Jump to content

Network Vision/LTE - Dakotas Market (including Fargo, Grand Forks, Alexandria MN)


mozamcrew

Recommended Posts

ok guys im in the Denver area and will be going to Sturgis next year and looking at the maps im a bit discouraged.

Obviously thats a long ways away and things are changing by the minute so just like some info on what service is like there now.

 

However im wondering what swiftell is?

I read on here that sprint is building new towers and if they are do we know where?

 

Thanks

Jeff

Swiftel is just in far Eastern South Dakota and NW Iowa (Sioux Falls, Sioux City, Brookings). Western South Dakota (Rapid City, Sturgis, Black Hills) has no Sprint service at all. None. You will roam on Verizon 1x in this area.

 

There are rumors that Sprint is building out service in some places in North Dakota. But that is unsubstantiated. I can tell you without any doubt that Sprint has not started building anything in Western South Dakota.

 

Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ironically, after my post yesterday, I saw digging equipment by a Sprint tower that I drive by everyday. I am hoping that is for the fiber backhaul?

It sure sounds like it. :fingers:

 

Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Swiftel is just in far Eastern South Dakota and NW Iowa (Sioux Falls, Sioux City, Brookings). Western South Dakota (Rapid City, Sturgis, Black Hills) has no Sprint service at all. None. You will roam on Verizon 1x in this area.

 

There are rumors that Sprint is building out service in some places in North Dakota. But that is unsubstantiated. I can tell you without any doubt that Sprint has not started building anything in Western South Dakota.

 

Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

thanks Robert.

I figured Verizon was there. It's amazing how they are freaking everywhere.

 

I was just hoping for at least data in Sturgis. Oh well. Well maybe in a year they will have service.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

I just got home tonight. From what I can tell, all three around Fergus plus the one to the east in Underwood is out. The site by Battle Lake was still up though, as was the one up I94 between Fergus and Rothsay. I'm curious as well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I called today as well and was told they were doing some kind of tower upgrade here and would be done tomorrow. There are at least 4 of them down though. At least there were last night.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I seen people on the tower on Stanton today. Good things coming perhaps?

Well I don't have any signal from it now, so I hope so. I keep bouncing between the one north of town, roaming, and occasionally 1x800 from Underwood. Does anyone know who the NV backhaul vendor is for that tower? If it's Century link, why not just move the whole thing to the empty site in the CenturyLink parking lot!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well I don't have any signal from it now, so I hope so. I keep bouncing between the one north of town, roaming, and occasionally 1x800 from Underwood. Does anyone know who the NV backhaul vendor is for that tower? If it's Century link, why not just move the whole thing to the

empty site in the CenturyLink parking lot!

⬆⬆⬆ Edited by tyvarga
Link to comment
Share on other sites

That tower has been down since last Friday. There has to be a reason

 

Acutally I was able to use it both Wed and Thursday night. Both nights it came back on about 8pm. It just wasn't up during the day.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Still 1x

Unless you are running Signal Check, your phone won't tell you you are on 800Mhz now. It will still just say 1x. You might notice improved signal inside buildings though. I don't think they have any LTE on that site yet.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

So, the last few weeks i have been excited seeing crews putting new panels on towers in Grand Forks, and crews laying fiber.

But yesterday, I was talking to Sprint reps, and they said there is a holdup now with everything because of some issues with the FCC and the Canadian border.

I have seen some forum topics on Canadian IBEZ, and seen the map of it here, but I have'nt read anything that really explains it, or what it means to anyone in it.

Grand Forks is about 78 miles from the border.

So, my questions are:

1. Is this normal procedure that needs to run its course.

2. AT&T, Verizon have LTE here with seemingly no problem.

3. Will Spark ever be able to be here, or are some of the bands the problem.

 

Just hoping for some light at the end of the tunnel. thanks for any info.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If my memory is correct ibez deals with 800mhz only. You should be able to get LTE on 1900 and 2600. I thought sprint already had PCS only panels they were using for the Canada ibez. Someone might of screwed up and had the wrong panels to install and didn't think before they shipped them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So, the last few weeks i have been excited seeing crews putting new panels on towers in Grand Forks, and crews laying fiber.

But yesterday, I was talking to Sprint reps, and they said there is a holdup now with everything because of some issues with the FCC and the Canadian border.

I have seen some forum topics on Canadian IBEZ, and seen the map of it here, but I have'nt read anything that really explains it, or what it means to anyone in it.

Grand Forks is about 78 miles from the border.

So, my questions are:

1. Is this normal procedure that needs to run its course.

3. Will Spark ever be able to be here, or are some of the bands the problem.

 

 

First: stop listening to the reps. 

Second I think this explains it very well. 

http://s4gru.com/index.php?/topic/1704-frequently-asked-questions/?p=305867

 

 

GLOSSARY OF S4GRU TERMS         IBEZ = International Boundary Exclusion Zone

This refers to the roughly 70 mile area from the Canadian and Mexican borders (there's varying accounts of the actual area, but 70 miles is what I've seen the most of). The US and Canada / Mexico must reach an agreement for the use of the 800 MHz SMR spectrum that Sprint owns before Sprint can fully deploy that spectrum, otherwise there will be interference with the owners of the same spectrum on the other side of the border (Telus Mike on the Canadian side). The SMR (800 MHz) spectrum is what Sprint obtained from Nextel and is far better at building penetration and traveling distances than the 1.9 ghz PCS spectrum Sprint operates on now.          

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So, the last few weeks i have been excited seeing crews putting new panels on towers in Grand Forks, and crews laying fiber.

But yesterday, I was talking to Sprint reps, and they said there is a holdup now with everything because of some issues with the FCC and the Canadian border.

I have seen some forum topics on Canadian IBEZ, and seen the map of it here, but I have'nt read anything that really explains it, or what it means to anyone in it.

Grand Forks is about 78 miles from the border.

So, my questions are:

1. Is this normal procedure that needs to run its course.

2. AT&T, Verizon have LTE here with seemingly no problem.

3. Will Spark ever be able to be here, or are some of the bands the problem.

 

Just hoping for some light at the end of the tunnel. thanks for any info.

 

 

The IBEZ affects 800 LTE deployment only. It will not affect PCS/1900 LTE deployment, or Spark deployment if/when that happens.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

First: stop listening to the reps. 

Second I think this explains it very well. 

http://s4gru.com/index.php?/topic/1704-frequently-asked-questions/?p=305867

I have learned to not listen to them when they try fill me full of sunshine and lollipops, but when they have some potentially bad news, that caught my attention.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.


  • large.unreadcontent.png.6ef00db54e758d06

  • gallery_1_23_9202.png

  • Posts

    • I see everything correct. The two ARFCN's you mentioned earlier and they idenitify as n-41.  using 4.832b SCP. Only using one TM SIM.
    • I posted this in the Nebraska Premier thread last week, but just wanted to share in this thread the progress that T-Mobile has made in filling in the great coverage gap known as Nebraska. Between late last year and this year, they have added 28 new expansion sites filling in the coverage hole, plus 11 Sprint site conversions in eastern Nebraska and far western Iowa. Notably, in the last month n41 coverage was added on over a dozen expansion sites in western Nebraska that were added to the network last year. For comparison, here is the very first map that I created in October of 2022 after we noted expansion sites outside of Sprint conversion in Lincoln and Omaha. It doesn't show any western parts of the state, but just know there was nothing besides roaming coverage and a little B12 coverage leaking down from South Dakota to the west of Valentine, NE.
    • Sent a copy of my DB in an e-mail just now.  Couldn't leave the house today but can hopefully get a screenshot when I'm out on another cell site tomorrow.
    • 76MB Google Play System update after that, bringing the date up to 3/1 from prior 2/1 date. 
    • April security patch is already out - 738.30 MB download. 
  • Recently Browsing

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...