LTE Plus / Enhanced LTE (was "Sprint Spark" - Official Name for the Tri-Band Network)

[jamess32]

After my G2 received the Spark update I was surprised to see it is now always connected to LTE at home when I never had any LTE before. Very weak signal though. -120. Turns out it is connecting to band 41. Didn't even know that was possible yet in my area which is northern VA in Ashburn

[The Dave]

With the Spark update for the G2, the priorities are band 25>26>41. Is this for all tri-band enabled phones are are they set differently for the Max, Mini, S4T, etc? I keep setting mine to 41>25>26 because of the sheer number of band 41 in the area, but my phone always automatically resets back to the default order and puts band 41 dead last. I wonder if this is going to be normal behavior or if this is a temporary thing until Sprint decides to issue a different kind of profile or software update.

[S4GRU]

With the Spark update for the G2, the priorities are band 25>26>41. Is this for all tri-band enabled phones are are they set differently for the Max, Mini, S4T, etc? I keep setting mine to 41>25>26 because of the sheer number of band 41 in the area, but my phone always automatically resets back to the default order and puts band 41 dead last. I wonder if this is going to be normal behavior or if this is a temporary thing until Sprint decides to issue a different kind of profile or software update.

Priorities are not a network selection preference. They are a network scan preference. It only consults the priority order for scanning. When your device needs to scan for a new LTE signal, it will start with the order saved on the device.

 

It will start with highest priority band and scan all the channels of that band. If it cannot connect, it moves on ton the next band and then the final band. Looking for a channel to connect to.

 

However, once it connects to an LTE channel. It doesn't really consult your device anymore unless it loses an LTE signal and has to start scanning again. The network will decide when you change bands after your initial connection. It handles your handoffs.

 

People can set Band 26 as the highest priority. But when they get there and make a connection, if the network decides you belong on Band 41 or Band 25, you will get shunted over there. So selecting priorities is only good for deciding where you will start on the LTE network. So trying to over think which band order is most important really doesn't matter much. Sprint is going to decide where you're going to be dynamically every few seconds based on loads, signal strength, quality, etc.

 

I wouldnt be surprised if Sprint starts using Band 26 as the main band and only start handing off LTE traffic to other bands when an active data session starts.

 

Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

 

 

[The Dave]

Priorities are not a network selection preference. They are a network scan preference. It only consults the priority order for scanning. When your device needs to scan for a new LTE signal, it will start with the order saved on the device.

 

It will start with highest priority band and scan all the channels of that band. If it cannot connect, it moves on ton the next band and then the final band. Looking for a channel to connect to.

 

However, once it connects to an LTE channel. It doesn't really consult your device anymore unless it loses an LTE signal and has to start scanning again. The network will decide when you change bands after your initial connection. It handles your handoffs.

 

People can set Band 26 as the highest priority. But when they get there and make a connection, if the network decides you belong on Band 41 or Band 25, you will get shunted over there. So selecting priorities is only good for deciding where you will start on the LTE network. So trying to over think which band order is most important really doesn't matter much. Sprint is going to decide where you're going to be dynamically every few seconds based on loads, signal strength, quality, etc.

 

I wouldnt be surprised if Sprint starts using Band 26 as the main band and only start handing off LTE traffic to other bands when an active data session starts.

 

Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

The way I understood it was that it scans for a signal using that list first and whatever the network says second. So, if it is set to band 25 first and band 41 last, it will first see band 25 and pretty much camp there despite band 41 being present and strong. I am not knowledgable about how robust the network is with maintaining an optimal connection with regards to automatically deciding band usage. If you are camped on band 25 and the tower or network also sees a good band 41 signal, does it decide to switch you over to band 41? Or if you went inside and switched to band 26 because your signal went too low for usable band 25, does it automatically switch band to band 25 once you go outside or do you remain camped on band 26 since you haven't lost the signal yet? I guess the network's robustness will be an important factor with Sprint's new network once all three bands are more complete.

[jamisonshaw125]

The way I understood it was that it scans for a signal using that list first and whatever the network says second. So, if it is set to band 25 first and band 41 last, it will first see band 25 and pretty much camp there despite band 41 being present and strong. I am not knowledgable about how robust the network is with maintaining an optimal connection with regards to automatically deciding band usage. If you are camped on band 25 and the tower or network also sees a good band 41 signal, does it decide to switch you over to band 41? Or if you went inside and switched to band 26 because your signal went too low for usable band 25, does it automatically switch band to band 25 once you go outside or do you remain camped on band 26 since you haven't lost the signal yet? I guess the network's robustness will be an important factor with Sprint's new network once all three bands are more complete.

I am also curious to this. All I know is that LTE is network controlled. I assume there is a complex algorithm that determines which band is optimal for your phone to be connected to. For us iPhone users, Apple probably already sent a mean letter to Sprint telling them that they better make b26 priority for us because they're tired of hearing "there is something wrong with my iPhone", when in reality there is nothing wrong 99% of the time and its the network. Why doesn't my Sprint iPhone have the same signal my friends att phone has. There is a tower right there herp derp derp.... I can just hear it now

[digiblur]

I am also curious to this. All I know is that LTE is network controlled. I assume there is a complex algorithm that determines which band is optimal for your phone to be connected to. For us iPhone users, Apple probably already sent a mean letter to Sprint telling them that they better make b26 priority for us because they're tired of hearing "there is something wrong with my iPhone", when in reality there is nothing wrong 99% of the time and its the network. Why doesn't my Sprint iPhone have the same signal my friends att phone has. There is a tower right there herp derp derp.... I can just hear it now

They must have done the same thing for 1x800 right as that got them excellent results.

[WiWavelength]

For us iPhone users, Apple probably already sent a mean letter to Sprint telling them that they better make b26 priority for us because they're tired of hearing "there is something wrong with my iPhone", when in reality there is nothing wrong 99% of the time and its the network. Why doesn't my Sprint iPhone have the same signal my friends att phone has.

 

That is a comparison of networks, not iPhones.  If people complain at all, they do not complain to Apple.  They complain to Sprint.

 

AJ

[WiWavelength]

I wouldnt be surprised if Sprint starts using Band 26 as the main band and only start handing off LTE traffic to other bands when an active data session starts.

 

Outside of the IBEZ, that would be wise for e/CSFB purposes.  Otherwise, the older SVLTE handsets would have a significant advantage with basic signaling through CDMA1X 800 instead of signaling tunneled through LTE 1900.

 

AJ

[chamb]

Outside of the IBEZ, that would be wise for e/CSFB purposes.  Otherwise, the older SVLTE handsets would have a significant advantage with basic signaling through CDMA1X 800 instead of signaling tunneled through LTE 1900.

 

AJ

Exactly.  Idle on 800 LTE so you can reliably communicate with Sprint and know when you have a call to handle on the 3G network.

Maybe allow short bursts of data (like an e-mail check) to continue on the 800 LTE.  However, if any significant amount of data starts occurring, Sprint should look at 1900 or 2600 and see if a suitable path can be used there.   If 1900 and 2600 are both fairly weak, allow the 800 LTE connection to continue.  How this is managed is going to determine Sprint's reputation over the long term.

 

They must not allow everybody to use 800 LTE to watch Netflix or anything like that.

[dedub]

1900lte is going to be far more congested than 800lte or 2600lte for the next year or more, simply due to the sheer number of 1900 only devices compared to triband in service.

 

So your assertion is, for the near future anyway, is the opposite of what they should do.

 

In other words, triband devices should be camped as exclusively as possible on 800/2600

 

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

 

[kyle_4thousand]

can you send some screen shots?  will tweet it to Legere   

http://s4gru.com/index.php?/topic/1855-network-visionlte-orlando-market/?p=276465

[chamb]

1900lte is going to be far more congested than 800lte or 2600lte for the next year or more, simply due to the sheer number of 1900 only devices compared to triband in service.

 

So your assertion is, for the near future anyway, is the opposite of what they should do.

 

In other words, triband devices should be camped as exclusively as possible on 800/2600

 

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

They can not ever add any capacity to the 800 LTE, but they can to 1900 and 2600.   The advantage of 800 LTE is its penetration into poor areas and buildings.  This is the reason to idle on the 800 LTE. However, since it has limited traffic capability, they need to boot abusers or even heavy users off of the 800 when possible. It may not always be a good idea to boot a user to 1900 or even 2600, but when it makes sense, they need to do it.   Maybe Sprint should be checking the usage on the 800 LTE and start booting

users when the 800 LTE starts to get about 70% loaded.  They need to figure this out and make sure they have it right.  Surely they have the capability to monitor this traffic and make this happen, 

On the flip side, they also need to monitor the 1900 and 2600 traffic and detect a user that is struggling with low signal and slow speed.  This phone needs to be transferred to 800 LTE if it is the better connection.  If Sprint fails to get this right, they will pay a price for the screw up. The thresholds for this need to be carefully configured.  If somebody is siting around trying to use 1900 LTE with a -120 signal level, they need to be automatically transfered to 800 LTE or even 2600 LTE if either one will work better. Sprint needs to do this without any aggravation to the user.

[S4GRU]

The way I understood it was that it scans for a signal using that list first and whatever the network says second. So, if it is set to band 25 first and band 41 last, it will first see band 25 and pretty much camp there despite band 41 being present and strong. I am not knowledgable about how robust the network is with maintaining an optimal connection with regards to automatically deciding band usage. If you are camped on band 25 and the tower or network also sees a good band 41 signal, does it decide to switch you over to band 41? Or if you went inside and switched to band 26 because your signal went too low for usable band 25, does it automatically switch band to band 25 once you go outside or do you remain camped on band 26 since you haven't lost the signal yet? I guess the network's robustness will be an important factor with Sprint's new network once all three bands are more complete.

 

It will allow you to stay on the first LTE channel it connects with until a threshold is crossed with the network and it looks to start moving people off the channel. So your priority may help you connect and stay on a preferred channel initially. Until the network says otherwise. And it may not say otherwise during your whole session.

 

Let's say you set Band 26 as the highest priority. Your device scans Band 26, finds a channel and connects. The network will let you stay there until the channel hits a threshold. Even if Band 41 is available for you, it probably will let you stay on 26.

 

However, Band 26 will likely have low thresholds established because they will want to preserve performance for those people who are outside 25/41 coverage. So if they chose 50% capacity limit, everyone could use a Band 26 channel/sector until it hit 50% capacity. Then when it hits 50%, it will start looking for devices that also have a neighboring cell on another band or sector that is also not over its threshold, and then start shunting other connections to them.

 

My illustration previously that you quoted was to explain that if you get your device to connect to something you'd prefer to be connected to, don't be surprised if the network moves you to another channel/sector/band. Because you cannot stop the network from moving you. The network can and will move you to your least preferred band if it feels like it needs to based on how the channels/sectors/bands are loading up in your area.

 

This really will be a non issue for most of us. Since Band 41 performance is so good, and almost always better than Band 25 even with a weak signal, most of us will want Band 41 to be he highest priority. It also has the most capacity and ability for Sprint to add additional capacity. Band 41 should be the highest priority always.

 

Where it gets sticky is Band 26. Since Band 25 is already congested in many areas for varied reasons, a Triband device owner probably should steer clear of Band 25 for awhile. I don't see any harm in making Band 26 the second highest priority since the network should move you off if you're impacting performance anyway. You can even disable a band in your device and the network can still move you over to it. Because the network sees all your neighboring cells you can move to and can send you over.

 

Band 25 is the uniband device band for awhile. Unless Sprint starts adding additional carriers in this band to supplement capacity, I would avoid this band (when possible) until Triband adoption rate gets above 50%.

 

Remember, the network will not just start checking where the best place for you to go at all times. It will allow you to camp out a place until certain network thresholds are crossed. Which will likely vary by band. Although, if I was Sprint, I would probably set the threshold on 3MHz Band 26 really low. I would probably not let anyone use data on that channel unless there are no other neighboring cells present below maximum threshold. Since it is a low capacity channel, it should be saved for those who need it. All others I would foreceably shunt to another band.

 

Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

 

[S4GRU]

I am also curious to this. All I know is that LTE is network controlled. I assume there is a complex algorithm that determines which band is optimal for your phone to be connected to. For us iPhone users, Apple probably already sent a mean letter to Sprint telling them that they better make b26 priority for us because they're tired of hearing "there is something wrong with my iPhone", when in reality there is nothing wrong 99% of the time and its the network. Why doesn't my Sprint iPhone have the same signal my friends att phone has. There is a tower right there herp derp derp.... I can just hear it now

I don't think Band 26 is a priority for Apple devices. Since the signal is stronger, the device is more likely to connect to Band 26 first. And since Band 26 traffic is so low right now, there is no chance really to cross the maximum threshold and the network to start looking for another band for your device. Maintaining Band 26 will be easy initially.

 

I highly doubt the 'mean letter' theory. Since Band 25/26 handoffs are seamless, Apple is OK with it. I have theorized it was Apple that stopped CDMA 800 from being a high priority because the call drop rate between 800/1900 was not acceptable to the Cupertino Boys. I believe this will change when there is a cohesive CDMA 800 network and there will be no need to handoff to 1900 (except for possibly capacity).

 

Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

 

[S4GRU]

Exactly. Idle on 800 LTE so you can reliably communicate with Sprint and know when you have a call to handle on the 3G network.

Maybe allow short bursts of data (like an e-mail check) to continue on the 800 LTE. However, if any significant amount of data starts occurring, Sprint should look at 1900 or 2600 and see if a suitable path can be used there. If 1900 and 2600 are both fairly weak, allow the 800 LTE connection to continue. How this is managed is going to determine Sprint's reputation over the long term.

 

They must not allow everybody to use 800 LTE to watch Netflix or anything like that.

If the network is able to manage this properly, this is the best way. Everyone sees more 'bars' and only users who have no other Band accessible can stay on Band 26 after the threshold is crossed. If Sprint does this right, it could make for a killer network.

 

Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

 

 

[chamb]

It will allow you to stay on the first LTE channel it connects with until a threshold is crossed with the network and it looks to start moving people off the channel. So your priority may help you connect and stay on a preferred channel initially. Until the network says otherwise. And it may not say otherwise during your whole session. Let's say you set Band 26 as the highest priority. Your device scans Band 26, finds a channel and connects. The network will let you stay there until the channel hits a threshold. Even if Band 41 is available for you, it probably will let you stay on 26. However, Band 26 will likely have low thresholds established because they will want to preserve performance for those people who are outside 25/41 coverage. So if they chose 50% capacity limit, everyone could use a Band 26 channel/sector until it hit 50% capacity. Then when it hits 50%, it will start looking for devices that also have a neighboring cell on another band or sector that is also not over its threshold, and then start shunting other connections to them. My illustration previously that you quoted was to explain that if you get your device to connect to something you'd prefer to be connected to, don't be surprised if the network moves you to another channel/sector/band. Because you cannot stop the network from moving you. The network can and will move you to your least preferred band if it feels like it needs to based on how the channels/sectors/bands are loading up in your area. This really will be a non issue for most of us. Since Band 41 performance is so good, and almost always better than Band 25 even with a weak signal, most of us will want Band 41 to be he highest priority. It also has the most capacity and ability for Sprint to add additional capacity. Band 41 should be the highest priority always. Where it gets sticky is Band 26. Since Band 25 is already congested in many areas for varied reasons, a Triband device owner probably should steer clear of Band 25 for awhile. I don't see any harm in making Band 26 the second highest priority since the network should move you off if you're impacting performance anyway. You can even disable a band in your device and the network can still move you over to it. Because the network sees all your neighboring cells you can move to and can send you over. Band 25 is the uniband device band for awhile. Unless Sprint starts adding additional carriers in this band to supplement capacity, I would avoid this band (when possible) until Triband adoption rate gets above 50%. Remember, the network will not just start checking where the best place for you to go at all times. It will allow you to camp out a place until certain network thresholds are crossed. Which will likely vary by band. Although, if I was Sprint, I would probably set the threshold on 3MHz Band 26 really low. I would probably not let anyone use data on that channel unless there are no other neighboring cells present below maximum threshold. Since it is a low capacity channel, it should be saved for those who need it. All others I would foreceably shunt to another band. Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

There is one VERY VERY GOOD reason to allow everybody to camp on 800 LTE.   This will cause 18 bars to display on the top bar signal strength.  While the users on this site are well aware of the silliness of using the signal strength bars for any real serious judgments, the average person will praise Sprint to everybody when they have more bars than they can count. Do not underestimate the value in Sprint being able to pack the top bar with a whole pile of signal strength bars.

[S4GRU]

1900lte is going to be far more congested than 800lte or 2600lte for the next year or more, simply due to the sheer number of 1900 only devices compared to triband in service.

 

So your assertion is, for the near future anyway, is the opposite of what they should do.

 

In other words, triband devices should be camped as exclusively as possible on 800/2600

 

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

I get your point. But that's why network threshold set up and management is there. It won't let Triband devices stay on Band 25 unless it is under capacity. For a long time, it is much more likely for Band 25 to cross maximum thresholds than any other band. And when that happens, if you have a 26 or 41 channel available that is not over its maximum threshold, you'll be shunted.

 

Even if you had 25 as the highest priority on your Triband device, if after you connect and the channel is over maximum capacity threshold, the network will start hunting for a better place.

 

This is already happening now for Uniband device owners. Many times when they connect to Band 25, the network knows their channel is above maximum threshold and starts looking to move them off. However, it can only search Band 25. It may actually find another Band 25 sector on the same site or another Band 25 channel on a different site to move to. It's trying to spread out the load. But with an incomplete network, it will have varied results in doing this.

 

That's why some people in St. Louis or New Orleans don't see much improvement when one site gets added in a place with whole bunch of completed sites that are over capacity. Instantly the network starts shunting traffic from the adjacent sites to the new site. The sectors facing the existing sites may get near or over capacity instantly. Whereas the sectors facing away existing sites may do fine as they have no other sites that can pass on traffic from.

 

This is really a dynamic network. It's very exciting and nothing like what we are used to seeing.

 

Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

 

 

[jamisonshaw125]

If the network is able to manage this properly, this is the best way. Everyone sees more 'bars' and only users who have no other Band accessible can stay on Band 26 after the threshold is crossed. If Sprint does this right, it could make for a killer network.

 

Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

Interesting. So theoretically if b26 and b25 are both available and you're currently connected to b26 because the network has determined it to be a better signal at the moment..... If b26 hits it's threshold it should shunt you over to a weaker b25 just to preserve b26 because b25 is available..even if it sends you to a lesser signal strength on b25? This is pretty tricky stuff. Sprint is going to have to do some fine tuning for sure.

 

Edit: I was under the impression that iPhones stay connected to b25, then rescan, then rescan again and then will go to b26 if b25 is not found. But if b25 is literally unusable or a much weaker or data signal, would it prioritize b26. I guess that is the tricky one.

[Conan Kudo]

Interesting. So theoretically if b26 and b25 are both available and you're currently connected to b26 because the network has determined it to be a better signal at the moment..... If b26 hits it's threshold it should shunt you over to a weaker b25 just to preserve b26 because b25 is available..even if it sends you to a lesser signal strength on b25? This is pretty tricky stuff. Sprint is going to have to do some fine tuning for sure.

 

Edit: I was under the impression that iPhones stay connected to b25, then rescan, then rescan again and then will go to b26 if b25 is not found. But if b25 is literally unusable or a much weaker or data signal, would it prioritize b26. I guess that is the tricky one.

iPhones camp on LTE and continually rescan in order to periodically ping for any information that the CDMA network has waiting for it. This is because iPhones do not support the CDMA+LTE version of eCSFB. The side effect of this is that it is more likely to switch sectors (which can cause some network connectivity instability).

 

As for switching "sites"/"cells" when the site you are connected to gets too loaded, that's a feature that 3GPP networks have had for a while now. It's a fundamental technique for load-balancing that was developed for GSM and extended for UMTS and LTE. The network is intelligent enough to be able to know what it is too loaded. But the important aspect of this is that it can shunt devices to another cell through forced handover. This technique is absolutely critical because unlike 3GPP2 networks, 3GPP networks do not permit maintaining a full client-side list of sites and sectors (basically, no PRLs). It is up to the network to push that information in real-time to the device. 

[S4GRU]

Interesting. So theoretically if b26 and b25 are both available and you're currently connected to b26 because the network has determined it to be a better signal at the moment..... If b26 hits it's threshold it should shunt you over to a weaker b25 just to preserve b26 because b25 is available..even if it sends you to a lesser signal strength on b25? This is pretty tricky stuff. Sprint is going to have to do some fine tuning for sure.

 

Edit: I was under the impression that iPhones stay connected to b25, then rescan, then rescan again and then will go to b26 if b25 is not found. But if b25 is literally unusable or a much weaker or data signal, would it prioritize b26. I guess that is the tricky one.

If the signal is not strong enough or of enough quality, you will not be moved. There will likely be a lot of fine tuning over months and years.

 

Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

 

 

[S4GRU]

iPhones camp on LTE and continually rescan in order to periodically ping for any information that the CDMA network has waiting for it. This is because iPhones do not support the CDMA+LTE version of eCSFB. The side effect of this is that it is more likely to switch sectors (which can cause some network connectivity instability).

 

As for switching "sites"/"cells" when the site you are connected to gets too loaded, that's a feature that 3GPP networks have had for a while now. It's a fundamental technique for load-balancing that was developed for GSM and extended for UMTS and LTE. The network is intelligent enough to be able to know what it is too loaded. But the important aspect of this is that it can shunt devices to another cell through forced handover. This technique is absolutely critical because unlike 3GPP2 networks, 3GPP networks do not permit maintaining a full client-side list of sites and sectors (basically, no PRLs). It is up to the network to push that information in real-time to the device.

On a Triband network with several available channels, the network is going to be working over time keeping up with this. But it is exciting for me. If managed correctly, this could be fantastic. I hope Sprint does not allow Ericsson Network Services to set up and manage this.

 

Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

 

 

[The Dave]

I understand the whole priorities don't dictate where you park at compared to where the network can put you, but where I don't understand is why band 41 is set to 3rd by default. If the network doesn’t see a threshold met, but yet you are camped on 25 when band 41 is plentiful, it seems like it would be a poor use of spectral resources. There is a tower in town that I have passed by twice. Band 41 has a nice -79 dBm signal. Lots of room to park, but yet the device priority has me stuck on band 25. I check the engineering screen and see that I am on band 25 and go into the data menu and readjust priorities to 41>25>26. Bingo. I am immediately on band 41. Now, the next day I am at the same area. For some reason I am parked on band 25 again. I go back to the data menu and see my priorities have defaulted back to 25>26>41. It just seems that to me, if I were a network engineer, I would rather send any device capable straight to band 41 with all that spectrum to fling around rather than tuck it away to 3rd priority.

[S4GRU]

I understand the whole priorities don't dictate where you park at compared to where the network can put you, but where I don't understand is why band 41 is set to 3rd by default. If the network doesn’t see a threshold met, but yet you are camped on 25 when band 41 is plentiful, it seems like it would be a poor use of spectral resources. There is a tower in town that I have passed by twice. Band 41 has a nice -79 dBm signal. Lots of room to park, but yet the device priority has me stuck on band 25. I check the engineering screen and see that I am on band 25 and go into the data menu and readjust priorities to 41>25>26. Bingo. I am immediately on band 41. Now, the next day I am at the same area. For some reason I am parked on band 25 again. I go back to the data menu and see my priorities have defaulted back to 25>26>41. It just seems that to me, if I were a network engineer, I would rather send any device capable straight to band 41 with all that spectrum to fling around rather than tuck it away to 3rd priority.

Band 41 is set up as a priority on many devices. It seems like there are some inconsistencies going on where for some people it's last. But it doesn't matter, because lots of people who have devices set as Band 41 as the lowest are still getting put on 41 because the 25 is over capacity anyway.

 

I also wouldn't be surprised if Sprint is trying to set priorities by region on these devices. And that may explain why we are seeing inconsistencies. Also, I wouldn't rule out an OEM fubar. And last, they may not be setting any scan priorities now at all until the device is farther along.

 

Where you enter the LTE network is just not a very big deal all things considered. However, if you don't move around and your channel is under capacity, you'll likely stay there a long time.

 

I would put Band 41 first on all devices by default if I was Sprint. And lots of people are able to stay on Band 41 as their top priority. I don't think the network is overriding your device band priority selection. I think that is your device. Something is wrong. Are you using a custom ROM or something?

 

Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

 

[chamb]

On a Triband network with several available channels, the network is going to be working over time keeping up with this. But it is exciting for me. If managed correctly, this could be fantastic. I hope Sprint does not allow Ericsson Network Services to set up and manage this.

 

Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

Lots and lots of situations to consider and get right.   Consider the "strip" in Vegas.

  You are walking the strip,  You are idling on 800 LTE and have maximum bars on the top. You attempt to use LTE.  You get shunted to 1900 or 2600 and are fine.  You stop the data session and revert back to the 800 LTE to camp.  

   Now you walk into a Casino.  Your 800 LTE starts degrading. You walk further back into the Casino. Your 800 LTE gets worse.  Just WHEN do you boot this guy off the 800 LTE and onto the 2600 DAS in the Casino??  This needs to be really researched and configured correctly.

  You would not want to idle on 800 LTE that is now weak when the 2600 is strong within the Casino. Even though 2 bars of 800 LTE might be there and work, you need to move this guy to 2600 and maximum bars for physiological reasons.  How this works or does not work is going to determine how the Spark network is perceived in the users mind. 

   If a Sprint Spark handset has 6 bars of 2600 LTE, the customer will be extremely happy even if the 800 LTE might have also worked well.  Vegas has bars everywhere, but Sprint needs to have more bars than anybody else.

[S4GRU]

Lots and lots of situations to consider and get right. Consider the "strip" in Vegas.

You are walking the strip, You are idling on 800 LTE and have maximum bars on the top. You attempt to use LTE. You get shunted to 1900 or 2600 and are fine. You stop the data session and revert back to the 800 LTE to camp.

Now you walk into a Casino. Your 800 LTE starts degrading. You walk further back into the Casino. Your 800 LTE gets worse. Just WHEN do you boot this guy off the 800 LTE and onto the 2600 DAS in the Casino?? This needs to be really researched and configured correctly.

You would not want to idle on 800 LTE that is now weak when the 2600 is strong within the Casino. Even though 2 bars of 800 LTE might be there and work, you need to move this guy to 2600 and maximum bars for physiological reasons. How this works or does not work is going to determine how the Spark network is perceived in the users mind.

If a Sprint Spark handset has 6 bars of 2600 LTE, the customer will be extremely happy even if the 800 LTE might have also worked well. Vegas has bars everywhere, but Sprint needs to nave more bars than anybody else.

A great example of how managing all these thresholds/handoffs is going to be extremely complex. It will be a lot of trial and error.

 

Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro