T-Mobile LTE & Network Discussion V2

[Sprke]

There’s band 71 live on a tower in Omaha now. Also on one south of Omaha on I29. I mapped some on cellmapper


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[danlodish345]

There’s band 71 live on a tower in Omaha now. Also on one south of Omaha on I29. I mapped some on cellmapper


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Band 71? OK I that's great there's keeping to their promise

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[Rawvega]

T-Mobile acquires Layer3 TV

 

Quote

T-Mobile is making a foray into television, announcing Wednesday it is acquiring Layer3 TV to launch "a disruptive new TV service."

CEO John Legere said T-Mobile is going to "fix the pain points" of television "and bring real choice to consumers across the country."

"I can't wait to start fighting for consumers here," Legere said.

 

[brockeb1]

More news from T-Mobile today. 600mhz now LIVE in 586 cities, and heard that maybe 150 more went live this afternoon/evening. Be sure to read the whole story. Will be heading into Wyoming to map Gillette-Wright-Newcastle on CellMapper and Sensorly. 

https://newsroom.t-mobile.com/news-and-blogs/number-1-customer-satisfaction-2017.htm

Additional info here-click on the list to see the actual list of cities that are LIVE. You must have a phone that supports Band 71 to receive any benefits from this....currently only the LG V30 and Samsung S8 Active are available, however, it looks like more than a dozen new phones coming in 2018 that support it. Also talks about the I-Wireless deal being completed as of yesterday. 

https://www.tmonews.com/2018/01/t-mobile-600mhz-lte-586-cities-confirms-completion-iowa-wireless-deal/

[Trip]

Any info on which phones are coming that support Band 71?  I want to find a low-end one to replace one of my current T-Mobile phones.

- Trip

[brockeb1]

On 1/4/2018 at 3:52 AM, Trip said:

Any info on which phones are coming that support Band 71?  I want to find a low-end one to replace one of my current T-Mobile phones.

- Trip

Don't have any info on phones, as of yet, but as soon as I do I will be posting it. 

 

[brockeb1]

Okay, so now that I am over it, I will post about it...................Went to Gillette last weekend to map and test out Band 71 on my LG V30. Get all the way to Gillette and you can only guess..............................NO SIGNAL. Yes, 160 miles just to find out NOTHING! Was not happy at all and took to Twitter to message both Neville and John Legere. Received a reply back from T-Mobile Help, which is nice, but they can't help with turning on towers now can they.................I just would prefer honesty when they are making announcements and making believe they have all this wonderful 600mhz coverage when they really don't. Will NOT be going back until I see it LIVE on the coverage map on T-Mobile's site. #DISAPPOINTED

[S4GRU]

13 minutes ago, brockeb1 said:

Okay, so now that I am over it, I will post about it...................Went to Gillette last weekend to map and test out Band 71 on my LG V30. Get all the way to Gillette and you can only guess..............................NO SIGNAL. Yes, 160 miles just to find out NOTHING! Was not happy at all and took to Twitter to message both Neville and John Legere. Received a reply back from T-Mobile Help, which is nice, but they can't help with turning on towers now can they.................I just would prefer honesty when they are making announcements and making believe they have all this wonderful 600mhz coverage when they really don't. Will NOT be going back until I see it LIVE on the coverage map on T-Mobile's site. #DISAPPOINTED

I don't know how many disappointing miles I have logged a wireless enthusiast.  Probably tens of thousands.  I get your frustration.  And I've experienced them with every carrier at some point or another.  All funny anecdotes now.  Enjoy the view, the greasy roadside food and keep mapping!  #manymilesbeforeisleep

Robert

[Jones]

I don't know how many disappointing miles I have logged a wireless enthusiast.  Probably tens of thousands.  I get your frustration.  And I've experienced them with every carrier at some point or another.  All funny anecdotes now.  Enjoy the view, the greasy roadside food and keep mapping!  #manymilesbeforeisleep
Robert

I think I remember you crashing your xc90 trying to find a tower a while back.

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[S4GRU]

1 minute ago, Jones said:

I think I remember you crashing your xc90 trying to find a tower a while back.

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I've owned two XC90's.  And other vehicles too.  I totaled an Isuzu Ascender by hitting a deer outside Bismarck, North Dakota chasing Sprint LTE tracks on Sensorly (which turned out not to be actual Sprint signals).  I have run into golf ball sized hail while signal tracking.  Been chased by a funnel cloud.  I have slid off icy roads.  I have backed into parking bollards.  Numerous paint scratchings from brush and trees while driving up mountaintop access roads.  I have blown a transmission.  I have had more close calls than I can count with other cars and pedestrians (and sometimes farm animals).  I have dropped a brand new phone on asphalt jumping out to view new base station equipment deliveries.  I have been chased off by well armed unhappy property owners.  And other things that aren't coming to my mind quickly.

There have been a lot of casualties.  But many fun memories.  I think I get the same rush that extreme sport enthusiasts get when I discover a new signal or some sort of unexpected anomaly and begin the chase.  Like a less dangerous storm chaser?  And less useful.  I don't provide useful information to climate scientists and meteorologists.  But hey, we do have a meteorologist on staff at S4GRU.  And I'm glad for that!

Robert

[brockeb1]

GOD BLESS AMERICA!! FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY, the tower at Pactola, SD is finally fired up. 700mhz only. You have to understand, radio's and base station have been there since at least November of 2016 or possibly even longer. They had a permit last March to do a microwave backhaul to that site and that's what I thought was taking so long. On a whim, I drove up there today and voila the tower is LIVE and NO microwave backhaul-must have ended up with fiber. Couldn't figure out why they would need microwave backhaul as Verizon, who's on that tower, has fiber backhaul to the site. Either way, it's running now. Also, they have added Band 4 to the site at Custer Peak and re-engineered the signal on that site so that I was able to get a signal from just south of the lake on hwy 385 all the way to Strawberry Hill, all on T-Mobile. There are some weak stretches, but strong enough to keep a call active. I still think they need to be at Merritt Rd and hwy 385 on that ATT pine tree.  Would give them a much better signal on that middle portion where the other 2 towers cross each other. Hopefully, I will be more active in reporting as I have it on good authority that much more work is coming very soon in this area, including the west side of Rapid City, Spearfish, Lead/Deadwood, Whitewood and more. Stay tuned...............

 

PS-mapped on both CellMapper and Sensorly

 

[S4GRU]

2 minutes ago, brockeb1 said:

GOD BLESS AMERICA!! FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY, the tower at Pactola, SD is finally fired up. 700mhz only. You have to understand, radio's and base station have been there since at least November of 2016 or possibly even longer. They had a permit last March to do a microwave backhaul to that site and that's what I thought was taking so long. On a whim, I drove up there today and voila the tower is LIVE and NO microwave backhaul-must have ended up with fiber. Couldn't figure out why they would need microwave backhaul as Verizon, who's on that tower, has fiber backhaul to the site. Either way, it's running now. Also, they have added Band 4 to the site at Custer Peak and re-engineered the signal on that site so that I was able to get a signal from just south of the lake on hwy 385 all the way to Strawberry Hill, all on T-Mobile. There are some weak stretches, but strong enough to keep a call active. I still think they need to be at Merritt Rd and hwy 385 on that ATT pine tree.  Would give them a much better signal on that middle portion where the other 2 towers cross each other. Hopefully, I will be more active in reporting as I have it on good authority that much more work is coming very soon in this area, including the west side of Rapid City, Spearfish, Lead/Deadwood, Whitewood and more. Stay tuned...............

PS-mapped on both CellMapper and Sensorly

That site initially had antenna panels installed in 2015.  Crazy how long that one took.  Congrats!  Those other site locations, West Rapid, Spearfish, Lead/Deadwood and Whitewood are the most critical remaining spots for Tmo.  With those fired up, they will be good enough coverage for 90% of customers in the area.  A true contender.

Robert

[brockeb1]

That site initially had antenna panels installed in 2015.  Crazy how long that one took.  Congrats!  Those other site locations, West Rapid, Spearfish, Lead/Deadwood and Whitewood are the most critical remaining spots for Tmo.  With those fired up, they will be good enough coverage for 90% of customers in the area.  A true contender.
Robert

Now that you say that, yes, that is right. WOW. Tomorrow I am going to check the site at Spring Creek. Additional radio's got added to that rack recently so it looks like Band 12 and Band 4 at that site. No T-Mobile signal from there yet, but those radio's have been there about the same amount of time as Pactola. Another note is that they have been adding Band 4 to all the Band 12 only sites in western SD for the past couple of months. This install would line up with that and that site IS a microwave backhaul site. I will be most curious to see the results and will report in when I get them. Fingers crossed!!

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[danlodish345]

On 1/15/2018 at 5:06 PM, brockeb1 said:

Now that you say that, yes, that is right. WOW. Tomorrow I am going to check the site at Spring Creek. Additional radio's got added to that rack recently so it looks like Band 12 and Band 4 at that site. No T-Mobile signal from there yet, but those radio's have been there about the same amount of time as Pactola. Another note is that they have been adding Band 4 to all the Band 12 only sites in western SD for the past couple of months. This install would line up with that and that site IS a microwave backhaul site. I will be most curious to see the results and will report in when I get them. Fingers crossed!!

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I m thinking of getting the S8 active to track it

 

[brockeb1]

Just checking in real quick. Site at Spring Creek is silent or VZW. Need to walk back to it, however, it's on private property and there are 2 houses not far away and visible from the site. Just need to get up enough guts and a bit warmer temps to do it. I do wear my T-Mobile gear when I am out tracking stuff, however, just in case somebody approaches. I will let you know what I find. On another note, the TPR here has been complaining about dead zones to T-Mobile and T-Mobile is finally listening. When the T-Mobile Sales and Ops manager for the TPR's is up here from Denver next month, I am going to drive him around Rapid City and the Black Hills so that he can actually see the weak/non-existent spots in this area. That is a plus and another reason why it's great to make friends with your local T-Mobile and let them know how much you really know about wireless. S8 Active looks like a great phone and, of course, the S9 and S9+ will both have BAND 71 active on it. I am certain we will also be seeing some more mid/lower range phones with Band 71 very soon. 

[S4GRU]

4 minutes ago, brockeb1 said:

Just checking in real quick. Site at Spring Creek is silent or VZW. Need to walk back to it, however, it's on private property and there are 2 houses not far away and visible from the site. Just need to get up enough guts and a bit warmer temps to do it. I do wear my T-Mobile gear when I am out tracking stuff, however, just in case somebody approaches. I will let you know what I find. On another note, the TPR here has been complaining about dead zones to T-Mobile and T-Mobile is finally listening. When the T-Mobile Sales and Ops manager for the TPR's is up here from Denver next month, I am going to drive him around Rapid City and the Black Hills so that he can actually see the weak/non-existent spots in this area. That is a plus and another reason why it's great to make friends with your local T-Mobile and let them know how much you really know about wireless. S8 Active looks like a great phone and, of course, the S9 and S9+ will both have BAND 71 active on it. I am certain we will also be seeing some more mid/lower range phones with Band 71 very soon. 

West Rapid is awful. They need at least one, but 2 or 3 would be better. Ellsworth also needs help.  A site at Rushmore Crossing would be really great too.

As for Spring Creek site, I've been able to get in that compound before. It was unlocked at my last visit. Also, it's best to stop there around dusk for less visibility by others but you can still see stuff.  The access from 79 is very visible. But once you get up top, you're not very seeable anymore. It's not like you're up to anything g nefarious, but it always looks suspicious to others. No one understands what a cell network enthusiast is.  It sounds made up. 

[brockeb1]

One more thing of note, all the TV Stations above channel 37 in the Rapid City SD BEA/PEA have been notified of the fact that they have to go lower on the dial to make way for 600mhz. The latest date for them to be moved is listed as the 16MAR18 to begin testing by T-Mobile. This will clear the way for 600mhz in the Black Hills area. I have already been advised that any further coverage in this area will be done using 600mhz, not 700mhz. This means that Lead/Deadwood, Spearfish, Whitewood and all new sites will have 600mhz on them and we should hopefully be seeing it fairly swiftly as T-Mobile tends to move quickly. Also, in Wyoming, the sites in and around Gillette, Wright, Newcastle are completed, however, channels in Sundance, Gillette, and Pringle all are in the process of moving before they can light anything up. First date on testing is 04FEB18 and the latest 16MAR18-Pringle station, so I should be getting a bit busy around here. This also explains the misfire on Gillette a couple of weeks back. 

[brockeb1]

12 minutes ago, S4GRU said:

West Rapid is awful. They need at least one, but 2 or 3 would be better. Ellsworth also needs help.  A site at Rushmore Crossing would be really great too.

As for Spring Creek site, I've been able to get in that compound before. It was unlocked at my last visit. Also, it's best to stop there around dusk for less visibility by others but you can still see stuff.  The access from 79 is very visible. But once you get up top, you're not very seeable anymore. It's not like you're up to anything g nefarious, but it always looks suspicious to others. No one understands what a cell network enthusiast is.  It sounds made up. 

Yes, that is a HUGE problem on the Westside. I am actually going to take him to that VZW site on Skyline and the VZW site up behind AAMCO as those both would be PERFECT locations and would fill existing issues. I think that Skyline site would really cover the westside fairly well. I am also going to show him the highrise by the hospital and the site at Golden West off from Deadwood Ave as that is a weak area as well. I actually think they should strike a deal with the hospital and put the gear there. The hospital is currently in the middle of a 200 million dollar expansion and they may be able to strike a deal with equipment and providing service. I had a friend that worked there until recently, and he said they are unhappy with VZW and have potentially 700-800 lines to move. I talked to T-Mobile about it but we all agree, until the holes are fixed, it's a dead horse.  Then we are off to the Hills. I am taking him everywhere and have advised that I would like a whole day so that we can make detailed notes. The engineering team isn't on the ground here and doesn't seem to understand topography for some reason. They seem to claim that west Rapid City should have excellent coverage..........cough, cough, cough....

[danlodish345]

1 hour ago, brockeb1 said:

Just checking in real quick. Site at Spring Creek is silent or VZW. Need to walk back to it, however, it's on private property and there are 2 houses not far away and visible from the site. Just need to get up enough guts and a bit warmer temps to do it. I do wear my T-Mobile gear when I am out tracking stuff, however, just in case somebody approaches. I will let you know what I find. On another note, the TPR here has been complaining about dead zones to T-Mobile and T-Mobile is finally listening. When the T-Mobile Sales and Ops manager for the TPR's is up here from Denver next month, I am going to drive him around Rapid City and the Black Hills so that he can actually see the weak/non-existent spots in this area. That is a plus and another reason why it's great to make friends with your local T-Mobile and let them know how much you really know about wireless. S8 Active looks like a great phone and, of course, the S9 and S9+ will both have BAND 71 active on it. I am certain we will also be seeing some more mid/lower range phones with Band 71 very soon. 

I'm really trying to hold out on getting a band 71 phone that's a lot cheaper though because it's expensive to buy something like that out right. I just hope they start implementing band 71 on their chipsets going forward now with the mid-range phones as well.

[derrph]

Looks like T- Mobile has changed their tune when it comes to 5G and will now have 5G the first half of 2019 instead of 2020. I think this was a result of Sprint and them really kicking things into gear and putting to use that spectrum that they once praised saying it was ideal for 5G. Too, I'm sure T-Mobile will be dammed if they ever let Sprint outdo them in something.  Also too, Verizon and AT&T will have some form of 5G this year. So waiting until 2020 would make them late to the game. I'm really interested to see how this 5G will go for T-mobile since they are using 600 and whatever MMWave spectrum they have. 

 

5G Coming in 2019

[Arysyn]

Considering the excellent Sprint reports here in Chicago, I'd really like to switch to Sprint, but the phone selection still is looking quite limited this year until VoLTE comes around with DMA going away, allowing customers to purchase any unlocked phone and switching to whichever carrier they choose. I'm set on getting the flagship Sony phone this year, so its looking like I'll either have to stay with T-Mobile, or else go back to AT&T. Anyways, S4GRU is helpful with the Sprint updates regarding the network, and if anything changes allowing me to use an unlocked phone on Sprint, I'll switch.

[belusnecropolis]

3 channel aggregation is live in 29527

[danlodish345]

3 channel aggregation is live in 29527

T-Mobile is going to come and band 71 testing here... in less than 2 months. But that's good though beds live Where You Are.

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[belusnecropolis]

2 minutes ago, danlodish345 said:

T-Mobile is going to come and band 71 testing here... in less than 2 months. But that's good though beds live Where You Are.

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I am waiting for band 66 here. I am not sure when an embedded 600MHz radio will be available but 5 channels will be pretty impressive for the network experience.

[danlodish345]

I am waiting for band 66 here. I am not sure when an embedded 600MHz radio will be available but 5 channels will be pretty impressive for the network experience.

There is only a few phones that support it. The one I have is the lgv30.

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