How does 4G coverage compare to Evdo / 1x

[caspar347]

To answer part of the OP's question, yes 3G EV-DO (And 2G 1X) speeds should dramatically increase with NV if they were previously below 600kbps. Sprint is connecting faster backhaul to all of the NV equipment.

[thewezgrays]

so is LTE in rural areas like mine where cell spacing is in the 5-10 mile range going to be lilly pad style or what?

My guess would be to a certain degree this will be the case, but that the 800LTE will mostly fix this problem.

[MrZorbatron]

To answer part of the OP's question, yes 3G EV-DO (And 2G 1X) speeds should dramatically increase with NV if they were previously below 600kbps. Sprint is connecting faster backhaul to all of the NV equipment.

1xRTT is not 2G, it is a third generation technology.

[Thomas L.]

so is LTE in rural areas like mine where cell spacing is in the 5-10 mile range going to be lilly pad style or what?

 

It depends on how the towers are engineered and optimized. I don't know what the likelihood of blanketing an area with LTE 1900 coverage is with that cell spacing, but it might be possible with tall enough towers and absolutely no downtilt. People like AJ and Robert would be able to give you a better response. 

[gnoj]

1xRTT is not 2G, it is a third generation technology.

 

Kind of. cdmaOne and not CDMA2000 is 3GGP2's implementation of 2G, that is true. In real-world performance, however, 1xRTT and 1xA are much slower than all other 3G standards (Ev-DO r0, Ev-DO rA/B, UMTS/WCDMA, HSPA) as well as speedier 3G transitional standards that are frequently erroneously referred to as "4G" (HSPA+21, HSPA+42, 802.16e Wi-Max, LTE r8/9). To the end-user CDMA2000 1xRTT is akin to other 2G transitional technologies like GPRS and EDGE. So I generally class 1xRTT as 2.5G and 1xA as 2.75G. I guess one could round those up to 3

 

I certainly wish Android's notification bar labeled 1x as such instead of having it share the same "3G" label with Ev-DO/eHRPD, and just labeled Sprint's current LTE r9 as "LTE" to distinguish it from the upcoming true 4G LTE-A r10+ standard.

[rgroves]

Can anyone answer this question? I use an airave because i used to have terrible signal in my home but recently i unplugged my airave to check my signal since 3g has been rolling out on 800 mhz and i had full signal but it was on 1x and whenever i switched to 3g i had 2 bars compared to 5 on 1x. What exactly can be causing that and when network vision is complete will i have the same signal on 3g and LTE as 1x now?

[Paynefanbro]

Can anyone answer this question? I use an airave because i used to have terrible signal in my home but recently i unplugged my airave to check my signal since 3g has been rolling out on 800 mhz and i had full signal but it was on 1x and whenever i switched to 3g i had 2 bars compared to 5 on 1x. What exactly can be causing that and when network vision is complete will i have the same signal on 3g and LTE as 1x now?

 

It's because EVDO is on 1900Mhz and 1x is on 800Mhz. Your voice/slower 3G data coverage is greater but you "high speed" 3G data has worse building penetration. Eventually LTE will have the same signal as your 1x does currently.

[Deval]

Can anyone answer this question? I use an airave because i used to have terrible signal in my home but recently i unplugged my airave to check my signal since 3g has been rolling out on 800 mhz and i had full signal but it was on 1x and whenever i switched to 3g i had 2 bars compared to 5 on 1x. What exactly can be causing that and when network vision is complete will i have the same signal on 3g and LTE as 1x now?

 

That's fine, you should just stick with voice on 1x, and use WIFI when at home instead of 3G/LTE.

[rgroves]

That's fine, you should just stick with voice on 1x, and use WIFI when at home instead of 3G/LTE.

 

 

It's because EVDO is on 1900Mhz and 1x is on 800Mhz. Your voice/slower 3G data coverage is greater but you "high speed" 3G data has worse building penetration. Eventually LTE will have the same signal as your 1x does currently.

Ok thanks! I'm good with my 20 meg download on wifi. i just want to know when i can fully take advantage of my unlimited plan  and eventually have better than my wifi speeds.

[thewezgrays]

Ok thanks! I'm good with my 20 meg download on wifi. i just want to know when i can fully take advantage of my unlimited plan  and eventually have better than my wifi speeds.

You have it made now! Full voice and unlimited in home wifi... What I am hoping for if they ever upgrade my GMOs out here.

 

As far as "using" your unlimited... Remember, your home Internet is unlimited, too... Only difference is the cellular data is more valuable as a shareable resource with your neighbors...

[Deval]

Ok thanks! I'm good with my 20 meg download on wifi. i just want to know when i can fully take advantage of my unlimited plan  and eventually have better than my wifi speeds.

 

You probably will never get more than your home WIFI speeds, but think about it when you're mobile and getting those same speeds.

 

I have Verizon FiOS at home and get 2x LTE speeds, but when I leave my house, I get to enjoy 15-20mbps down on my way to work, which is perfect.

[Rukin1]

1X/3G aka 3G/CDMA Reach further than LTE From what I experience. I Know voice reaches further. I get 800smr from like 6 miles away or 5.

[Nickel]

Kind of. cdmaOne and not CDMA2000 is 3GGP2's implementation of 2G, that is true. In real-world performance, however, 1xRTT and 1xA are much slower than all other 3G standards (Ev-DO r0, Ev-DO rA/B, UMTS/WCDMA, HSPA) as well as speedier 3G transitional standards that are frequently erroneously referred to as "4G" (HSPA+21, HSPA+42, 802.16e Wi-Max, LTE r8/9). To the end-user CDMA2000 1xRTT is akin to other 2G transitional technologies like GPRS and EDGE. So I generally class 1xRTT as 2.5G and 1xA as 2.75G. I guess one could round those up to 3

 

I certainly wish Android's notification bar labeled 1x as such instead of having it share the same "3G" label with Ev-DO/eHRPD, and just labeled Sprint's current LTE r9 as "LTE" to distinguish it from the upcoming true 4G LTE-A r10+ standard.

In my opinion if it uses CDMA it is 3G. Yes, that means that you have to include HSPA in that group as well. I would also say that LTE (even the non-advanced kind) is 4G because it uses OFDMA.

[Rukin1]

I've noticed that when 1900 voice is around -90DB 4G is around 100-115 or there is no 4G.

[WiWavelength]

I've noticed that when 1900 voice is around -90DB 4G is around 100-115 or there is no 4G.

 

CDMA1X is measured via RSSI.  LTE is measured via RSRP.  The two measurements are not exactly comparable.

 

http://s4gru.com/index.php?/blog/1/entry-308-rssi-vs-rsrp-a-brief-lte-signal-strength-primer/

 

AJ

[Rukin1]

CDMA1X is measured via RSSI.  LTE is measured via RSRP.  The two measurements are not exactly comparable.

 

http://s4gru.com/index.php?/blog/1/entry-308-rssi-vs-rsrp-a-brief-lte-signal-strength-primer/

 

AJ

Ah a article written by you lol. But it'd be nice if the RSRP could at least match the RSSI strength wise. It sucks to see that 3G can reach so far, but 4G doesn't go AS far. On the same frequency. But I know things will just get better as time goes on

[WiWavelength]

Ah a article written by you lol. But it'd be nice if the RSRP could at least match the RSSI strength wise. It sucks to see that 3G can reach so far, but 4G doesn't go AS far. On the same frequency. But I know things will just get better as time goes on

 

The numbers mean essentially nothing.  They are all relative.

 

But a less robust airlink is the price you pay for faster data rates.

 

AJ

[Rukin1]

The numbers mean essentially nothing.  They are all relative.

 

But a less robust airlink is the price you pay for faster data rates.

 

AJ

the numbers don't, but the speeds do.  I'd rather pay for something I can count on than something that you can hardly count on. There shouldn't be "a less robust airlink is the price you pay for faster data rates." It should be equal with the type of technology and hardware that is being deployed. But i love it lol

[WiWavelength]

the numbers don't, but the speeds do.  I'd rather pay for something I can count on than something that you can hardly count on. There shouldn't be "a less robust airlink is the price you pay for faster data rates." It should be equal with the type of technology and hardware that is being deployed. But i love it lol

 

Nope.  Wireless technology is not magic.  It cannot solve all problems, and there is no such thing as a free lunch.  You were practically just out of diapers when I was in college and started using nascent wireless data services in the year 2000.  Max speeds on IS-95 CSD were 14.4 kbps, but it was just as consistent and robust as voice.  Now, we have data speeds 1000x that, but the price we pay is less coverage and a more fragile airlink.  That is the tradeoff.

 

AJ

[Rukin1]

Nope.  Wireless technology is not magic.  It cannot solve all problems, and there is no such thing as a free lunch.  You were practically just out of diapers when I was in college and started using nascent wireless data services in the year 2000.  Max speeds on IS-95 CSD were 14.4 kbps, but it was just as consistent and robust as voice.  Now, we have data speeds 1000x that, but the price we pay is less coverage and a more fragile airlink.  That is the tradeoff.

 

AJ

I know that. But things will get better over time as they always seem to even through problems. Breakthroughs  happen all the time.

[Nickel]

I know that. But things will get better over time as they always seem to even through problems. Breakthroughs  happen all the time.

While that is certainly possible, I wouldn't count on it because there's only so much you can do. I think what needs to happen is that the operators need to rethink their networks and space them better (or use more small cells) to make up for LTE's fragility.

[The Dave]

I agree about tower spacing or using small cells to help out. Where I live, 3G just barely reaches between towers. I will drive along sr16 and go from 6 bars to zero bars and 1x to a small blip of Primeco roaming for maybe a couple hundred feet to another 3G signal with 2 bars and back to full shortly after. It happens in quite a few sections of the city.

[Substantive]

I will drive along sr16 and go from 6 bars to zero bars and 1x to a small blip of Primeco roaming

 

 

Somebody call Temporal Investigations?

[rf40928]

 

 

so are they upgrading the 3g as well??? to maybe fill gaps....and does it have a wider range.....say 2 mile circle vs 1.5 mile for LTE....those numbers are just made up distance wise....

 

 

 

Yes they are upgrading 3g also.. "new" 3g speeds are typically 1.5 Mb/s down to sometimes even 2 Mb/s down.. which is much faster then old ( legacy ) 3g..  Sprint is upgrading 99% of sites.. They aren't just adding 4g LTE, they are actually changing evertything.. so 3g get better, 1x ( Voice ) gets upgraded because its going to be on 800 Mhz in most places, LTE will also be on 800 & 1900 Mhz ,  and 2500Mhz TD-LTE gets added to most of the 38k sites now according to the most recent Sprint earnings conference..