and no one seems to be able to fully explain this to me in any logical way.

I've been having a great sidebar conversation with Neal on Google Hangouts. He has corroborated that Tmo also suffers with Ericsson significantly. He also noted that Tmo took the entire Southeast US from Ericsson because of issues. So Ericsson is the common denominator here. Not Sprint.

 

Neal speculates that Ericsson keeps AT&T happy at everyone else's expense. And there may be some truth to that.

 

Robert via Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

[milan03]

I've been having a great sidebar conversation with Neal on Google Hangouts. He has corroborated that Tmo also suffers with Ericsson significantly. He also noted that Tmo took the entire Southeast US from Ericsson because of issues. So Ericsson is the common denominator here. Not Sprint.

 

Neal speculates that Ericsson keeps AT&T happy at everyone else's expense. And there may be some truth to that.

 

Robert via Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

There is also a Verizon. They've successfully delivered a massive footprint there in a pretty admirable fashion.

And now T-Mobile re-signing, two years after their initial deal. And we know how rapid they've deployed there.