T-Mobile LTE & Network Discussion V2

[luvixuha]

RCS is an extension of IMS, so at the very least it should work on WiFi in addition to LTE.

 

Since T-Mobile's network expansion is all-LTE, HSPA support is kind of moot, but I believe the RCS spec includes HSPA/3G but requires carrier equipment support. But HSPA-only areas should be pretty sparse in ~9 months.

 

If you text someone who isn't on RCS, it will fall back to SMS/MMS. But I assume that large downloads will sit in the network until your recipient gets re-connected via RCS (like when you MMS someone but their phone isn't on, it just gets delivered later).

[bigsnake49]

RCS is an extension of IMS, so at the very least it should work on WiFi in addition to LTE.

 

Since T-Mobile's network expansion is all-LTE, HSPA support is kind of moot, but I believe the RCS spec includes HSPA/3G but requires carrier equipment support. But HSPA-only areas should be pretty sparse in ~9 months.

 

If you text someone who isn't on RCS, it will fall back to SMS/MMS. But I assume that large downloads will sit in the network until your recipient gets re-connected via RCS (like when you MMS someone but their phone isn't on, it just gets delivered later).

The only problem with RCS based messages is presence detection. That part of the spec is optional. So until all carriers expose the names of their subscribers currently online it won't work cross carrier. Again, why should I use this instead of Hangouts, iMessage, Whatsapp?

[Deval]

Close speed results aren't important at all. It's just a waste of bandwidth go test constantly. But the difference between 2-3Mbps and 10Mbps is quite substantial in the user experience, in my opinion. So overall, much faster speeds do equate to overall better experience.

 

I think the point was that the difference between 3.9 and 4.2 is statistically not noticeable. 

[Deval]

The only problem with RCS based messages is presence detection. That part of the spec is optional. So until all carriers expose the names of their subscribers currently online it won't work cross carrier. Again, why should I use this instead of Hangouts, iMessage, Whatsapp?

 

You wouldn't.

It's more for marketing purposes at the moment, and I honestly believe will not sway many users to switch from WhatsApp, Hangouts, BBM, etc.

[cortney]

I think the point was that the difference between 3.9 and 4.2 is statistically not noticeable. 

 

Yep. Also, all 4 carriers (as per T-Mobile's anecdotal evidence) provided good enough speeds, even with the lower 3.1 Mbps attached to VZW in the fine print, to do virtually everything one could ask. The extra tenth of a megabit advantage listed in the fine print of that video is humorous, yet completely irrelevant.

 

Of course, 3-4 megabits could be pushing it for certain heavier tasks such as 1080p+ streaming or large file downloading, but I'd presume that any non-magentan would understand periodic dips of 3 and 4 megabits (to be expected with large crowds, anyways) are perfectly fine, so long as the performance is overall consistently adequate, and the service works as needed. 

[Houston_Texas]

The only problem with RCS based messages is presence detection. That part of the spec is optional. So until all carriers expose the names of their subscribers currently online it won't work cross carrier. Again, why should I use this instead of Hangouts, iMessage, Whatsapp?

Sms is universal, the others are not. I have friends with different operating systems.

 

Sms/group MMS works for all.

 

Sent from my SM-N910T

[bigsnake49]

Sms is universal, the others are not. I have friends with different operating systems.

 

Sms/group MMS works for all.

 

Sent from my SM-N910T

Whatapp is, Hangouts is, Facebook messenger is. Hangouts and Facebook messenger also have a desktop component. BBM is. We are not talking about SMS. we are talking about real time chat. AIM has been around forever. Let's face it. This is about operators controlling the messaging component so they can monetize it, e.g. ADS.

[Houston_Texas]

Whatapp is, Hangouts is, Facebook messenger is. Hangouts and Facebook messenger also have a desktop component. BBM is. We are not talking about SMS. we are talking about real time chat. AIM has been around forever. Let's face it. This is about operators controlling the messaging component so they can monetize it, e.g. ADS.

Not everyone has each of those apps.

 

Sent from my SM-N910T

[bigsnake49]

Not everyone has each of those apps.

 

Sent from my SM-N910T

They are free, just like SMS. All of my friends are on iMessage, and Facebook messenger some are also on Hangouts and kik.

[EvanA]

Guy over at HoFo is has discovered 3 new LTE 700 only T-Mobile sites in Northern MI.   Linked to the most interesting post in the thread.  Kind of a shame that they are L700 only because non-band 12 device owners are SOL.

 

http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php/1867580-Northern-MI-T-Mobile-buildout-has-begun!?p=15994682#post15994682

[Houston_Texas]

They are free, just like SMS. All of my friends are on iMessage, and Facebook messenger some are also on Hangouts and kik.

Now how can you communicate with all of them at the same time. Not just friends, what about colleagues at work?

 

Sent from my SM-N910T

[bigsnake49]

Now how can you communicate with all of them at the same time. Not just friends, what about colleagues at work?

 

Sent from my SM-N910T

Heck no...plus everybody has company issued iPhones, so iMessage it is!

[Vince]

That's why iMessage is the superior messaging service. Every iDevice has it, and you don't have to run around asking people to download this app and that app. 95% of my communications are iMessage, and I rarely rack up more than 100 text messages. The SMS I do receive are mostly from my Chase bank alerts.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone 6

[Paynefanbro]

That's why iMessage is the superior messaging service. Every iDevice has it, and you don't have to run around asking people to download this app and that app. 95% of my communications are iMessage, and I rarely rack up more than 100 text messages. The SMS I do receive are mostly from my Chase bank alerts.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone 6

 

Additionally important is that you don't need a username and password for it (if you own an iPhone). Hangouts, like iMessage, is also preloaded onto your device but I find that it simply isn't that popular since it is a standalone app whereas iMessage is something that's simply integrated into the text messaging app.

 

But like others have said, most of my Friends either have Facebook Messenger, GroupMe, or WhatsApp. If they don't have any of these 3, I just text them.

[Vince]

Additionally important is that you don't need a username and password for it (if you own an iPhone). Hangouts, like iMessage, is also preloaded onto your device but I find that it simply isn't that popular since it is a standalone app whereas iMessage is something that's simply integrated into the text messaging app.

 

But like others have said, most of my Friends either have Facebook Messenger, GroupMe, or WhatsApp. If they don't have any of these 3, I just text them.

I'm shocked that hangouts hasn't been baked into Android similar to iMessage. I was also shocked to learn that Android M will introduce native visual voicemail. Two things Android should have been all over.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone 6

[joshuam]

Additionally important is that you don't need a username and password for it (if you own an iPhone). Hangouts, like iMessage, is also preloaded onto your device but I find that it simply isn't that popular since it is a standalone app whereas iMessage is something that's simply integrated into the text messaging app.

 

But like others have said, most of my Friends either have Facebook Messenger, GroupMe, or WhatsApp. If they don't have any of these 3, I just text them.

Imessage requires an Apple ID.

[Vince]

Imessage requires an Apple ID.

Every iPhone user is logged into their iCloud account from the first time they activate their phone, and that works throughout the phone for everything. It's not like we have to login to iMessage.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone 6

[bretton88]

I'm shocked that hangouts hasn't been baked into Android similar to iMessage. I was also shocked to learn that Android M will introduce native visual voicemail. Two things Android should have been all over.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone 6

Google tried making hangouts the default messaging app kit kat, they forced the issue on nexus phones. Verizon basically veto-ing it was the big problem (note that the nexus 5 doesn't run on Verizon). Then users hated it, so Google surrendered and gave the standalone messaging app back.

[travismheim]

 

 

I'm shocked that hangouts hasn't been baked into Android similar to iMessage. I was also shocked to learn that Android M will introduce native visual voicemail. Two things Android should have been all over.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone 6

Hangouts is preloaded on most Android phones, its part of the standard Google apps package (play store, maps, gmail etc). However, AOSP does not include Google apps. Hangouts can handle all communication when they integrated SMS into it, but its not the default messaging app out of the box on anything but the Nexus line.

 

Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk

[greenbastard]

Whatapp is, Hangouts is, Facebook messenger is. Hangouts and Facebook messenger also have a desktop component. BBM is. We are not talking about SMS. we are talking about real time chat. AIM has been around forever. Let's face it. This is about operators controlling the messaging component so they can monetize it, e.g. ADS.

The problem is that while you already have these features with these apps, they aren't integrated into a one stop shop. Try sending a massive picture to a group of people scattered through Facebook, WhatsApp, and BBM. It's inconvenient, time consuming, and it uses data from your bucket to send pics and videos. Also, group messaging is impossible between these services as they don't cross platforms.

 

This new messaging service is definitely a good idea and it will be very useful to a lot of people. Especially for those who choose to stay completely off the grid (which is a growing trend). If ads are a problem for you (which T-Mobile hasn't added), then you haven't been paying attention to the top of your friends feed on Facebook. Its all ADS.

[Houston_Texas]

The problem is that while you already have these features with these apps, they aren't integrated into a one stop shop. Try sending a massive picture to a group of people scattered through Facebook, WhatsApp, and BBM. It's inconvenient, time consuming, and it uses data from your bucket to send pics and videos. Also, group messaging is impossible between these services as they don't cross platforms.

 

This new messaging service is definitely a good idea and it will be very useful to a lot of people. Especially for those who choose to stay completely off the grid (which is a growing trend). If ads are a problem for you (which T-Mobile hasn't added), then you haven't been paying attention to the top of your friends feed on Facebook. Its all ADS.

EXACTLY!

 

Exactly what I've been saying.

 

You hit it right on the head!

 

Sent from my SM-N910T

[mittenmitten]

"there are too many messenger clients out there and they don't work with each other! our solution is to add another messenger, exclusively on the T-Mobile network! there, fixed."

 

in order for this to take off, another carrier will have to add it, otherwise it's still just exclusive to T-Mobile. I seriously doubt another carrier will throw them a bone on this..

[caspar347]

[greenbastard]

"there are too many messenger clients out there and they don't work with each other! our solution is to add another messenger, exclusively on the T-Mobile network! there, fixed."

 

in order for this to take off, another carrier will have to add it, otherwise it's still just exclusive to T-Mobile. I seriously doubt another carrier will throw them a bone on this..

I seriously doubt other carriers will sit by idle as T-Mobile offers their subscribers an extra feature that they could add with a simple update.

 

With your way of thinking, text messaging should have never taken off either, but yet it did. HD Voice is just the latest example of carriers trying to work to get inter-network compatibility. Networks won't shun their subscribers from the latest technology. If they did, they wouldn't be doing a disservice to their competitors but to themselves instead.

[Paynefanbro]

I seriously doubt other carriers will sit by idle as T-Mobile offers their subscribers an extra feature that they could add with a simple update.

 

With your way of thinking, text messaging should have never taken off either, but yet it did. HD Voice is just the latest example of carriers trying to work to get inter-network compatibility. Networks won't shun their subscribers from the latest technology. If they did, they wouldn't be doing a disservice to their competitors but to themselves instead.

 

The other carriers don't care because they know most of their subscribers have an app that does the same thing already on their device, whether it be Facebook Messenger, GroupMe, WhatsApp, etc. 

 

RCS is pretty much DOA until the other 3 carriers decide to implement it. So they're in no rush at all. As it stands, it's only useful on one carrier. Just like HD Voice is today, it's only good if you're talking to someone else on the same carrier.