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

[ebryana]

. This was just taken from the sprint coverage map. Is all the LTE showing around the Morgantown area something new? The last time I was bored enough to look it wasn't there.

[Flompholph]

This was just taken from the sprint coverage map. Is all the LTE showing around the Morgantown area something new? The last time I was bored enough to look it wasn't there.

Most likely 800 lte from Pittsburgh market on the ridges. And Sprint coverage map does over exaggerates some on lte unless they turned on a site to the south. Maybe I will run down to Cheat Lake if I have time. Last time I went down PA 43 it reached to Rich Farm just short of WV.

[ebryana]

I will try to take a short trip that way today if I can convince the wife it is needed haha. Any LTE at all in that area would be news even if it wasn't ntelos.

[bubretti]

Not that it's helpful to us sprint users but my buddy has ntelos and picked up lte near Marshall campus in Huntington today.

[davidtm]

I'll try that again. I had always hoped to function on LTE/CDMA so I'd know right away if LTE became available. :-)

 

Sent from my HTC One M9 on Tapatalk

So, I tried CDMA Only, and it still happens. I haven't been able to discern any pattern. I've updated my profile a few times - no apparent difference. One new/odd observation: when I switch Mobile Networks to LTE/CDMA, I get eHRPD at first like before, but after about 30 sec, it flickers off then on per SCPro, then changes to EVDO by itself. I've never seen that before. My wife's S5 seems to stay on network (though she doesn't notice such things).

 

I'll keep checking it out . . .

 

Sent from Tapatalk on my HTC One M9

[JDP121]

So, I tried CDMA Only, and it still happens. I haven't been able to discern any pattern. I've updated my profile a few times - no apparent difference. One new/odd observation: when I switch Mobile Networks to LTE/CDMA, I get eHRPD at first like before, but after about 30 sec, it flickers off then on per SCPro, then changes to EVDO by itself. I've never seen that before. My wife's S5 seems to stay on network (though she doesn't notice such things).

 

I'll keep checking it out . . .

 

Sent from Tapatalk on my HTC One M9

 

Ya both Ch'ville/Albemarle and Greene areas for me have been kind of weird for me as well on my G2 been dropping to US Cellular as well a lot lately. 

[davidtm]

Good to hear, as I really didn't want my new M9 to be off!

 

Sent from Tapatalk on my HTC One M9

[dbugmaster]

Not sure if you guys are interested in this or not, but this is for Danville, VA and surrounding areas.  FCC License ID L000015442 commencement date 04/02/2015 expiration date 03/03/2016.  CY - 1910-1915/1990-1995 MHz Bands Block G, 1st build out deadline 03/03/2016, Market BEA018. Coverage area Caswell, NC 018-37033 Patrick, VA 018-51141 Henry, VA 018-51089 Danville City, VA 018-51590 Pittsylvania, VA 018-51143 Martinsville City, VA 018-51690

[Trip]

Looks like it gives nTelos the right to build out in the parts of the Greensboro EA where they currently serve as Sprint overlay.  Good sign!

 

In a few seconds of searching, I found similar leases for Charlottesville and for the Roanoke EA for both G-block and 800.  Didn't look for 2.5 GHz.

 

- Trip

[dkyeager]

Here are the leases from Sprint (Nextel) that touch Ohio, including Ohio's Lawrence county:

 

 

Lease & Call Sign        Frequencies       (Channel Block)  Market

WQKT264 - L000015444  1910-1915/1990-1995         G         Charleston

 

Charleston Market included counties: Carter-KY, Elliott-KY, Lawrence-OH, Boone, Braxton, Cabell, Clay, Fayette, Gilmer, Jackson, Kanawha, Lincoln, Mason, Nicholas, Putnam, Raleigh, Roane, Summers, Wayne, Webster, Wyoming

 

Lease & Call Sign        Frequencies       (Channel Block)  Market

KNLH537 - L000015473  1865-1870/1945-1950         D         Huntington/Ashland

 

Huntington/Ashland market includes the following counties for this:  Lawrence-OH, Boyd-KY, Carter-KY, Elliot-KY, Lawrence-KY, Cabell, Wayne.

 

Lease & Call Sign       Frequencies       Market

WPLM684 - L000015484  817-818/862-863     Charleston

WPLM685 - L000015485  818-824/863-869     Charleston

 

This includes the following counties: Lawrence-OH, Boyd-KY, Carter-KY, Elliott-KY,  Boone, Braxton, Cabell, Clay, Fayette, Gilmer, Jackson, Kanawha, Lincoln, Mason, Nicholas, Putnam, Raleigh, Roane, Summers, Wayne, Webster, Wyoming. 

 

 

nTelos licenses for Ohio:

 

Call Sign      Frequencies          (Channel Block)  Market

WPTT275    1857.5-1865/1937.5-1945         A         Columbus

 

Columbus Market includes the following Ohio counties: Guernsey, Muskingum, Noble

 

Call Sign      Frequencies          (Channel Block)  Market

WPTT275    1857.5-1860/1937.5-1940         A         Columbus

WPTT277    1860-1865/1940-1945             A         Columbus

 

Columbus Market includes the following Ohio counties: 

Athens, Jackson. Meigs, Vinton, Pike, Ross, Morgan Perry

 

 

Other interesting nTelos licenses:

 

WPTT276 is listed for NTelos in the Cincinnati-Dayton Market although it covers WV counties Braxton, Clay, Nicholas, Pocahontos, and Webster for 1860-1865/1940-1945 Channel Block A.

 

WPOJ713 is leased by nTelos to its subsidiary West Virginia PCS Alliance covering counties Washington–OH, Calhoun, Pleasants, Ritchie, Wirt, Wood for 1895-1910/1975-1990 Channel Block C.

 

WPOJ714 for nTelos which was leased to Bellevue Wireless, LLC, which a portion of was bought by Sprint which uses 1902-1910/1982.5-1990 Channel Block C in the entire Wheeling WV Market, covering counties Belmont-OH, Harrison-OH, Monroe-OH, Marshall, Ohio, Tyler, Wetzel much of which is in Sprint's Pittsburgh Market.  The town of Cadiz in Ohio could be a good opportunity for nTelos as the area is dominated by Verizon with no Sprint and lots of new oil places (I have seen both abandoned equipment and the bigger players drilling new wells recently).

 

B41 licenses were also transferred .  These are listed in the Wimax thread: http://s4gru.com/index.php?/topic/2136-wimax-protection-site-maps-substantial-service-sites/page-3&do=findComment&comment=412765

 

(Mistakes could have been made with this.  Corrections or additions welcome). 

[JohnnyP]

If all players would just be transparent and also provide reliable information to when I will see LTE pop up on my Sprint phone we wouldn't have to do all this detective work.

Edited April 7, 2015 by JohnnyP

[dkyeager]

If all players would just be transparent and also provide reliable information to when I will see LTE pop up on my Sprint phone we wouldn't have to do all this detective work.

 

We are actually getting to see behind the curtain here.  We now know that Sprint and nTelos were busy in December, and may have had FCC questions since then.  nTelos could only fully begin once these leases were approved, which was last week.  

[Jones]

I agree. It will be fun to track and see progress. This thread will be the first to know of LTE in nTelos land.

[Cubbiefan82]

This is a step in the right direction and LTE for sprint will be turned on before we know it

[davidtm]

Soon ™!! :-)

 

Sent from Tapatalk on my HTC One M9

[anthonyrinaldi]

Not sure if you guys are interested in this or not, but this is for Danville, VA and surrounding areas.  FCC License ID L000015442 commencement date 04/02/2015 expiration date 03/03/2016.  CY - 1910-1915/1990-1995 MHz Bands Block G, 1st build out deadline 03/03/2016, Market BEA018. Coverage area Caswell, NC 018-37033 Patrick, VA 018-51141 Henry, VA 018-51089 Danville City, VA 018-51590 Pittsylvania, VA 018-51143 Martinsville City, VA 018-51690

Thanks for that! That little bit of info got me this link to an SEC filing... Interesting stuff!

 

http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1328571/000144530514002965/ntls-6302014xex101.htm

 

 

 

EXECUTION VERSION

AMENDED AND RESTATED RESALE AGREEMENT

BY AND AMONG

WEST VIRGINIA PCS ALLIANCE, L.C.,

VIRGINIA PCS ALLIANCE, L.C.,

NTELOS INC.,

AND

SPRINT SPECTRUM L.P.

AND ITS DESIGNATED AFFILIATES

DATED AS OF MAY 1, 2014

 

 

 

 

That opens quite alot of light on this situation from my cursory glace! Looks to be the 2022 agreement text.  There's also a list of all the stations and markets.

Edited April 9, 2015 by anthonyrinaldi

[davidtm]

More nTelos-land network wonkiness today:

 

I briefly saw Sprint 1x 800 in downtown Belmont (C'ville) on SC Pro!! I was in the middle of an appt, so couldn't take a screenshot. I've NEVER seen Sprint anything here before, and certainly no 800 signals.

Then, I roamed on USCC all the way home - this has NEVER happened before.

I received a text from my wife on the way home (between 5 and 5:30) that was time stamped 9:11 PM. I checked message details, and that said it was sent Fri, Apr 10, 2015, 9:11 PM and received Fri, Apr 10, 2015, 5:12 PM. When I mentioned this at home, both wife and daughter reported their phones had been "acting weird".

 

Again, I think I'm relieved that it isn't my new M9 malfunctioning. I certainly hope this indicates that the nTelos network is being upgraded, but I've learned to not get my hopes up.

 

Does any of this sound familiar to those who've lived through a network upgrade?!

 

Sent from Tapatalk on my HTC One M9

[Jones]

Does any of this sound familiar to those who've lived through a network upgrade?!

 

Yeah that's what I went through during NV upgrades in my area. Missed calls and text messages delayed or not delivered at all. It didn't last long but was frustrating.

[Tfalwell]

Just got back from OBX and enjoyed some LTE along the way.  Something that surprised me (probably doesn't to yall) is that Farmville had blazing fast LTE.  I clocked in at close to 30Mbs down.  That's solid performance for the huge city that is...Farmville  Hopefully Lynchburg will be enjoying those speeds soon!

[Trip]

The LTE 800 in Farmville was really nice when I was passing through.  It's the last island of LTE I see before getting to my parents' house. 

 

That said, Farmville/Prince Edward County could really use some more locations from Sprint.  I haven't been into Wal-Mart since switching to Sprint but I would be very surprised if the LTE held up in there.  The American Tower near the school is an ideal location to get into Wal-Mart.  I wonder if that tower would get a usable signal down to Hampden-Sydney.

 

Here's hoping the nTelos footprint gets it soon.  I hope they also add some towers once they get LTE up and going on the existing network.  Lest I sound like a broken record, Willis Mountain could use one, for example.

 

- Trip

[JDP121]

More nTelos-land network wonkiness today:

I briefly saw Sprint 1x 800 in downtown Belmont (C'ville) on SC Pro!! I was in the middle of an appt, so couldn't take a screenshot. I've NEVER seen Sprint anything here before, and certainly no 800 signals.

Then, I roamed on USCC all the way home - this has NEVER happened before.

I received a text from my wife on the way home (between 5 and 5:30) that was time stamped 9:11 PM. I checked message details, and that said it was sent Fri, Apr 10, 2015, 9:11 PM and received Fri, Apr 10, 2015, 5:12 PM. When I mentioned this at home, both wife and daughter reported their phones had been "acting weird".

Again, I think I'm relieved that it isn't my new M9 malfunctioning. I certainly hope this indicates that the nTelos network is being upgraded, but I've learned to not get my hopes up.

Does any of this sound familiar to those who've lived through a network upgrade?!

Sent from Tapatalk on my HTC One M9

Im going through Belmont area around 7am Ill see what I can pick up on the G2

[jfcooley]

More nTelos-land network wonkiness today:

 

I briefly saw Sprint 1x 800 in downtown Belmont (C'ville) on SC Pro!! I was in the middle of an appt, so couldn't take a screenshot. I've NEVER seen Sprint anything here before, and certainly no 800 signals.

Then, I roamed on USCC all the way home - this has NEVER happened before.

I received a text from my wife on the way home (between 5 and 5:30) that was time stamped 9:11 PM. I checked message details, and that said it was sent Fri, Apr 10, 2015, 9:11 PM and received Fri, Apr 10, 2015, 5:12 PM. When I mentioned this at home, both wife and daughter reported their phones had been "acting weird".

 

Again, I think I'm relieved that it isn't my new M9 malfunctioning. I certainly hope this indicates that the nTelos network is being upgraded, but I've learned to not get my hopes up.

Does any of this sound familiar to those who've lived through a network upgrade?!

 

Sent from Tapatalk on my HTC One M9

Sitting in the Stony Point area this morning, both my wifes M7 and my N6 did a network update at the same time. I thought it was a bit weird, Turned on data and took a bit to connect, then only 3g. Still showing nTelos in Signal Check.

 

For giggles I ran a speed test, still at .75 Mbps down and little bit more up. 

[davidtm]

Yeah, I roamed on US Cellular going into town again this AM, then on nTelos or US Cellular in town. Weird!

 

Sent from Tapatalk on my HTC One M9 or Tab4 10.1

[JDP121]

Ya didn't pick anything up in Belmont area for 1x800 for sprint. But have been roaming onto US Cellular when I cant pick up ntelos. Not sure if nTelos is working on towers or not. Haven't seen any crews out tbh. 

[Tfalwell]

The LTE 800 in Farmville was really nice when I was passing through.  It's the last island of LTE I see before getting to my parents' house. 

 

That said, Farmville/Prince Edward County could really use some more locations from Sprint.  I haven't been into Wal-Mart since switching to Sprint but I would be very surprised if the LTE held up in there.  The American Tower near the school is an ideal location to get into Wal-Mart.  I wonder if that tower would get a usable signal down to Hampden-Sydney.

 

Here's hoping the nTelos footprint gets it soon.  I hope they also add some towers once they get LTE up and going on the existing network.  Lest I sound like a broken record, Willis Mountain could use one, for example.

 

- Trip

 

Is this a Sprint owned tower or Ntelos?  I didn't have time to do a signal check only a speed check.