Sprint to Shut Down Wimax by End of 2015 (Was Wimax network shut-off date?)

[JustinFrascona]

My clear representative. If you have a clear partner call your rep they can confirm.

[SeanK_]

My clear representative. If you have a clear partner call your rep they can confirm.

Without any confirmed confirmation, I can't really believe this date you gave us.

[JustinFrascona]

i know its true like i said in my post prior to this if you are a clear partner you can call your clear rep and they will confirm this. Your "proof" will be mailed out next month to all clear customers. i have no reason to lie, just sharing my knowledge.

Edited August 11, 2013 by JustinFrascona

[scubajwd]

Ouch..only a year away!  Doesn't seem possible given that so many Wimax markets are many many months from

being launched (including my market here in Las Vegas which probably won't launch totally for another 12 months

at todays progress)

[JustinFrascona]

Ouch..only a year away!  Doesn't seem possible given that so many Wimax markets are many many months from

being launched (including my market here in Las Vegas which probably won't launch totally for another 12 months

at todays progress) 

 

 

Vegas has wimax coverage already lte may be a different story. At this point and time if you dont have wimax you will not get it.

[COZisBack]

Vegas has wimax coverage already lte may be a different story. At this point and time if you dont have wimax you will not get it.

I believe he was saying, that there are so many WiMaximus markets that are many many months away from getting NV LTE.

 

Today's post has been brought to you by Sprint, the letters GN and the number 2.

 

 

[WiWavelength]

I always wanted to eat Flava Flav's Fried Chicken!  But sadly, it is now defunct.  

 

Yeah, that is too bad.  I even came across a video on how to order properly at Flav's Chicken & Ribs...

 

 

AJ

[ericdabbs]

official Wimax decommission date August 31 2014. 

 

Pics or it didn't happen.  Haha j/k.

[Dkoellerwx]

official Wimax decommission date August 31 2014. 

 

Really going to need to hard proof on this one. Everything we've see so far indicated a commitment to WiMax through at least 2015.

[ericdabbs]

Really going to need to hard proof on this one. Everything we've see so far indicated a commitment to WiMax through at least 2015.

 

Interesting that the date is exactly 1 year from the proposed date that Clearwire is set to end new activations on its Wimax service.  I really hope this Aug 2014 Wimax shutdown rumor is true because the sooner that 2.6 Wimax spectrum can be refarmed for LTE, the better it will be for everyone.

[gnoj]

I thought that Sprint needed to keep Wi-Max going until January of 2015 because the FCC mandated coverage for that long. Maybe the August 2014 date just applies to Clear subs and not Sprint phones?

 

Will the upcoming tri-band phones (G2, Note 3, etc) support TDD on the spectrum that is refarmed from Wi-Max, or will that again require new phones? Perhaps that depends on if they deploy 40 MHz carriers rather than 20 on it?

[S4GRU]

I thought that Sprint needed to keep Wi-Max going until January of 2015 because the FCC mandated coverage for that long. Maybe the August 2014 date just applies to Clear subs and not Sprint phones?

 

Will the upcoming tri-band phones (G2, Note 3, etc) support TDD on the spectrum that is refarmed from Wi-Max, or will that again require new phones? Perhaps that depends on if they deploy 40 MHz carriers rather than 20 on it?

 

I don't think the FCC ever would require a specific technology be broadcast.  They certainly would be allowed to switch those sites to TDD-LTE and satisfy any FCC concerns.  Additionally, Sprint has said internally that they are going to allow WiMax customers that are impacted by shutdowns to get a free LTE device.  So there is no harm here.

 

Triband smartphones coming out support Band 41, which is TD-LTE in all the same frequencies as WiMax used.  However, they only support 20MHz carriers, AFAIK.  40MHz carriers may never come to pass, and would likely be a Carrier Aggregation situation.

 

Robert

[gnoj]

I don't think the FCC ever would require a specific technology be broadcast.  They certainly would be allowed to switch those sites to TDD-LTE and satisfy any FCC concerns.  Additionally, Sprint has said internally that they are going to allow WiMax customers that are impacted by shutdowns to get a free LTE device.  So there is no harm here.

 

 

Sprint has made statements in the past committing to keeping Wi-Max up until 2015. If this new date is accurate it may be SoftBank's doing. Given that impacted subs will be eligible for a free LTE phone, I agree that the sooner the decommission occurs, the better. Since the FCC requires the spectrum to be in use for either LTE or Wi-Max, the date probably represents the absolute latest point at which Sprint expects to be completely finished with TDD upgrades, at least in current Wi-Max markets.

 

Triband smartphones coming out support Band 41, which is TD-LTE in all the same frequencies as WiMax used.  However, they only support 20MHz carriers, AFAIK.  40MHz carriers may never come to pass, and would likely be a Carrier Aggregation situation.

 

So with 160 MHz of spectrum from Clear, is it likely there will eventually be 7-8 20MHz carriers (not sure if guard bands are required), with future LTE-A devices aggregating them into 40 or 80 MHz pseudo-carriers? The initial TDD deployment involves only one 20 MHz carrier, right?

[S4GRU]

So with 160 MHz of spectrum from Clear, is it likely there will eventually be 7-8 20MHz carriers (not sure if guard bands are required), with future LTE-A devices aggregating them into 40 or 80 MHz pseudo-carriers? The initial TDD deployment involves only one 20 MHz carrier, right?

 

160MHz is a number the media loves to throw around.  Sprint now has through their Clearwire buyout access to between 50-160MHz of EBS/BRS per market.  A huge variability.  The one time I averaged it out, it was around 100-110MHz on average per market.  And it is not continuous, by any stretch of the imagination.  I don't recall in any place was there a continuous 40MHz swath anywhere.

 

Every market can do at least one 20MHz carrier.  And almost all can do 2 or more.  But the initial deployment is just one carrier.  Additional carriers will be added for capacity, or when carrier aggregation is ready to be implemented.  As for guard bands, I don't believe any are needed, but AJ could speak about that much better than I can.

 

Robert

[scottlloyd3]

Interesting that the date is exactly 1 year from the proposed date that Clearwire is set to end new activations on its Wimax service.  I really hope this Aug 2014 Wimax shutdown rumor is true because the sooner that 2.6 Wimax spectrum can be refarmed for LTE, the better it will be for everyone.

I understand all the excitement around the new phones and such,,, but lets not rush this shutdown too hard.  There are several million of us out here using the clearwire system for our home ISP's,,, Especially the rual areas where cable and such is not in place.  So "the sooner the better" is not for everyone by a long shot.

 

Phones are not the only thing that runs on the wireless networks.

 

Now,,, what the heck am I going to do now!!!!

[S4GRU]

I understand all the excitement around the new phones and such,,, but lets not rush this shutdown too hard.  There are several million of us out here using the clearwire system for our home ISP's,,, Especially the rual areas where cable and such is not in place.  So "the sooner the better" is not for everyone by a long shot.

 

Phones are not the only thing that runs on the wireless networks.

 

Now,,, what the heck am I going to do now!!!!

 

Sprint is telling you that you better consider a Plan B in the not too distant future.

 

Robert

[scottlloyd3]

Thats the big problem,,, I havent found a plan B yet,,, if there was one that didnt cost an arm and a leg,,, I wouldn't have been on clearwire!,,,

 

But your right,, need to find something and quick!!!

[ericdabbs]

I understand all the excitement around the new phones and such,,, but lets not rush this shutdown too hard.  There are several million of us out here using the clearwire system for our home ISP's,,, Especially the rual areas where cable and such is not in place.  So "the sooner the better" is not for everyone by a long shot.

 

Phones are not the only thing that runs on the wireless networks.

 

Now,,, what the heck am I going to do now!!!!

 

Better start researching an alternative ISP service.  I mean Clearwire has only existed since around 2008/2009 so prior to that you must have some form of broadband internet service available.  Given that you are from San Jose, I highly doubt there isn't an ISP alternative there.

[scottlloyd3]

Where we are there is a home brew cable service and a telephone switching board,,, so cable is out and so is DSL.  Clear wire was my best "unlimited" choice.  Everyone else caps the data.

 

What to do,,,, what to do,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

[scottlloyd3]

Hey!!! I finally made the 1% club,,, I'm one of the few that dosent want the shutdown!!

[ericdabbs]

Hey!!! I finally made the 1% club,,, I'm one of the few that dosent want the shutdown!!

 

*crickets*

[Thomas L.]

Where we are there is a home brew cable service and a telephone switching board,,, so cable is out and so is DSL. Clear wire was my best "unlimited" choice. Everyone else caps the data.

 

What to do,,,, what to do,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

If you're lucky, maybe there will end up bring a data only mvno like freedom Pop or net zero that will offer a plan with high caps. You probably won't get another unlimited provider, but with a bit of luck you might get an acceptable alternative.

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 4

 

 

[AMejia1976]

Is likelly the change in terms was as has been said for the purpose of shutting down the network sooner than 2015. With users been able possibly get a free LTE devise I can see Sprint/Softbank doing this.

 

As further proof the end might be nearer than we think; Best Buy stopped selling Clear hardware this last week.

 

@l3x

[JonnygATL]

Whoa. That was a jumbled statement(s?) if ever there were one. But I think that, after sifting through the verbal wreckage, I was able to catch your drift.

[iansltx]

Ahem...Millenicom.

 

Not unlimited, but my boss now has two 2.4GHz grid antennas (one H-pol, one V-pol) hooked to his Franklin U720 modem. Thanks to the (tons of) extra gain, he told me today that he was pulling 15/5 or so in an area that normally barely gets cell service. Yes, it's a rather expensive setup (equipment plus $70/mo) but it beats Clear WiMAX any day of the week. And the antennas will work perfectly well when he swaps out his current data stick for a tri-band one, which will happen once I see TD off of the site he's hitting...five miles away.

 

I don't think Sprint will actively advertise Millenicom-like service in the near future (or even something similar to HomeFusion from Verizon). But my guess is that the carrier is perfectly fine with MCom's user base: high usage folks with powerful modems in rural areas who are likely to actively work to get the best signal they possibly can, without whining to Sprint if they can't. With TD-LTE, Sprint cares even less about these folks because they'll just sit on a single 20MHz TD carrier, use a bit of bandwidth, and do that bandwidth usage from a device that pulls down (and pushes back) the signal loud and clear. In my boss's situation, the antennas we're talking about have 24 dBi of gain in 2.4 GHz...each. Of course you can't just add the gains together, but when you add in a rather large amount of spatial diversity we're talking about, you've got a nearly absurd amount of gain compared to your standard hotspot. As such, I wouldn't be surprised if he saw speeds comparable to my cable connection, at least right when the service went live (that city has never seen anything going on in BRS/EBS).