sprint network 2018 predictions

[danlodish345]

hello everyone i m starting a thread for sprint network predictions for 2018. i am wishing sprint and s4gru a happy holidays and new years. 

 

regards Daniel

[IamMrFamous07]

I don’t want to get my hopes up haha .....but I hope to see 4xCA, Massive MIMO deployed in hotspot areas (for now) and maybe testing behind the scenes for TD&FDD CA.

 

[danlodish345]

6 hours ago, IamMrFamous07 said:

I don’t want to get my hopes up haha .....but I hope to see 4xCA, Massive MIMO deployed in hotspot areas (for now) and maybe testing behind the scenes for TD&FDD CA.

 

i can definitely see that happening and actual native foot print expansion happening. due to seeing the ceo saying price hikes are going to happen. it indicates network investments ramping up. lets see. this maybe sprints last shot at public trust.

[burnout8488]

I would like to see a firm announcement that they are at least shooting for a 2018 VoLTE rollout. 

[lilotimz]

I would like to see a firm announcement that they are at least shooting for a 2018 VoLTE rollout. 

They're not going to announce any dates for anything. They've got burnt far too many times since 2011.

 

Ie. We already know and have found new LTE only expansion areas with no previous sprint coverage but it's not publicized anywhere.

 

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[burnout8488]

6 minutes ago, lilotimz said:

They're not going to announce any dates for anything. They've got burnt far too many times since 2011.

 

Ie. We already know and have found new LTE only expansion areas with no previous sprint coverage but it's not publicized anywhere.

 

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In that regard, under-promising and over-delivering has worked well in the last year.

[danlodish345]

3 hours ago, burnout8488 said:

In that regard, under-promising and over-delivering has worked well in the last year.

The public's trust with Sprint is nill at this point.

[cletus]

I'll be the curmudgeon in the thread:

My prediction is lower than expected/needed capex spending while continuing to showcase plans that are more "me too!" than "look at me!" (hulu for sprint vs netflix for T-Mobile). I do expect Sprint to slowly build out and densify more towers but to in general start falling behind the other players again. Sorry but they won't small cell their way out of the still existing backhaul and slow tower problem. It is great that Sprint has done so well cutting down operation costs but they can't cut themselves to a faster network. Oh and lastly I predict another year of 3G/barely serviceable LTE at the Austin Airport. I also expect plan costs to rise now that T-Mobile plan costs are also on the rise. 

marketwise I expect that 2018 will bring even more people cord cutting and looking for services such as DirectTV Now and continue to add to AT&T dominating this area with the AT&T+DirectTV Now bundle discounts.

[dkyeager]

On 11/23/2017 at 1:35 PM, burnout8488 said:

In that regard, under-promising and over-delivering has worked well in the last year.

Still waiting on 4CA which was promised for 2017.  33 days left in 2017.

[dkyeager]

256 QAM would make the biggest difference given proper backhaul.  4x4 MIMO would be great for urban high capacity sites assuming the need for high capacity CDMA has declined.

[IamMrFamous07]

11 minutes ago, dkyeager said:

Still waiting on 4CA which was promised for 2017.  33 days left in 2017.

Only 2 devices support it right?

[dkyeager]

Just now, IamMrFamous07 said:

Only 2 devices support it right?

LG V30 is one.  Your right, seeding is a little thin given current firmware.  A promise they should not have made.

[IamMrFamous07]

3 minutes ago, dkyeager said:

LG V30 is one.  Your right, seeding is a little thin given current firmware.  A promise they should not have made.

I concur. Maybe some towers in some areas already have it online but we won’t know since most of us don’t have a device that supports it. Hopefully there’s a formal announcement when the s9 comes out

[dkyeager]

Here is to hoping for B41 20+20 and 15 support in some fashion for the many Sprint counties that would benefit from this.

[Dkoellerwx]

10 hours ago, dkyeager said:

Still waiting on 4CA which was promised for 2017.  33 days left in 2017.

Was that promised for 2017? I don't remember a date being specified. 

[lilotimz]

Was that promised for 2017? I don't remember a date being specified. 

The press release stated 2018 iirc.

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[Dkoellerwx]

6 minutes ago, lilotimz said:

The press release stated 2018 iirc.

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk
 

That seems more likely. I don't ever remember expecting to see 4xCA this year. 

[rocketr]

I'm wondering what is stopping Sprint from moving forward on 256 QAM

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[dkyeager]

19 hours ago, Dkoellerwx said:

Was that promised for 2017? I don't remember a date being specified. 

You are correct.  Despite remembering that I saw it on a chart in the background of a photo, I am unable to find that now or any reference to 2018 in press releases.  They could have been cleaned-up, but more likely my memory is faulty or search methods are deficient.

[drhz]

I think Sprint will release a Home LTE Router that supports Massive MIMO. In my market Verizon has been testing a home LTE solution. I saw it at Best Buy.

[Terrell352]

On 11/28/2017 at 10:16 PM, rocketr said:

I'm wondering what is stopping Sprint from moving forward on 256 QAM

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This!! Its software and doesn't require backhaul upgrades so I don't know what the problem is. Every other carrier has it live to some extent.

[WiWavelength]

3 hours ago, Terrell352 said:

This!! Its software and doesn't require backhaul upgrades so I don't know what the problem is. Every other carrier has it live to some extent.

For people who bemoan the limited coverage of band 41, many of you are irrationally gung ho over 256QAM, which has a usable coverage radius much smaller than that of band 41.

AJ

[Terrell352]

For people who bemoan the limited coverage of band 41, many of you are irrationally gung ho over 256QAM, which has a usable coverage radius much smaller than that of band 41.
AJ

I'm pretty sure my neighborhood can get it. We are in line of sight and less than a mile away from the tower. I can get 64qam inside no problem.

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[danlodish345]

How far in terms of miles are you from the cell site?

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[rocketr]

11 hours ago, WiWavelength said:

For people who bemoan the limited coverage of band 41, many of you are irrationally gung ho over 256QAM, which has a usable coverage radius much smaller than that of band 41.

AJ

Very true but if you can't get it 64QAM would still be supported. I think it would make more of a difference for Band 25 / Band 26 to increase the cell throughput capacity correct? I mean that is why every other carrier has gone to 256QAM correct? 

For Example T-Mobile deployed 256QAM on their 5x5MHz of Band 12 and saw a 33% capacity increase. We really need that increase in low / mid band. High band it wouldn't make as much of a difference unless on top of the tower but still would help.