T-Mobile LTE & Network Discussion V2

[WiWavelength]

I plugged the SIM into the Note 5, coverage did improve doing this, the main issue I ran into are the 20-30 mile pockets of no coverage to my east. I'd need coverage expansion to be able to switch my driver to it. My options are AT&T and Verizon, unfortunately.

 

Am I correct that you used T-Mobile prepaid?  If so, then no roaming.  For postpaid, does T-Mobile roam on AT&T in those dead spots?  That could be a solution.  But you would have to ascertain, as domestic roaming on T-Mobile is significantly limited compared to that on Sprint.

 

AJ

[WiWavelength]

I have been experimenting with Sprint and T-Mobile using Google's fi project. Both of them are OK but not great in the Melbourne, FL area. Both of them have low spectrum in the area so coverage is pretty decent at least outdoors. Sprint is a little worse than T-Mobile. But I what I have noticed is that both networks are 3-6db worse than AT&T at the same place and the same time. AT&T's signal is also more steady. It does not wildly swing between good and bad.

 

For a wireless operator, life is pretty damn easy in a market where you have a stranglehold on both Cellular 850 MHz licenses.  You have 50 MHz of contiguous low band spectrum and three decades of deployment across two merged low band networks.

 

AJ

[Maverick]

It is not a "radio chip" issue. It is an antenna issue. Some antenna designs perform better than others. And some bands perform better than others.

 

AJ

Yes that's what I was getting at, the antenna performance among manufacturers make a huge difference.

 

It all depends on location and that's all wrapped into the different variety of bands/Mghz but just focusing on one location with different carrier networks all being equal and with different devices all being new the performance still differ because of the antenna in the hardware.

 

That's the main point and why I wish Google's fi would allow other devices than just Nexus.

[gusherb]

Am I correct that you used T-Mobile prepaid? If so, then no roaming. For postpaid, does T-Mobile roam on AT&T in those dead spots? That could be a solution. But you would have to ascertain, as domestic roaming on T-Mobile is significantly limited compared to that on Sprint.

 

AJ

What do you mean no roaming for T-Mobile prepaid? All of the prepaid plans include domestic roaming, and most include domestic data roaming.

[WiWavelength]

T-Mobile prepaid does roam domestically. They treat that the same as postpaid.

 

Has that changed recently?  I have a T-Mobile prepaid line that I use a few times per year.

 

Ah, I think I recall now.  T-Mobile prepaid has no data roaming.  That is the issue.

 

Regardless, T-Mobile voice/data roaming is hit or miss.  Open in some locations, closed in others -- even where a compatible roaming partner is available.

 

AJ

[gusherb]

Has that changed recently? I have a T-Mobile prepaid line that I use a few times per year.

 

Ah, I think I recall now. T-Mobile prepaid has no data roaming. That is the issue.

 

Regardless, T-Mobile voice/data roaming is hit or miss. Open in some locations, closed in others -- even where a compatible roaming partner is available.

 

AJ

Actually, it's just the $30 5 gig plan that has no data roaming. I think, but I'm not certain, that the Simply prepaid plans come with data roaming. I know for sure that Simple Choice Prepaid comes with 200 MB's of domestic roaming data just as the postpaid SC plans do.

 

Nothing has changed recently except the alottment for Simple Choice.

 

Update: The fine print on their site does say all plans $40 and up include domestic data roaming.

[WiWavelength]

Actually, it's just the $30 5 gig plan that has no data roaming. I think, but I'm not certain, that the Simply prepaid plans come with data roaming. I know for sure that Simple Choice Prepaid comes with 200 MB's of domestic roaming data just as the postpaid SC plans do.

 

Nothing has changed recently except the alottment for Simple Choice.

 

Update: The fine print on their site does say all plans $40 and up include domestic data roaming.

 

My grandfathered prepaid pay per day plan has no data roaming -- per the fine print.  I suppose I could check otherwise.  And you may want to double check the domestic roaming quota.  It has been as low as 50 MB.  If now 200 MB, that is an increase.

 

AJ

[gusherb]

My grandfathered prepaid pay per day plan has no data roaming -- per the fine print. I suppose I could check otherwise. And you may want to double check the domestic roaming quota. It has been as low as 50 MB. If now 200 MB, that is an increase.

 

AJ

I know for a fact Simple Choice is 200 MB's across the board. They got a lot of heat for it being what it was before, as low as 10 MB's on the old $50 1 gig plan. As for Simply Prepaid it doesn't clearly state the alottment.

[bigsnake49]

For a wireless operator, life is pretty damn easy in a market where you have a stranglehold on both Cellular 850 MHz licenses.  You have 50 MHz of contiguous low band spectrum and three decades of deployment across two merged low band networks.

 

AJ

 

I have not seen any LTE in the 850MHz band. Just WCDMA. They have actually densified their 1900Mhz and AWS network.

[Camcroz]

In the Steve Harvey commercial it said that tmobile now has more lte towers than Verizon. Is that true cuz that seems really surprising to me

 

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[EvanA]

In the Steve Harvey commercial it said that tmobile now has more lte towers than Verizon. Is that true cuz that seems really surprising to me

 

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If you count small cells that Verizon has probably not. Pure macro sites maybe.

[Maverick]

In the Steve Harvey commercial it said that tmobile now has more lte towers than Verizon. Is that true cuz that seems really surprising to me

 

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Not even close.

 

Once again Steve Harvey screws up the Miss Universe pageant and now the most carrier towers for us major wireless networks.

 

That boy just continues to dig himself deep into the ground.

[dnicekid]

The commercial said lte towers which may be true

Vzw has more towers nationwide but in urban areas I do believe Tmo has more. But I could be wrong

[bigsnake49]

Interesting you brought that up.

 

Through my experience just on one of the four major carriers devices have known to function or perform differently based on manufacturer and the technology of hardware in the radio chip. So I guess what I'm trying to say is if only Google's fi would allow far more devices on its project instead of Limit it to Nexus devices. I'm a firm believer in each device performing or performance in radio chip differs immensely.

 

Thanks for the feedback. Great info!

 

I used the Nexus 5x for AT&T/Sprint/T-Mobile. Just switched between the AT&T and the Fi SIMs.

[bigsnake49]

The commercial said lte towers which may be true

Vzw has more towers nationwide but in urban areas I do believe Tmo has more. But I could be wrong

 

Last time I checked, T-Mobile had 65,000 macro sites. That included duplicate T-Mobile/MetroPCS sites. I don't know how many duplicates there were that could be consolidated. I know that in my nearest tower, there is still a Metro level on the tower, it has not been taken down yet. Verizon had 55,000.

[gusherb]

So I ported to T-Mobile the other day out of curiosity and frustration at AT&T for having a tower issue by my house and giving me a BS answer about the state of it. 

 

So far I'm extremely pleased with their service in Lake County, IN where we have 20x20 AWS (a nice little exclusive to our county everyone else in the area gets 15 mhz FDD). Never a slow spot, haven't had any real dead spots yet, except in Target it kept losing service in my pocket but regained every time I pulled it out. 

 

The real test was today when I actually went into downtown Chicago for the first time in almost a year, someone with an at&t phone was with me the entire time so I did side by side tests. 

 

Bottom line is at&t was alot better on the mag mile and later on after rush hour driving south on Clark st at&t blew the doors off T-Mo. 

 

Despite T-Mobile being alot slower it was still very usable and I never lost service indoors either, so it was still a pleasant experience. It never did drop below 5 mbps downtown and usually hovered around 10-15 mbps with peaks of 30mbps. AT&T stayed around 25 mbps with peaks of 68mbps.

 

So to my own surprise T-Mobile is still rather viable in this area. 

[derrph]

Welp T-Mobile is targeting Sprint users again

 

I am however porting in my line to T-Mobile to try something new for a change BUT I did open a additional line on my sprint account and threw my account in season standby just in case. [emoji5]. Honestly I probably won't see a difference in service due to sprint and T-Mobile being just about the same in my area but we shall see.

 

 

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[Deval]

Welp T-Mobile is targeting Sprint users again

 

I am however porting in my line to T-Mobile to try something new for a change BUT I did open a additional line on my sprint account and threw my account in season standby just in case. [emoji5]. Honestly I probably won't see a difference in service due to sprint and T-Mobile being just about the same in my area but we shall see.

 

 

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Sprint just announced their new plans starting tomorrow which are the same exact price point.

[irev210]

Sprint just announced their new plans starting tomorrow which are the same exact price point.

 

 

Interesting move.  Personally, I think sprint needs to be a bit more innovative - but at least sprint still has a pulse.

 

With the network issues largely sorted out, they really need to give people a very compelling reason to switch.

[Deval]

Interesting move.  Personally, I think sprint needs to be a bit more innovative - but at least sprint still has a pulse.

 

With the network issues largely sorted out, they really need to give people a very compelling reason to switch.

 

At a certain point we'll be asking for too much, or what will be enough? 

 

Price is comparable, network is pretty much there, and it's proven that giving away the farm only creates a welfare base that will jump the second the freebies are taken away.

[Houston_Texas]

At a certain point we'll be asking for too much, or what will be enough?

 

Price is comparable, network is pretty much there, and it's proven that giving away the farm only creates a welfare base that will jump the second the freebies are taken away.

So what do you do now to attract users away from the Big 3?

 

Sent from my SM-N910T

[nexgencpu]

So what do you do now to attract users away from the Big 3?

Sent from my SM-N910T

Use all your spectrum and build out the best possible network where you can.

[Mr.Nuke]

So what do you do now to attract users away from the Big 3?

The big 3?

[jeffcarp]

So what do you do now to attract users away from the Big 3?

 

Sent from my SM-N910T

Partner with one phone manufacturer to provide an Android upgrade guarantee similar to the Nexus devices but with full Sprint support (i.e., Sprint Zone, international roaming, wifi calling, etc)

[derrph]

Well I switched over to T-Mobile. Honestly I feel as though my experience is way smoother with them. Porting over and getting the account was quick and painless. I was in and out in 30 mins. I love VoLTE. Calling another T-Mobile user it was super clear. So far I have no complains at all but will keep my eye out.

 

I did play the system very well with their buy one get one 50%. I used my sprint 6s plus as a trade in and it paid in full the second 6s plus I got for 50% off. So I walked out a happy camper with a free extra phone that I can do whatever with.

 

 

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