Official Tmobile-Sprint merger discussion thread

[dro1984]

Good Article online about the Sprint / T-Mobile merger:

It's complementary to Sprint and how far they've come in the last couple years....

Why the Sprint and T-Mobile merger could be good for you

The best part is:  “Sprint holds a massive 150 MHz of nationwide 2.5 GHz spectrum, which uniquely positions them to provide an outstanding consumer experience,” he wrote. “To date, most of that spectrum has been underutilized due to lack of funding, changes in leadership and unorthodox deployment strategies.”   Unorthodox   ... ?

Edited July 19, 2018 by dro1984

[utiz4321]

42 minutes ago, dro1984 said:

Good Article online about the Sprint / T-Mobile merger:

It's complementary to Sprint and how far they've come in the last couple years....

Why the Sprint and T-Mobile merger could be good for you

The best part is:  “Sprint holds a massive 150 MHz of nationwide 2.5 GHz spectrum, which uniquely positions them to provide an outstanding consumer experience,” he wrote. “To date, most of that spectrum has been underutilized due to lack of funding, changes in leadership and unorthodox deployment strategies.”   Unorthodox   ... ?

You know it is funny, i think anyone that has wrote an MSM article about sprint actually uses Sprint. 

[RedSpark]

1 hour ago, dro1984 said:

Good Article online about the Sprint / T-Mobile merger:

It's complementary to Sprint and how far they've come in the last couple years....

Why the Sprint and T-Mobile merger could be good for you

The best part is:  “Sprint holds a massive 150 MHz of nationwide 2.5 GHz spectrum, which uniquely positions them to provide an outstanding consumer experience,” he wrote. “To date, most of that spectrum has been underutilized due to lack of funding, changes in leadership and unorthodox deployment strategies.”   Unorthodox   ... ?

Is there any indication that the pace of 2.5 GHz deployment has increased, decreased or stayed the same given the merger announcement?

Has the additional capex kicked in and had an effect yet?

[greenbastard]

1 hour ago, dro1984 said:

Good Article online about the Sprint / T-Mobile merger:

It's complementary to Sprint and how far they've come in the last couple years....

Why the Sprint and T-Mobile merger could be good for you

The best part is:  “Sprint holds a massive 150 MHz of nationwide 2.5 GHz spectrum, which uniquely positions them to provide an outstanding consumer experience,” he wrote. “To date, most of that spectrum has been underutilized due to lack of funding, changes in leadership and unorthodox deployment strategies.”   Unorthodox   ... ?

It really has been unorthodox. Magic Boxes have not been the best use of spectrum and resources. I know a lot of people here are fans of the boxes, but Sprint should have pushed Wi-Fi calling instead. I've personally seen the MB used as an ISP replacement.

[dro1984]

I had a MB.  Didn't think that much of it... didn't really fix the 4G issues.....     It did cause my device to not receive incoming calls...

The FCC Merger Clock officially started today.   179 and counting.   T-mobile will know what to do and how to do it.    

[red_dog007]

21 hours ago, greenbastard said:

It really has been unorthodox. Magic Boxes have not been the best use of spectrum and resources. I know a lot of people here are fans of the boxes, but Sprint should have pushed Wi-Fi calling instead. I've personally seen the MB used as an ISP replacement.

That's different though.  Requires user provided backhaul. Also, WiFi doesn't have the coverage the MB has.  A lot of places offer WiFi but you have to have access to it, or go through a captive portal.  I think it's a great tool to have and offer.  It is a fairly hidden tool they have.  So that should help limit the waste of these MBs.  Their Wi-Fi calling push was a free ASUS router.  Wonder how many of those they handed out.  

[red_dog007]

23 hours ago, dro1984 said:

Good Article online about the Sprint / T-Mobile merger:

It's complementary to Sprint and how far they've come in the last couple years....

Why the Sprint and T-Mobile merger could be good for you

The best part is:  “Sprint holds a massive 150 MHz of nationwide 2.5 GHz spectrum, which uniquely positions them to provide an outstanding consumer experience,” he wrote. “To date, most of that spectrum has been underutilized due to lack of funding, changes in leadership and unorthodox deployment strategies.”   Unorthodox   ... ?

I think some of these recent reports don't help the merger argument.  

TMobile has been adding customers like crazy.  TMobile is on par with VZW and Sprint is on par with AT&T.  With minimal capex these past few years their speed and time on LTE is on par with AT&T.

[RedSpark]

https://www.broadcastingcable.com/.amp/news/fcc-seeks-comment-on-t-mobile-sprint

If you want to tell the FCC how you feel about the merger, now’s your chance!

Shot Clock Page: https://www.fcc.gov/transaction/t-mobile-sprint

[greenbastard]

1 hour ago, red_dog007 said:

That's different though.  Requires user provided backhaul.

I really don't see what the problem is with that? 

Quote

Also, WiFi doesn't have the coverage the MB has.

If you can't cover your entire home footprint, then that's on you. There are many fast, cheap, and easy ways of extending your WiFi signal.

 

Quote

A lot of places offer WiFi but you have to have access to it, or go through a captive portal.

If a business has a private WiFi with no intention of making it public, then the chances of them adding a MagicBox are slim to none.

If they have a public WiFi that requires you to sign in or accept their terms, then they also won't be adding a MagicBox.

Only a few businesses will jump on adding MB to their stores. I've been to a few Sprint stores that have even taken down their boxes because they couldn't hide them. They did look tacky just sitting on the floor by a window. 

Quote

I think it's a great tool to have and offer.

Its a quick way to get people to abuse the network.

Quote

It is a fairly hidden tool they have.  So that should help limit the waste of these MBs.

Not according to the back order of these devices. They seem to be very popular. In fact, they're so popular that some people are using them as a way to ditch their ISP.

Edited July 20, 2018 by greenbastard

[Johnner1999]

Imho the magic box is beyond stupid....

Just let Neville fix this and it’ll be amazing.


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[BlueAngel]

The magic box sucks imo, need to send this pos back.

[Paynefanbro]

Alternatively, mine has been working great.

[RAvirani]

43 minutes ago, Paynefanbro said:

Alternatively, mine has been working great.

Mine as well. 

[RedSpark]

20 minutes ago, RAvirani said:

Mine as well. 

The new version is supposed to drop pretty soon right?

I wonder how the Magic Box fits into the overall picture of a merger. Thoughts?

[RAvirani]

14 minutes ago, RedSpark said:

I wonder how the Magic Box fits into the overall picture of a merger. Thoughts?

Neville Ray has mentioned he will try to migrate people from L2500 to L2100 rapidly in order to make room for NR2500. The future of MBs will probably depend on whether 1-2 L2500 carriers are left live long term or not. If L2500 remains, I don’t see any reason why they would decommission already functional and working MBs—that would only upset customers who have one (which is a lot of customers).

[greenbastard]

1 hour ago, Paynefanbro said:

Alternatively, mine has been working great.

You know what else works great? WiFi. It can do everything the MagicBox does today.

Nobody is questioning if the device works. I'm simply questioning its purpose. The box should have never been deployed for residential purposes. Retail? Sure. But giving these away to residential customers was just a waste of money and a fast way of getting your customers to abuse your network.

Hopefully T-Mobile makes these devices obsolete and uses the entire swath of EBS/BRS spectrum for 5G purposes. 

[Paynefanbro]

6 minutes ago, greenbastard said:

You know what else works great? WiFi. It can do everything the MagicBox does today.

Nobody is questioning if the device works. I'm simply questioning its purpose. The box should have never been deployed for residential purposes. Retail? Sure. But giving these away to residential customers was just a waste of money and a fast way of getting your customers to abuse your network.

Hopefully T-Mobile makes these devices obsolete and uses the entire swath of EBS/BRS spectrum for 5G purposes. 

I prefer to take calls over the cellular network because WiFi Calling has been inconsistent for me going nearly a year now. Often times I start my calls on WiFi calling and then switch it off to LTE which provides me with a much more reliable calling experience. Additionally, when VoLTE is turned on, it'll provide a solution for indoor coverage in areas where WiFi Calling simply isn't an option. For folks that live in areas that are only served DSL or satellite, the Magic Box will be extremely useful.

[RAvirani]

7 minutes ago, greenbastard said:

You know what else works great? WiFi. It can do everything the MagicBox does today.

Nobody is questioning if the device works. I'm simply questioning its purpose.

There are a lot of cases where wifi calling is not feasable—assume you have satellite home internet (and accordingly an unreliable ping), or your office’s enterprise network blocks VoIP, or wifi doesn’t reliable cover your house (because MBs provide much better coverage than a single wifi router/AP almost always). These are just a few of the many cases a MB is really useful. 

[Trip]

It always amazes me how often people say, "I don't have a problem, therefore, the problem does not exist."

- Trip

[tybo31316]

I prefer to take calls over the cellular network because WiFi Calling has been inconsistent for me going nearly a year now. Often times I start my calls on WiFi calling and then switch it off to LTE which provides me with a much more reliable calling experience. Additionally, when VoLTE is turned on, it'll provide a solution for indoor coverage in areas where WiFi Calling simply isn't an option. For folks that live in areas that are only served DSL or satellite, the Magic Box will be extremely useful.

Speaking of WiFi calling being inconsistent. Do you ever have issues when receiving a call? Sometimes when receiving calls with WiFi calling enabled and WiFi is on but not connected to a network. The phone calls are choppy and I sound like a chipmunk to people on the other side of the call.

[Thomas L.]

8 hours ago, greenbastard said:

I really don't see what the problem is with that? 

If you can't cover your entire home footprint, then that's on you. There are many fast, cheap, and easy ways of extending your WiFi signal.

 

If a business has a private WiFi with no intention of making it public, then the chances of them adding a MagicBox are slim to none.

If they have a public WiFi that requires you to sign in or accept their terms, then they also won't be adding a MagicBox.

Only a few businesses will jump on adding MB to their stores. I've been to a few Sprint stores that have even taken down their boxes because they couldn't hide them. They did look tacky just sitting on the floor by a window. 

Its a quick way to get people to abuse the network.

Not according to the back order of these devices. They seem to be very popular. In fact, they're so popular that some people are using them as a way to ditch their ISP.

I really don't see why it is that you think that if you don't have public wifi then you wouldn't use an MB. The MagicBox is a repeater for Sprint's network requiring essential zero exposure or expenditure for the retail provider beyond electricity. It is also zero maintenance or setup. It's a highly superior solution in my view.

[greenbastard]

5 minutes ago, Thomas L. said:

I really don't see why it is that you think that if you don't have public wifi then you wouldn't use an MB. The MagicBox is a repeater for Sprint's network requiring essential zero exposure or expenditure for the retail provider beyond electricity. It is also zero maintenance or setup. It's a highly superior solution in my view.

Because if you're not offering public WiFi, why would you go out of your way to set up a Magic Box??

[ingenium]

Because public WiFi has an ongoing maintance cost, plus the cost to set it up and properly isolate it from your network. The magic box is just easier. You aren't responsible for it. The magic box (via LTE) also has vastly superior QoS so that one person won't bog it down.

My parents house is one place where a magic box works amazingly. Their only internet option is 3 mbps DSL. B26 only on phones, and that's upstairs only. The magic box latches on to b25 and provides 15-30 Mbps consistently. They actually use it now with a Sprint mobile broadband plan. For some people, the magic box is a better solution than an Airave or wifi calling (which won't work well on 3 mbps DSL if someone is using the internet). For businesses, it's a $0 cost, easy deployment to help customers. And they aren't responsible for what people do on it.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

[utiz4321]

6 hours ago, greenbastard said:

You know what else works great? WiFi. It can do everything the MagicBox does today.

Nobody is questioning if the device works. I'm simply questioning its purpose. The box should have never been deployed for residential purposes. Retail? Sure. But giving these away to residential customers was just a waste of money and a fast way of getting your customers to abuse your network.

Hopefully T-Mobile makes these devices obsolete and uses the entire swath of EBS/BRS spectrum for 5G purposes. 

Except for a soft hand off to thw macro network. It can't do that, but other than that, there exactly the same. 

[utiz4321]

1 hour ago, greenbastard said:

Because if you're not offering public WiFi, why would you go out of your way to set up a Magic Box??

Because you simply have to plug it in to a power outlet near a window.