Network Vision/LTE - Colorado Market (Denver/Colo Springs/Fort Collins/Pueblo/Grand Jct)

[Cubbiefan82]

All that is coming, airports seem to be the last in any market to see upgrades. Must be difficult to get approval to get equipment, workers etc. in there.

The FAA doesn't like people on the airport, without a background check and a few other things. My company was at a converted military base airport, no airline traffic and we had to get finger-printed. Background checks and airport id's just to be on the airport. So I can only imagine what the contractors have to go though.

[hercules rockefeller]

The FAA doesn't like people on the airport, without a background check and a few other things. My company was at a converted military base airport, no airline traffic and we had to get finger-printed. Background checks and airport id's just to be on the airport. So I can only imagine what the contractors have to go though.

Ever since 9/11 it's been really hard to get security clearance to work at an airport. My father in law retired from United after working there for 30 years and got a part time job for a hotel driving their hotel shuttle, pretty much because he speaks english and his security clearance hadn't expired yet (just for the record, he's also a pretty good guy and all that, but the security clearance is what got him the job). and that's just to drive a van onto airport property; there are higher security levels for other jobs. working on a construction project on the airport would surely require more oversight than that, for the employees involved and the materials they're bringing with them as well. 

 

And add to all of that the fact that an airport is a huge area full of large steel structures and a swamp of RF signals. the least important of which is whatever's coming out of a private corporation's cell site. Obviously we're talking about different frequencies and there are safeguards in place so it shouldn't be a problem. But there's more scrutiny put on interference issues at an airport than at other towers, combined with the areas that need to be covered and high usage demands the planning phase of the project is going to take longer than other towers.

[Cataract2]

So, I find this interesting.  I work on Buckley AFB in Aurora, CO and I have noticed that while I have B25 and B41 I never get B26.  I have followed this to Thornton, CO where my home is with the same showings.  B25 and B41 with 3G.  I am wondering if B26 is not turned on in those areas.  I have to say, they could certainly use is as I do drop to 3G a lot.

 

[EvanA]

From reddit: CA spotted in Denver

 

https://i.imgur.com/Wk7Hcb8.png

[cdd543]

I'm contemplating trying Sprint out to see if it's as good as the hype in Denver(CA, Spark, etc).  Currently with tmo after many years with VZW in Denver.  How's the network consistency in Denver--I do use my phone as a phone so I'm concerned about call quality(no volte yet?) and being able to reliably carry on conversations.  I'm mostly in downtown/NW Denver or the mountains.  I've donated so I can have access to the sponsor data--just waiting for my profile to be updated.

Edited July 22, 2015 by cdd543

[Dkoellerwx]

I'm contemplating trying Sprint out to see if it's as good as the hype in Denver(CA, Spark, etc).  Currently with tmo after many years with VZW in Denver.  How's the network consistency in Denver--I do use my phone as a phone so I'm concerned about call quality(no volte yet?) and being able to reliably carry on conversations.  I'm mostly in downtown/NW Denver or the mountains.  I've donated so I can have access to the sponsor data--just waiting for my profile to be updated.

 

Welcome to the forums! Thank you for being a sponsor, hopefully you find S4GRU to be helpful with your decision, and at the very least learn some new things about Sprint, other carriers, and cell technology. 

 

Not to step on any Coloradans toes, but from my experience in Denver (this was in Dec/Jan, there has been much improvement even since then), the network is VERY solid. Speeds are good just about everywhere I went. It won't always be 20+Mbps, but generally at least 5. HD Voice is FANTASTIC. The best call quality you've ever heard. You'll never want to switch once you make an HD call. 

 

Robert (site admin) has made several trips to Denver and has had only good things to say as well. Going so far as to say Sprint is besting TMO and AT&T in regards to reliability and consistency. He does have TMO, AT&T and Verizons lines so he can make that comparison. 

 

No, VoLTE is not available yet on Sprint, but 1xRTT on SMR (800 MHz) using HD voice is better than VoLTE in my opinion at this point anyway. VoLTE just wouldn't have the reliability that 1x does right now.

 

Once you get into the mountains, ehh... not sure. It's good along I-70. It depends on where in the mountains. You'll have to look for yourself at the maps once Robert get's a chance to upgrade your account. (If he hasn't gotten to it by tomorrow evening, send him a PM). 

[cdd543]

Welcome to the forums! Thank you for being a sponsor, hopefully you find S4GRU to be helpful with your decision, and at the very least learn some new things about Sprint, other carriers, and cell technology. 

 

Not to step on any Coloradans toes, but from my experience in Denver (this was in Dec/Jan, there has been much improvement even since then), the network is VERY solid. Speeds are good just about everywhere I went. It won't always be 20+Mbps, but generally at least 5. HD Voice is FANTASTIC. The best call quality you've ever heard. You'll never want to switch once you make an HD call. 

 

Robert (site admin) has made several trips to Denver and has had only good things to say as well. Going so far as to say Sprint is besting TMO and AT&T in regards to reliability and consistency. He does have TMO, AT&T and Verizons lines so he can make that comparison. 

 

No, VoLTE is not available yet on Sprint, but 1xRTT on SMR (800 MHz) using HD voice is better than VoLTE in my opinion at this point anyway. VoLTE just wouldn't have the reliability that 1x does right now.

 

Once you get into the mountains, ehh... not sure. It's good along I-70. It depends on where in the mountains. You'll have to look for yourself at the maps once Robert get's a chance to upgrade your account. (If he hasn't gotten to it by tomorrow evening, send him a PM).

Appreciate it...thanks.  Yeah I've gotten used to VOLTE on VZW and tmo--though sometimes it drops to HSPA and just regular HD voice.  Glad to hear HD voice on Sprint is solid until they officially launch VOLTE.  Honestly ATT is the worst in Denver at this point--their sitting on a ton of spectrum and not deploying enough to support the network load.  TMO has done a nice job in Denver especially since they rolled band 12 700mhz coverage though they are hampered by non contiguous spectrum here.

[Dkoellerwx]

Appreciate it...thanks.  Yeah I've gotten used to VOLTE on VZW and tmo--though sometimes it drops to HSPA and just regular HD voice.  Glad to hear HD voice on Sprint is solid until they officially launch VOLTE.  Honestly ATT is the worst in Denver at this point--their sitting on a ton of spectrum and not deploying enough to support the network load.  TMO has done a nice job in Denver especially since they rolled band 12 700mhz coverage though they are hampered by non contiguous spectrum here.

 

I hit the highest speeds I had ever seen in the Denver metro at that point in time back in Dec March. Several speed tests of 70+Mbps. 

 

Test below was taken in Golden. 

 

 

Now that CA has launched, I've been able to go as high as 133Mbps in the KC metro. I'm sure similar speeds can be found in Denver, and should become more common as more sites are upgraded to B41 and the second carrer + CA is launched. 

 

 

(* edited. Forgot I was there in March also. I like Colorado [and not for the reason you're thinking .. it's skiing])

[cdd543]

 

I hit the highest speeds I had ever seen in the Denver metro at that point in time back in Dec March. Several speed tests of 70+Mbps. 

 

Test below was taken in Golden. 

 

 

Now that CA has launched, I've been able to go as high as 133Mbps in the KC metro. I'm sure similar speeds can be found in Denver, and should become more common as more sites are upgraded to B41 and the second carrer + CA is launched. 

 

 

(* edited. Forgot I was there in March also. I like Colorado [and not for the reason you're thinking .. it's skiing])

Yeah we have lots of reasons to be liked:).  Best speeds I've ever gotten were on tmo once where I got 35 down and verizon averages 5 or less most places and at rush hour it drops to 1 or less generally where I work and travel.  

[KDKobes]

Appreciate it...thanks. Yeah I've gotten used to VOLTE on VZW and tmo--though sometimes it drops to HSPA and just regular HD voice. Glad to hear HD voice on Sprint is solid until they officially launch VOLTE. Honestly ATT is the worst in Denver at this point--their sitting on a ton of spectrum and not deploying enough to support the network load. TMO has done a nice job in Denver especially since they rolled band 12 700mhz coverage though they are hampered by non contiguous spectrum here.

I agree, at&t's network was horrible when I had it. I live up in Loveland and travel often to Denver, Cheyennne, and Estes Park. I switched to Sprint back in February and have never been happier. I have no personal experience with T-Mobile but my friend and his g/f have T-Mobile up here in Loveland and they complain about it all the time. They travel often through Denver west to Grand Junction. My Sprint speeds are 10x better than my at&t and the voice quality is way clearer. My Sprint has some of the best service in rural Colorado. As far as roaming I wouldnt let that be the cause of decision because I used over 5GB in data roaming one month and never heard a fuss....realized the dang RootMetrics app was running in the background. From what I recall the only really bad spot west of Denver is the Eisenhower tunnel obviously no signal inside. The only area I have been really disappointed is headed east on 76 towards Nebraska the service is really shotty.

Edited July 23, 2015 by KDKobes

[cdd543]

I agree, at&t's network was horrible when I had it. I live up in Loveland and travel often to Denver, Cheyennne, and Estes Park. I switched to Sprint back in February and have never been happier. I have no personal experience with T-Mobile but my friend and his g/f have T-Mobile up here in Loveland and they complain about it all the time. They travel often through Denver west to Grand Junction. My Sprint speeds are 10x better than my at&t and the voice quality is way clearer. My Sprint has some of the best service in rural Colorado. As far as roaming I wouldnt let that be the cause of decision because I used over 5GB in data roaming one month and never heard a fuss....realized the dang RootMetrics app was running in the background. From what I recall the only really bad spot west of Denver is the Eisenhower tunnel obviously no signal inside. The only area I have been really disappointed is headed east on 76 towards Nebraska the service is really shotty.

Thanks I think I'm going to give it a shot. I just realized mobile hotspot isn't included, but I'll get over it. Mostly concerned about the coverage, call quality and speeds.

 

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[Dkoellerwx]

. As far as roaming I wouldnt let that be the cause of decision because I used over 5GB in data roaming one month and never heard a fuss...

 

When did that happen? It would be pretty much impossible to do that now. You get shut down after 300MB or so. We're hoping that with the new roaming agreements going into effect, Sprint might be able to drop Verizon and give slightly more liberal roaming caps.

[Dkoellerwx]

Thanks I think I'm going to give it a shot. I just realized mobile hotspot isn't included, but I'll get over it. Mostly concerned about the coverage, call quality and speeds.

 

Sent from my SM-G920T using Tapatalk

 

Have you gotten a chance to check out the maps? I see your account was upgraded from the last time I looked.

[cdd543]

Have you gotten a chance to check out the maps? I see your account was upgraded from the last time I looked.

Yes I have. Looks great in most if the areas I am 98% of the time. 3g in winter Park kind of sucks, but same with tmo. I guess I should qualify it saying I'll get a temporary number and try it out before porting my number.

 

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[Dkoellerwx]

Yes I have. Looks great in most if the areas I am 98% of the time. 3g in winter Park kind of sucks, but same with tmo. I guess I should qualify it saying I'll get a temporary number and try it out before porting my number.

 

Sent from my SM-G920T using Tapatalk

 

When I was at Winter Park in March, even though it was only 3G, service was pretty good. I was able to surf web pages and upload pictures to Facebook real quickly, no problems at all -- at least in the parts I was in. It was moderately busy, it was a Spring Break week.

[KDKobes]

When did that happen? It would be pretty much impossible to do that now. You get shut down after 300MB or so. We're hoping that with the new roaming agreements going into effect, Sprint might be able to drop Verizon and give slightly more liberal roaming caps.

February into March bill. I was in the RMNP and around Estes Park for a few days. Some of which was on Verizon roaming. I was unaware stupid rootmetrics was set to gather data in background so thats what did it. I didnt know until I checked my usage days later because I knew I was roaming and it was limited but needless to say I had a heart attack but never heard anything of it.

[chefdementia]

Well this is going to be a good bye, for this site and sprint. I'm not going to keep a service that has almost unusable data in grand junction, and it's not want better in Hotchkiss.

[CrimsonKnightDX]

Well this is going to be a good bye, for this site and sprint. I'm not going to keep a service that has almost unusable data in grand junction, and it's not want better in Hotchkiss.

Sorry to hear that, hope everything works out for you and the new service you chose.

 

 

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[Dkoellerwx]

Well this is going to be a good bye, for this site and sprint. I'm not going to keep a service that has almost unusable data in grand junction, and it's not want better in Hotchkiss.

 

It is unfortunate that Sprint has not been able to bring LTE online in Grand Junction in any meaningful way so far. You have to do what is best for you, I understand not wanting to pay for a service that doesn't work well.

 

However, that does not mean you have to say goodbye to this site. We have many active members who are former Sprint users who are still around for the community, and to see how Sprint is progressing. Who knows, maybe in a couple of months Sprint will finally get LTE going, Grand Junction is likely to go from 3G only straight to Sprint Spark, which will be many times better, and maybe you will want to come back.

 

Either way, good luck.

[chefdementia]

Moved on to the "Big Red Evil Empire" (Verizon) last weekend, so far it's pretty good.  Got 55 down and 22 up the other day at Home Depot.  I'll keep an eye on Sprint to see what happens with their network.  With Sprint and where we're working at, in Hotchkiss, right now, I can make calls, but not receive them although texts and voicemail notifications are fine.

[sinisin]

Anyone have any clue whats causing massive statewide outages the last couple days?

 

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[Dkoellerwx]

Anyone have any clue whats causing massive statewide outages the last couple days?

 

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Have not heard any reports of this.

 

Sent from my LG G4

[dwilson6]

Have not heard any reports of this.

 

Sent from my LG G4

 

I've been getting lots of network busy signals when trying to make calls

[FireVirtual]

Just moved from DC months ago, also moved back to Sprint from T-Mobile... holy fuck is the network amazing downtown and around Capital Hill/Cherry Creek.

[ToddAndersonCO]

First time posting, long time lurker.

 

Have had excellent LTE coverage, first on my Nexus 5, now using a Nexus 6, for over a year now.  I work at Colorado and Exposition.  

 

For about a week now, I've had issues with the phone connection dropping on LTE, although the icon still will show full or nearly full bars and the LTE symbol.  I have to put into airplane mode and back, it'll establish connection, and everything is fine for as long as I'm using the phone.  Then I put it in my pocket, pull it out to use again a few minutes later, and the process repeats.  If I set the network mode to 3G, it functions normally (i.e. don't have to reset the connection using airplane mode). 

 

I received OTA Marshmallow about 4 weeks ago (first or second day after release) and had no problems previously until 8 days ago.  This only occurs at my work location.  LTE connection is fine at home (20th and Youngfield) and fine at Children's Hospital (Aurora), Castle Rock Outlet Stores, and downtown (Buell Theatre area) during this last week.

 

Thanks in advance for any advice on what my problem could be...