Uh, oh...AT&T's Network Deployment hits a major snag :)

[S4GRU]

Can we make this thread the AT&T Network Discussion thread like the old T-Mobile thread (RIP)?

I considered that. However, the discussion was about how AT&T stopped deployment. And we're talking about the things we have seen that show they are still deploying by our observations.

 

Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

[Nickel]

I considered that. However, the discussion was about how AT&T stopped deployment. And we're talking about the things we have seen that show they are still deploying by our observations.

 

Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

I get that, but we need our fearless leader's thoughts on the competitors network!

[irwinshere]

I get that, but we need our fearless leader's thoughts on the competitors network!

Why?

 

Jim, Sent from my Photon 4G using Tapatalk 2

[Nickel]

Why?

 

Jim, Sent from my Photon 4G using Tapatalk 2

I was just kidding about needing his thoughts.

[PDXmike]

I get that, but we need our fearless leader's thoughts on the competitors network!

 

 

Why?

 

Jim, Sent from my Photon 4G using Tapatalk 2

 

 

I was just kidding about needing his thoughts.

 

Nickel humor.

[WiWavelength]

I was just kidding about needing his thoughts.

 

A Nickel for your thoughts...

 

AJ

[Nickel]

A Nickel for your thoughts...

 

AJ

AJ outchea flinging the chedda like it's nothin.

[bigsnake49]

I considered that. However, the discussion was about how AT&T stopped deployment. And we're talking about the things we have seen that show they are still deploying by our observations.

 

Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

The original post was about them stopping their Sprint MV like deployment because it was getting way too expensive and with all the RRUs and panels was getting too heavy for the original rack.

[Johnner1999]

I have to agree with you 110% — I much prefer the ease of sim swaps with AT&T… sadly in my area AT&T is typically overloaded so VZW it was :-(

 

 

Rapid City was an early Band 4 market for Verizon. They installed a 15MHz carrier here last October. It was needed as VZW has a whopping 70 share here.

Before the new Band went live, VZW LTE 750 was suffering. At times well below 1Mbps at busy sites. Since coming online, VZW LTE 750 runs about 7-8 Mbps steadily. VZW Band 4 started out between 40-60 Mbps around here. But now has settled around 20-30Mbps.

I don't use VZW because I prefer the open device ecosystem on AT&T. I really like being able to pop in a AT&T, Tmo or Sprint SIM into my Nexus 5 as needed. And AT&T meets my needs for the most part. And it's much cheaper. I can have an AT&T, Sprint and Tmo service for the cost of Verizon.

Robert via Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

[greenbastard]

I nearly drove off the road when I saw Band 5 on my LTE Engineering screen Friday evening. I wasn't expecting it. They had Band 4 active there for the past month. But Band 5 just went active in Kadoka this past week. It's the first time I've seen Band 5 myself.

 

Both Band 4 and Band 5 are only 5MHz channels there. But that should be ample for a town that size. In fact, one 5MHz LTE carrier would be enough.

 

 

Robert via Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Correct me if I'm wrong, but today's Sprint triband phones do have the ability to roam on Band 5 due to their support of Band 26, correct? (Of course pending any LTE roaming agreements with AT&T or U.S. Cellular)

[S4GRU]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but today's Sprint triband phones do have the ability to roam on Band 5 due to their support of Band 26, correct? (Of course pending any LTE roaming agreements with AT&T or U.S. Cellular)

 

Yes.  I was using a Nexus 5 with an AT&T SIM card in it in this instance.  However, if AT&T and Sprint had an LTE roaming agreement, it would have been possible for me to roam on that AT&T Band 5 site with my Nexus 5 using Sprint service.  US Cellular is much more likely to allow LTE roaming for Sprint than AT&T, though.

 

Robert

[digiblur]

I found a few more sites around me that had band 4 added. I was able to determine they are using RRUS12 B4 models now.

[digiblur]

 

 

Comparison of RRU12 to RRU11

 

 

It also has an expansion module available as well.

 

 

and

 

[Sprke]

50 LBS? Didn't realize they weighed that much. Then again I always see them on top of the tower so they look smaller then they are. How much do the antennas weigh?

[Sprke]

Double post, thanks tapatalk :/

[darickster09]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but today's Sprint triband phones do have the ability to roam on Band 5 due to their support of Band 26, correct? (Of course pending any LTE roaming agreements with AT&T or U.S. Cellular)

 

Im curious to.  how is this phone on band 5?  or is this not a sprint phone?

[darickster09]

nevermind disregard my last Robert.  I forgot that you are not in a sprint market.  lol.

[lilotimz]

50 LBS? Didn't realize they weighed that much. Then again I always see them on top of the tower so they look smaller then they are. How much do the antennas weigh?

 

20-30 pounds. 

[bigsnake49]

Now you know why there was a weight concern on ATT's NV equivalent. Between the RRUs and the panels particulalrly the multiple low frequency panels, it adds up.

[mrknowitall526]

Now you know why there was a weight concern on ATT's NV equivalent. Between the RRUs and the panels particulalrly the multiple low frequency panels, it adds up.

There's an AT&T store near me that's built in the center of a jug handle exit ramp. And it has a tower in the back of the store. When you're sitting on the ramp at a red light you can get a pretty good view of the equipment which is only about 10 feet (?) off the ground - it's a two story building but it doesn't even go over the roof.

 

I'm always surprised by the massive amount of equipment on there. Why does AT&T require so much? Just not as sleek as Sprint, or they haven't done a rip and replace so they just keep adding stuff?

[bigsnake49]

There's an AT&T store near me that's built in the center of a jug handle exit ramp. And it has a tower in the back of the store. When you're sitting on the ramp at a red light you can get a pretty good view of the equipment which is only about 10 feet (?) off the ground - it's a two story building but it doesn't even go over the roof.

 

I'm always surprised by the massive amount of equipment on there. Why does AT&T require so much? Just not as sleek as Sprint, or they haven't done a rip and replace so they just keep adding stuff?

It is probably not a rip and replace site. They started doing that but had to stop it because of both cost and weight concerns. Follow the link in the original post.

[digiblur]

50 LBS? Didn't realize they weighed that much. Then again I always see them on top of the tower so they look smaller then they are. How much do the antennas weigh?

Those typical RFS antennas that Sprint uses for NV are also right at 50 lbs IIRC. They are larger than you think as well.

[digiblur]

It is probably not a rip and replace site. They started doing that but had to stop it because of both cost and weight concerns. Follow the link in the original post.

I still don't buy anything on that article. Maybe if someone has some official docs to back it up. AT&T knows how much it costs to do things. This isn't their first rodeo of network upgrades. There was a PBS special a while back on how tower upgrades were paid and all the middle men involved. AT&T says this is what we pay for the work, do it or someone else will do it. It's not like you could turn around and bill them more. The OEM bids, then the tower company bids the OEM. I think that article was blown out of proportion by some ex-employee or someone tied somehow to their upgrades that pissed them off. There is probably some merit to AT&T stopping and making changes during this first test rollout. They probably pissed someone off and cost them money. So they made up some crap to piss them off back via the media.

[bigsnake49]

I still don't buy anything on that article. Maybe if someone has some official docs to back it up. AT&T knows how much it costs to do things. This isn't their first rodeo of network upgrades. There was a PBS special a while back on how tower upgrades were paid and all the middle men involved. AT&T says this is what we pay for the work, do it or someone else will do it. It's not like you could turn around and bill them more. The OEM bids, then the tower company bids the OEM. I think that article was blown out of proportion by some ex-employee or someone tied somehow to their upgrades that pissed them off. There is probably some merit to AT&T stopping and making changes during this first test rollout. They probably pissed someone off and cost them money. So they made up some crap to piss them off back via the media.

Maybe they it was a test deployment and they saw that it costs too much and adds too much weight. So they stopped the deployment before it even started.

[bigsnake49]

Here is another articles that supports the slowdown and that it is affecting new site builds more so than overlays, particularly around NY:

http://www.rcrwireless.com/article/20140707/infrastructure-2/att-spending-stabilizing/