News Article about sprints problems in Malibu..

[runagun]

http://www.malibutimes.com/news/article_6bbb077c-0218-11e4-95b5-0019bb2963f4.html

 

 

In response to Rosenthal’s letter, Ryan Shepard, regional sales manager for Sprint, said that Malibu “doesn’t have normal cell towers.” The city is one of only eight communities in California with “DAF” nodes — a relaying system for wireless users in difficult terrain. Shepard said the manufacturer no longer supports the DAF product, so it’s difficult to make repairs. Sprint has been replacing broken DAFs with the LTE network. 

 

I'm assuming this a repeater system...

 

[Fraydog]

So, Sprint wants to spearhead their small cell strategy. Deploy a bunch of small cells there, blanket that town with B41 small cells, outdoor and indoor in enterprise and government buildings, problem solved.

 

A macro-level B26 deployment wouldn't hurt either.

[EvanA]

I find it funny that one of their main points is the public safety issue and being unable to dial 911.  I don't think they know that when you dial 911 without service, other providers have to pick up that call.

[tommym65]

Does anyone know if local NIMBYs have delayed or prevented NV upgrades?  Does Malibu's permitting process actually allow upgrades to happen?  Just curious.

[WiWavelength]

I'm assuming this a repeater system...

 

And you can practically rest assured that it is a NIMBY problem.  For aesthetic, property value, and "health" reasons, people in Malibu do not want actual cell towers.  So, they get utility pole mounted microcells -- that cannot be Network Vision upgraded.  In some areas, such as Topanga Canyon, those microcells are a necessity, just not in Malibu proper along the PCH.

 

Boo hoo.  The Malibu residents cannot have their cake and eat it, too.

 

AJ

[shannonbrian]

Mount it the surboards small cell be the s"&t.

[Fraydog]

Sprint can jump the NIMBY's here.

 

Where some of you see crisis, I see opportunity. Sprint should go full Spark microcell through Malibu and get an example of how good they can do with small cell LightRadio deployment. The vendor, in this case Alcatel-Lucent, gets a win they can trumpet, and so does Sprint. Sprint can trumpet themselves as overcoming adversity and being environmentally responsible.

 

Make it an example microcell deployment and an example of what the new Sprint/SoftBank can do.

 

Since I'm assuming the other carriers have to hook in the same DAS, this is an opportunity for Sprint to win a clear victory rather than being retreating into the old bunker mentality.

[dnwk]

So, if they go small cell, do they have to do VoLTE?

[Fraydog]

So, if they go small cell, do they have to do VoLTE?

Alcatel-Lucent has CDMA small cells. Shouldn't be a big problem.

[mrjeff]

Here is a related article from 2013:

 

http://www.malibutimes.com/news/article_5bae00b2-6cce-11e3-8eb9-0019bb2963f4.html