Network Vision/LTE - Buffalo Market

[vtimmy13]

Yes there Is lol u just have to go to those areas almost daily like I did 4 work over summer

[ajr0203]

So I've noticed that I have been roaming less and less as time goes on. There haven't been any updates in the areas that I frequent so I'm just curious as to why this is. I'm not complaining by any means, but I haven't roamed in over a month now in areas that I used to constantly roam, and I have noticed much better data speeds.  Anyone have any idea how this is possible? Perhaps Robert hasn't received updates for my neck of the woods? Thoughts?

[DelRioBuff]

I live in Orchard Park and about a month ago I received a text from Sprint that they were building an "all new network" in Orchard Park to improve 3G service and "enable 4G." Now I don't know what that means in terms of a timeline before I actually see LTE, but I hope it's not too much longer. What I have noticed so far is that 3G has improved dramatically. I used to get download speeds in the 800-1000 kbps range a month or two ago. Now I am seeing speeds in the 2.1-2.4 Mbps range in the mornings and it only drops to 1.4-1.7 Mbps during the day. Not bad. I work in the Amherst (RidgeLea/NFB) area and speeds have improved greatly there as well. A month ago, 3G was useless there for most of the day. Now I can stream Pandora all day with few hiccups. Needless to say, Sprint is doing something. My hope is that in the areas where I'm seeing these increased speeds Sprint has also put in their 4G equipment and just has not flipped the switch yet, and maybe we'll see more widespread LTE coverage soon.

[vtimmy13]

Hi del welcome to s4gru... I can tell u there is much work going on in buffalo and since u already noticed it urself ill tell u there has been work in orchard park.. if u consider becoming a sponser u can see a cool updated map on all sprint network work in america.. including if the tower closest to ur house has been updated... ur tower sounds like if it has 3g work done and is waiting on additional backhaul to be able to run 4g! Become a sponser if u want to see it all for urself.

I live in Orchard Park and about a month ago I received a text from Sprint that they were building an "all new network" in Orchard Park to improve 3G service and "enable 4G." Now I don't know what that means in terms of a timeline before I actually see LTE, but I hope it's not too much longer. What I have noticed so far is that 3G has improved dramatically. I used to get download speeds in the 800-1000 kbps range a month or two ago. Now I am seeing speeds in the 2.1-2.4 Mbps range in the mornings and it only drops to 1.4-1.7 Mbps during the day. Not bad. I work in the Amherst (RidgeLea/NFB) area and speeds have improved greatly there as well. A month ago, 3G was useless there for most of the day. Now I can stream Pandora all day with few hiccups. Needless to say, Sprint is doing something. My hope is that in the areas where I'm seeing these increased speeds Sprint has also put in their 4G equipment and just has not flipped the switch yet, and maybe we'll see more widespread LTE coverage soon.

[ajr0203]

You beat me to it, vtimmy lol. I'm really hoping to start seeing some updates for the Niagara Falls area soon.

[DelRioBuff]

So I made a small donation and checked out the maps. What's the difference between a tower marked purple (4G) and one marked yellow (3G/4G)?

[ajr0203]

So I made a small donation and checked out the maps. What's the difference between a tower marked purple (4G) and one marked yellow (3G/4G)?

A purple(4G) tower has lte upgraded but still has legacy 3G. A yellow(3G/4G) tower has both the 3G NV upgrades and lte upgrades

[DelRioBuff]

Thanks. Interesting. Seems weird that Sprint would upgrade a tower with LTE and not bring 3G along for the ride. I suppose there's a method to their madness...

[DelRioBuff]

Also, I can assume that all of the red (3G) towers have received their 3G NV upgrades, right? If so, is there any way to know (or is it known) that they have also received 4G upgrades, but are just not broadcasting LTE yet?

[ajr0203]

Yes you would be correct to assume that. All red markers are 3G NV accepted sites. As far as knowing about if any of them have lte and not broadcasting I'm not entirely sure. You could always check the sensorly map here:http://s4gru.com/index.php?/topic/4145-sprint-lte-coverage-maps-via-sensorly/ for knowing where people have gotten lte signals.

[ajr0203]

By the way DelRioBuff, I seemed to have forgotten my manners, welcome to the s4gru club

[DelRioBuff]

Thanks for the welcome!

[DelRioBuff]

NIce to see some new 4G towers up: In Hamburg and Angola along Route 5. The latest NV Site Complete update also shows a 4G tower near the Village of Hamburg. I (and others did too, apparently) did some mapping on Sensorly. I got 33 Mbps down on one tower. Awesome! I really hope some more 4g shows up soon!

[vtimmy13]

except i keep gettin angry cause fredonia n south keep gettin the updates!! come on!

[joshnys8913]

I saw that! I am glad!! Every time I passed though there is was 1X and that was last month (2013 we are talking!!) VERY frustrating (on I-90) from south Buffalo all the way to NY-PA line!!  

[DelRioBuff]

I agree! There's an awful decrease in the number of NV updates north of the 90-400 merge as well.

except i keep gettin angry cause fredonia n south keep gettin the updates!! come on!

[AdmiralSirJohn]

Well, they've finally brought 3G to the Jamestown area with an upgrade to the Lakewood/West Ellicott tower, but the downtown Jamestown tower is still stuck in 2G land.  Still, my phone did indicate 4G a few days ago just down the street from my apartment, and there was 4G in the parking lot of Lucille Ball Memorial Park in Celoron, so I'm hoping the area will go 4G soon.

[DelRioBuff]

Well I picked up a pretty decent 4G signal this morning on US-219 between Milestrip Road and I-90, so we likely have a new 4G live site up. I will try to map on Sensorly tonight on my way home.

[DelRioBuff]

Last night I picked up LTE signals from Exit 55 on I-90 to the Orchard Park exit on US-219. I mapped it on Sensorly, though others may have beaten me to it. In any case, it's nice to see more purple on the map!

[vtimmy13]

Looks like 4g is coming for christmas... lol hopefully... but taking major strides with all this 4g lighting up today in the report and maps

[vtimmy13]

i want to find out if those towers in amherst ny (suburb of buffalo with 990 running through it are gmos or full builds anyone wanna help!?

[DelRioBuff]

I work in Amherst. How do you tell if a tower is a GMO or otherwise?

[vtimmy13]

I like there... when I'm not in college... I live like 2 mins from crosspoint... or 6 from ub

[DelRioBuff]

Very disappointed in the lack of any recent upgrades in the area. The optimist in me, however, is hoping that one day soon we'll see a wave of site acceptances and get more widespread 4G...

[ajr0203]

I was just thinking the same thing delrio