Official Tmobile-Sprint merger discussion thread

[davidtm]

Isn't that the usual cost for additional Google storage??

[clbowens]

38 minutes ago, davidtm said:

Isn't that the usual cost for additional Google storage??

The 2TB storage option is the only one available to general google customers.  The other 2 (500GB and 2TB with unlimited google photos) is only available to t-mobile customer.

The 2TB storage is the same price as for general google customers.

[RedSpark]

Interesting update about where things stand with SoftBank's ownership amount.

[RedSpark]

22 hours ago, jf15219 said:

I think on TNX *everyone* had to update their E911 addresses that way.

There must have been something amiss prior to 2022. I TNX-ed in Nov 2021 (LG v60) but in Jan 2022 got a text from 6772 asking me to make sure my E911 was updated.

After completing this task, SOC TMOVOWIFI was added to the line. (XP Wi-Fi calling T-Mobile). This changed nothing for my user experience; Wi-Fi Calling worked the same before and after.

I'm able to update my E911 Address on my TNX'd iPhone directly on the device under "Settings --> Phone --> Wi-Fi Calling" as I've always been able to do on Sprint. The interface has a T-Mobile Logo now instead of a Sprint Logo, but it works exactly the same. The recent experience I had on the TNX'd Pixel and also the experience that I had on a TNX'd Samsung S21+ a while back when trying to update the E911 Address was terrible. You couldn't update anything on the device directly. You had to do it in the browser on the ancient interface which looked bad and felt patched together from legacy design.

Edited April 13, 2022 by RedSpark
Added Detail

[Dkoellerwx]

9 hours ago, davidtm said:

Isn't that the usual cost for additional Google storage??

 

8 hours ago, clbowens said:

The 2TB storage option is the only one available to general google customers.  The other 2 (500GB and 2TB with unlimited google photos) is only available to t-mobile customer.

The 2TB storage is the same price as for general google customers.

Yeah I was wondering... same price I'm already paying. I guess the unlimited photos is a nice benefit, but unless something changes it's not a huge benefit. 

[radem]

I stumbled across some interesting maps on Reddit.

 https://www.reddit.com/r/cellmapper/comments/tlqk6w/tmobile_us_equipment_vendor_map/

That link has a vendor market map for T-Mobile and one of the posts under it has a link to an engineering market map. 

[gr8nuguy]

 

 

 

Neighbor cells actually showing both sprint and TMobile sites at same time. First time I've seen that

 

[clbowens]

58 minutes ago, gr8nuguy said:

 

 

 

Neighbor cells actually showing both sprint and TMobile sites at same time. First time I've seen that

 

I see that all the time.  And a LOT of times sit on Sprint network when I have great T-Mobile signal.  I don't understand.

[RAvirani]

3 hours ago, clbowens said:

And a LOT of times sit on Sprint network when I have great T-Mobile signal.  I don't understand.

This is likely due to load balancing.

In certain areas, we’ll set up mobility parameters to release users to a less loaded cell, even if it’s RSRP is lower (think NR event A4). These sorts of configs can get super complex due to degradation in SNR or BER, though (especially for cells on the same channel). 

[jf15219]

On 4/13/2022 at 4:51 PM, RedSpark said:

I'm able to update my E911 Address on my TNX'd iPhone directly on the device under "Settings --> Phone --> Wi-Fi Calling" as I've always been able to do on Sprint. The interface has a T-Mobile Logo now instead of a Sprint Logo, but it works exactly the same. The recent experience I had on the TNX'd Pixel and also the experience that I had on a TNX'd Samsung S21+ a while back when trying to update the E911 Address was terrible. You couldn't update anything on the device directly. You had to do it in the browser on the ancient interface which looked bad and felt patched together from legacy design.

Neither on my previous device post-TNX (LG v60) or my current (OnePlus 9 Pro) can I access e911 address settings.

[clbowens]

On 4/16/2022 at 10:42 PM, RAvirani said:

This is likely due to load balancing.

In certain areas, we’ll set up mobility parameters to release users to a less loaded cell, even if it’s RSRP is lower (think NR event A4). These sorts of configs can get super complex due to degradation in SNR or BER, though (especially for cells on the same channel). 

Well what's weird about that is off-loading you to a network...that you're trying to shut down.  🙂  I would think you would want to keep as many people off as possible, to help you shut it down.

[RAvirani]

1 hour ago, clbowens said:

Well what's weird about that is off-loading you to a network...that you're trying to shut down.  🙂  I would think you would want to keep as many people off as possible, to help you shut it down.

The two big reasons for this are site density disparities and the complexity associated with the spectrum transition  

For example, consider a hypothetical town where Sprint has 5 sites with low RAD centers and T-Mobile has 3 sites with high RAD centers. Let’s assume neither carrier has a coverage problem (due to the difference in site placement/height), and that each T-Mobile site is broadcasting 20x20 MHz and each Sprint site is broadcasting 10x10 MHz.

Right now, your total on-air spectrum volume in the town is 3 sites x 3 sectors/site x 40 MHz (T-Mobile) + 5 sites x 3 sectors/site x 20 MHz (Sprint) = 660 MHz-sectors.

If you flip all of the spectrum over to T-Mobile today, your total on-air spectrum volume is 3 sites x 3 sectors/site x 60 MHz = 540 MHz-sectors. 

As you can see, in this example, there’s a significant capacity drop (18.18%) if you don’t offload onto Sprint sites. Plus, this example assumes that all Sprint spectrum can be flipped over to T-Mobile, which isn’t necessarily true. The 5x5 800 MHz carrier won’t be used by T-Mobile, and in areas where T-Mobile hasn’t deployed 2500 equipment, 2500 MHz spectrum can’t be moved over either. 

Going back to the earlier example, if we assume the Sprint sites are broadcasting 5x5 L1900 and 5x5 L800, only 5x5 MHz of spectrum can be moved over to T-Mobile. So, if all the traffic were pushed over T-Mobile, the on-air spectrum volume would really be 3 sites x 3 sectors/site x 50 MHz = 450 MHz-sectors. That’s a 31.81% decrease in capacity. Even worse. 

[RedSpark]

15 hours ago, jf15219 said:

Neither on my previous device post-TNX (LG v60) or my current (OnePlus 9 Pro) can I access e911 address settings.

Yup. Only way to access/update it on Android devices is via the Sprint website in the browser on the device, or via the browser on another device (mobile/desktop).

On iOS devices, the address update screen opens up right on the device under Settings. Just with a T-Mobile logo instead of a Sprint logo now. Much better experience.

[RedSpark]

Great progress given there's quite a bit of "merger synergy" left to go.

[Trip]

3 hours ago, RAvirani said:

The two big reasons for this are site density disparities and the complexity associated with the spectrum transition 

Quoting because your whole post is relevant.  I just got back from a miserable drive (it poured the whole way) through Lynchburg and Charlottesville.  I found that several Shentel sites which are co-located with T-Mobile are now flagged 312250, new since the last time I was there, presumably because they desperately need the spectrum to be in use until they can get the associated T-Mobile gear upgraded. 

- Trip

[RedSpark]

On 4/18/2022 at 3:48 PM, RedSpark said:

Great progress given there's quite a bit of "merger synergy" left to go.

Some interesting analysis about this news and how T-Mobile's doing vs AT&T/Verizon in this FierceWireless Article: https://www.fiercewireless.com/5g/t-mobile-dominates-q1-2022-speed-test

T-Mobile President of Technology Neville Ray said in a press release that more than 40% of the carrier’s customers now use a 5G device, and that these customers account for more than half T-Mobile’s network traffic. 

If 40% of T-Mobile’s customers use a 5G phone, and Ookla’s finding of 65% spending most of their time on 5G is accurate, about 26% of T-Mobile’s subscribers are spending the majority of their time on 5G networks.

[greenbastard]

On 4/6/2022 at 8:59 PM, greenbastard said:

T-Mobile turned off a bunch of Sprint towers somewhere between Sunday evening and Monday noon in Houston. All equipment is still physically there's, it has just been shut off. The remaining network is now extremely bare bones. B41 seems to have also been turned off from the few remaining Sprint towers I can still access (but I am still able to see fringe B41 neighboring cells coming from somewhere from time to time). I've gone from having great B25 coverage in my house to fringe B26. Putting the phone in my pocket creates "No Signal" situations.

I'm not sure why T-Mobile is doing this. Maybe they want to annoy the very few CDMA users left into switching to T-Mobile devices? Or maybe a bunch of leases expired? It doesn't make sense to just turn off large parts of the network like that.

Another update in Houston. T-Mobile has moved their LTE B41 carriers up to the higher end of the band. On Monday (April 18), the EARFCN for their two carriers was still 40780 (2609.00 Mhz) and 40978 (2628.80 Mhz).

Today, T-Mobile now is broadcasting B41 at 41244 (2655.40) and 41442 (2675.20 Mhz). Both are still 20 Mhz wide (but I assume you could do the math and figure that out yourselves).

I'm not sure what exactly is going on. Sprint hasn't broadcasted a B41 carrier since January/February (41374 was the lone carrier being broadcasted from Sprint). I guess it is safe to say Sprint is down to just broadcasting a B26 carrier and B25 on the G block. 

I'll have to root my phone later to see what exactly is going on. I'm assuming T-Mobile is launching another n41 carrier with the cleared up space. 100 Mhz + 40 Mhz of n41 would make sense if they increased their back haul capacity (which they haven't).

[iansltx]

Sprint B41 is still live here, albeit at 10 MHz at the very top of the band (2684.3 MHz). B25 is still 10x10 (G + adjacent), and B26 is still live, so that's 40 MHz still on Sprint. They're actively pushing traffic onto that B41 carrier too, when other bands are available.

I'll check later, when locking B41 won't throw me onto the Sprint carrier, but IIRC T-Mobile B41 is still 2CA right above the 2500-2600 NR channel. So, no spectrum Tetris yet to ad in another n41 channel. Wouldn't be surprised if it's because most sites don't have more than 1 Gbps of backhaul, so it'd be pointless to add the capacity. And it's not like AT&T or VZW are competitive speed-wise anyway.

n71+n41 NR-CA seems to work fine here, though speeds and latency are generally nothing special, and I don't see that config unless I band-select NR only (which means no voice calls because VoNR is still MIA).

I expect that T-Mobile won't shut down Sprint B41 here until the entire network goes offline, since they've shown they're willing to self-interfere between T-Mobile B41 and Sprint B41 (back when Sprint has 2640, 2660, 2680) and they're only using 140 MHz of 2.5 on the T-Mobile side right now. Likewise, it doesn't make sense to do anything with B25 until they can flip the whole spectrum slice over to 10x10 n25, so that'll stick around until network shutdown. So locking B25 will continue to be helpful if T-Mobile's own network is congested here, which at this point basically only happens if you're in one of the few pockets that can't get n41. Or it's a super packed event...which tend to happen in the same places so T-Mobile should really drop some n41 SCs in those areas.

[cooltech6597]

Don't know when this happened but Sprint B41 BW has finally been cut here in Toledo area. It was 2xB41 40mhz when I last checked in March, but now it has been dropped to 15mhz.

 

[iansltx]

Confirmed this morning that the bottom B41 carrier is still at 2609, so things haven't moved around yet, as the NR carrier is at 2500-2600.

[RedSpark]

Anyone here putting in a question? 😀

[RedSpark]

• Extended Range 5G covers 315 million people, or 95% of Americans
• Ultra Capacity 5G covers 225 million people and nearly 85% of T-Mobile customers
• Approximately 45% of postpaid customers are now using a 5G phone, and 5G devices account for more than half of total network traffic
• On track to complete Sprint customer network migration mid-year and decommissioning by end of year

Impressive.

Adding: Some interesting stats in the Investor Factbook (PDF): https://s24.q4cdn.com/400059132/files/doc_financials/2022/q1/TMUS-03_31_2022-EX-99.2-FINAL.pdf

Page 14: Sites (Combined LTE + 5G): 99K Macro Cell Sites, 42K Small cell/distributed antenna system sites

Edited April 27, 2022 by RedSpark
Added info

[dkyeager]

Interesting notes:

Acquired customers, net of base adjustments (1)(2) 12 — 806 — (558)
(1) Customers impacted by the decommissioning of the legacy Sprint CDMA network, who did not migrate to the T-Mobile network, have been excluded from our postpaid customer base resulting in the removal of 212,000 postpaid phone customers and 349,000 postpaid other customers in the first quarter of 2022. In connection with our acquisition of companies, we included a base adjustment in the first quarter of 2022 to increase postpaid phone customers by 17,000 and reduce postpaid other customers by 14,000.
(2) In the first quarter of 2021, we acquired 11,000 postpaid phone customers and 1,000 postpaid other customers through our acquisition of an affiliate. In the third quarter of 2021, we acquired 716,000 postpaid phone customers and 90,000 postpaid other customers through our acquisition of Shentel’s Wireless Assets.
 

I assume other customers is from MVNOs (perhaps old Dish customers, since most MVNOs are prepaid, including current Dish.) Other clarifications are welcome.

[RedSpark]

Some more info from the Earnings Call here: https://www.fiercewireless.com/wireless/sprint-integration-t-mobile-proceeds-without-hitch-unless-youre-cwa

The company is on track to upgrade or decommission substantially all of the Sprint sites this year; it’s been selectively decommissioning sites since the merger closed. As of the first quarter, “we’ve decommissioned roughly one-third of the 35,000 targeted sites,” Sievert said, with a big push coming during the second half of this year. “Remarkable execution by the team as we pulled these milestones forward by more than a year.”

.....

The shutdown of Sprint’s 3G CDMA network started on March 31 and is due for final cut-off by May 31. The Sprint LTE network shutdown is set for the end of June.

 

[Trip]

3 hours ago, dkyeager said:

Interesting notes:

Acquired customers, net of base adjustments (1)(2) 12 — 806 — (558)
(1) Customers impacted by the decommissioning of the legacy Sprint CDMA network, who did not migrate to the T-Mobile network, have been excluded from our postpaid customer base resulting in the removal of 212,000 postpaid phone customers and 349,000 postpaid other customers in the first quarter of 2022. In connection with our acquisition of companies, we included a base adjustment in the first quarter of 2022 to increase postpaid phone customers by 17,000 and reduce postpaid other customers by 14,000.
(2) In the first quarter of 2021, we acquired 11,000 postpaid phone customers and 1,000 postpaid other customers through our acquisition of an affiliate. In the third quarter of 2021, we acquired 716,000 postpaid phone customers and 90,000 postpaid other customers through our acquisition of Shentel’s Wireless Assets.
 

I assume other customers is from MVNOs (perhaps old Dish customers, since most MVNOs are prepaid, including current Dish.) Other clarifications are welcome.

Could "an affiliate" in #2 be Swiftel?  Trying to puzzle out who it could be and that's all that really makes sense to me.

As far as #1 goes, I'm finding it hard to believe that there were so few.  Or is that only customers who are already cut off from service entirely via the CDMA retirement on 3/31?  Like, I still have service that works fine since I have a VoLTE through Sprint, and I have to imagine there are a lot more like me.

- Trip