Hello from just the outside of Detroit

[woodensoul2k]

Hello All,

 

I am a new member from the outskirts of the "D".  Finding this site has kept me on Sprint for a bit longer.  All of the information has been a great read and learning experience.  I am still not sure that all of my friends and family like me trying to explain all I have learned but they have no choice.    Also, these forums appear to be friendly unlike some that I have seen out there.

 

I have been with Sprint/Nextel since early 2003 something and I did switch to Verizon for one contract period but the price was just to much for me to justify.  Unlike others I found that streaming 3G (Verizon) from the phone at the time was actually slower then from Sprint.  I was looking at T-Mobile but I know that there is a lot of Edge after you leave the city.  Sprint has been good to me, giving me a free airave for my signal killing basement and that is why I am sticking it out.

 

Just last week I noticed a new 4G tower go live near my house and it got me all exited.  Hopefully it will have the eCFSB upgrades when I activate my Nexus 5 but if not I know it will be fixed eventually.  I keep reading all over how Sprint sucks but they just don't know when they actually get this roll-out complete their tune will change fast.

 

Anyway, sorry for the long winded hello.  Great site guys, keep up the good work.

[cdk]

Welcome!

 

Where in the "outskirts" of Detroit? Looking at the maps (on the sponsor side) it looks like they have brought up some 3G clusters recently. At least in those areas the eCFSB issue should be (if it hasn't already) addressed quickly. It is also possible that the legacy equipment in the area already plays nice so it may be a non issue in the area. Either way check out the Michigan Market threads as those guys might already know the answers.

 

 

BTW, I grew up in Sterling Heights. I will actually get to test my Nexus 5 in the area at the end of the month while visiting family.

[koiulpoi]

[woodensoul2k]

Welcome!

 

Where in the "outskirts" of Detroit? Looking at the maps (on the sponsor side) it looks like they have brought up some 3G clusters recently. At least in those areas the eCFSB issue should be (if it hasn't already) addressed quickly. It is also possible that the legacy equipment in the area already plays nice so it may be a non issue in the area. Either way check out the Michigan Market threads as those guys might already know the answers.

 

 

BTW, I grew up in Sterling Heights. I will actually get to test my Nexus 5 in the area at the end of the month while visiting family.

 

I live in the White Lake/Milford area but travel to Troy, Westland (grew up here), and Novi areas as well as others often.  

[Stevero]

Welcome to a fellow Michigander!

(also from just outside Detroit - well Monroe, in the next county south)

 

Hope Sprint gives you great service. 

[S4GRU]

 

I am a native Michigander! But have spent most of my life everywhere else. Welcome to S4GRU. I hope to see you around.

 

Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

[AMejia1976]

Enjoy your stay  Any questions? Raise your hand.

[owensri2]

 

I am a native Michigander! But have spent most of my life everywhere else. Welcome to S4GRU. I hope to see you around.

 

Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

 

Me too!  I'm originally from Wyandotte, or as we like to call it "Downriver"! 

[JossMan]

[Douglasfc]

Welcome from another Michigander.  I am a long-time Sprint customer, located in a 4G dead zone in north Royal Oak.  I am running out of patience with Sprint, and we'll see how things progress through April 2014, when my 2 year deal is up.   Based on the maps I see over at Sensorly (and I have done a lot of mapping there), Woodward Avenue north from 13 Mile up to Square Lake is pretty dead so far - hopefully new sites will be launched and coverage improves.

 

Sorry to digress into my own coverage issues.  Welcome to S4GRU.  I am not yet a sponsor, but am seriously considering - there is a lot of good information here!

[S4GRU]

Welcome from another Michigander. I am a long-time Sprint customer, located in a 4G dead zone in north Royal Oak. I am running out of patience with Sprint, and we'll see how things progress through April 2014, when my 2 year deal is up. Based on the maps I see over at Sensorly (and I have done a lot of mapping there), Woodward Avenue north from 13 Mile up to Square Lake is pretty dead so far - hopefully new sites will be launched and coverage improves.

 

Sorry to digress into my own coverage issues. Welcome to S4GRU. I am not yet a sponsor, but am seriously considering - there is a lot of good information here!

LTE is becoming more and more widespread around Detroit. As wonderful as that is, there are still some pretty big holes. It will take another 6-9 months to close up the big gaps. They will get smaller and smaller every few weeks as more sites come online.

 

However, LTE on 1900MHz only goes so far. It will take the addition of LTE on 800MHz to bring a completely seamless LTE experience across the Detroit area. And that is currently being delayed until a deal can be reached with the Canadians. Since border areas like Detroit have to share their airwaves with their international neighbors.

 

Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

[Douglasfc]

Robert, thanks for your response.  I understand the issues with Canada, and hope they can be resolved. 

 

For me, there are a number of active near-by 4G sites in southern Oakland County (2 miles northwest of me, 1.2 miles southwest, 2 miles southeast, 2 miles ENE), but nothing to the North for over seven miles.  The big dead zone in south Oakland county looks to cover about 30 square miles, from West Bloomfield to Troy, without a 4G tower or site.  Hopefully more sites pop up soon.  Once in a while, early in the morning, I get a 4G signal at home, but that disappears really quick, and the 3G service here is not great either.

 

I'll keep following the progress here on S4GRU.  Thanks again for the information.  Hopefully in four or five months Sprint will make more progress, and I'll re-up with them.  I have been a customer for about six years, and their past performance in living up to expectations has not been good. 

[centralcityguy]

It's so cold in the "D" lol.

[Guest mreed112]

LTE is becoming more and more widespread around Detroit. As wonderful as that is, there are still some pretty big holes. It will take another 6-9 months to close up the big gaps. They will get smaller and smaller every few weeks as more sites come online.

 

However, LTE on 1900MHz only goes so far. It will take the addition of LTE on 800MHz to bring a completely seamless LTE experience across the Detroit area. And that is currently being delayed until a deal can be reached with the Canadians. Since border areas like Detroit have to share their airwaves with their international neighbors.

 

Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

I have seen several references to the 800 MHz Canadian issue which may affect me since I live right across the Detroit River from Amherstburg, ON. I was wondering why this is an issue with LTE when is evidently was not an issue with Nextel using the same bands? 

[S4GRU]

I have seen several references to the 800 MHz Canadian issue which may affect me since I live right across the Detroit River from Amherstburg, ON. I was wondering why this is an issue with LTE when is evidently was not an issue with Nextel using the same bands?

That is because Nextel iDEN used narrowband 25kHz channels. They worked out a deal with the Canadians to interleave the licenses. Where every other channel belonged to the US. It was shared.

 

This is not easily done with wideband LTE channels. Giving up half your channel width will mean a significant loss of performance. And it's not easy to do. If there is a Canadian provider still using the 25kHz channels, then someone on the US side cannot start using wideband channels. It would stomp all over each others transmissions.

 

Until the Canadian providers are nearing the end of narrowband usage along the border, they will not really have any incentive to want to negotiate. And the Canadian government gets nothing out of it by pushing their companies to do something. It will not get solved until Canadian license holders either stop using narrowband or have their own SMR wideband operations.

 

Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

[Guest mreed112]

Thanks for the explanation which makes sense.  I guess my new tri-band phone will be a dual band phone at home.