Sprint to join Rural Operators Roaming Hub (CCA and RRPP thread)

[jreuschl]

This network will be a new frequency that no current phones support, right?

[Dkoellerwx]

This network will be a new frequency that no current phones support, right?

 

Depends on whose network you are referring to. Some will be deploying LTE on Sprint's spectrum. Some are using subsets of Band 25 or 26, which current devices can support. And some are operating networks that will require new devices. 

[jreuschl]

Depends on whose network you are referring to. Some will be deploying LTE on Sprint's spectrum. Some are using subsets of Band 25 or 26, which current devices can support. And some are operating networks that will require new devices. 

 

Wasn't there an announcement of some kind of 700MHz network?  Maybe I'm getting announcements confused.  lol

[S4GRU]

Wasn't there an announcement of some kind of 700MHz network?  Maybe I'm getting announcements confused.  lol

 

Yes, future Sprint devices will support Bands 4 and 12 too (AWS/Lower 700).  However, only a few CCA members use those bands.  Sprint is including them to reach even more places and provide a better experience.  But these new bands will only be required with a few providers.

 

Robert

[AppleFanBoy]

So with the newest system update with the LG G2 it has a new selection in the ##DATA# hidden menu called LTE Available List which lists SID, NID, and BASE_ID's for all sites that it has found LTE from.

 

I looked around through this log and noticed that there are some with a SID of 5, which corresponds to US Cellular.  It appears that the phone is noticing the LTE, but isn't authenticating?  Could be a sign of things to come?

 

Screenshots and proof below:

 

Screenshot_2014-07-25-19-04-30.png

 

Snip20140725_2.png

 

I've been checking out the LTE Available list on my LG G2 ever since I got the ZVD update and tonight I actually noticed the following:

 

SID: 1280

BID: 2

BASE_ID: 6050

 

I tracked down the SID on the http://www.roamingzone.com website found it was assigned to Bluegrass Cellular. 

 

So I exported my SCP logs and found a CDMA entry for the SID/BID/Base ID and sure enough its the Bluegrass Cellular tower within site of my house!

 

I know Bluegrass utilizes 700 MHZ LTE, but I'm pretty sure the LG G2 does not support 700 MHZ. 

 

Is this something significant (like Bluegrass deploying 800/850 or 1900 LTE or some other band my phone supports or only a fluke?

[S4GRU]

I've been checking out the LTE Available list on my LG G2 ever since I got the ZVD update and tonight I actually noticed the following:

 

SID: 1280

BID: 2

BASE_ID: 6050

 

I tracked down the SID on the http://www.roamingzone.com website found it was assigned to Bluegrass Cellular.

 

So I exported my SCP logs and found a CDMA entry for the SID/BID/Base ID and sure enough its the Bluegrass Cellular tower within site of my house!

 

I know Bluegrass utilizes 700 MHZ LTE, but I'm pretty sure the LG G2 does not support 700 MHZ.

 

Is this something significant (like Bluegrass deploying 800/850 or 1900 LTE or some other band my phone supports or only a fluke?

That tracks which CDMA site you are connected to while being connected to LTE. So, at some point you were connected to Bluegrass Cellular CDMA while being connected to LTE. While you could have been connected to Bluegrass LTE at the time, it is more likely you were connected to Sprint LTE at the time.

 

It is definitely possible for your phone to be roaming on 1x but on Sprint native LTE. We see it all the time.

 

Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

[AppleFanBoy]

That tracks which CDMA site you are connected to while being connected to LTE. So, at some point you were connected to Bluegrass Cellular CDMA while being connected to LTE. While you could have been connected to Bluegrass LTE at the time, it is more likely you were connected to Sprint LTE at the time.

 

It is definitely possible for your phone to be roaming on 1x but on Sprint native LTE. We see it all the time.

 

Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

Really? I guess that make sense because all the IDs are related to CDMA sites.

 

Well they grossly mislabeled the list IMO [emoji6]

[S4GRU]

Really? I guess that make sense because all the IDs are related to CDMA sites.

 

Well they grossly mislabeled the list IMO [emoji6]

The purpose of this list is to track the CDMA sites your device connects to when on LTE, so your device knows to scan more frequently for LTE in those areas knowing it's likely to find LTE.

 

When connected to CDMA sites that have not seen LTE before, it scans less frequently for LTE to save battery life. At least, that's the theory anyway.

 

Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

[jonathanm1978]

One thing that wouldn't surprise me though is if CSpire divested their Memphis MSA PCS and customers to Sprint and sold its AWS outside their footprint to T-Mobile; they're gonna be fifth in the game to launch LTE in Memphis (maybe even sixth; dunno if MetroPCS or Cricket launched LTE in Memphis before they were merged), and I don't see how they stay competitive in that market when they can be far more profitable focusing on areas where AT&T and VZW are weaker and Sprint & T-Mobile are largely nonexistent.

 

Besides which, if they wanted to be bought out in whole I'm sure they would have sold to Verizon years ago; for the longest time VZW didn't have any native coverage south of Batesville or so... it was all extended network on Cellular South.

 

 

I had a family reunion in Mississippi a couple weeks ago, and in McComb...where I stayed for 3 days, I could've killed my G3 a couple of times. Sprint LTE in city (McComb)...but on outskirts, wonderful voice without any data whatsoever.

Showed the 3G icon, even saw it spinning ...but the data session was DEAD. I think the tower was *splat*. Every time this happened, SCP showed C-Spire as the connection. It really did me some damage, as I needed my GPS to work, and unless I got my coordinates before losing LTE inside McComb city limits, or I used wifi before I left the house I stayed out, I was out of luck until I just "luckily" hit LTE for a few seconds on the rural areas.

 

The data was SO bad on C-spire (so bad = non-existent) that I went to walmart, bought a $30 belkin router, used my Ubiquiti Loco M2, and extended some wifi coverage inside the house to get better wifi signals just to be able to use GPS and have directions without driving around on a hope and prayer.

 

I've never seen a data connection quite like what I saw with C-spire....the connection was established...but even web pages were errored out...

Was totally new for me to see a great signal but a data session that was mostly dead...i assume they were working on the tower I was hitting, but who knows....

But voice side was OK. No problem making or receiving calls/texts.

[JeffDTD]

I've never seen a data connection quite like what I saw with C-spire....the connection was established...but even web pages were errored out...

Was totally new for me to see a great signal but a data session that was mostly dead...i assume they were working on the tower I was hitting, but who knows....

But voice side was OK. No problem making or receiving calls/texts.

Cspire actually claims native LTE coverage in mccomb.

I have family in amite county and often drive from hattiesburg through mccomb to get there. Cspires legacy data network has been in the toilet for a looong time. Some sites will allow 3g access, some 1x, some nothing. Not a unique experience with cspire.

 

Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk

[Fuber]

I had a family reunion in Mississippi a couple weeks ago, and in McComb...where I stayed for 3 days, I could've killed my G3 a couple of times. Sprint LTE in city (McComb)...but on outskirts, wonderful voice without any data whatsoever.

Showed the 3G icon, even saw it spinning ...but the data session was DEAD. I think the tower was *splat*. Every time this happened, SCP showed C-Spire as the connection. It really did me some damage, as I needed my GPS to work, and unless I got my coordinates before losing LTE inside McComb city limits, or I used wifi before I left the house I stayed out, I was out of luck until I just "luckily" hit LTE for a few seconds on the rural areas.

 

The data was SO bad on C-spire (so bad = non-existent) that I went to walmart, bought a $30 belkin router, used my Ubiquiti Loco M2, and extended some wifi coverage inside the house to get better wifi signals just to be able to use GPS and have directions without driving around on a hope and prayer.

 

I've never seen a data connection quite like what I saw with C-spire....the connection was established...but even web pages were errored out...

Was totally new for me to see a great signal but a data session that was mostly dead...i assume they were working on the tower I was hitting, but who knows....

But voice side was OK. No problem making or receiving calls/texts.

 

I have notice that my G2 would show 3G when actually it was 1X per Signal Check. So you may have been on 1X only.

[eljayyy91]

I have notice that my G2 would show 3G when actually it was 1X per Signal Check. So you may have been on 1X only.

Ya I hate that Sprint took away our 1x icon... Makes evdo look like shit sometimes. I could understand before with 1900 1x and evdo but now with 1x 800 I have voice in places never before and when you have a 3g icon and no data it just looks bad. Don't get me wrong I understand 1x is a 3g tech but still for the avg Joe just makes Sprint look bad.

[bretton88]

The nexus 5 still has the 1X icon.

[mikejeep]

Ya I hate that Sprint took away our 1x icon... Makes evdo look like shit sometimes. I could understand before with 1900 1x and evdo but now with 1x 800 I have voice in places never before and when you have a 3g icon and no data it just looks bad. Don't get me wrong I understand 1x is a 3g tech but still for the avg Joe just makes Sprint look bad.

I agree that 1X and EV-DO should show different icons, but please don't forget that none of us who hang around here at S4GRU should be classified as an "average Joe" when it comes to mobile phones. Average Joes have no clue what 1X means. Even if they did, they would still dislike Sprint when they saw it. We are wireless nerds.

 

-Mike

[eljayyy91]

I agree that 1X and EV-DO should show different icons

-Mike

Yes I understand that but many people just naturally understand the difference. Before I could understand usually in instances where you were on 1x you were in a low signal area anyway so you would only get 1 bar of 1x anyway. But now with 1x 800, I get 3- full bars of 3g displaying on my phone so even before I came to this forum I would have thought would provide a descent browsing experience but then be presented with error messages.( I have never really experienced sprints "horrible" evdo everyone has talked about for the longest my long time with Sprint has actually always been enjoyable)

That's just my view on that situation.

 

But I guess that's why we have SCP eh? Lol

[lennyj17]

I agree that 1X and EV-DO should show different icons, but please don't forget that none of us who hang around here at S4GRU should be classified as an "average Joe" when it comes to mobile phones. Average Joes have no clue what 1X means. Even if they did, they would still dislike Sprint when they saw it. We are wireless nerds.

-Mike

How bout

 

2G = 1X

3G = EVDO

LTE = 4G

[WiWavelength]

How bout

 

2G = 1X

3G = EVDO

LTE = 4G

 

No, that does not make any consistent sense.

 

CDMA1X is 3G.  And even if the labeling convention were to go 2G, 3G, then the next logical one would be 4G.  You have LTE and 4G reversed.

 

AJ

[maxsilver]

No, that does not make any consistent sense.

 

CDMA1X is 3G.

Yes, *technically* CDMA1x is a 3G technology. But EDGE is also a 3G technology according to the ITU, as it "formally fulfills the IMT2000 requirements on 3G systems".

 

Everyone knows neither CDMA1X nor EDGE provide 3G service (in terms of data performance). Devices shouldn't try to hide their lack of data service by claiming 1X/EDGE as "3G". It's intentionally misleading.

 

Sprint recognizes this themselves, 1x is not considered "3G service" on their coverage tool - http://shop2.sprint.com/en/stores/popups/compare_data_speeds_popup.shtml and Sprint advertises 1X as their "2G network" in their M2M materials - http://m2m.sprint.com/m2m-solutions/2g-network

[mikejeep]

Yes, *technically* CDMA1x is a 3G technology. But EDGE is also a 3G technology according to the ITU, as it "formally fulfills the IMT2000 requirements on 3G systems".

 

Everyone knows neither CDMA1X nor EDGE provide 3G service (in terms of data performance). Devices shouldn't try to hide their lack of data service by claiming 1X/EDGE as "3G". It's intentionally misleading.

 

Sprint recognizes this themselves, 1x is not considered "3G service" on their coverage tool - http://shop2.sprint.com/en/stores/popups/compare_data_speeds_popup.shtml and Sprint advertises 1X as their "2G network" in their M2M materials - http://m2m.sprint.com/m2m-solutions/2g-network

 

Just because it's slower, and Sprint calls it something else, doesn't make it right. If we are striving for technical correctness, then we need to accept the fact that 1X and EDGE are 3G technologies. I completely understand what you are saying, but you're basing that off of the marketing that "3G" meant "fast" back in the day. There's no arguing the difference in speeds between 1X and EV-DO, but that doesn't mean they aren't both 3G.

 

That being said, I think 1X/3G/LTE are the most appropriate and commonly-understood brief indicators for each of these. "4G" is too generic considering there are many different flavors of wireless tagged with that these days, especially for non-CDMA folks who have the various HS*PA options.

 

-Mike

[jroepcke51]

Did AJ ever go to Oklahoma? If so how was the trip?

[twospirits]

He went and got sidetrack looking at a few crop circles. Then a flash of light and poof, he disappeared. His trip companion caught it all on film which is currently being looked at by some guys in black suits and dark glasses.

 

TS

[S4GRU]

Did AJ ever go to Oklahoma? If so how was the trip?

Yes. He is hunting down a few leads, writing letters to some companies. Working hard at being a thorough journalist. Hopefully he will be able to report his findings to us conclusively.

 

Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

[jroepcke51]

Yes. He is hunting down a few leads, writing letters to some companies. Working hard at being a thorough journalist. Hopefully he will be able to report his findings to us conclusively.

 

Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

awesome!

[dnicekid]

Is Tmo still going to participate now?

[S4GRU]

Is Tmo still going to participate now?

 

Send a Tweet to the Twit and ask him yourself.  But I don't think Tmo was a member of the CCA just because Sprint was going to offer to buy them out a year or two later.  I don't see the connection.

 

Robert