Official Tmobile-Sprint merger discussion thread

[Paynefanbro]

39 minutes ago, dkyeager said:

Just noticed that SCP is displaying my provider as Boost Mobile instead of AT&T yet the PLMN is 310410.  Cellmapper is doing the same.  310240 is assigned to Boost Mobile (of course  T-Mobile could own it).   313340 is used by Dish Genesis iirc.

Nevermind, switched back to AT&T for both

My phone occasionally does the same but it still get's mapped as AT&T on Cellmapper so I never thought much of it.

[jreuschl]

Apparently T-Mobile is on its own forcing Sprint SIM holdouts to switch. At least on iPhones they've moved the service to eSIM automatically! 

[Trip]

6 minutes ago, jreuschl said:

Apparently T-Mobile is on its own forcing Sprint SIM holdouts to switch. At least on iPhones they've moved the service to eSIM automatically! 

This sort of stuff really exposes the danger of eSIM.  So who else can change your phone's configuration without your consent?  Can a bad actor wipe your eSIM remotely?  Very, very alarming stuff.

- Trip

[iansltx]

Now that my S22 can do n25 SA, I can 100% confirm that the top 10x10 of band 25 is deployed as NR here now. Have CellMappter turned on so maybe I'll be able to paint the map a bit today as I'm bouncing between downtown and further north.

[Dkoellerwx]

2 hours ago, iansltx said:

Now that my S22 can do n25 SA, I can 100% confirm that the top 10x10 of band 25 is deployed as NR here now. Have CellMappter turned on so maybe I'll be able to paint the map a bit today as I'm bouncing between downtown and further north.

Have it online here in Omaha, but it's only on 5 super random sites. And they're really blasting it, picking up it really far from the sites that have it active. Plus one has a totally different channel vs the others. Very confusing. 4 of the 5 have a C Block carrier at 15x15. One of the sites is a G Block carrier at 5x5. They could easily combine that to 20x20, so not sure what they are doing.

[RedSpark]

A Tale of Two Cities:

T-Mobile extends Sievert’s contract by 5 years

https://www.fiercewireless.com/wireless/t-mobile-extends-sieverts-contract-5-years

vs.

Dish struggles with multiple challenges simultaneously

https://www.fiercewireless.com/wireless/dish-struggles-multiple-challenges-simultaneously

[RedSpark]

https://www.t-mobile.com/news/network/mobile-world-congress-2023-wrapping-up-the-first-quarter-of-5g

Surging 5G Usage and Adoption

Our customers are moving to 5G at an incredible rate and we’ve seen a fundamental shift in the way people use their devices. More than 60% of the smartphones on our network are 5G capable, and a whopping 70% of our network traffic is 5G. Many operators around the globe are not even at a tenth of that! And our customers on Magenta Max – our smartphone plan built for 5G – are streaming about 40 hours of video every month – twice the amount streamed by other customers. They're gaming 4x more, streaming 3x more music and using 2x more data on social media apps.

[Paynefanbro]

T‑Mobile to Acquire and Turbocharge Mint Mobile and Ultra Mobile, Brands Will Continue Delivering Value on the Un‑carrier’s 5G Network

Quote

T-Mobile US (NASDAQ: TMUS) today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Ka’ena Corporation and its subsidiaries and brands: Mint Mobile, a successful direct-to-consumer (D2C) prepaid wireless brand in the U.S.; Ultra Mobile, a unique wireless service offering international calling options to communities across the country; and wholesaler Plum.

 

[dkyeager]

9 hours ago, Paynefanbro said:

T‑Mobile to Acquire and Turbocharge Mint Mobile and Ultra Mobile, Brands Will Continue Delivering Value on the Un‑carrier’s 5G Network

 

Wonder if they integrate it into T-Mobile prepaid or allow it to continue pretending it is not part of a big carrier?

[RedSpark]

2 hours ago, Paynefanbro said:

T‑Mobile to Acquire and Turbocharge Mint Mobile and Ultra Mobile, Brands Will Continue Delivering Value on the Un‑carrier’s 5G Network

 

Wow. You have to hand it to Ryan. He's had a number of successful business ventures. Curious what T-Mobile is able to do with this brand.

[the_intern]

8 hours ago, dkyeager said:

Wonder if they integrate it into T-Mobile prepaid or allow it to continue pretending it is not part of a big carrier?

I have a feeling they will keep both Mint and Ultra pretending they are not part of a big carrier since they attract different audiences when compared to T-Mobile prepaid or Metro. 

Ultra, for example, attracts a lot of folks with international ties given their inclusion of international calling.

[Dkoellerwx]

Coverage map update brought a lot more news in terms of filling up the Nebraska gap. 20 new sites and 2 conversions!

That brings us to 90 expansion sites so far, and 122 conversions that are on air, with more we know of that are installed but not yet online.

[the_intern]

4 hours ago, Dkoellerwx said:

Coverage map update brought a lot more news in terms of filling up the Nebraska gap. 20 new sites and 2 conversions!

That brings us to 90 expansion sites so far, and 122 conversions that are on air, with more we know of that are installed but not yet online.

Wow, T-Mobile is serious about the Nebraska expansion! Viaero has got to feel the start of roaming revenues declining at this point.

[Dkoellerwx]

3 hours ago, the_intern said:

Wow, T-Mobile is serious about the Nebraska expansion! Viaero has got to feel the start of roaming revenues declining at this point.

Still get rather forcibly pushed to Viaero at various points along I-80 and then it is very difficult to get back on T-Mobile, but yes the roaming area is shrinking fast!

[RedSpark]

19 hours ago, Dkoellerwx said:

Coverage map update brought a lot more news in terms of filling up the Nebraska gap. 20 new sites and 2 conversions!

That brings us to 90 expansion sites so far, and 122 conversions that are on air, with more we know of that are installed but not yet online.

Wow! Look at them go.

Amazing what's possible when you're cashflow positive.

[dkyeager]

Implies T-Mobile n41 winnings in mostly rural areas are delayed until the Fall/Winter: https://www.lightreading.com/5g-and-beyond/t-mobiles-latest-5g-spectrum-purchases-stuck-in-limbo/d/d-id/783923?

[Dkoellerwx]

15 minutes ago, dkyeager said:

Implies T-Mobile n41 winnings in mostly rural areas are delayed until the Fall/Winter: https://www.lightreading.com/5g-and-beyond/t-mobiles-latest-5g-spectrum-purchases-stuck-in-limbo/d/d-id/783923?

That's disappointing. Hopefully sooner than later. 

[davidtm]

I just noticed that the tower serving my home is now labeled "Sprint Keep" as seen in this SCP screenshot. Maybe this is Mike's terminology?

 

[PedroDaGr8]

3 minutes ago, davidtm said:

I just noticed that the tower serving my home is now labeled "Sprint Keep" as seen in this SCP screenshot. Maybe this is Mike's terminology?

 

Kinda, the exact wording is Mikes but the 312-250 PLMN which triggers it typically indicates a Sprint site that T-Mobile intends to keep.

[dkyeager]

13 hours ago, PedroDaGr8 said:

Kinda, the exact wording is Mikes but the 312-250 PLMN which triggers it typically indicates a Sprint site that T-Mobile intends to keep.

I have seen various T-Mobile people use it. Including Neville iirc.

 

Edit: it should be noted that keep site status is not a guarantee, nor is it exclusive. There have been keep sites shutdown and non keep sites converted. Keep site status rather should just be considered a high probability of conversion.

Edited March 23, 2023 by dkyeager

[Dkoellerwx]

4 hours ago, davidtm said:

I just noticed that the tower serving my home is now labeled "Sprint Keep" as seen in this SCP screenshot. Maybe this is Mike's terminology?

 

3 hours ago, dkyeager said:

I have seen various T-Mobile people use it. Including Neville iirc.

Yeah it's been referred to in a number of places as the "Sprint Keep" or "Sprint Retain" PLMN. 

[Trip]

And SCP has labeled it that way for a long time.  I've taken my unactivated T-Mobile phones out all over the eastern part of the Shentel region to check whether 312250 was being broadcast (thus indicating a keep site). 

Here's a link to a screenshot I have from summer 2021 with that terminology in it:  https://imgur.com/a/hUzTbUW

- Trip

[mikejeep]

On 3/22/2023 at 6:42 PM, davidtm said:

I just noticed that the tower serving my home is now labeled "Sprint Keep" as seen in this SCP screenshot. Maybe this is Mike's terminology?

As others have mentioned, I can't take credit for the phrase, and it has been mentioned for over 3 years just on S4GRU posts. There was a discussion about what to label 312250 as when it started popping up.. the consensus was "Sprint Keep" worked best. It's nice because it gives a little bonus insight into your connection.

[floorguy]

So I hit a N25 last night, but my signal strength reading in the notifications bar was ZERO. And the phone icon in SCP was grey with triangle exclamation.  Data worked well, and when I made a phone call it switched to some gsm thing.. It was VERY odd 

[Dkoellerwx]

After nearly a month T-Mobile seems to be finally expanding n25 beyond the initial 5 sites they were using. However, it seems to be quite the mess. The three sites near me are all using different size channels. I'm getting a 5Mhz channel that's only using the G Block, a 15Mhz channel that's using the C Block, and a 20Mhz channel that's using C+G, each from a different site all next to each other. Very confusing.