The RootMetrics 2nd Half 2014 US Mobile Network Performance Review

[Fraydog]

http://www.rootmetrics.com/us/blog/special-reports/year-in-review-2014-us#sprint

 

Glance at the award tallies alone and you might miss just how big a second half Sprint had. While the network still trails the leaders in every category, Sprint made tremendous strides—particularly in reliability—in the second half of the year.

Sure, speeds will still need work. That said, it's megatons better than last year at this time where the ceiling was falling in.

[derrph]

http://www.rootmetrics.com/us/blog/special-reports/year-in-review-2014-us#sprint

 

Sure, speeds will still need work. That said, it's megatons better than last year at this time where the ceiling was falling in.

Besides the data speeds, Sprint held their own overall. I was looking at the article on phonearena and was shocked they came in third I was expecting T-Mobile to take. So T-Mobiles network is not all too reliable and that speed is one thing but if you don't have a all around reliable network it won't go for much.

 

Sprint will absolutely do well in 2015. I'm happy with the results shown. BUT I know people will find a way to discredit Sprints results.

 

 

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[lilotimz]

http://www.rootmetrics.com/us/blog/special-reports/year-in-review-2014-us#sprint

 

Sure, speeds will still need work. That said, it's megatons better than last year at this time where the ceiling was falling in.

 

Well.. I went from blazing fast 0.1 kbps to 1-50 mbps (gotta love the inconsistency of Sprints network) in the span of 5 months which for me is a significant improvement. I can actually use my phone for data needs now and actually be confident it'll work in most places now. 

 

Epeen contests can come later but it's an undeniable improvement and that's what Sprint needs to do. Work on the network and improve it every single day. That's the only way for them to shut up the naysayers and haters and get people to take a look at the company,try it out,and maybe even become customers. 

[Fraydog]

http://www.howardforums.com/showpost.php?p=15801885

 

Spin is already starting!

 

To paraphrase one Vincent K. McMahon, there was "no chance in hell" Sprint was going 0 to 100 on speeds, it takes time to unwind past incompetence. There wasn't going to be enough 2.5 in the field to turn around losing e-peen in one quarter. Some may think I am making an excuse. I would say I'm being real. No way that was getting fixed with a magic wand. It is going to take a long time.

[Boosted20V]

Seems a fair assessment from my perspective. I travel enough with my Sprint phone and VZ hotspot to compare the two. I have friends with T-Mobile but in my area they are still by far the weakest. A few co-workers have them and have nothing but bad things to say. Friends from farther east in PA (Philly/Lehigh Valley) have generally positive comments but still get Edge way too often (or 911 only inside buildings). The way I see it, for most of the population 6-10 mbps is still sufficient on a mobile connection and given the now widespread 800mhz in my area Sprint is very similar to the big 2 in coverage.

[centermedic]

http://www.howardforums.com/showpost.php?p=15801885

 

Spin is already starting!

 

To paraphrase one Vincent K. McMahon, there was "no chance in hell" Sprint was going 0 to 100 on speeds, it takes time to unwind past incompetence. There wasn't going to be enough 2.5 in the field to turn around losing e-peen in one quarter. Some may think I am making an excuse. I would say I'm being real. No way that was getting fixed with a magic wand. It is going to take a long time.

No Sprint markets over 20 mbps? And people wonder why I don't like root metrics.

[Rawvega]

http://www.howardforums.com/showpost.php?p=15801885

 

Spin is already starting!

 

Naturally. The real surprise would've been if that didn't happen.

[Rawvega]

Sprint's Network Gets Back In The Game

 

http://newsroom.sprint.com/blogs/sprint-perspectives/sprints-network-gets-back-in-the-game.htm

[joshuam]

No Sprint markets over 20 mbps? And people wonder why I don't like root metrics.

Where does Sprint average over 20mbps?

 

I've hit 80Mbps in Baltimore...but usually around 5-10Mbps.

[afazel]

Karl Bode at DSLReports even gave Sprint some props:

 

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Sprint-Network-Performance-Improves-in-Latest-RootMetrics-Report-132589

...

  In fact, the latest report suggests that Sprint has leapfrogged T-Mobile and taken the number three spot for overall network performance. Verizon came in first place with a weighted score of 93.5 out of 100, followed by AT&T at 91.3, Sprint at 86.3 and T-Mobile at 83.5.

...

Edited February 10, 2015 by afazel

[centermedic]

Where does Sprint average over 20mbps?

 

I've hit 80Mbps in Baltimore...but usually around 5-10Mbps.

I will leave that question to the members who are constantly claiming/posting speeds well above 20 mbps. I find it very hard to believe that there is not a single sprint market that averaged  over 20 mbps. This leads me to believe that either our members are mistaken or the methodology is flawed. Guess which one I am going with?

[joshuam]

People post great speed test results...not the crappy ones. Root Metrics uses all the tests. I would be quite shocked if the average anywhere was over 20Mbps. Even 8T8R sites on band 41 are running below 20Mbps around here.

[Steve Dean]

http://www.howardforums.com/showpost.php?p=15801885

 

Spin is already starting!

 

To paraphrase one Vincent K. McMahon, there was "no chance in hell" Sprint was going 0 to 100 on speeds, it takes time to unwind past incompetence. There wasn't going to be enough 2.5 in the field to turn around losing e-peen in one quarter. Some may think I am making an excuse. I would say I'm being real. No way that was getting fixed with a magic wand. It is going to take a long time.

 

 

Nice forum to read Fraydog.  I read where some commenters believe that Sprint is in the tank and never will recover.  But from the scores, Sprint has improved dramatically.  Yes, it is not like turning on a light in your home but two or three years ago, many of us would have thrown a block party just to have 1Mb of data speed consistently.  Now, a good majority are realizing even faster speeds than that. 

 

As many have said that lead this website, what is usable?  Do people really need 20+ Mbps down?  In 99% of the cases, no.  It just speaks well in a commercial so a consumer chooses that avenue.

 

Eventually, all service providers will be within a few points of each other depending on the market.  For those who are legacy Sprint customers remember, unlimited data will be your friend.  Others provider users will be looking at their data usage, then turn to you and say, "I am out of data" or "I was charged X in data overages last month" while you just keep humming along.

[centermedic]

People post great speed test results...not the crappy ones. Root Metrics uses all the tests. I would be quite shocked if the average anywhere was over 20Mbps. Even 8T8R sites on band 41 are running below 20Mbps around here.

Well, I have criticized root metrics when Sprint was having a bad showing and I am certainly not going to jump on the band wagon now that the results are better. I have always questioned its accuracy and methodology as well as their technical expertise(are they separating or counting all of the LTE bands) as well as the possible conflict of interest. I take everything they say with a large helping of suspicion.

[Paynefanbro]

Sprint's Network Gets Back In The Game

 

http://newsroom.sprint.com/blogs/sprint-perspectives/sprints-network-gets-back-in-the-game.htm

 

The most interesting thing there was: 

 

 

Later this month our coverage maps will show our faster 2.5GHz speeds in portions of places like  Atlanta, Boston, Las Vegas, Nashville, Portland, San Francisco, San Jose, and Washington D.C.

 

That's 5.3 Million more POP's.

 

Also worth noting, instead of saying 125 Million in Spark, he said 125 Million in our 2.5GHz spectrum. The clear distinction he made should be the start of Sprint clearing up phrasing in terms of their network technologies and such.

[bigsnake49]

I just looked at the closest root metrics area: Palm Bay, Florida. Sprint is top in call performance and text performance but trails badly in speed. As 2015 rolls along I believe their speed will definitely increase. Palm Bay is the worst place to cover, suburban and exurban with nary a tall building to put an antenna on. That Sprint gets great call reliability can be attributed to the greater range of the 800MHz signal.

 

Edit: I just looked at the test area. Almost all of Brevard County. I wonder why they did not cover the whole county. Hmmmm...

Edited February 10, 2015 by bigsnake49

[derrph]

http://bgr.com/2015/02/10/t-mobile-vs-sprint-network-quality/

 

Tides slowly turing when it comes to network impressions but the article picture was hilarious in relation to the title.

 

 

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[Paynefanbro]

Wow, a positive article about Sprint on BGR. The comments are not negative too. I must be in an alternate universe.

[derrph]

Wow, a positive article about Sprint on BGR. The comments are not negative too. I must be in an alternate universe.

Hopefully this is officially the start of perceptions changing about the network being trash.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[S4GRU]

Sprint is turning a corner. However, the biggest thing driving Sprint's improved scores in RootMetrics is 800MHz. Tmo's scores will start to rebound with the addition of their 700-A deployments.

 

If Sprint can keep B41 deployment at a frenetic pace all year, Tmo may not be able to catch up in overall scores. Especially if Sprint starts deploying 800 in the IBEZ as planned.

 

Sprint's 800 allows them to fill in most holes in existing coverage with both data and voice/text. Tmo can do the same with the inclusion of VoLTE on their 700-A deployments. However, Sprint will be able to go nationwide with their 800. And Tmo will not likely ever get 700-A on their full footprint. Though they have made significant progress. Channel 51 still hindering some areas too.

[bigsnake49]

I think that as Sprint Root Metrics improve, the perception among the geeks will change. The geeks are influencers so do not discount their influence among the general populace. At the end of this year, Sprint's network would have improved by leaps and bounds.

[coccydynia]

Sprint is turning a corner. However, the biggest thing driving Sprint's improved scores in RootMetrics is 800MHz. Tmo's scores will start to rebound with the addition of their 700-A deployments.

 

If Sprint can keep B41 deployment at a frenetic pace all year, Tmo may not be able to catch up in overall scores. Especially if Sprint starts deploying 800 in the IBEZ as planned.

 

Sprint's 800 allows them to fill in most holes in existing coverage with both data and voice/text. Tmo can do the same with the inclusion of VoLTE on their 700-A deployments. However, Sprint will be able to go nationwide with their 800. And Tmo will not likely ever get 700-A on their full footprint. Though they have made significant progress. Channel 51 still hindering some areas too.

 

Is there ANY update to the 800MHz in the IBEZ areas?

[joshuam]

Legere on damage control: https://twitter.com/johnlegere/status/565180668268003328

 

If team magenta was first or even above Sprint, you know Legere would be blowing it up!

[S4GRU]

Is there ANY update to the 800MHz in the IBEZ areas?

Marcelo said in last week's Quarterly Conference call that they would start 800MHz in the IBEZ before the end of the year.

[bigsnake49]

Long term I think the B41 intra band CA and then the b41-b25 CA where b41 serves as an additional downlink to b25 will go a long way to ameliorate Sprint's data problems. Sale of EBS spectrum should provide them with some cash for the upcoming 600MHz auction.