Shentel / Sprint LTE - (was ntelos - West & N&W Virginia)

[bbostwick8]

Oh, OK. I pay a ridiculous amount of money for home Internet since there is only one provider in my county. $100 a month for cable Internet for 25 down, 5 up, with a 500GB cap. The provider happens to be Shentel. I love their wireless side of things, but their home Internet price is way higher than it would be if we had any competition here.

 

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You'd think their prices would be better in corporate office market. 100.00 a month here you can get like 100 down and 10 up.

 

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[bbostwick8]

 

Nice!

 

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[Galaxyguy]

You'd think their prices would be better in corporate office market. 100.00 a month here you can get like 100 down and 10 up.

 

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That speed is $200 a month here.

 

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[chamb]

Shentel signs new agreement with Sprint.  Shentel will be responsible for expanded territory.

 

http://www.nasdaq.com/press-release/shenandoah-telecommunications-company-announces-expanded-relationship-with-sprint-20170315-01265

 

[S4GRU]

Shentel signs new agreement with Sprint. Shentel will be responsible for expanded territory.

 

http://www.nasdaq.com/press-release/shenandoah-telecommunications-company-announces-expanded-relationship-with-sprint-20170315-01265

So Shentel will take over the small Sprint Corporate footprint around Cumberland and Parkersburg and expand it. Sounds good to me. I'd like to see them take over other adjacent parts of other markets that are underserved. Like most of Western PA, for example.

 

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[chamb]

So Shentel will take over the small Sprint Corporate footprint around Cumberland and Parkersburg and expand it. Sounds good to me. I'd like to see them take over other adjacent parts of other markets that are underserved. Like most of Western PA, for example.

 

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Yes, Cumberland sure needed something.  It was still 3G a few months ago and probably still is.  Shentel activated LTE on I-70 to I-68 from Hagerstown toward Cumberland over a year ago. When they got to the county line, they had to stop.  So, on I-68 it was roaming on US Cellular until you go within a few miles of Cumberland.  Then you were on Sprint 3G and it was not the best for sure.  Going beyond Cumberland was back to roaming.  Sprint Corporate was never going to get it done.  Allowing Shentel to take this territory over is exactly what should have been done.  

 

This area is not a highly profitable area for any carrier but it never will be if good service is missing.  It is mountainous territory, very rural except for Cumberland city.  Not high income either.   It sure was a place that was never going to think of Sprint as a good carrier.  Now maybe things will change. While I-68 is expensive and difficult to cover due to the terrain, US Cellular has it covered.

The cell sites are there.  The smaller guy got it done while Sprint could not.

 

Shentel will get it done while Sprint Corporate executives keep tripping over each other. What was a nuisance to Sprint Corporate will be an opportunity to Shentel.

[Jones]

 

What was a nuisance to Sprint Corporate will be an opportunity to Shentel.

I like that statement, right on! Interstate 68 is fast becoming the preferred option over the Penna Turnpike because its not a toll road. It's smart to try to cover that interstate fully even though it is mainly a drive through and not stop kind of area.

[chamb]

I like that statement, right on! Interstate 68 is fast becoming the preferred option over the Penna Turnpike because its not a toll road. It's smart to try to cover that interstate fully even though it is mainly a drive through and not stop kind of area.

Yes, I-68 needs to be covered.  I would question if band 41 is needed there.  I would think band 26 should cover it as I think US Cellular is using 850 and they have it mostly covered.  Band 25 might work but there are many obstructions.  The service from US Cellular is somewhat spotty. The current US Cellular site spacing is probably wide spaced for band 25. If anybody can figure it out, it will be Shentel.

Cumberland City is now 3g only for Sprint and it too is questionable. It will probably require some additional site(s) to bring coverage up to standard.  Sprint never had any desire to make things better there.  To be fair, it is a difficult area to cover properly.

Let's give Shentel a year to look it over, engineer a proper network and make it work.

[Flompholph]

Is there an actual document with the agreement? nTelos already had towers in these areas. I would have thought that Sprint's Cumberland would have launched GMO LTE when the rest of Western PA market launched. It is at the bottom of the spreadsheet "WA" so unsure if they had GCIs picked out yet.

[dkyeager]

Is there an actual document with the agreement? nTelos already had towers in these areas. I would have thought that Sprint's Cumberland would have launched GMO LTE when the rest of Western PA market launched. It is at the bottom of the spreadsheet "WA" so unsure if they had GCIs picked out yet.

 

http://investor.shentel.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=1017602

[Flompholph]

http://investor.shentel.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=1017602

That said pretty much the same thing as the news article. It only answers who control the nTelos sites. Not who cotrols the area for future development or if there was a transfer of sprint sites.

[chamb]

Is there an actual document with the agreement? nTelos already had towers in these areas. I would have thought that Sprint's Cumberland would have launched GMO LTE when the rest of Western PA market launched. It is at the bottom of the spreadsheet "WA" so unsure if they had GCIs picked out yet.

I think the cell sites in and around Cumberland City are Sprint Corporate sites controlled by the Western Pa group. Kind of out of their normal coverage area.   They got ignored for years.  The amount of Customers surely is small, but you would expect that when you have a network that is substandard in every way and nobody makes an effort to fix it.

Time to bring in Shentel.

[dkyeager]

Here are the counties affected, if you take the press release at face value. Counties that I knew to be only nTelos have been removed:

 

Huntington BTA

Boyd, KY

Carter, KY

Elliott, KY

Gallia, OH (Portsmouth)

Greenup, KY

Lawrence, KY

Lawrence, OH

 

Parkersburg BTA

Calhoun, WV

Pleasants, WV

Ritchie, WV

Washington, OH (Marietta)

Wirt, WV  

Wood, WV (Parkersburg)

 

Cumberland BTA

Allegany, MD (Cumberland)
Garrett, MD
Grant, WV
Hampshire, WV
Mineral, WV

 

The Sprint WV market is almost all LTE (B25 & B26).  Most of its population is in Parkersburg and Marietta, thus I feel this agreement may extend further to include this entire market.  It is Samsung rather than ALU (Nokia) which Shentel uses.  It has one outlier: Logan WV. Most of it is part of the Columbus MTA.

 

Portsmouth is currently part of the Columbus Market and is all LTE except one site. Rumors have been flying for months about it being moved to another market. A freeway (US 23) connects it to Columbus.  The nTelos 3g sites are in the perfect location to cover a freeway bypass around Portsmouth that is being built now. All of these 3g sites are in the merger agreement to be improved to LTE by the end of next year iirc.

 

Now it is also possible that Shentel and the other Sprint markets will be intertwined, but I would think that is unlikely. 

[Flompholph]

I think the cell sites in and around Cumberland City are Sprint Corporate sites controlled by the Western Pa group. Kind of out of their normal coverage area. They got ignored for years. The amount of Customers surely is small, but you would expect that when you have a network that is substandard in every way and nobody makes an effort to fix it.

Time to bring in Shentel.

Most sites there are sprint though 2 were nTelos. All of Western PA sites have been ignored until recently when GMOs were launched. If they are GMO LTE would shentel get the credit even though I am finding new GMOs all the time nearby? Just found 2 more in Pittsburgh market on I79. Only half the west pa gmos that have a predicted gci have been found and confirmed.

[Brynn0823]

Now if they can just get multiple regional carriers to expand their network into rural America besides just adding small cells in cities that would be great lol

 

 

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[dkyeager]

I expect b41 will start arriving where needed, as the cost structure has dramatically changed. Could be stand alone small cells or more likely small cells at macro sites like this  (premier only): http://s4gru.com/index.php?/topic/4825-columbus-market-mapspreadsheet-premier-edition/page-127&do=findComment&comment=501915

[Trip]

This is excellent news.  I have been across I-68 as well and I know how bad it is there right now. 

 

I just wish they'd rolled the few Sprint-managed Southern Virginia market counties into it.  It's only 5 counties and the existing sites are nearly all running LTE already, they just need more sites.

 

- Trip

[Galaxyguy]

This is excellent news. I have been across I-68 as well and I know how bad it is there right now.

 

I just wish they'd rolled the few Sprint-managed Southern Virginia market counties into it. It's only 5 counties and the existing sites are nearly all running LTE already, they just need more sites.

 

- Trip

That would be nice. Hopefully it will happen someday.

 

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[Galaxyguy]

I've noticed at the B41 sites that have come online around my area, that none have CA enabled. Anybody know why? It seems odd that they all have two carriers running, just no CA. My understanding is that it basically just has to get switched on. Is there a reason Shentel would hold off doing this?

[dkyeager]

I've noticed at the B41 sites that have come online around my area, that none have CA enabled. Anybody know why? It seems odd that they all have two carriers running, just no CA. My understanding is that it basically just has to get switched on. Is there a reason Shentel would hold off doing this?

What are the earfcn? In some of Shentel, there are wireless internet providers occupying the prime BRS spectrum. EDS is harder to coordinate contiguous spectrum.

 

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[Galaxyguy]

What are the earfcn? In some of Shentel, there are wireless internet providers occupying the prime BRS spectrum. EDS is harder to coordinate contiguous spectrum.

 

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41176 & 40978. Those are the two that are on the tower closest to me, but I also think they are the only two used in this area, iirc. 

[dkyeager]

41176 & 40978. Those are the two that are on the tower closest to me, but I also think they are the only two used in this area, iirc. 

 

Yes, they should allow for Carrier Aggregation.  Sometimes a core upgrade is required, as we observed in Columbus for 3CA.

[Jones]

This is excellent news.  I have been across I-68 as well and I know how bad it is there right now. 

 

I just wish they'd rolled the few Sprint-managed Southern Virginia market counties into it.  It's only 5 counties and the existing sites are nearly all running LTE already, they just need more sites.

 

- Trip

Shentel's most recent call transcript was released and they do want to expand East and North with more acquisitions of Sprint territory! Yay!

 

Excerpt:

Q:

Okay. And last one for me, then you mentioned that this was -- area was a targeted first because it was nTelos' territory but it wasn't part of the affiliate or maybe even the wholesale agreement. That suggest that there's more in the wings. What's your appetite? How do you kind of pace it?

A:

So, we're looking to have discussions with Sprint to expand our coverage really in both East and North primarily and I think that there is very good prospect, you will see some additional areas like this. As far as the size of them, the good news is that that's kind of in our control.

We can decide and have had this discussion with Sprint that we do have an appetite to continue to grow our footprint, but we want to do it in a way that we know we can manage it well.

http://seekingalpha.com/article/4056571-shenandoah-telecommunications-shen-ceo-christopher-french-q4-2016-results-earnings-call?part=single

[Galaxyguy]

Hopefully that means the "Southern" VA market and maybe the pitifully slow to upgrade "Western" PA market. I use quotes because the descriptions really aren't completely accurate.

 

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[dkyeager]

Hopefully that means the "Southern" VA market and maybe the pitifully slow to upgrade "Western" PA market. I use quotes because the descriptions really aren't completely accurate.

 

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Actually Western PA has been getting lots of LTE upgrades lately. Why Sprint does not show them on the coverage map is another story.

 

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