How good/bad is NV, really?

[mbaseball3]

Tri Band phones will be out before the end of the year. 800smr with Sprints site spacing should be a HUGE difference maker and put Sprint on par with VZW and AT&T if not better. This is my wholehearted opinion. We have been with sprint since this,

and we plan on staying.

Yep, I remember those. Can't believe how far things have come.

[nobius]

Ran a speed test about 2 weeks at a sitting across from the tower at fondren and bissonnet, got like 2mbps, last December to give you an example when I joined sprint I from the tower near my house (off braeswood and 610) I would pull 7mbps or so, now I get like 3. The speeds are just horrible for LTE and I am NOT one to get hung up on speed tests.

 

Today for example, I ate at a restaurant that I was at a week ago or so. In that time they lit up 800smr and I had a useable LTE signal, which obviously is great however I ran a speed test and got 200kbps as a result. I'm basically waiting until after the new year for my etf to drop some and then I'm going to leave unless there are drastic changes in the next couple months.

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 4

 

There are some sites in that area that haven't  had any NV acceptances yet, so it's possible you're connecting with one that's further away, thus lowering speeds.  See my signature for a link to a map that shows sites accepted and sites yet to come all on the same map.

[WiWavelength]

Tri Band phones will be out before the end of the year. 800smr with Sprints site spacing should be a HUGE difference maker and put Sprint on par with VZW and AT&T if not better. This is my wholehearted opinion. We have been with sprint since this,

 

Why is there an electric razor on the far right?

 

 

AJ

[The Dave]

Yep, I remember those. Can't believe how far things have come.

I remember the cool thing to do was wearing a Motorola Startac around your neck like some techno bling.

[koiulpoi]

Not trying to argue, but technically the original poster said he was hoping not to pay for a service he wasn't receiving. That 4G charge was the reason why it caused a rift for a period of time that some still cling to in non 4G markets saying they have been paying for 4G that wasn't delivered to their market.

All the hemming and hawing over the data addon is offtopic though, for this simple reason.

 

Let's assume that in your market it was called a 4G Tax. On January 30th, 2011, it changed to all smartphones, 4G or not. Thus, it no longer became a 4G Tax, but a Smartphone Tax (bear with me), and it has been that way for (almost) 32 months. Over 2 years. That's 32 months of paying for exactly the service you're getting. Whether it was originally a 4G Tax or not is actually irrelevant, because nobody has been "paying for 4G we never got", because that's not what the charge is, or has been.

 

Since it's not a 4G Tax, nobody has been "left out" of service for it (remember, it covers 3G-only devices too), it's not relevant to this discussion.

 

Not to mention that, similar to what AJ said, "service is not available everywhere". You still have to pay Sprint your monthly service charge if you travel (or move!) to an area with even no service at all.

[lilg740]

Why is there an electric razor on the far right?

 

 

AJ

My kids still play with her old phone lol

[SF SOMA]

"I don't know if someone mentioned it, but what is your signal strength on LTE? Also, any of your friends have VZ phones that try to use data at the same times that you are getting very slow speeds? People seem to think that simply jumping carriers will fix a problem whose root cause is more than likely the very large number of users in a very small geographical area connecting to a limited number of towers with a limited amount of backhaul. In areas like that, it's going to the be the same experience on what ever carrier you go with. Despite what they may want you to believe, Verizon CAN'T alter the basic laws of physics. Tri-band phones paired with spectrum assets and back haul that be scaled up as demand grows are your best best. All of which Sprint has in its tool belt."

 

I usually get full signal in SOMA. Sitting here right now in the financial district and have 2-3 bars. My fiancé has a Verizon galaxy and the speeds are not earth shattering but consistent. During peak hours it does get much slower (I have seen as low as 2 mb) but still very usable. Rarely is it faster than 12 even late at night. I sometimes bring my AT&T iPad to work and will deliberately stream video on their HSPA (4g?) to see if their high end 3G is really fast. It is and i never have issues but obviously more expensive. The LTE is obviously very fast as well. If TM gives me anything that is remotely usable I will unfortunately switch.

 

Am I reading the other replies that my area is fully built and I should not expect faster speeds unless I switch to one of those new phones that operate under different frequencies. I was really hoping there were more upgrades in the works that will improve my areas data speeds but perhaps that is just wishful thinking on my part. I will still be rooting for Sprint as I don't want to pay the etf if at all possible.

[rp3]

No, it is not a perfect parallel, but it is highly appropriate.

 

Say that I choose to add a premium service to my account. It does not work at home, but it does when I travel 50 miles up the road to Capital City. Should I not have to pay for it?

 

AJ

Yes AJ,

I agree with you on mobile phones. But as you and most of us here know, the mindset of the general public is flawed. Two words for you (Sprint Forums). It is some of the most entertaining reading of the general cell phone user I have ever come across.

Most people think its like any other service. "Just turn it on already"

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

 

 

[The Dave]

I would have to say just try to stay patient. When I was told that St Augustine was upgraded and I checked the maps and saw it was more or less there, I was discouraged that speeds and signal were about the same. It took a little time before I noticed the difference. It takes time past when the upgrades are "turned on" to tweak and adjust everything and as others have mentioned in other threads, the 3G side is usually brought up in clusters and not as each site is upgraded. I started noticing that webpges were loading faster, there was less delay after I selected things and my signal seemed to stay more consistent. Now, speed tests show sub 100 ms pings and my speeds are consistently very nice. Plus, as more people use phones that can use all three of the bands, it will lower the burden on each one since it won't be 100% traffic on PCS. It will get better, just try to stay the course.

[Craig]

I usually get full signal in SOMA. Sitting here right now in the financial district and have 2-3 bars. My fiancé has a Verizon galaxy and the speeds are not earth shattering but consistent. During peak hours it does get much slower (I have seen as low as 2 mb) but still very usable. Rarely is it faster than 12 even late at night. I sometimes bring my AT&T iPad to work and will deliberately stream video on their HSPA (4g?) to see if their high end 3G is really fast. It is and i never have issues but obviously more expensive. The LTE is obviously very fast as well. If TM gives me anything that is remotely usable I will unfortunately switch.

 

 

 

You understand that the signal strength indicator on your status bar does not indicate LTE signal strength, correct? There are no "bars" of LTE displayed. Those bars are for the 1x (voice) connection and they can be set to whatever value the manufacturer chooses. so a Motorola that displays four bars could have a weaker signal than an HTC displaying three bars. If you want to know your LTE signal strength, you'll have to dig into the dialer menus (S3 is ##data# - not sure on the iphone), or download "signalcheck" from the play store (actually, not sure there is an equivalent app for iOS). Then report what your LTE signal strength is and we can help diagnose the root problem.

[mbaseball3]

I remember the cool thing to do was wearing a Motorola Startac around your neck like some techno bling.

Now days 'cool' is wearing a giant clock around your neck....LOL

[CAREND]

http://sensorly.com/map/4G/US/USA/Sprint/lte_310sprint#q=Denver

 

Hmm, looks like Network Vision and 4G LTE work has started in the greater Denver area, but not Denver itself. 

 

Here's the thing. We really have no idea how long it will take. Sites could light up like gangbusters, or there could be things holding deployment back. As work is already underway in your market, I really can't expect it would be that long. But again, nobody knows for sure. I will say that, for Michigan, I have been rather impressed at the total speed at which work has been completed. The state is almost completely covered, it's just the "fill in" that needs to be done to remove the dead spots, and fully cover the cities.

 

Remember that Sprint is doing work everywhere. Network Vision 3G and 4G LTE are going on every single cell site (with a small handful of exceptions). This isn't a bolt-on upgrade, it's a complete replacement of base station equipment, panels/antennas, radio units, everything. They're ripping out the old (dilapidated) network and installing a new one. Work like this takes time.

 

I recommend following this thread:

http://s4gru.com/index.php?/topic/3913-network-vision-site-acceptance-report-updates/

If you look, over Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday (last two posts), ten new 4G LTE sites went on-air and accepted in the Colorado market.

 

As well, if you become a sponsor, you can see site acceptances on a very nice map.

 

As for the "how's the service" question:

4G LTE isn't everywhere in my market, yet. Where we have it, it's awesome. For voice coverage, Sprint has been installing 800 MHz equipment for that, and will eventually use that for LTE as well. 800 MHz is low-frequency, and so penetrates walls and hills and trees and humans much better than 1900 MHz (what Sprint uses for everything else right now). Once 800 MHz was accepted on my local site, I went from barely being able to text in my house, to being able to call in my basement. A massive improvement, and I'm pretty happy with it.

 

3G has also improved, but not in quite a dramatic sense. Claims that Network Vision 3G travels up to 20% further than Legacy, and it seems to make sense. Again, living on a "cell edge" area, I went from unusable 3G EV-DO to 1 Mbps, fairly consistently. Both signal strength and speeds have improved (the second part of which, I am sure the new backhaul played a part).

 

I agree iwth others, this is an excellent post.

 

 You've never been paying for "4G", that's just what dumb CS reps say.  It's a premium data charge.  Every carrier charges it now.  It just happened to come about around the same time that 4G Wimax was coming out, so people thought it was for 4G.

 

I remember this fee when i got the Palm Pre, a NON 4G phone. 

 

To the OP, if you are getting consistant 3G, then you should be happy.  As the rollout continues, you will see more swaths of usable data servicesin your area and in others.  There is a lot that goes into upgrading towers and turning on the newer services.

Backhaul is the biggest issue, then permitting.  it could be the other way around depending on the area and how the local government handles that.  Next would be equipment and contractors.  if either of those are lacking, the upgrade will be delayed. 

[illest_ios]

Uh, no.  Your "little bro" has had his Samsung Galaxy S3 for only a little more than a year -- at best.  The handset was not released until last summer.

 

AJ

 

 

ok... i guess one year. "sorry".

[Boosted20V]

This thread is the worst.

[utiz4321]

I am not arguing that Sprint wasn't justified in charging for a smart phone's share of data. But, when I was upgrading from my 3G only Samsung Moment, the rep clearly stated if I got the Evo, I would pay the $10 4G premium but if I got a non 4G smart phone, I would keep my current bill. Because of that, Sprint specifically designed it to be exclusively a 4G add on. Later on, they made it more broad by calling it a premium data add on and charging it to everyone. Since Sprint reps now deny it is a 4G charge causes the confusion and bitter feelings since customers during that time frame were honestly told it was for 4G but now everyone insists they must be mistaken.

It was at first instituted as a 4g fee and only applied to WiMAX devices for about a month, but sprint quickly rebranded it as a premium data fee and extended it to all smartphones. It is a price hike nothing more. It is the new price sprint wanted to charge for smart phone data. If you disagree with it or think sprint was no longer a value because of it you have choices (the great thing about capitalism). If you are still with sprint you must see value in them so I don't get complaining about it. If you are not with them then you found value in someone else and I don't see how complaining about the 10 data fee is constructive. Let it go and enjoy your wireless life.

[jamesinclair]

Of course, Sprint "really dropped the ball" because you never have anything positive to say.  You are here just to rail against Sprint.  Give it a rest or take it elsewhere.

 

AJ

 

You really need to understand the difference between facts and attacks when reading posts, and stop taking things personally when it has nothing to do with you.

 

Saying Sprint made a serious customer service mistake by initially calling it a 4G fee is a fact. Ask any CS agent how many times they had to deal with an angry customer upset that they were paying a 4G fee and didnt get 4G.

 

3 years later its still an issue in this very thread.

 

It should have never been called a 4G fee.

[xman1102]

Well I'm sorry I mentioned that.

 

I just want to know when I can expect NV coming to Denver.

 

Seems it might be potentially soon and with a phone upgrade soon as well, I'll be hoping to reap the benefits.

 

Thanks to all who answered and educated me at the same time. Much appreciated.

 

Didn't mean to cause a shit storm.

 

Sent from me phone

 

 

[utiz4321]

You really need to understand the difference between facts and attacks when reading posts, and stop taking things personally when it has nothing to do with you.

 

Saying Sprint made a serious customer service mistake by initially calling it a 4G fee is a fact. Ask any CS agent how many times they had to deal with an angry customer upset that they were paying a 4G fee and didnt get 4G.

 

3 years later its still an issue in this very thread.

 

It should have never been called a 4G fee.

It is an interpretation not a fact. The fact would be what sprint call the fee, saying it was a mistake is an interpretation. It was called a 4g fee initially because it only applied to WiMAX devices. It was later (fairly soon) rebranded a premium data fee because the extended it to all new smart phones. Except for a couple people on this forum I don't know anyone who cares. In fact in my life out side the Internet I don't know anyone who noticed! So as far as it being a mistake, well that is your interpretation and one I don't share.

[CAREND]

Well I'm sorry I mentioned that.

 

I just want to know when I can expect NV coming to Denver.

 

Seems it might be potentially soon and with a phone upgrade soon as well, I'll be hoping to reap the benefits.

 

Thanks to all who answered and educated me at the same time. Much appreciated.

 

Didn't mean to cause a shit storm.

 

Sent from me phone

 

Banter about the who's and what's happens, don't worry about it.

You will want to favorite this thread for updates in your area and what others in your area are looking at.

[scubajwd]

To the OP:  3G here in the Las Vegas Valley & Henderson has never been better; everywhere

I go I have 5  to 6 bars even deep in the bowels of some casinos & malls; we've seen massive

3G improvements here with the NV upgrades...so as a long time Sprint sub also I couldn't

be happier at the moment with NV (and I've yet to connect my GS3 to LTE, btw)..

so unless your livelihoods depend on data downloads on Smartphones I'd sit tight

[lilotimz]

To all those that helped derail the thread by talking about the '' 4g fee'' instead of helping out the OP by explaining network vision in detail so he can understand just exactly what sprint is doing, you're very lucky I'm stuck on my classes for 6 hours. Next time any of you start on that will be suspensions / bans. We're here to educate each other on network vision and other technologies, not a place to complain about past events that have no bearing on today.

 

To the OP, koiulpoi explained it well.

 

Sent from my SPH-D710