Marcelo Claure, Town Hall Meetings, New Family Share Pack Plan, Unlimited Individual Plan, Discussion Thread

[caspar347]

I am unclear on expanding the base/expanding coverage in so far as when is a macro site called for and when will small cells do the trick in an urban area.

 

Do they have multi band small cells, I only saw an example of a 1900 LTE pico cell?

 

Can small cells make up for the lack of Spectrum here in the San Francisco Bay Area. Do small cells have the capacity and is the required density needed realistic?

Just to clarify, Sprint is using both B25 and B41 small cells. They are two separate types of small cells, but both are used. I assume the type used depends on whether the area has any B25 LTE to start with. Band 41 small cells will definitely go a very long way towards solving capacity problems.

[Mercurial1]

I will offer something of a counterpoint.

 

I am not defending Gary Forsee. I do not care at all to support or criticize the guy, am just presenting a neutral observation.

 

What if, by way of the Nextel merger, which came under his watch, Forsee and Sprint fell ass backward into a treasure trove of spectrum? Low band SMR 800 MHz. And especially droves of high band BRS/EBS 2600 MHz spectrum -- but soon to be considered mid band spectrum, relative to LTE-U, EHF, VLC, etc.

 

That is not so bad. Forsee may be the "Seinfeld" Kramer of Sprint. Initially, a doofus. But his bets pay off later.

 

In fact, I have heard that Forsee is working on a coffee table book about coffee tables. Or a rubber bladder system to prevent spills from oil tankers.

 

AJ

I swear that the last time I saw Forsee he was wearing a puffy shirt

 

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[JWMaloney]

Just to clarify, Sprint is using both B25 and B41 small cells. They are two separate types of small cells, but both are used. I assume the type used depends on whether the area has any B25 LTE to start with. Band 41 small cells will definitely go a very long way towards solving capacity problems.

 

They're also using B26 mini macros.

[WillM]

As far as valuations, yes they were very high. I think DT paid $40 B for T-Mobile?

 

 

I think DT paid more than $50B for Voicestream which is totally insane considering how crappy that company was in general. You couldn't get anywhere near that today for TMUS which is a much better company.

[WiWavelength]

I swear that the last time I saw Forsee he was wearing a puffy shirt

 

But I don't wanna be a pirate!

 

 

AJ

[WiWavelength]

It's also possible for Sprint to deploy a second B25 carrier with their existing spectrum here. They just need to slim down the CDMA carriers. Supposedly this is planned soon, but last I checked the CDMA carriers were still spread throughout the whole block.

 

Any band 25 second carrier in the Bay Area will have to be 5 MHz FDD for quite some time, since Sprint years ago partitioned, disaggregated, and traded away to the former AT&TWS the upper 10 MHz (5 MHz FDD) of Sprint's PCS A block 30 MHz (15 MHz FDD) license in the Bay Area.

 

http://people.ku.edu/~cinema/wireless/spcs.html#SanFran

 

That seemed like a good trade 15 years ago, as Sprint still could run up to seven CDMA2000 carriers.  CDMA2000 was so efficient that Sprint had excess spectrum at the time.  Not anymore.  Times have changed.

 

With LTE, you know that Sprint would kill to have that PCS A block partition and disaggregation back again in the Bay Area.  So, for any band 25, that means the Bay Area presently is limited to PCS A block 20 MHz (10 MHz FDD) and PCS G block (5 MHz FDD).  And, of course, some CDMA2000 operations have to continue in the PCS A block.  I would like to see three CDMA1X carriers and just one EV-DO carrier, alongside the 5 MHz FDD second carrier.  With a little bit of guard band and PRL creativity, it could be done.

 

In the still intact PCS A/B block 30 MHz (15 MHz FDD) contiguous markets, a band 25 second carrier is pretty easy to carve out.  Expect those markets to go band 25 second carrier 10 MHz FDD this year.

 

AJ

[Mercurial1]

But I don't wanna be a pirate!

 

 

 

AJ

Before Sprint he was turned down as a laytex salesman at Vandelay Industries

 

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[WiWavelength]

Before Sprint he was turned down as a laytex salesman at Vandelay Industries

 

Yes, this is the last known photo of Gary Forsee.

 

 

And, to think, he wanted to be a latex salesman.  He had no shot.

 

Kel Varnsen…er...AJ

[payturr]

In the still intact PCS A/B block 30 MHz (15 MHz FDD) contiguous markets, a band 25 second carrier is pretty easy to carve out. Expect those markets to go band 25 second carrier 10 MHz FDD this year.

 

Wait, so if Sprint still holds the full B block here in NYC, we could expect a 10x10 B25 carrier to go with the existing 5x5??

[WiWavelength]

Wait, so if Sprint still holds the full B block here in NYC, we could expect a 10x10 B25 carrier to go with the existing 5x5??

 

Yes.  If I ran the zoo, said young AJ McGrew, that is just what I would do.

 

In still intact PCS A/B block 30 MHz (15 MHz FDD) markets -- and some cobbled together PCS A-G block spectrum acquisition markets, especially PCS C block or PCS C5 block -- get to a band 25 primary or secondary 10 MHz FDD carrier this year.

 

John Saw, are you listening?

 

AJ

[Deval]

I am unclear on expanding the base/expanding coverage in so far as when is a macro site called for and when will small cells do the trick in an urban area.

 

Do they have multi band small cells, I only saw an example of a 1900 LTE pico cell?

 

Can small cells make up for the lack of Spectrum here in the San Francisco Bay Area. Do small cells have the capacity and is the required density needed realistic?

 

Most small cells are single band, in a lot of the ones we've seen in the field, 2500 B41 LTE. Small cells are basically smaller, lower powered versions of macro cell sites, so they broadcast the same spectrum that the macro sites do. The strategy behind small cell deployment is to fill gaps in coverage and increase capacity since they provide another "cell site" for phones to connect to, thus freeing up capacity on other sites.

[Deval]

One thing you have to keep in mind when Sprint is compared to T-Mobile is that T-Mobile's was mainly an overlay.  Starting from scratch (installing fiber backhaul) is expensive and time consuming.  However, I think it is fair for Sprint to be questioned with the lack of B41 panels that are live, considering it should be a relatively similar roll-out to T-Mobile's B4.  (Heck, even around me there's a bunch of old Clearwire towers with Wimax panels.)  But, I will say for the downtime, Sprint is generally better than T-Mobile, thanks to the in-market roaming.  When Sprint was upgrading my tower in 2013 to B25, the site was offline for a few days, where Verizon's 1x/EvDo roaming came in handy for any texting/voice calls and I still had WiFi for internet use.  Whereas on T-Mobile, you'd have to completely rely on WiFi calling so if you were leaving your driveway and had to make a call, it'd drop the moment you went outside your WiFi range.

 

I'm still keeping my eye on Sprint in hopes that they someday improve their network in a similar fashion to what T-Mobile has now and continue to improve/grow.  Even not being a Sprint customer, Sprint's very existence keeps prices low and affordable.

 

Similar but not the same in regards to B41 rollout. In some markets like NYC, the vast majority of Sprint NV sites are broadcasting B41 and almost every Clearwire site is as well. For the markets that have legacy Samsung Clearwire equipment that is capable of B41, they are broadcasting it. 

 

I know there were issues in some markets where Ericsson managed the NV side and Nokia took on the B41 side, which could account for some limitations. 

[Deval]

Wait, so if Sprint still holds the full B block here in NYC, we could expect a 10x10 B25 carrier to go with the existing 5x5??

 

There is WAY too much traffic on CDMA2000 and EVDO to take apart B block, considering it's only a 15mhz holding if I'm not mistaken.

[payturr]

There is WAY too much traffic on CDMA2000 and EVDO to take apart B block, considering it's only a 15mhz holding if I'm not mistaken.

Wait really? Where can I search this to confirm??

15MHz.. That's UPSETTING

[bigsnake49]

I think DT paid more than $50B for Voicestream which is totally insane considering how crappy that company was in general. You couldn't get anywhere near that today for TMUS which is a much better company.

 

$46B including $5B of Voicestream debt.

[caspar347]

Wait really? Where can I search this to confirm??

15MHz.. That's UPSETTING

B block is 15 FDD. 30 total. Still, not too much wiggle room. Especially with that kind of population density.

[Paynefanbro]

That's why Sprint needs to get as much of their data traffic onto LTE as possible here. I know my EVDO usage is incredibly low but that's because in situations where EVDO is the only thing available, more often than not WiFi is also available.

 

But not everyone is as aggressive about handing off to WiFi when available as I am.

 

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

[Arysyn]

It doesn't help the government forced Sprint's hand as far as not quickly deploying that. I get both sides of the argument, and I get that educational broadband users wanted fair pricing for the transition to TD-LTE since they are the ones leasing EBS back to Sprint.  I can understand the frustration when the network teams are trying to work and all the sudden, they have the whistle stopped. 

 

I've heard most of the reasons Deval mentioned for what many people use in blaming Sprint. Yet the one reason that I've seen posted online that has struck me the most, and its a reason clearly not Sprint's fault for, is the government forcing Sprint to use WiMax or else lose spectrum. In my opinion, that is about the most obvious reason for Sprint's troubles, at least in the delays with getting LTE established.

 

I absolutely despise the government for placing that burden onto Sprint, and by all means Sprint ought to get some sort of compensation for the damage that has doe to its business. Personally, I believe that  should have led the FCC to allow Sprint to acquire T-Mobile. If the government hadn't pressured Sprint into doing that, Sprint likely would have waited to upgrade to 4G when they'd see LTE as the choice to go with in the beginning, rather than having to waste money, resources, and time on WiMax. Sprint may even be far advanced by now and financially secure.

[caspar347]

That's why Sprint needs to get as much of their data traffic onto LTE as possible here. I know my EVDO usage is incredibly low but that's because in situations where EVDO is the only thing available, more often than not WiFi is also available.

 

But not everyone is as aggressive about handing off to WiFi when available as I am.

 

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

That's what I've never understood about the LTE optimization issues. If all of the airlinks that cover an area are gonna be congested, why not at least put everyone on the most efficient airlink possible? I guess that's just Sprint trying to keep user perception of LTE as high as possible.

[Ascertion]

Similar but not the same in regards to B41 rollout. In some markets like NYC, the vast majority of Sprint NV sites are broadcasting B41 and almost every Clearwire site is as well. For the markets that have legacy Samsung Clearwire equipment that is capable of B41, they are broadcasting it. 

 

I know there were issues in some markets where Ericsson managed the NV side and Nokia took on the B41 side, which could account for some limitations. 

Doesn't Jacksonville, FL have Samsung equipment?  There's at least 7 sites I have near me that have old Wimax panels that are not broadcasting B41.  I'm glad Sprint's making progress in some cities, but they really need to do it nationwide, not just in select markets. 

[Deval]

Wait really? Where can I search this to confirm??

15MHz.. That's UPSETTING

 

PCS B Block is 1870-1885 & 1950-1965, which makes it 15x15.

[Deval]

Doesn't Jacksonville, FL have Samsung equipment?  There's at least 7 sites I have near me that have old Wimax panels that are not broadcasting B41.  I'm glad Sprint's making progress in some cities, but they really need to do it nationwide, not just in select markets. 

 

They are doing it nationwide, the numbers show it. A quick look in Jacksonville shows quite a few Clearwire sites broadcasting B41, just perhaps not the specific ones you're referring to.

[Deval]

That's what I've never understood about the LTE optimization issues. If all of the airlinks that cover an area are gonna be congested, why not at least put everyone on the most efficient airlink possible? I guess that's just Sprint trying to keep user perception of LTE as high as possible.

 

That's exactly what they are doing. I see it sometimes on my phone bouncing between B41, B25 and B41²

[payturr]

PCS B Block is 1870-1885 & 1950-1965, which makes it 15x15.

I thought you meant 15MHz PERIOD, not 15MHz FDD. That should be usable for refarm!

[ingenium]

I thought you meant 15MHz PERIOD, not 15MHz FDD. That should be usable for refarm!

Yeah it is. SF only has 20 MHz period (10 FDD). lilotimz said he heard they intent to slim CDMA down to 5 MHz FDD here Soon™, and then deploy a second 5x5 B25 carrier. But they haven't started even shuffling the CDMA channels yet, so I think it'll be a while. The last I checked there was 1 1x carrier on channel 75, and 3 EVDO carriers on channels 25, 150, and 175.

 

NYC has more spectrum, so that might happen sooner.

 

Sent from my Nexus 6P