Sprint improves coverage in Eastern MI

[legion125]

Although post on the wall about Grand Rapids & western MI being slated for NV for the second round, it looks like Sprint has made some 3G improvements for the Detroit area. There were a lot of complaints coming from the metro area about poor service. Now it looks like things will be improving on the 3G side. Anybody see a difference?

 

http://newsroom.sprint.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=2202

[S4GRU]

Ericsson has bought band-aids in bulk for use on the Sprint network.

[MacinJosh]

Ericsson has bought band-aids in bulk for use on the Sprint network.

 

Band-aids!

[legion125]

In some places a tourniquet.

[Sgt. Slaughter]

Surprising they are still having these releases done...

 

How much trouble would it be to just add the microwave/fiber backhaul to these towers getting bandaid bundled T1 patches instead of the T1 lines? I mean for the T1 lines in many cases they have to be new lines run anyway so to my outside perspective it makes more sense to just to the full NV backhaul portion of the upgrade instead of this $ on patches...

That is if the new microwave/fiber backhaul is compatible with current deployed cabinets and switches. It if wouldn't be pnp like the T1 and would req new switches and such then i kinda understand why this is the way they choose...

 

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[bigzeto]

Surprising they are still having these releases done...

 

How much trouble would it be to just add the microwave/fiber backhaul to these towers getting bandaid bundled T1 patches instead of the T1 lines? I mean for the T1 lines in many cases they have to be new lines run anyway so to my outside perspective it makes more sense to just to the full NV backhaul portion of the upgrade instead of this $ on patches...

That is if the new microwave/fiber backhaul is compatible with current deployed cabinets and switches. It if wouldn't be pnp like the T1 and would req new switches and such then i kinda understand why this is the way they choose...

 

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I've been questioning this same thought for a while now.

 

[S4GRU]

I'm not 100% clear on the compatibility of legacy gear with new enhanced backhaul solutions. I have to think its possible. We have a couple fiber and MW backhaul locations here in NM (but not many). In most cases they are co-located sites developed by a private property owner that developed their own site and provided shared backhaul for all users. That occurs at the Santa Fe Opera and a large Mega Church in Albuquerque.

 

As for why these band aids are occurring nonsensically, its because of the iPhone.. for the most part. When Sprint worked out the contract for the iPhone in Summer 2011, they knew there was going to be a huge hole between iPhone deployment and Network Vision deployment.

 

The iPhone is a 15.5 Billion investment for Sprint. So spending another 1 Billion on temporary capex doesn't seem too excessive in that light. They really felt like spending this money would enhance the experience of iPhone users.

 

Sprint immediately jumped into action with the additional carriers and additional T1 backhaul last Summer. However, getting T1's all across the country takes a lot of time. Ironically, ATT T1's were largely coming in first. CenturyLink T1 orders have really taken a long time. And 60%+ of the T1's ordered were through CL.

 

So Sprint have loved for these to be coming online back in October/November time frame. But the delays are more about the last minute nature of the iPhone deal causing a sudden reactionary capex spending, and the delays that have ensued with that.

 

However, they could have deployed MW almost in the time it has taken to get a lot of these T1's!! So my explanation is not a defense, just an explanation of how they got there.

 

Robert

 

Posted via Forum Runner

[Sgt. Slaughter]

Yeah agreed and understand. I just would of thought that after a delay of X time they would of made the decision to just do microwave or really since they knew NV was going on this year they'd go ahead and just do new backhaul in the bandwidth locations since NV was going to get there anyway at some point...

 

Really I can only guess that it'd require more hardware change out in the cabinets they didn't want to spend time doing? Just a thought...

 

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