Official Tmobile-Sprint merger discussion thread

[dkyeager]

27 minutes ago, PhillipJames89 said:

Can I purchase the one plus 8 and activate on sprint? 

As long as a phone is not locked to a carrier you should be good. Do it before August.

[Bennyjet29]

The email you received match ads I have seen on TV. 
One customer with the latest iPhone told me his phone had a message on it to get improved service basically matching the S20 offer. He declined since no n71 has been found in our market and no n41 on T-Mobile sites has been spotted. I have personally been told there are n41 sites in Ohio in a few out of the way places with no hints given.  None spotted so far, and almost no new T-Mobile permits.
West of Rochester NY into Ohio would benefit from band 71 as Sprint is limited to 1x800 due to Toronto having priority. 

That does make a lot of sense and I have driven out to Cleveland once. A lot of farmland between Erie, PA and Cleveland lol.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[PhillipJames89]

32 minutes ago, dkyeager said:

As long as a phone is not locked to a carrier you should be good. Do it before August.

Good to know. I heard sprint won’t activate it. I’ll see what happens

[dkyeager]

52 minutes ago, PhillipJames89 said:

Good to know. I heard sprint won’t activate it. I’ll see what happens

Not an iPhone user. Also have Apple stores when they re-open plus any online options.

[mdob07]

On 5/1/2020 at 5:44 PM, mdob07 said:

They just started upgrading a T-Mobile tower by my office. The first picture below was taken on 4/22, the others were from today. I'll check again next week and see how its progressing. They installed the two new antennas so close together I'm wondering if they are adding more. 

Visited this site again on Friday, appears they are wrapped up and gone already.  Looks like it just added B71/N71 and both are up and running. SIte is now 10x10 B4(B66) 10x10 B2, 5x5 B12, 15x15 B71, and 15x15 N71. I believe this is the fastest upload I've ever seen from a macro site. 

[Grabber5.0]

Not an iPhone user. Also have Apple stores when they re-open plus any online options.

I believe he's talking about the new OnePlus 8, not an iPhone.

[ingenium]

Can I purchase the one plus 8 and activate on sprint? 

I'm pretty sure you can't. I don't think Sprint has whitelisted it, even though it has CDMA. Or at least people were complaining about that when it launched. I'm almost certain I read about one person who bought it and couldn't activate it.

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

[PhillipJames89]

32 minutes ago, ingenium said:

I'm pretty sure you can't. I don't think Sprint has whitelisted it, even though it has CDMA. Or at least people were complaining about that when it launched. I'm almost certain I read about one person who bought it and couldn't activate it.

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk
 

I guess I will wait until August 2nd lol

[Dkoellerwx]

On 5/9/2020 at 2:14 PM, Bennyjet29 said:

Hey, y’all I just finally received the Sprint/T-Mobile network upgrades email this morning and actually saw a tower on I-390 being consolidated as it had 4 sets of antenna bars but only has 3 now with a wire/cable going down to the ground!
Later on, I drove up to the tower and saw two engineers working on it. Not sure if you’re able to zoom to the top but there is an engineer looking down and probably wondering why the hell I was taking a pic lol. 

 

Sprint is still on that tower, and is still by itself so they haven't taken it town or consolidated yet. You'll need to go back at some point and see what actually changed.

[Tengen31]

Anyone know if the claims of a 3G H+ shutdown end of this year are true?

Sent from my SM-G975U1 using Tapatalk

[belusnecropolis]

1 hour ago, Tengen31 said:

Anyone know if the claims of a 3G H+ shutdown end of this year are true?

Sent from my SM-G975U1 using Tapatalk
 

It is gone from half of the sites in my county. It is only online in rural areas and has been this way since summer of last year.

[mdob07]

It is gone from half of the sites in my county. It is only online in rural areas and has been this way since summer of last year.

Still up and running around Louisville. They're using 5x5 of their 15x15 PCS license here for edge and HSPA+. Well with the merger now they have 30x30 plus 5x5 G block in PCS.

Sent from my SM-G986U using Tapatalk

[ingenium]

Anyone know if the claims of a 3G H+ shutdown end of this year are true?

Sent from my SM-G975U1 using Tapatalk

I heard HSPA shutdown at the end of 2021, and GSM shutdown at the end of this year. GSM runs in the LTE guard bands, so isn't using spectrum. I was told that HSPA and GSM both run in a sort of minimalist mode, and only power on when a device requests it.

My assumption though is that they only have it on older sites. Any new sites definitely don't have it, and there's a chance rebuilt or recently upgraded sites also don't have it.

Before they can shut it down, they have to ensure that all their customers have VoLTE capable devices. With a lot of Sprint customers being moved to their network, that may be a problem/issue. Especially with 911 regulations, where people have to be able to make a voice call if they have data service (T-mobile I believe locked out B12 access on devices without VoLTE for this reason).

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

[dro1984]

Thought you-all would enjoy the new commercial coming soon:

Sprint and T-Mobile are joining forces, more towers, more engineers...

[Tengen31]

Thought you-all would enjoy the new commercial coming soon:

I've already seen that ad on tv over the weekend. [emoji2369]

Sent from my SM-G975U1 using Tapatalk

[PythonFanPA]

We saw it last night as well.

[RedSpark]

T-Mobile boasts 2.5 GHz momentum right out of the gate

Nice write-up of Neville's comments.

[cyclone]

Not gonna lie, it's quite sad that this is just Sprint 2013's playbook with the "layer cake". That was their approach to 4G with 800, 1900, and 2.5. Just more proof that Sprint should be where T-Mobile is currently, and a testament to their management. While I am excited to FINALLY see this plan get implemented, I am completely nervous about their obsession with Verizon and AT&T. I don't want them to slowly become them...or worse.

[S4GRU]

3 hours ago, cyclone said:

Not gonna lie, it's quite sad that this is just Sprint 2013's playbook with the "layer cake". That was their approach to 4G with 800, 1900, and 2.5. Just more proof that Sprint should be where T-Mobile is currently, and a testament to their management. While I am excited to FINALLY see this plan get implemented, I am completely nervous about their obsession with Verizon and AT&T. I don't want them to slowly become them...or worse.

All it took was money.  Network Vision was planned properly initially, but not properly implemented due to finances.  I remember hearing early into the Network Vision deployment the CFO says publicly something to the effect of, 'The beauty of the Network Vision deployment plan is that we can ramp up or slow down as necessary depending on finances or need.'  It was scary to hear then, and even scarier to think of in retrospect.  They were confessing that they were always concerned about how to financially pull it off that the had contingency plans of how to "half-ass" it if necessary.  And they did half-ass it, and it likely was necessary.  But they did.

And then once you get used to losing, you forget how to win.  We finally got to the point that no amount of money would fix the problem anyway.  Network wise, Tmo merging with Sprint will likely be a very superior position than both going alone.  The big tell in time, is what it will do to competition and pricing for the long term.  That's the part we don't know. 

Will it be worth it 5 years from now?  Who knows?  But at least we will enjoy the network improvements in the interim.  But even that is not totally all everyone dreamed it would be in the short term.  I guess nothing is perfect, but we always imagine it will be.

Robert

[dkyeager]

5 hours ago, cyclone said:

Not gonna lie, it's quite sad that this is just Sprint 2013's playbook with the "layer cake". That was their approach to 4G with 800, 1900, and 2.5. Just more proof that Sprint should be where T-Mobile is currently, and a testament to their management. While I am excited to FINALLY see this plan get implemented, I am completely nervous about their obsession with Verizon and AT&T. I don't want them to slowly become them...or worse.

The triband concept really just boils down to simple communication on T-Mobile's part. Three or four items are typically all most people can easily remember and relate. 

The merger gives T-Mobile so much room for 5g conversion of bands. Unfortunately there is not as much flexibility in bandwidth per channel as there should be below 6Ghz. n25 will still be limited to 20x20 iirc. This could just be another way the duo are hammering down the nail that sticks up.

The duo were able to do this constantly with Sprint. Any advantage Sprint found would only last six months as the duo would pour in money to crush it. T-Mobile will be harder to defeat that way given better resources and marketing, but John Legere's image much harder to replicate for T-Mobile itself. Verizon may have an effective knockoff in their new CEO.  With bigger size it will be harder for T-Mobile to retain their momentum.  Fear of missing out has already started to weaken.

The shades of the Nextel merger mistakes are most concerning for me with the ways the Sprint S20 was being handled. Clearer communication needed to help people avoid new pain points.  Fortunately the Samsung band selector app was able to save them for those cases where the Sprint network was better.  We mostly preferred the plan of converting market by market first. 

The longer game is getting people to move over to 5g sooner, which benefits a carrier the most. Harder to win with customers holding on to old devices. The economy may wreak havoc with this strategy even with mid range 5g phones this summer.  Plenty of ways for T-Mobile to become Sprint.  Hopefully they are more agile. Certainly starting from a better position.

[RedSpark]

Sprint and T-Mobile: 1H 2020 results point to a promising future

More interesting reading.

[bigsnake49]

6 hours ago, S4GRU said:

All it took was money.  Network Vision was planned properly initially, but not properly implemented due to finances.  I remember hearing early into the Network Vision deployment the CFO says publicly something to the effect of, 'The beauty of the Network Vision deployment plan is that we can ramp up or slow down as necessary depending on finances or need.'  It was scary to hear then, and even scarier to think of in retrospect.  They were confessing that they were always concerned about how to financially pull it off that the had contingency plans of how to "half-ass" it if necessary.  And they did half-ass it, and it likely was necessary.  But they did.

And then once you get used to losing, you forget how to win.  We finally got to the point that no amount of money would fix the problem anyway.  Network wise, Tmo merging with Sprint will likely be a very superior position than both going alone.  The big tell in time, is what it will do to competition and pricing for the long term.  That's the part we don't know. 

Will it be worth it 5 years from now?  Who knows?  But at least we will enjoy the network improvements in the interim.  But even that is not totally all everyone dreamed it would be in the short term.  I guess nothing is perfect, but we always imagine it will be.

Robert

I can almost guarantee you that the prices will eventually rise and T-Mobile will take away my $15 Kickstarter plan. I will be OK with it. Buying and integrating Sprint takes money. Somebody will have to pay for it.

Edited May 12, 2020 by bigsnake49

[RedSpark]

4 hours ago, dkyeager said:

The triband concept really just boils down to simple communication on T-Mobile's part. Three or four items are typically all most people can easily remember and relate. 

The merger gives T-Mobile so much room for 5g conversion of bands. Unfortunately there is not as much flexibility in bandwidth per channel as there should be below 6Ghz. n25 will still be limited to 20x20 iirc. This could just be another way the duo are hammering down the nail that sticks up.

The duo were able to do this constantly with Sprint. Any advantage Sprint found would only last six months as the duo would pour in money to crush it. T-Mobile will be harder to defeat that way given better resources and marketing, but John Legere's image much harder to replicate for T-Mobile itself. Verizon may have an effective knockoff in their new CEO.  With bigger size it will be harder for T-Mobile to retain their momentum.  Fear of missing out has already started to weaken.

The shades of the Nextel merger mistakes are most concerning for me with the ways the Sprint S20 was being handled. Clearer communication needed to help people avoid new pain points.  Fortunately the Samsung band selector app was able to save them for those cases where the Sprint network was better.  We mostly preferred the plan of converting market by market first. 

The longer game is getting people to move over to 5g sooner, which benefits a carrier the most. Harder to win with customers holding on to old devices. The economy may wreak havoc with this strategy even with mid range 5g phones this summer.  Plenty of ways for T-Mobile to become Sprint.  Hopefully they are more agile. Certainly starting from a better position.

I'm sure it did an after-action on the S20 process and will have smoother rollouts in the future as additional "combined" 5G sites come online.

They'll have to keep this site upgrade/migration process rolling throughout the Spring/Summer/Fall as it's very possible that 5G iPhones could be activated directly on T-Mobile's network, and bypass Sprint's 5G network completely. In fact, I think that T-Mobile will make it a priority to wind down Sprint's 5G network and launch its own 5G in those cities for that reason.

[RedSpark]

7 hours ago, S4GRU said:

All it took was money.  Network Vision was planned properly initially, but not properly implemented due to finances.  I remember hearing early into the Network Vision deployment the CFO says publicly something to the effect of, 'The beauty of the Network Vision deployment plan is that we can ramp up or slow down as necessary depending on finances or need.'  It was scary to hear then, and even scarier to think of in retrospect.  They were confessing that they were always concerned about how to financially pull it off that the had contingency plans of how to "half-ass" it if necessary.  And they did half-ass it, and it likely was necessary.  But they did.

And then once you get used to losing, you forget how to win.  We finally got to the point that no amount of money would fix the problem anyway.  Network wise, Tmo merging with Sprint will likely be a very superior position than both going alone.  The big tell in time, is what it will do to competition and pricing for the long term.  That's the part we don't know. 

Will it be worth it 5 years from now?  Who knows?  But at least we will enjoy the network improvements in the interim.  But even that is not totally all everyone dreamed it would be in the short term.  I guess nothing is perfect, but we always imagine it will be.

Robert

Yup, the money never came. Even so, I don't think Sprint had enough lowband spectrum to effectively complete as a national carrier with strong indoor or rural coverage. Its 800 MHz just wasn't enough and Sprint didn't have enough sites or site density either.

You're absolutely right. I don't think Sprint half-assed it though. I feel tike it quarter-assed it.

[Tengen31]

Yup, the money never came. Even so, I don't think Sprint had enough lowband spectrum to effectively complete as a national carrier with strong indoor or rural coverage. Its 800 MHz just wasn't enough and Sprint didn't have enough sites or site density either.
You're absolutely right. I don't think Sprint half-assed it though. I feel tike it quarter-assed it.

Sprint could have gotten B71 from Dish. They needed to make better choices.

Sent from my SM-G975U1 using Tapatalk