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


joshuam

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AJ... I'm not basing it on one location or just 800mHz...in the Tri-County area.    My opinions are base on Detroit being an old Sprint market.  

Maybe sprint does not care about Detroit. They have B41 with CA on every tower except 2 going up 23 from Toledo to Saginaw. It is strange that "only a few" were updated on your route when 23 is only about what 15 miles west of  Dearborn.

 

Also the 1% is based on a report of user usage meaning anything above 7 Mbps means nothing to the report because 1080p video only goes up to 7 Mbps on most streaming platform. It is mainly a "Can we service are customers." report. If you have issues with the claim you can talk to Nielsen about number of people and area of testing done. But most testing will also have those problems.

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If the antennas are right across the street, should a Magic Box even be needed?  The other carriers don't seem to have issues keeping PCS or AWS going inside the store.  (AT&T and T-Mobile are on the same building; Verizon is nearby on a water tower.)  Next time I'm there (which isn't often) I'll check again, just in case I'm remembering incorrectly about the other carriers.

 

If every building needs a Magic Box to make the Sprint B41 network function, even right next to macro equipment, then Sprint's going to be in trouble.  That's a huge hardware outlay depending on having permission from every building owner in the country.  And it's an issue the other carriers don't seem to have.

 

- Trip

Marcelo did say "We plan to deploy millions of Magic Boxes."...

 

If that's really true, that Giant sounds like it could be a candidate for one. As for why Sprint's signal isn't getting in there, perhaps Band 26 is at low power or maybe there's some other reason that the signal isn't propagating well from the Clear site.

 

I've had this experience myself at a number of locations where the Sprint signal simply dies going inside while other carriers seem to just hum along. I don't get it... but what I've done is tell those businesses about the Magic Box and they've put in requests.

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Maybe sprint does not care about Detroit. They have B41 with CA on every tower except 2 going up 23 from Toledo to Saginaw. It is strange that "only a few" were updated on your route when 23 is only about what 15 miles west of  Dearborn.

 

Also the 1% is based on a report of user usage meaning anything above 7 Mbps means nothing to the report because 1080p video only goes up to 7 Mbps on most streaming platform. It is mainly a "Can we service are customers." report. If you have issues with the claim you can talk to Nielsen about number of people and area of testing done. But most testing will also have those problems.

They DO NOT have CA on every tower in this area.   

Edited by dro1984
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They DO NOT have CA on every tower in this area.

It is rough where I work and live too. We got our first band 41 site online a couple months ago. I sure liked what I saw up there though. Switch and see who works for you if they can't get what you need. I hope reaching out to them gets you results.

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It is rough where I work and live too. We got our first band 41 site online a couple months ago. I sure liked what I saw up there though. Switch and see who works for you if they can't get what you need. I hope reaching out to them gets you results.

Thank you!  I appreciate your comments.   I have.  I now have two phones.  

It's a waiting game. My Sprint plan is much cheaper and I get a corporate discount so it's a frustrating situation.  If the merger actually is on, I'm sure it will slow network "work" down (on the Sprint side) if and when that is officially announced.   Again Thanks for the open minded comments!!   

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They do going up 23.

 

I don't know about Detroit that is why I said " Maybe sprint does not care about Detroit"

 

I would not dispute coverage along the freeways.  We have 8T8R equipment up here (between Lansing & Flint) providing coverage for the corn fields.  I always thought it was kind of a waste.  I can hit 80+ Mbps as I drive by at 75MPH.  It blew my mind when they did not install 800 equipment on the towers to save money but yet they put up the best B41 equipment.

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Wow guys, more complaining than actual discussion. I guess misery loves company.

 

Maybe they could rebrand to: frustrated incorporated.

I think they might already have a theme song from the 90's.

 

Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk

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Great info. Is acquiring 8T8R eNB equipment a CapEx funding issue or equipment availability issue?

It is more of a funding decision. 8T8R equipment is not cheap. One complete 8t8r sector is essentially the same cost as an entire 3 sector mini-macro deployment. So if you've got a pool of funding approved for say 1,000 8t8r sites you could use it on that or you could divert that to mini-macros and get band 41 equipment on 3,000 sites. While not without its trade-offs, I think it is pretty obvious for several reasons why Sprint is headed in that route right now.

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You literally wrote "Sprint is considering a new phone leasing program," and linked to an article that doesn't say that. I have no problem with linking to that article. Just try and be more accurate in your summation of it. Outside of that article Claure provided some pretty good color into why Sprint likes phone leasing during his interview at the conference. A better discussion would be focused on that.

Now I see your perspective. I should have reworded it.

 

I agree with Marcelo on leasing. As I mentioned in one of my previous posts about this, I believe Sprint was the first wireless carrier to introduce device leasing. Am I right about this, as I know others here are more aware of the regional/local carrier offerings than I am. Its obviously no secret here that I'm not a fan of them under the current wireless system model, though if there were a standardized national network of sorts, I would be.

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It is more of a funding decision. 8T8R equipment is not cheap. One complete 8t8r sector is essentially the same cost as an entire 3 sector mini-macro deployment. So if you've got a pool of funding approved for say 1,000 8t8r sites you could use it on that or you could divert that to mini-macros and get band 41 equipment on 3,000 sites. While not without its trade-offs, I think it is pretty obvious for several reasons why Sprint is headed in that route right now.

How does the coverage of 1,000 8T8R sites compare to 3,000 Mini Macros?

 

Also, 8T8R is a much more future proof structure, capable of supporting 3CA.

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I don't know if my expectations are too high for Band 41 or what, but in this area I find the Clear gear to be very disappointing in its performance. For example, the Clear site at King Street Metro, basically across the street from the Metro station, sits at around -100 dBm on the train. In fact, about half the time, sitting in that spot I connect to the 1101 King Street 8T8R at about the same signal level. Additionally, there is only one B41 carrier on that site.

 

The Clear site at Beacon Hill doesn't seem to get into the Giant grocery store, with my connection inside usually being B26 despite, again, being right across the street. Despite better line of sight to the Clear site at Huntley Meadows Park, at Costco I'm just as frequently on the 8T8R from INOVA Mount Vernon Hospital as I am on B26 from Huntley Meadows Park. The Clear signal is more or less absent inside the store. I've harped on the Clear signal from my home site enough, I think, so I won't retread here.

 

I keep crossing my fingers that they'll replace the Clear gear with 8T8Rs, though at this point I'm just glad to see them finishing the LTE rollout and adding B41 to sites that currently have only B25/B26. Both have been a very long time coming.

 

- Trip

Trip,

 

I mean this kindly with no disrespect, but your expectations for band 41 nor anyone's for that matter could ever be too high. I probably have just as much hope for it to be major for Sprint as anyone here. After all, I view it in greater regard to Sprint than PCS.

 

When I had issues with Sprint, I know when I was posting about it here, I went overboard talking about it and what could have been the problem. Not that my experience was all bad, it wasn't. I've very often praised Sprint for its excellent band 41 coverage in Schaumburg, and I'm very curious about the results Sprint recently announced in nearby Lombard.

 

My staying around on S4GRU after I left Sprint gave me time to read about the issues of band 41 density from members here. After consideration, I believe that to have been the problem I had in areas with slow PCS and even switchoffs to 3G. In those areas, there simply was not enough band 41 coverage in those areas to lessen the load on PCS.

 

I'm in agreement with RedSpark, who has been advocating for more deployment and density, along with JonnygATL who supports Sprint focus on metro, urban and overall more populated areas rather than forgo there simply for more national coverage including rural areas. I fully believe that if Sprint does this with band 41, it'll be an amazing network that I'd love to go back with, as I understand others here who've left Sprint are hoping for as well.

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How does the coverage of 1,000 8T8R sites compare to 3,000 Mini Macros?

 

Also, 8T8R is a much more future proof structure, capable of supporting 3CA.

2.4x-3x (3000/1000=3)

 

Why future proof corn fields or low usage areas? They are still adding 8t8r if needed in an area. Also adding a 3 sector mini macro adds upto 600 Mbps capacity to the area.

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2.4x-3x (3000/1000=3)

 

Why future proof corn fields or low usage areas? They are still adding 8t8r if needed in an area. Also adding a 3 sector mini macro adds upto 600 Mbps capacity to the area.

Don't forget the markets or regions that never got funding for any B41 that are just now seeing their first B41 signals due to the mini macs.

 

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

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Don't forget the markets or regions that never got funding for any B41 that are just now seeing their first B41 signals due to the mini macs.

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

Why wasn't the funding there for those regions? That directly contradicts what Marcelo said at the conference about not having constraints on CapEx.

 

Something isn't adding up here.

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2.4x-3x (3000/1000=3)

 

Why future proof corn fields or low usage areas? They are still adding 8t8r if needed in an area. Also adding a 3 sector mini macro adds upto 600 Mbps capacity to the area.

You have a good point, but I'm not only specifically referring to cornfields.

 

In DC, we've got a substantial number of towers that don't have 2CA or Band 41 at all, according to a Glance report that was shared with me a few weeks back during an outage of several towers.

 

I have an iPhone 7, so I can't tell if 3xCA has been deployed, but others here have said it hasn't been deployed widely given equipment issues.

 

Given what Marcelo said, I wonder if he and Brian Hedlund (DC/MD/VA manager) are on the same page about the network in this area.

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I don't get the CapEx comment either.  I am all for being efficient with CapEx in deploying the network because why spend more than you need to.  However to claim that they were able to be just as efficient with the lowest CapEx compared to the other 3 national carriers is ridiculous.  Sprint's LTE network is nowhere near ready and it really bugs me when Sprint claims the 1% difference which is clearly not true at all.  There are still many spots which do not have LTE in urban areas and I am not even talking about rural areas.  I wish Sprint would withdraw from their 1% campaign because it is simply not true.  Sprint has a long way to go in terms of providing consistent speeds and coverage throughout the urban markets with their B41 LTE coverage.

Clearly, Sprint has a ways to go with LTE coverage matching that of their 3G coverage.  No one would argue that. 

 

However, you misunderstand the 1% difference, and part of that could be Sprint's advertising.  But they are speaking SOLELY to RELIABILITY (as in, percent of instances in which one does connect to any network technology at all when attempting to do so) and not LTE coverage nor percent of POPs covered.  It could even be 1x800.  It isn't speaking just to LTE/data. 

 

Does that make sense?  At least that is how I understood it when I read the initial press release at the beginning of the campaign.  

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I have a question. Sorry if this is a bit off-topic, or perhaps should go in the MagicBox thread or elsewhere, but its not specific to that.

 

I was reading the TmoNews website, when I noticed a banner advertisement for an "LTE router" device that looks alot different than the Magic Box and other similar devices I've seen. This looks more like a WiFi router. What exactly would this do, such as would it increase LTE signal, etc.?

 

https://accelerated.com/products/6350_sr_lte_router/?gclid=CKHAsI-eidQCFZeEaQod-OIPSw

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I have a question. Sorry if this is a bit off-topic, or perhaps should go in the MagicBox thread or elsewhere, but its not specific to that.

I was reading the TmoNews website, when I noticed a banner advertisement for an "LTE router" device that looks alot different than the Magic Box and other similar devices I've seen. This looks more like a WiFi router. What exactly would this do, such as would it increase LTE signal, etc.?

https://accelerated.com/products/6350_sr_lte_router/?gclid=CKHAsI-eidQCFZeEaQod-OIPSw

It seems there are two kinds of units: https://support.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-14947

 

Window unit

Takes T-Mobile signal from outside the window and sends it to the coverage unit, where it can be rebroadcast throughout the home.

Should be placed in a well ventilated area with the strongest and most reliable 4G LTE signal.

 

 

Coverage unit

Rebroadcasts T-Mobile's signal throughout the home.

Should be placed in a well ventilated area to provide the best and most in home coverage.

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Clearly, Sprint has a ways to go with LTE coverage matching that of their 3G coverage.  No one would argue that. 

 

However, you misunderstand the 1% difference, and part of that could be Sprint's advertising.  But they are speaking SOLELY to RELIABILITY (as in, percent of instances in which one does connect to any network technology at all when attempting to do so) and not LTE coverage nor percent of POPs covered.  It could even be 1x800.  It isn't speaking just to LTE/data. 

 

Does that make sense?  At least that is how I understood it when I read the initial press release at the beginning of the campaign.  

 

Well I can tell you that no matter how they spin it, to me it means the same thing.  I understand Sprint could be implying 1% as in LTE when connected to Sprint service and maybe work on their marketing of that.  

 

However I still disagree that when connected to Sprint service, 99% of the time I am on LTE for data service.  It is simply just not true and I still see plenty of 3G areas for miles and miles.  I don't live in the boonies so my previous post has always been talking about just urban areas.  If it was interpreted the way that you expect it to say it just gives Sprint an out to say...well the reason why you are not connected to LTE is because we are not fully deployed yet so disregard this lack in coverage. 

 

If it is literally a 1% difference in the Atlanta market then all the power to Sprint but there are still plenty of markets that are still lacking even LTE coverage.

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What Sprint could do is go back to all the markets and cornfields that don't need 8T8R equipment, throw up the mini-macs and reuse that 8T8R gear where it is more needed. :/

 

I think getting this mini-mac on all their towers is great.  But just imagine if they did this to start with, and then were to now be replacing those with the 8T8R (or better) gear on a tower by tower basis.  :P

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What Sprint could do is go back to all the markets and cornfields that don't need 8T8R equipment, throw up the mini-macs and reuse that 8T8R gear where it is more needed. :/

 

I think getting this mini-mac on all their towers is great. But just imagine if they did this to start with, and then were to now be replacing those with the 8T8R (or better) gear on a tower by tower basis. :P

Implies that mini macros were available before 2016.

 

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

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What's the 3xCA deployment plan for markets with existing Samsung 2xCA gear? Wait until it breaks or upgrade it now?

 

How much 3xCA is actually being deployed? Sprint has previously said this: https://www.wirelessweek.com/news/2017/01/sprint-enables-3-carrier-aggregation-more-devices (January 31, 2017)

 

"While two-channel carrier aggregation is available in more than 250 markets nationwide, Sprint said three-channel carrier aggregation is now available in more than 100 markets, with expanded deployments on the way."

 

Marcelo's comment about not being "constrained on CapEx" has really got me trying to get my head around how Sprint is (or is not) spending money on equipment upgrades.

 

 

Sprint 8T8R equipment has been deployed on sites that didn't have the Clear equipment to begin with, so 3xCA is intermixed with 2xCA. As long as the Clear equipment meets the needs of the area, it will stay. When it can no longer hold up, they have a couple options to use multiple mini-macros or a full upgrade to 8T8R if that is what they determine is needed.

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You literally wrote "Sprint is considering a new phone leasing program," and linked to an article that doesn't say that. I have no problem with linking to that article. Just try and be more accurate in your summation of it. Outside of that article Claure provided some pretty good color into why Sprint likes phone leasing during his interview at the conference. A better discussion would be focused on that.

Sprint is trialing a leasing program in 6 markets (some of them are pretty large markets) currently. How is works is everyone phone is sold on Sprint Flex which is an 18 month lease with the option to make 6 additional payments to own the phones full price. it's just like the current lease but instead of making a one time bulk payment you get the option of breaking it up. basically it stream lines the sales process and no long requires the customer to decide upfront if they want eib or lease because now they will be one in the same and you make your decision at the end. Either give the phone back or make a few more paymentsand own it. Another benefit is no sales tax upfront like currently needed on eib.

 

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

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I can confirm sprint is trialing a leasing program in 6 markets (some of them are pretty large markets) currently. How is works is everyone phone is sold on Sprint Flex which is an 18 month lease with the option to make 6 additional payments to own the phones full price. it's just like the current lease but instead of making a one time bulk payment you get the option of breaking it up. basically it stream lines the sales process and no long requires the customer to decide upfront if they want eib or lease because now they will be one in the same and you make your decision at the end. Either give the phone back or make a few more paymentsand own it. Another benefit is no sales tax upfront like currently needed on eib.

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How is sales tax handled?

 

For Leases it's broken up over months.

For Monthly Installments it's paid upfront.

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