T-Mobile LTE & Network Discussion V2

[Ascertion]

So, there's actually quite a few markets where T-Mobile can utilize their new B71 spectrum now as the spectrum is vacant.  For example, in Jax, FL C and D blocks of 600Mhz are now owned by T-Mobile and those channels are not in use (channel 40/41.)  This means they have 10x10Mhz ready to deploy.  They're expecting some sites to have B71 ready by the time devices hit the stores early next year.

[ericdabbs]

I added some info in the thread below in the OP of how to determine which transition Phase is for your market and the FCC transition phase timeline of when the 600 MHz channels are expected to be cleared.  This way it gives yourself a more realistic expectation of when 600 MHz can be deployed in your market. 

 

http://s4gru.com/index.php?/topic/6553-600-mhz-auction-results-posted-and-transition-schedule/?p=377042

[Arysyn]

Well, here is some good news for those here, who want the same as I do, for Dish and T-Mobile to merge :

 

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-04-18/verizon-s-ceo-is-open-to-deal-talks-from-comcast-to-disney

 

I think it is quite telling that Lowell McAdam did not mention Dish in that article. He brought up a few times about Comcast, which is what I'm both thinking and wanting to happen as a merger between the two companies. Besides, Comcast is testing out Verizon's network using their new Xfinity Mobile service.

 

So, I'd say its quite likely those companies are going to merge, which means a greater chance for T-Mobile to go for Dish. Still, there is a chance that if Softbank decides to stick around with Sprint, or sell Sprint, they could end up going with Dish, if T-Mobile does not.

 

Granted, if that happens, I think that might trigger a possibility DT might become more open to selling T-Mobile. That is when the chance of AT&T getting involved may become more likely for them to make another offer for T-Mobile. Although, I definitely would rather see DT keep T-Mobile and go for Dish.

[richy]

Well, here is some good news for those here, who want the same as I do, for Dish and T-Mobile to merge :

 

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-04-18/verizon-s-ceo-is-open-to-deal-talks-from-comcast-to-disney

 

I think it is quite telling that Lowell McAdam did not mention Dish in that article. He brought up a few times about Comcast, which is what I'm both thinking and wanting to happen as a merger between the two companies. Besides, Comcast is testing out Verizon's network using their new Xfinity Mobile service.

 

So, I'd say its quite likely those companies are going to merge, which means a greater chance for T-Mobile to go for Dish. Still, there is a chance that if Softbank decides to stick around with Sprint, or sell Sprint, they could end up going with Dish, if T-Mobile does not.

 

Granted, if that happens, I think that might trigger a possibility DT might become more open to selling T-Mobile. That is when the chance of AT&T getting involved may become more likely for them to make another offer for T-Mobile. Although, I definitely would rather see DT keep T-Mobile and go for Dish.

 

Correct me if I am wrong but I don't think a tie up with a satellite TV provider is really the same as with a cableco, even if that provider is sat on a pile of virgin spectrum. A cable company has a giant last mile network to leverage, dish just has more spectrum and the potential to work some kind of TV proposition into packages. I think it would work, assuming dish wasnt stupid about valuing itself, but a cableco would have huge upsides when it comes to the backbone and offload opportunities. 

 

There are also some fringe benefits, typically triple play services result in lower churn (both voluntary and involuntary) but thats more an upside for dish than tmobile. 

[Arysyn]

Correct me if I am wrong but I don't think a tie up with a satellite TV provider is really the same as with a cableco, even if that provider is sat on a pile of virgin spectrum. A cable company has a giant last mile network to leverage, dish just has more spectrum and the potential to work some kind of TV proposition into packages. I think it would work, assuming dish wasnt stupid about valuing itself, but a cableco would have huge upsides when it comes to the backbone and offload opportunities.

 

There are also some fringe benefits, typically triple play services result in lower churn (both voluntary and involuntary) but thats more an upside for dish than tmobile.

Are you referring to the level of which a merger or working agreement this might be?

 

It is entirely possible in the case of T-Mobile and Dish, that they may decide just to form a close partnership where T-Mobile gets to use Dish's spectrum, and Dish gets to sell its services through T-Mobile. However, I'm hoping for more of a permanent merger situation where T-Mobile fully buys Dish, so they have a more secure use over Dish's spectrum long-term.

 

In the case of Comcast and Verizon, I think Comcast will likely buy out Verizon if any deal is to be made. I think a partnership is much less likely between those two than between T-Mobile and Dish. The benefits between these deals are different too, obviously, with Verizon relying on backhaul from Comcast, whereas with T-Mobile, its reliance on spectrum. As important spectrum is, a deal for backhaul I think would require something even more permanent, where Comcast would want to own Verizon snd vice versa.

[Maverick]

Dish bought out by t-mobile?? Hardly!

 

Comcast and Verizon are behemoth entities. It would be close to impossible for either to buyout the other unless it's a hostile takeover.

 

Keep in mind the current gov't will have to bless off on any deal with anything of this magnitude. As of now the Republicans run the show plus Trump and legere are on bad terms.

 

Let the politics dance...

[ericdabbs]

Does anyone know what brand and model Tmobile uses for their small cells.  Neville put this tweet out below regarding the launch of 700 MHz along with small cell deployment going on in Chicago.  I assume the small cell equipment is made from Nokia.  

 

Anyone have any insight?

 

https://twitter.com/NevilleRay/status/854682259621781504

[gusherb]

Does anyone know what brand and model Tmobile uses for their small cells.  Neville put this tweet out below regarding the launch of 700 MHz along with small cell deployment going on in Chicago.  I assume the small cell equipment is made from Nokia.  

 

Anyone have any insight?

 

https://twitter.com/NevilleRay/status/854682259621781504

T-Mobile is using Crown Castle for many of its small cells in Chicago, sharing with Verizon. I think I saw Ericsson RRU's the last time I looked at one.

[ericdabbs]

T-Mobile is using Crown Castle for many of its small cells in Chicago, sharing with Verizon. I think I saw Ericsson RRU's the last time I looked at one.

 

Thanks.  I was just really eluding to the OEM for the small cell equipment which nowadays is mainly Ericsson or Nokia.

[gusherb]

Thanks.  I was just really eluding to the OEM for the small cell equipment which nowadays is mainly Ericsson or Nokia.

Yeah I'm trying to figure that out but apparently can't find a picture of one of these small cells, which I think are really oDAS nodes. If it's Crown Castle I would bet the OEM is Ericsson is what I was saying before though, because these small cells are mainly built for Verizon and it seems TMO is hopping on them too.

 

Chicago is really a hotbed for small cells, home to many different kinds since it was kind of an experimental test grounds for AT&T about 8 years ago, and again 3-4 years ago. I know theirs are all Ericsson.

[Ascertion]

Anyone paying $TMUS stock? Earnings in less than an hour.

[Ascertion]

Looks like B71 phones will run on the X16 modem before end of this year. They are going to modify the existing 835 chip to support it. I'm thinking Samsung Note and Pixel 2 will be the first flagships with capability.

[ericdabbs]

Looks like B71 phones will run on the X16 modem before end of this year. They are going to modify the existing 835 chip to support it. I'm thinking Samsung Note and Pixel 2 will be the first flagships with capability.

 

It would be nice if Samsung re-released the Tmobile Galaxy S8 with the 835 chip and updated X16 modem with B71 LTE support.  I would hate to have to choose between just the Note 8 and Pixel 2.  

 

The Pixel 2 has to dramatically improve its hardware before it can compete with other big flagships.  IP53 rating in the Pixel 1 is unacceptable and needs to be IP68 rated for the Pixel 2.  In addition the Pixel 2 should follow Samsung and Apple in designing an all screen phone that has minimal bezels to maximize screen real estate.

[Ascertion]

It would be nice if Samsung re-released the Tmobile Galaxy S8 with the 835 chip and updated X16 modem with B71 LTE support.  I would hate to have to choose between just the Note 8 and Pixel 2.  

 

The Pixel 2 has to dramatically improve its hardware before it can compete with other big flagships.  IP53 rating in the Pixel 1 is unacceptable and needs to be IP68 rated for the Pixel 2.  In addition the Pixel 2 should follow Samsung and Apple in designing an all screen phone that has minimal bezels to maximize screen real estate.

The bezel and waterproofing likely won't happen with HTC making the phone, to be honest.  They seem to always have the larger bezels of the manufacturers.

[ericdabbs]

The bezel and waterproofing likely won't happen with HTC making the phone, to be honest.  They seem to always have the larger bezels of the manufacturers.

 

I don't buy that.  I can see the waterproofing to IP68 instead of IP53 as a great possibility as an addition this year since it is becoming a major feature of the phone as more and more people use their smartphones in more situations. IP53 should be pretty easy to improve on.  But you may be right about the near bezeless phone screen.  The HTC M11 should be coming out in a few weeks so we will see what HTC is capable of doing in terms of improving on these 2 fronts.  One source is saying that the HTC M11 could be IP57 rated which is already an improvement to the IP53 rating since it could not be submerged in water.

 

However HTC is mightily struggling and even HTC added the fingerprint sensor in the HTC One M10 phone even though they were the last ones to incorporate it.  They even incorporated a home button to enable the fingerprint sensor.  I just wouldn't entirely discount HTC and at least Google trying to request a near bezeless phones.  Not being able to create an IP68 capable phone is a design issue and is not a matter of HTC not having the resources or capability since they are still a big company of which HTC can resolve. But heck if HTC can't do the job to meet Google's HW specs, then bring on Huawei.  Huawei helped build the Nexus 6P which was a great phone so I can't see why they couldn't do the job.  Huawei already makes some flagship phones like the P9 or Mate 9 series.

 

I think Samsung has set the standard on that front and you can see that Apple is looking to do the same thing with the iPhone 8.  I wouldn't be surprised if LG comes out with a near bezeless phone for the LG G7 next year to look much like the Samsung Galaxy S8 or heck maybe even the LG V30 later on this year. 

.

[Arysyn]

Has Google confirmed HTC as the manufacturer of the Pixel 2? I'm quite skeptical of anything related to HTC at this point, and would much rather see Google taking the Pixel manufacturing over to either Samsung or Sony. It would certainly be easy for the Pixel 2 having an infinite display and waterproofing if it were manufactured by Samsung. Sony possibly too, since Sony has done great with waterproofing on their smartphones for many years, and Sony does have a very near-the-edge display on the XA Ultra model.

[Ascertion]

Has Google confirmed HTC as the manufacturer of the Pixel 2? I'm quite skeptical of anything related to HTC at this point, and would much rather see Google taking the Pixel manufacturing over to either Samsung or Sony. It would certainly be easy for the Pixel 2 having an infinite display and waterproofing if it were manufactured by Samsung. Sony possibly too, since Sony has done great with waterproofing on their smartphones for many years, and Sony does have a very near-the-edge display on the XA Ultra model.

Sony does the best job with their smaller devices and being able to fit everything inside well.  Sony also was the first to bring the water "resistant" concept to mainstream flagships.  I would be interested in a Sony device like that.  Samsung as well has proven themselves on the hardware front.  Especially with modem advances.  The 4x4 MIMO, 256 QAM and other enhancements make the network noticeably faster.

 

I almost purchased the Pixel but it's out of stock nearly each time I look on the Google Store.  They need to fix supply issues next time, but Google has been notorious for being bad at predicting demand...

[Arysyn]

Sony does the best job with their smaller devices and being able to fit everything inside well. Sony also was the first to bring the water "resistant" concept to mainstream flagships. I would be interested in a Sony device like that. Samsung as well has proven themselves on the hardware front. Especially with modem advances. The 4x4 MIMO, 256 QAM and other enhancements make the network noticeably faster.

 

I almost purchased the Pixel but it's out of stock nearly each time I look on the Google Store. They need to fix supply issues next time, but Google has been notorious for being bad at predicting demand...

For me, my smartphone purchase in the next few months will be a difficult decision. The current highest likelihood is that I'm going to get a Sony Xperia XZ Premium when it gets released, which will work well with the Sony tv I may get. However, if my mother finds she'd rather us go for the Samsung QLED tv, I might wait for the Note 8, or get the S8+, if Samsung resolves the issues with it, though I think I'll more likely pass on it for the Note 8.

[greenbastard]

Just to add a bit to the TV/Phone compatibility, I find Samsung to be buggy as hell when doing screen mirroring. It's not very reliable. As a matter of fact, the entire smart TV interface is very slow and tends to freeze on me.

 

Don't get me wrong, the screen itself is very good. It's definitely better than anything Sony had at the time of purchase. But I try to avoid using the Samsung interface and just use a Fire TV instead for OTT TV. So if you're looking for TV interface, you should probably go with Sony. If you're looking at just screen quality, go with Samsung + a 3rd party streaming device.

[danlodish345]

Just to add a bit to the TV/Phone compatibility, I find Samsung to be buggy as hell when doing screen mirroring. It's not very reliable. As a matter of fact, the entire smart TV interface is very slow and tends to freeze on me.

 

Don't get me wrong, the screen itself is very good. It's definitely better than anything Sony had at the time of purchase. But I try to avoid using the Samsung interface and just use a Fire TV instead for OTT TV. So if you're looking for TV interface, you should probably go with Sony. If you're looking at just screen quality, go with Samsung + a 3rd party streaming device.

I go with Chromecast which is very reliable

 

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

[Arysyn]

Just to add a bit to the TV/Phone compatibility, I find Samsung to be buggy as hell when doing screen mirroring. It's not very reliable. As a matter of fact, the entire smart TV interface is very slow and tends to freeze on me.

 

Don't get me wrong, the screen itself is very good. It's definitely better than anything Sony had at the time of purchase. But I try to avoid using the Samsung interface and just use a Fire TV instead for OTT TV. So if you're looking for TV interface, you should probably go with Sony. If you're looking at just screen quality, go with Samsung + a 3rd party streaming device.

Thanks for the advice. I've got alot to think about with this tv/smartphone purchasing decision I need to make this year. I'm leaning towards the Sony decision, but am considering Samsung. I'll make my decision on Monday next week.

[red_dog007]

I go with Chromecast which is very reliable

 

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

Yeah, love my Chromecast.  I have the Fire TV Stick, thing is garbage.  For 4k, the Chromecast Ultra is $20 cheaper than the Fire TV and it supports HDR.

[WiWavelength]

Folks, this thread is for discussion of T-Mobile, not TV-Mobile.

 

AJ

[twospirits]

Folks, this thread is for discussion of T-Mobile, not TV-Mobile.

 

AJ

It will be when Sprint merges with Charter.  

[Arysyn]

It will be when Sprint merges with Charter.

Plus a T-Mobile/Dish merger, hopefully.

 

I never intended to sidetrack the topic here. I have T-Mobile and I need to soon purchase a compatible smartphone. However, I'm in the unique situation of also needing a new tv, which the smartphone I get is dependent on. All part of the connected ecosystem.

 

Anyways, thanks again to those who've helpfully responded to me thus far. I may consider one of the streaming devices eventually, but not at the moment. I want to get the same brand of smartphone as the tv, and I'm also keeping alert on the 600mhz compatibility reports if something comes out later this year I might wait for, since this spectrum is a big deal for T-Mobile.