Official Tmobile-Sprint merger discussion thread

[PedroDaGr8]

On kind of humorous note, Sprint/Tmo 5G testing apparently caused some major issues for the local ISP's national TV satellite feed.

Per the VP of networking who posts on reddit:

"We think it is sprint/tmo 5G testing interfering with our downlink in Everett. Working the issue with those folks. "

"They have a bridge open internally and have folks coming with spectrum analyzers and antennas to identify the source (or at least that is what i got out of the latest internal ticket updates) "

[iansltx]

15 minutes ago, PedroDaGr8 said:

On kind of humorous note, Sprint/Tmo 5G testing apparently caused some major issues for the local ISP's national TV satellite feed.

Per the VP of networking who posts on reddit:

"We think it is sprint/tmo 5G testing interfering with our downlink in Everett. Working the issue with those folks. "

"They have a bridge open internally and have folks coming with spectrum analyzers and antennas to identify the source (or at least that is what i got out of the latest internal ticket updates) "

C-Band testing interfering with Wave's downlink?

[PedroDaGr8]

5 minutes ago, iansltx said:

C-Band testing interfering with Wave's downlink?

Ziply but I think you are on to something. I was thinking mmwave but C-band makes sense.

[iansltx]

17 hours ago, PedroDaGr8 said:

Ziply but I think you are on to something. I was thinking mmwave but C-band makes sense.

Ah, Ziply makes more sense; they're the type who'd actually have someone from their NOC on Reddit heh

But yeah, the interference has gotta be C-Band related. Surprised TMo is testing in an urban-ish area like that.

[the_intern]

On 4/17/2021 at 10:36 AM, floorguy said:

Well I am disappointed in both Tmo and Sprint. This location in southern utah that is a "resort" area of sorts. Is blocked by a few mountains. I tracked the tower down so I know where it's at in relation.  Point being, they should have\need to add another tower or something.

The part I am most disgusted by. The roaming agreement with att (which btw solved the problem with a tower in a better spot). But the data here .04 & .03. What type of agreement is that.  And to compound matters (not the providers fault) but the place we are staying, is having a wifi issue as well...  

 

This trip sucks.

 

 

Are you by chance referring to the Apple Valley area or the area east of Kanab?

[floorguy]

5 hours ago, the_intern said:

Are you by chance referring to the Apple Valley area or the area east of Kanab?

right by Corral Canyon resort/golf course

[floorguy]

So 1 of 2 things happened (ok probably both). 

My phone issue bouncing signals, in & out of service etc etc. Was bigger than I thought even a few months ago..

Or they have done work on a tower where I had good signal (low 90s) but couldn't even open maps. It was bad.

Today i am in that same area and thought I would run a speed test on my replacement phone (note 20 ultra replacing s20 ultra)

Yeah almost 600 down and 50 up..

Something's fixed

[RedSpark]

Raising 2021 Merger Synergies Guidance on Continued Integration Progress

• Expect Merger synergies of $2.8 billion to $3.1 billion
• Approximately 50 percent of Sprint customer traffic is now carried on the T-Mobile network, 2x more than last quarter
• Approximately 20 percent of Sprint customers have been moved to the T-Mobile network

[JimBob]

4 hours ago, RedSpark said:

Raising 2021 Merger Synergies Guidance on Continued Integration Progress

• Expect Merger synergies of $2.8 billion to $3.1 billion
• Approximately 50 percent of Sprint customer traffic is now carried on the T-Mobile network, 2x more than last quarter
• Approximately 20 percent of Sprint customers have been moved to the T-Mobile network

Good results.  I wish TMUS would pay a dividend.  Its share price has been stagnant the past 6 months.

https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/TMUS

[dkyeager]

Converting of stand alone Sprint sites has begun in Columbus Ohio. Sprint cabinet placed on pallet, metal flooring removed. Concrete poured and set, two new T-Mobile cabinets placed, ice bridge work started. Electricans have been working on the ground even during the last two days of rain.   Permit says remove and replace, so 60 Mbps Sprint service likely will rapidly deteriorate soon, but 8/0.25 daytime T-Mobile service should drastically improve.

[Trip]

I still have yet to see any Sprint sites converted to T-Mobile around here, or even permits for any. 

- Trip

[stlman314]

2 minutes ago, Trip said:

I still have yet to see any Sprint sites converted to T-Mobile around here, or even permits for any. 

- Trip

I found 2 here in the STL market. However neither of them have been turned on yet.

[jonathanm1978]

17 minutes ago, stlman314 said:

I found 2 here in the STL market. However neither of them have been turned on yet.

I don't know what's going on here either (35150 // 35044) since there is apparently no permit system or what-have-you...it's hard to find much information...

However...it is becoming like a broken record now with Tmobile...every time they speak to me (chat, phone)...the SIM swap speech.  Maybe some account notes would help mitigate this..but I'm on Sprint SIM STILL because Tmobile sucks bigtime here. Like literally there is not even a bar at my house... So much suck that I can't even activate a Tmo SIM at home...The last time I attempted...I had to leave and drive up the road 3 miles just to get activation to work.. 

For 2 weeks I dealt with the wifi calling not working correctly (it would work for about an hour after we got back home from being within Tmo coverage then would just quit allowing calls/texts)..and zero bars of service -- inside, outside..whatever..the phone said "no service"

[RedSpark]

13 hours ago, JimBob said:

Good results.  I wish TMUS would pay a dividend.  Its share price has been stagnant the past 6 months.

https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/TMUS

I'd rather them not pay a dividend that I'm taxed on (after it's already been taxed as earnings). It's better off going into Capex instead of to Uncle Sam.... at least that's my opinion anyway. Over the long term, I feel that that supports a better share price and return through dollar cost averaging instead of paying me a dividend.

As for the results, it's pretty incredible how quickly T-Mobile is moving things along on integrating the Sprint network, at least based on what they've shared in the detailed presentation. At some point these merger synergies/savings will be reflected in future earnings and ultimately in the stock price. If you believe that it will, and could outperform other investment opportunities, buy more now! 😀

[RedSpark]

Is a Pixel 5 eligible for the T-Mobile Network Experience? Has anyone here done it?

UPDATE: According to a second live chat it is eligible. The agent on my initial live chat said it wasn't.

[PedroDaGr8]

2 hours ago, Trip said:

I still have yet to see any Sprint sites converted to T-Mobile around here, or even permits for any. 

- Trip

I have found a handful of permits here for conversion of Sprint sites. One tower I didn't even know was a keep site. So far, I haven't seen any which have been approved yet.

B41/n41 upgrades on the other hand have been taking off like crazy. I know of four sites upgraded in the last month and a fifth had its permit approved. All of this is just in Kirkland which makes it even more impressive.

[dkyeager]

18 hours ago, dkyeager said:

Converting of stand alone Sprint sites has begun in Columbus Ohio. Sprint cabinet placed on pallet, metal flooring removed. Concrete poured and set, two new T-Mobile cabinets placed, ice bridge work started. Electricans have been working on the ground even during the last two days of rain.   Permit says remove and replace, so 60 Mbps Sprint service likely will rapidly deteriorate soon, but 8/0.25 daytime T-Mobile service should drastically improve.

Talked to the electricians today.  They have at least done another site in Columbus.  They started first in Cincy and Cleveland.  They are also doing the conversion of many of the Sprint co-locations to starry.com WISP.  My feeling that the Starry.com conversions were related is now confirmed.  They have also done a few greenfield sites.  They also used the term "keeper sites" without my using it.

[dkyeager]

Others should also be watching out for Starry taking over Sprint co-location sites:   

Cleveland, Cincinnati, Toledo, Dayton and Columbus, Ohio;

Las Vegas and Reno, Nevada;

San Antonio, Brownsville, Lubbock and El Paso, Texas;

Jacksonville and Tallahassee, Florida; 

Indianapolis, South Bend, Fort Wayne and Bloomington, Indiana;

Nashville, Chattanooga and Memphis, Tennessee;

Richmond and Virginia Beach, Virginia;

Baton Rouge and New Orleans, Louisiana;

Milwaukee and Madison, Wisconsin;

Birmingham, Huntsville and Mobile, Alabama;

Fayetteville, Greensboro, Charlotte and Raleigh, North Carolina; 

Buffalo, Albany, Syracuse and Rochester, New York;

Little Rock, Arkansas;

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania;

Colorado Springs and Fort Collins, Colorado;

Louisville, Kentucky;

Tucson, Arizona;

Springfield, Massachusetts;

Albuquerque, New Mexico;

Charleston, South Carolina;

Jackson, Mississippi;

Decatur, Illinois;

Wichita, Kansas;

Spokane, Washington;

Boise City, Idaho

plus some addition in places where they already exist:

Boston, New York City, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C. and Denver

 

 https://www.bizjournals.com/boston/news/2019/06/24/boston-based-isp-eyes-expansion-of-50-per-month.html https://dyajmw2sca9cs.cloudfront.net/press/pdf/Starry+Auction+102+Results+-+FINAL.pdf

[jakeuten]

In the last few days, T-Mobile shut down PCS UMTS in the Duluth, MN region. Areas on the outskirts of town have been widened to 15 MHz using EARFCN 874 (formerly 851 when 10 MHz). This becomes their first wideband LTE channel in the area. The other thing I noticed is they’re broadcasting LTE on EARFCN 1150, which is C block C4 and C5 and belong to Nsight / Cellcom. C3 remains untouched. This block of spectrum has never been deployed in the region as Nsight does not offer native coverage here. I can’t find any evidence of a lease agreement or sale to T-Mobile. Does anyone know how / why T-Mobile is using this spectrum?

 

[RAvirani]

2 hours ago, jakeuten said:

The other thing I noticed is they’re broadcasting LTE on EARFCN 1150, which is C block C4 and C5 and belong to Nsight / Cellcom. C3 remains untouched. This block of spectrum has never been deployed in the region as Nsight does not offer native coverage here. I can’t find any evidence of a lease agreement or sale to T-Mobile. Does anyone know how / why T-Mobile is using this spectrum?

Where exactly are you seeing this (what sites/counties)?

[jakeuten]

Just now, RAvirani said:

Where exactly are you seeing this (what sites/counties)?

Duluth, MN or St. Louis County. Active on 4 sites at least, haven't been around town enough to check others.

[RedSpark]

On 5/5/2021 at 9:18 AM, Trip said:

I still have yet to see any Sprint sites converted to T-Mobile around here, or even permits for any. 

- Trip

Thoughts on why this is the case?

[Dkoellerwx]

3 more Sprint sites permitted by T-Mobile for conversion in Omaha, NE. That brings us to 5 so far. 

[dkyeager]

21 hours ago, jakeuten said:

In the last few days, T-Mobile shut down PCS UMTS in the Duluth, MN region. Areas on the outskirts of town have been widened to 15 MHz using EARFCN 874 (formerly 851 when 10 MHz). This becomes their first wideband LTE channel in the area. The other thing I noticed is they’re broadcasting LTE on EARFCN 1150, which is C block C4 and C5 and belong to Nsight / Cellcom. C3 remains untouched. This block of spectrum has never been deployed in the region as Nsight does not offer native coverage here. I can’t find any evidence of a lease agreement or sale to T-Mobile. Does anyone know how / why T-Mobile is using this spectrum?

 

I haven seen another case like this in Cincinnati. It took several months before it showed up on the FCC website.  This might basically be a test period, which is what the CEO in the above case later acknowledged iirc.

[RedSpark]

So we're on the T-Mobile Unlimited Freedom w/Taxes & Fees Included Plan.

The ease/experience of switching to TNX varied greatly based on the type of device.

Moved another iPhone 12 Pro to TNX myself (after doing the first two iPhone 12 Pro's in-store) and it was super easy. All I had to do was re-enable voicemail and Wi-Fi Calling right on the device. So we've got 3 iPhones moved over to TNX in total.

Tried putting a TNX SIM into a Google Pixel 5 which has a Sprint eSIM on our plan and got an activation error message after I selected the TNX SIM Card for activation. Ultimately received conflicting information from Support Chat that TNX doesn't apply to the Google Pixel 5 since it already has an eSIM installed. Is this really the case? (Ultimately re-activated the old eSIM.)

Finally, did TNX on a Samsung Galaxy S20+ 5G. It was easy except for the WiFi Calling part. After putting in the TNX SIM, activating and restarting, I was unable to change the Wi-Fi Calling Emergency Address on the device. It kept going to a T-Mobile webpage when I tapped on "Update e911 Address". Contacted support and they told me that I would have to update the Wi-Fi Calling Emergency Address on the Sprint website itself. Suffice to say, this Wi-Fi Calling Emergency Address Update feature was located in a very dated section of the Sprint website and didn't inspire much confidence, but it seemed to take. Hopefully this section gets updated soon.

Ordered a Samsung Galaxy S21 5G as an upgrade for a line and it apparently comes with a T-Mobile SIM included, so that's nice.