Official Tmobile-Sprint merger discussion thread

[red_dog007]

20 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.

You don't. I don't. Others do. It's also plug and play. People love that. 

Covering a house with WiFi is cheapish. But still not free. And these are meant for more than just houses. 

A business blocks access to WiFi or has consent pages to protect themselves and their network. If they are a Sprint customer or have a lot of Sprint users, a MB is a free way to cover your building/office area. Every place I have ever worked blocks or has guest captive portal on WiFi. Yet still have a DAS. 

It's isn't a way to abuse the network, it's a way to waste Sprints financial resources (people who don't need it but want to use it like me).

[S4GRU]

20 hours ago, Trip said:

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

- Trip

True.  And the opposite is also amazing.  People who say, "I have a problem, therefore it is ubiquitous."

Robert

[anthony.spina97]

On 7/20/2018 at 5:21 PM, 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.

Just to chime in, I find the Magic Box very useful in my home because we have home internet that goes out at least once a week, and therefore need a backup plan for those times when the internet is out. It gives me reliable internet access when the home ISP goes down. Plus, when connected to a UPS, I also have usable internet for news and emergency updates in the event of a power outage, which happens often during storms. I go from being on 1 bar of B26 to 4 bars of B41, with the box being connected to a B41 site that I otherwise don't have access to in or around my home.

Also a small benefit is having full signal all the time without my device constantly switching between weak B26 and 3G. The battery life savings really add up. Plus being able to make VoLTE phone calls from my home when VoLTE is rolled out will be nice too. All of these are things that WiFi cannot do. Sure, a lot of these problems have solutions or workarounds, all of which require more time, effort and, more importantly, money, than a box that you simply connect to power and never touch again. It almost works like... magic? 

 

-Anthony

[Paynefanbro]

7 hours ago, anthony.spina97 said:

Just to chime in, I find the Magic Box very useful in my home because we have home internet that goes out at least once a week, and therefore need a backup plan for those times when the internet is out. It gives me reliable internet access when the home ISP goes down.

When I first moved into my new apartment in Boston my internet went out at least twice a month for about 5 months before Comcast finally fixed it for good and the Magic Box was able to provide me with fast speeds in my house so I could tether my laptop to my phone and get work done during that entire ordeal.

[jefbal99]

On 7/20/2018 at 4:01 PM, Paynefanbro said:

Alternatively, mine has been working great.

 

On 7/20/2018 at 4:45 PM, RAvirani said:

Mine as well. 

My MB has been a life saver, best thing Sprint has ever put out!!!

On 7/20/2018 at 5:21 PM, 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. 

For those of us with no High Speed Internet options, wifi is not an option at all.  A majority of people have access to High Speed Internet, but a majority of locations do not, i.e. living two miles outside of town.

[radem]

An interesting point with the Magic Boxes is that they work with both B25 LTE donor cells and B41 LTE donor cells while broadcasting 20mhz B41 LTE.  That means that post-merger if T-Mobile quickly turns off B41 LTE on the macro network, as long as they do not broadcast B41 5G on the same 20mhz frequency that the magic box broadcasts on, the magic box should still work in all areas where B25 LTE is available.  B25 could also be enhanced by T-Mobile's B2 holdings with MBFI broadcasting the B2 holding as both B2 and B25.

 

It is possible that Magic Boxes with B25 LTE donor cells will be around long term as the 20mhz B41 LTE that a million Magic Box small cells broadcasting inside buildings may be too important to turn off and T-Mobile may just leave the 20mhz frequency that the Magic Boxes broadcast out of their 5G plans for the next several years while they figure out what they are going to do in the future. 

 

I would love to see a future Magic Box that broadcasts WiFi rather than B41 LTE and could use all of T-Mobile's LTE and 5G bands as back haul.  They could partner with Boingo or a similar company to have a cellular backhaul based Wifi Magic Box that T-Mobile/Sprint users automatically log onto from their mobile devices but others pay to use or have a subscription on similar to how the WiFi works in some airports.  It could also be sponsored WiFi by the hosting location so that the WiFi is free for all users.  This would satisfy their internet to the home plans as well as continue to enhance coverage inside buildings the way the current Magic Boxes do.

[Trip]

21 minutes ago, radem said:

It is possible that Magic Boxes with B25 LTE donor cells will be around long term as the 20mhz B41 LTE that a million Magic Box small cells broadcasting inside buildings may be too important to turn off and T-Mobile may just leave the 20mhz frequency that the Magic Boxes broadcast out of their 5G plans for the next several years while they figure out what they are going to do in the future. 
 

I've been thinking about this as well.  Since the B41 licensing, at present, is very... swiss cheese-like, I was pondering whether they could take it one step further than that.  Maybe they use B25 donor cells as you suggest, but then broadcast as little as 5 MHz in some otherwise unusable chunk of B41 with the Magic Box for local access.  You won't see hundreds of Mbps through it, but it should still be fast enough for most purposes, I would imagine.

- Trip

[dro1984]

New Sprint T Mobile survey article out....   Attitudes Toward a Sprint T-Mobile Merger

The part of the respondents that are Sprint or T-Mobile currently, 16% said they will leave once the companies combine.    Hummm interesting ...odd (unorthodox)  ways of thinking...      You've been happy with a mostly sub-par (in many areas) network.    The user experience only stands to improve post merger.       For T-Mobile users, not much changes.   For Sprint users, we gain more towers and 4 new bands to connect to.      So that's the last straw for some?     

[chamb]

7 minutes ago, dro1984 said:

New Sprint T Mobile survey article out....   Attitudes Toward a Sprint T-Mobile Merger

The part of the respondents that are Sprint or T-Mobile currently, 16% said they will leave once the companies combine.    Hummm interesting ...odd (unorthodox)  ways of thinking...      You've been happy with a mostly sub-par (in many areas) network.    The user experience only stands to improve post merger.       For T-Mobile users, not much changes.   For Sprint users, we gain more towers and 4 new bands to connect to.      So that's the last straw for some?     

T-Mobile gains access to B-41. In major cities, this is a big item for T-Mobile.

[nexgencpu]

14 minutes ago, dro1984 said:

New Sprint T Mobile survey article out....   Attitudes Toward a Sprint T-Mobile Merger

The part of the respondents that are Sprint or T-Mobile currently, 16% said they will leave once the companies combine.    Hummm interesting ...odd (unorthodox)  ways of thinking...      You've been happy with a mostly sub-par (in many areas) network.    The user experience only stands to improve post merger.       For T-Mobile users, not much changes.   For Sprint users, we gain more towers and 4 new bands to connect to.      So that's the last straw for some?     

There are locations where Tmobile's network is inferior. I'm in NYC where Sprint's network is super solid, and I'm totally happy with Sprint customer service. Also the thought of decommissioning sites that are "redundant" is iffy.

The only improvement I have to look forward to is better device support I guess, and even that is really not a big deal. 

Besides that, I fully expect integration time to be a pain in the ass, I do not like TMobile "features" (binge on, the way they sell devices and prices) oh yeah and I fully expect prices to go up after the first year.

[RedSpark]

17 minutes ago, dro1984 said:

New Sprint T Mobile survey article out....   Attitudes Toward a Sprint T-Mobile Merger

The part of the respondents that are Sprint or T-Mobile currently, 16% said they will leave once the companies combine.    Hummm interesting ...odd (unorthodox)  ways of thinking...      You've been happy with a mostly sub-par (in many areas) network.    The user experience only stands to improve post merger.       For T-Mobile users, not much changes.   For Sprint users, we gain more towers and 4 new bands to connect to.      So that's the last straw for some?     

The tower outage that’s been affecting performance in my area in Downtown DC has been going on for over 3 months. I’ve been told that no new notes have been entered on it since May. It’s a 3G/Band 41 Site and the Band 41 is out. Wonderful.

I hope it’s not premature, but I’ve begun to suspect that Sprint is letting it go because it isn’t a post-merger “save site” worth fixing and that it’s essentially running out the clock until the merger happens.

If it means that towers get upgraded and fixed on a more timely basis, I’m in favor of the merger.

I can’t believe I’m saying that...

[nexgencpu]

9 minutes ago, RedSpark said:

The tower outage that’s been affecting performance in my area in Downtown DC has been going on for over 3 months. I’ve been told that no new notes have been entered on it since May. It’s a 3G/Band 41 Site and the Band 41 is out. Wonderful.

I hope it’s not premature, but I’ve begun to suspect that Sprint is letting it go because it isn’t a post-merger “save site” worth fixing and that it’s essentially running out the clock until the merger happens.

If it means that towers get upgraded and fixed on a more timely basis, I’m in favor of the merger.

I can’t believe I’m saying that...

Hit up Marci to look into it if the normal support channels aren't helping.

[RedSpark]

11 minutes ago, nexgencpu said:

Hit up Marci to look into it if the normal support channels aren't helping.

Appreciate the suggestion. Support has actually been helpful. I’ve been reporting it daily in the app for weeks now.

I’m not sure what Marci can do in this situation if it turns out to be a directive from the local market team to let the tower sit for merger/budget reasons. Sprint knows the site is down. It appears so in their tools. It just seems that it’s been abandoned for maintenance purposes, and with the merger on the horizon, fixing it might not be a priority or even possible given pre-merger policy.

Of course, I could be completely wrong on this and Massive MIMO panels could be going up to replace it or another site nearby. I’m not optimistic...

[grapkoski]

5 minutes ago, RedSpark said:

Appreciate the suggestion. Support has actually been helpful. I’ve been reporting it daily in the app for weeks now.

I’m not sure what Marci can do in this situation if it turns out to be a directive from the local market team to let the tower sit for merger/budget reasons. Sprint knows the site is down. It appears so in their tools. It just seems that it’s been abandoned for maintenance purposes, and with the merger on the horizon, fixing it might not be a priority or even possible given pre-merger policy.

Of course, I could be completely wrong on this and Massive MIMO panels could be going up to replace it or another site nearby. I’m not optimistic...

Can you PM me the site?

[nexgencpu]

13 minutes ago, RedSpark said:

Appreciate the suggestion. Support has actually been helpful. I’ve been reporting it daily in the app for weeks now.

I’m not sure what Marci can do in this situation if it turns out to be a directive from the local market team to let the tower sit for merger/budget reasons. Sprint knows the site is down. It appears so in their tools. It just seems that it’s been abandoned for maintenance purposes, and with the merger on the horizon, fixing it might not be a priority or even possible given pre-merger policy.

Of course, I could be completely wrong on this and Massive MIMO panels could be going up to replace it or another site nearby. I’m not optimistic...

I had a similar situation with a small cell using relay backhaul. Hit up Marci, and she was able to escalate the case until the issue was resolved.

[RedSpark]

11 minutes ago, grapkoski said:

Can you PM me the site?

Done! Thanks.

[dro1984]

Can Marci fix my sudden lack of B41 and now very weak B25 LTE near my house.    

[RedSpark]

4 minutes ago, nexgencpu said:

I had a similar situation with a small cell using relay backhaul. Hit up Marci, and she was able to escalate the case until the issue was resolved.

Good point.

I wish stuff like this didn’t have to come to having executive escalations.

This is pretty ridiculous.

[nexgencpu]

4 minutes ago, dro1984 said:

Can Marci fix my sudden lack of B41 and now very weak B25 LTE near my house.    

If you tried the normal channels with no resolutions, yes, Marci can get things pushed to be resolved.

[dro1984]

15 minutes ago, nexgencpu said:

If you tried the normal channels with no resolutions, yes, Marci can get things pushed to be resolved.

Yes, multiple "My Sprint" network issues reported and 2 or 3 calls from Sprint Exec Customer Relations, only my rep didn't know anything Technical about the network including  the call to the call center, kept getting dropped (she'd call back)....   .    Sometimes you need someone with Technical experience and you can't always get them.   

[BlueAngel]

2 hours ago, dro1984 said:

New Sprint T Mobile survey article out....   Attitudes Toward a Sprint T-Mobile Merger

The part of the respondents that are Sprint or T-Mobile currently, 16% said they will leave once the companies combine.    Hummm interesting ...odd (unorthodox)  ways of thinking...      You've been happy with a mostly sub-par (in many areas) network.    The user experience only stands to improve post merger.       For T-Mobile users, not much changes.   For Sprint users, we gain more towers and 4 new bands to connect to.      So that's the last straw for some?     

Don't know why people would leave the merger is going to be great for service I look forward to seeing B41 and B26 properly optimized plus all of the goodness that comes along with T-Mobile and their 600MHz.

[utiz4321]

1 hour ago, BlueAngel said:

Don't know why people would leave the merger is going to be great for service I look forward to seeing B41 and B26 properly optimized plus all of the goodness that comes along with T-Mobile and their 600MHz.

This exactly. If the merger goes through t-mobile has committed to giving sprint customers the same plans or better ones and both customer bases get a better network. Why would you leave? Seems like a stupid move. 

[Flompholph]

35 minutes ago, utiz4321 said:

This exactly. If the merger goes through t-mobile has committed to giving sprint customers the same plans or better ones and both customer bases get a better network. Why would you leave? Seems like a stupid move. 

Because you don't get a better network everywhere. Look at rootmetric WV map are you telling me tmobile gives a shift about where I live and play. Tmobile doesn't care about rural areas how will the merger help it won't it will hurt.

[Dkoellerwx]

4 hours ago, RedSpark said:

The tower outage that’s been affecting performance in my area in Downtown DC has been going on for over 3 months. I’ve been told that no new notes have been entered on it since May. It’s a 3G/Band 41 Site and the Band 41 is out. Wonderful.

I hope it’s not premature, but I’ve begun to suspect that Sprint is letting it go because it isn’t a post-merger “save site” worth fixing and that it’s essentially running out the clock until the merger happens.

If it means that towers get upgraded and fixed on a more timely basis, I’m in favor of the merger.

I can’t believe I’m saying that...

They've continued to upgrade sites that I'm fairly certain probably won't be kept after the merger, so I don't think the possibility is keeping them from network investment. 

How is the site 3G / B41? Is it a Clear site? If that's the case it may be they don't have a way to fix it other than replace it with a full Sprint build. That could definitely hold things up for months.

[utiz4321]

2 hours ago, Flompholph said:

Because you don't get a better network everywhere. Look at rootmetric WV map are you telling me tmobile gives a shift about where I live and play. Tmobile doesn't care about rural areas how will the merger help it won't it will hurt.

Not according to their stated plans. Part of the sale to regulators is a rural build out. If they don't do that, I would imagine they would run into problems with regulators.