Jump to content

How to Spot Sprint 8T8R TD-LTE RRHs (Alcatel-Lucent)


lilotimz

Recommended Posts

How can someone tell if the tower or cell site was retrofitted for 8T8R? Or carrier aggregation was completed without looking at it? Is there a way to check on the phone that its picking it up?

Edited by gs5eric
Link to comment
Share on other sites

How can someone tell if the tower or cell site was retrofitted for 8T8R? Or carrier aggregation was completed without looking at it? Is there a way to check on the phone that its picking it up?

The first three digits of the gci will increase by one. The last two characters of the gci, which indicate sectors, will move to the next series. For Samsung markets, was was 00, 01, or 02 becomes 03, 04, or 05 to indicate second carrier. SCP will indicate it with an exponent of 2. CA we have not seen yet.
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The first three digits of the gci will increase by one. The last two characters of the gci, which indicate sectors, will move to the next series. For Samsung markets, was was 00, 01, or 02 becomes 03, 04, or 05 to indicate second carrier. SCP will indicate it with an exponent of 2. CA we have not seen yet.

 

 

 

Sorry for my ignorance but where or how will i be able to see that on my phone? I have gs6 edge

Edited by gs5eric
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sorry for my ignorance but where or how will i be able to see that on my phone? I have gs6 edge

Recommend you download Signalcheck Pro for $1.99 from google play store. Other option is dial ##debug# and choose LTE.
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sorry for my ignorance but where or how will i be able to see that on my phone? I have gs6 edge

CA may be out there and you should have the right phone to find it. Good luck!
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Recommend you download Signalcheck Pro for $1.99 from google play store. Other option is dial ##debug# and choose LTE.

Ok Awesome im going to try that. If i hit *#0011# would i be able to see anything on that screen to indicate 8t8r?

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

I connect to this tower when i am home and CA is not enabled yet ,is it 8t8r ? i am on band 41 even in basement.

 

https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=5751491E40D9FD7F!11144&authkey=!AJni3U4E0hwe3Rc&v=3&ithint=photo%2cjpg

 

That's one of the few sites where Clearwire and Sprint is colocated on the same rack.

 

The Clear equipment have the Samsung dual mode RRUs which broadcast both Band 41 and WiMax. Some Samsung clear equipment are capable of 2nd Band 41 carrier and carrier aggregation but most won't have 2nd B41 carrier and / or CA enabled until WiMax is shut down. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Looks like Sprint using tri-band antennas in San Diego.  Does this support B41 8T8R?

 

Antenna: http://www.commscope.com/catalog/wireless/product_details.aspx?id=23327

Permit:  http://www.sandiego.gov/development-services/pdf/hearingofficer/reports/2015/HO-15-092.pdf

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Looks like Sprint using tri-band antennas in San Diego. Does this support B41 8T8R?

 

Great find! Since each sector has 3 panels can they connect to multiple panels to get 8T8R?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great find! Since each sector has 3 panels can they connect to multiple panels to get 8T8R?

I don't understand the need for 3 antennas per sector. Even in a high capacity situation only two antennas would be required.

 

Sent from my LG G4

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't understand the need for 3 antennas per sector. Even in a high capacity situation only two antennas would be required.

 

Sent from my LG G4

2 of the antennas are for pcs and 1 for 2500. We have setups like that here in new Orleans. The 2 panel pcs setup is being called the "high capacity" project. Pretty much every other site here is going to that.

 

6bd633f196cd38c6f89880b84010d060.jpg

 

dc5f021e6c35ce3a1bb557a97f489630.jpg

 

4ae999488eafcb66afd7f681fd15d951.jpg

 

That's a Nokia build near where I live. Old stuff on the ground after the install. Snuck up and got some pics.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't understand the need for 3 antennas per sector. Even in a high capacity situation only two antennas would be required.

 

Sent from my LG G4

Probably allow Sprint to fire up more Band 25 and 41 without adding more antennas.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't understand the need for 3 antennas per sector. Even in a high capacity situation only two antennas would be required.

 

Are the tri-band antennas cheaper than the 8T8R antennas? Is it possible to "chain" the antennas to get the same MIMO benefits?

 

Maybe it's more cost efficient. Plus, could this setup be more flexible for downtilt adjustments on a airlink basis not just frequency?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

 

Are the tri-band antennas cheaper than the 8T8R antennas? Is it possible to "chain" the antennas to get the same MIMO benefits?

 

Maybe it's more cost efficient. Plus, could this setup be more flexible for downtilt adjustments on a airlink basis not just frequency?

No. Yes but redundant. No. Not really.

 

Sent from my Nexus 5

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 of the antennas are for pcs and 1 for 2500. We have setups like that here in new Orleans. The 2 panel pcs setup is being called the "high capacity" project. Pretty much every other site here is going to that.

 

 

 

 

That's a Nokia build near where I live. Old stuff on the ground after the install. Snuck up and got some pics.

Alcatel-Lucent markets run Rf combiners for high capacity sites. They don't use a separate antenna and pcs radio.

 

Sent from my Nexus 5

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

 

 

Verizon

 

Sent from my Nexus 5

Is that six antennas per sector? Damn. I thought the typical four per sector they have here was a lot (most sites here can't handle more than that per rack) but wow.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is that six antennas per sector? Damn. I thought the typical four per sector they have here was a lot (most sites here can't handle more than that per rack) but wow.

 

Check out this setup.  2x 2.5 and 4x1.9.  High Capacity.  First site I have seen in San Diego with this type of setup.

 

http://imgur.com/a/kyQbc#xWmJ2vN

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

2 More towers I am wondering about. Any idea what these ones are?

 

 

If it does not match the spotting guides then it is not Sprint. See Alcatel-Lucent NV one and the pictures on the first post of the page and you will see your pictures do not match those of the spotting guides. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.


  • large.unreadcontent.png.6ef00db54e758d06

  • gallery_1_23_9202.png

  • Similar Content

  • Posts

    • I think it is likely that T-Mobile will be forced to honor any existing US cellular roaming agreements in those areas as a condition of them taking over the spectrum.  In that case, there would be no improvement of service unless T-Mobile improves the service offering in those areas.
    • My understanding is the MNO carriers are the one who have objected to the use of cell phones in commercial planes.  I understand that it ties down too many cell phones at once, thus I can not see this changing. However this depends on how it is structured. Use of a different plmn for satellite service might make it possible for planes only to connect with satellite. Private pilots have been using cellphones in planes for many decades. Far fewer phones at a lower altitude.
    • On Reddit, someone asked (skeptically) if the US Cellular buyout would result in better service.  I'd been pondering this very issue, and decided to cross-post my response here: I've been pondering the question in the title and I've come to the conclusion that the answer is that it's possible. Hear me out. Unlike some of the small carriers that work exclusively with one larger carrier, all three major carriers roam on US Cellular today in at least some areas, so far as I know. If that network ceases to exist, then the carriers would presumably want to recover those areas of lost service by building out natively. Thus, people in those areas who may only have service from US Cellular or from US Cellular and one other may gain competition from other carriers backfilling that loss. How likely is it? I'm not sure. But it's definitely feasible. Most notably, AT&T did their big roaming deal with US Cellular in support of FirstNet in places where they lacked native coverage. They can't just lose a huge chunk of coverage whole still making FirstNet happy; I suspect they'll have to build out and recover at least some of that area, if not most of it. So it'd be indirect, but I could imagine it. - Trip
    • Historically, T-Mobile has been the only carrier contracting with Crown Castle Solutions, at least in Brooklyn. I did a quick count of the ~35 nodes currently marked as "installed" and everything mapped appears to be T-Mobile. However, they have a macro sector pointed directly at this site and seem to continue relying on the older-style DAS nodes. Additionally, there's another Crown Castle Solutions node approved for construction just around the corner, well within range of their macro. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Verizon using a new vendor for their mmWave build, especially since the macro site directly behind this node lacks mmWave/CBRS deployment (limited to LTE plus C-Band). However, opting for a multi-carrier solution here seems unlikely unless another carrier has actually joined the build. This node is equidistant (about five blocks) between two AT&T macro sites, and there are no oDAS nodes deployed nearby. Although I'm not currently mapping AT&T, based on CellMapper, it appears to be right on cell edge for both sites. Regardless, it appears that whoever is deploying is planning for a significant build. There are eight Crown Castle Solutions nodes approved for construction in a 12-block by 2-block area.
    • Starlink (1900mhz) for T-Mobile, AST SpaceMobile (700mhz and 850mhz) for AT&T, GlobalStar (unknown frequency) for Apple, Iridium (unknown frequency) for Samsung, and AST SpaceMobile (850mhz) for Verizon only work on frequency bands the carrier has licensed nationwide.  These systems broadcast and listen on multiple frequencies at the same time in areas much wider than normal cellular market license areas.  They would struggle with only broadcasting certain frequencies only in certain markets so instead they require a nationwide license.  With the antennas that are included on the satellites, they have range of cellular band frequencies they support and can have different frequencies with different providers in each supported country.  The cellular bands in use are typically 5mhz x 5mhz bands (37.5mbps total for the entire cell) or smaller so they do not have a lot of data bandwidth for the satellite band covering a very large plot of land with potentially millions of customers in a single large cellular satellite cell.  I have heard that each of Starlink's cells sharing that bandwidth will cover 75 or more miles. Satellite cellular connectivity will be set to the lowest priority connection just before SOS service on supported mobile devices and is made available nationwide in supported countries.  The mobile device rules pushed by the provider decide when and where the device is allowed to connect to the satellite service and what services can be provided over that connection.  The satellite has a weak receiving antenna and is moving very quickly so any significant obstructions above your mobile device antenna could cause it not to work.  All the cellular satellite services are starting with texting only and some of them like Apple's solution only support a predefined set of text messages.  Eventually it is expected that a limited number of simultaneous voice calls (VoLTE) will run on these per satellite cell.  Any spare data will then be available as an extremely slow LTE data connection as it could potentially be shared by millions of people.  Satellite data from the way these are currently configured will likely never work well enough to use unless you are in a very remote location.
  • Recently Browsing

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...