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Network Vision/LTE - Shentel Market (Shenandoah Valley/Hagerstown/Harrisburg)


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Not to be rude, but what is wrong with 10mbps? Or even the 5mbps that you get? That's about all to be expected on a 5x5 carrier in a civilized area with users.

 

Nothing is wrong with it, but coming from 30Mbps+ speeds to that, well, wouldn't you say the same? (heck I have 105Mbps at home, so I see a difference, but once again, not complaining, just asking questions and stating things)

 

5-10 Mbps is not lackluster. It is exactly within the advertised speeds and where the network should operate under expected load conditions. Lackluster would be collapsed speeds at a few hundred kbps or less which can be found in very mature markets where data usage has overwhelmed the single 5mhz lte carrier.

 

Sent from my Nexus 5

 

wow, seem a little hostile, once again, coming from 30Mbps to being cut in half if not more, how can anyone say it's okay or in my case lackluster (not unusable, just lackluster, there is a difference my friend) obviously the towers are being overloaded, and I was just seeing why it seemed like shentel well, just stopped moving at that rabbits pace.

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they haven't, it's the same equipment that they first had up 2 years ago as it's overloaded now from what I can tell, and from the looks of it (only because a lot of the pictures match and I saw a lot of the same equipment in baltimore) the spark antennas

are up, but not active, and I really wonder why they won't turn them on as it would mean great things for this area (though for whatever reason, they seem to turn SMR800 on and off all the time) as I had that all last month and was happy that it finally got pushed out, (amazing call quality and full signal indoors) then they turned it off again and now it's back to the same old :blink:

There is no noticeable change in equipment to add a second carrier. Just requires a new carrier card in the base station.

 

Spark equipment is not installed in your area. The equipment that's has been installed is network vision Band 25 and 26 equipment. Spark is Band 41.

 

1x800 has been accepted and active for well over 6 months, if not a year. If you're not getting it, then your device or the network has decided you don't need it at that moment.

 

Sent from my Nexus 5

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There is no noticeable change in equipment to add a second carrier. Just requires a new carrier card in the base station.

 

Spark equipment is not installed in your area. The equipment that's has been installed is network vision Band 25 and 26 equipment. Spark is Band 41.

 

1x800 has been accepted and active for well over 6 months, if not a year. If you're not getting it, then your device or the network has decided you don't need it at that moment.

 

Sent from my Nexus 5

 

well alright then, guess I'll just keep a look out (even though a lot of things did match) and my device got it all the time up until towards the end of last month, so I doubt it just all of a sudden it said, nah, you don't need it. But I digress, but I do see what everyone talks about from this forum, a lot of hostility, and this was the first time I posted, we're suppose to be here for a common cause, not act like this towards anyone that asks questions or brings some info to the table about something going on in their neck of the woods :unsure: , but once again, I digress

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Nothing is wrong with it, but coming from 30Mbps+ speeds to that, well, wouldn't you say the same? (heck I have 105Mbps at home, so I see a difference, but once again, not complaining, just asking questions and stating things)

 

30+mbps was your speed test, someone driving by streaming Pandora, and your neighbor browsing m.cnn.com. 10mbps is a great connection speed. Try and use your phone downtown Chicago during lunch where speeds typically crawl to 10kbps (not a typo). And as far as your claims to 1x800 voice not working anymore, I can almost guarantee I can pinpoint your location on our sponsor maps. Needn't worry, shentel is a fantastic market to be in. They moved faster than anyone else, and will continue to do so.

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... my device got it all the time up until towards the end of last month, so I doubt it just all of a sudden it said, nah, you don't need it.

Sprint updated the PRLs a couple months ago. The PRLs used to scan 1x800 first, now they scan 1x1900 first. That could be why you aren't seeing it as much as you did before.

 

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Sprint updated the PRLs a couple months ago. The PRLs used to scan 1x800 first, now they scan 1x1900 first. That could be why you aren't seeing it as much as you did before.

 

Sent from my SPH-L720T using Tapatalk

 

darn those pesky prl updates (the reason I had to manually flash them with my note 2)

 

30+mbps was your speed test, someone driving by streaming Pandora, and your neighbor browsing m.cnn.com. 10mbps is a great connection speed. Try and use your phone downtown Chicago during lunch where speeds typically crawl to 10kbps (not a typo). And as far as your claims to 1x800 voice not working anymore, I can almost guarantee I can pinpoint your location on our sponsor maps. Needn't worry, shentel is a fantastic market to be in. They moved faster than anyone else, and will continue to do so.

 

Don't they have spark now? and maybe maybe not (although, does sound creepy and makes me feel weird now :blink:) and I'm not saying it's bad market (I use to work for them) just stating the things I've notice at least in the york area for the past 2 years and just seeing if the opinions were different here (for some hostile) but I see it is different, I'll keep holding out, and hope spark gets here soon (wimax was actually amazing out here as well, miss those OG evo days)

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well alright then, guess I'll just keep a look out (even though a lot of things did match) and my device got it all the time up until towards the end of last month, so I doubt it just all of a sudden it said, nah, you don't need it. But I digress, but I do see what everyone talks about from this forum, a lot of hostility, and this was the first time I posted, we're suppose to be here for a common cause, not act like this towards anyone that asks questions or brings some info to the table about something going on in their neck of the woods :unsure: , but once again, I digress

I didn't think my post was hostile. I was just stating that you cannot tell by looking at the equipment whether or not a second carrier had been activated, and that Spark equipment has not been deployed in your area.

 

The change in speeds is a symptom of network saturation. The only cure for that is more LTE carriers. I know that Shentel is deploying a second PCS LTE carrier, but I do not know in how many locations it is active. I also do not know where they are with Band 26 either. Both of those will help with the saturation issue.

 

Also note that you will only see those 30+Mbps speeds when you are pretty much the only person on your sector. By nature of the deployment, Band 25 and Band 26 LTE is limited to 37.5Mbps. You spread that out to to a few people all using data at the same time, or add interference like buildings or distance and you are only going to see 5-10Mbps. Which is withing the range of the advertised speeds.

 

As mentioned by someone else, PRLs did change about a month ago. Its likely that your device now scans for PCS 1x first now, and only scans for SMR 1x if you lose PCS. I don't think they actually shut off SMR 1x.

 

Sent from my Nexus 5

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darn those pesky prl updates (the reason I had to manually flash them with my note 2)

 

 

Don't they have spark now? and maybe maybe not (although, does sound creepy and makes me feel weird now :blink:) and I'm not saying it's bad market (I use to work for them) just stating the things I've notice at least in the york area for the past 2 years and just seeing if the opinions were different here (for some hostile) but I see it is different, I'll keep holding out, and hope spark gets here soon (wimax was actually amazing out here as well, miss those OG evo days)

Yes. Band 41 is good in Chicago, and pretty open. I was referring to band 25 PCS. If your town has WiMax, there's a good chance you'll see band 41 by the end of this year/early 2015.

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I didn't think my post was hostile. I was just stating that you cannot tell by looking at the equipment whether or not a second carrier had been activated, and that Spark equipment has not been deployed in your area.

 

The change in speeds is a symptom of network saturation. The only cure for that is more LTE carriers. I know that Shentel is deploying a second PCS LTE carrier, but I do not know in how many locations it is active. I also do not know where they are with Band 26 either. Both of those will help with the saturation issue.

 

Also note that you will only see those 30+Mbps speeds when you are pretty much the only person on your sector. By nature of the deployment, Band 25 and Band 26 LTE is limited to 37.5Mbps. You spread that out to to a few people all using data at the same time, or add interference like buildings or distance and you are only going to see 5-10Mbps. Which is withing the range of the advertised speeds.

 

As mentioned by someone else, PRLs did change about a month ago. Its likely that your device now scans for PCS 1x first now, and only scans for SMR 1x if you lose PCS. I don't think they actually shut off SMR 1x.

 

Sent from my Nexus 5

 

That's why I was just asking about the towers since I see them everyday and pretty up close and personal, and when I looked around the forums, I saw a lot of picutres of the same equipment and when I went to baltimore (spark enabled) but I guess there really is more to it, thank you

 

Yes. Band 41 is good in Chicago, and pretty open. I was referring to band 25 PCS. If your town has WiMax, there's a good chance you'll see band 41 by the end of this year/early 2015.

 

That's what one rep told me, and I'm hoping it holds true, another reason why I was so caught up on the equipment I saw on the towers whenever I go pass them (especially for my home area, 3 towers and had wimax) I can literally walk to all of them I'm that close

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That's why I was just asking about the towers since I see them everyday and pretty up close and personal, and when I looked around the forums, I saw a lot of picutres of the same equipment and when I went to baltimore (spark enabled) but I guess there really is more to it, thank you

 

 

That's what one rep told me, and I'm hoping it holds true, another reason why I was so caught up on the equipment I saw on the towers whenever I go pass them (especially for my home area, 3 towers and had wimax) I can literally walk to all of them I'm that close

Current Spark deployment is a repurposing of WiMax equipment. In some markets, like Baltimore, all it takes is a software update and a swap of RRUs to bring Band 41 phone. In others, all the equipment has to be replaced. I'm not sure of the situation in your market. You are in the unique position of being in a WiMax market in an otherwise non-native Sprint area. I'm not sure if they are even able to deploy Band 41 there right now.

 

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Current Spark deployment is a repurposing of WiMax equipment. In some markets, like Baltimore, all it takes is a software update and a swap of RRUs to bring Band 41 phone. In others, all the equipment has to be replaced. I'm not sure of the situation in your market. You are in the unique position of being in a WiMax market in an otherwise non-native Sprint area. I'm not sure if they are even able to deploy Band 41 there right now.

 

Sent from my Nexus 5

 

you hit the nail on the head, which is why my original thought was why was shentel just seeming like they just stopped everything all of a sudden when it looks like everything could be up and running at this very moment. and yes, wimax was HUGE here

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The easiest way to look for Shentel's second pcs carrier is to install the signal check app and look for a GCI ending in 09, 0A, or 0B. The original carrier ends in 01, 02, and 03.

 

My phone jumps between the 2 carriers but if you keep checking, you'll eventually see both, if it's active in your area.

 

Sent from my SPH-L720T using Tapatalk

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The easiest way to look for Shentel's second pcs carrier is to install the signal check app and look for a GCI ending in 09, 0A, or 0B. The original carrier ends in 01, 02, and 03.

My phone jumps between the 2 carriers but if you keep checking, you'll eventually see both, if it's active in your area.

Sent from my SPH-L720T using Tapatalk

Thanks, that's very usefull information.

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you hit the nail on the head, which is why my original thought was why was shentel just seeming like they just stopped everything all of a sudden when it looks like everything could be up and running at this very moment. and yes, wimax was HUGE here

Also an issue here, I don't think Shentel has control over the Band 41 deployment, or it'd probably be done already. It was Clearwire's job to convert things to B41, and Sprint has been taking that over now. So it's really not clear where that leaves your area since Sprint can't technically build over it without breaching contract, and I'm not sure Shentel holds rights to build out Band 41 yet.

 

Sent from my Nexus 5

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The easiest way to look for Shentel's second pcs carrier is to install the signal check app and look for a GCI ending in 09, 0A, or 0B. The original carrier ends in 01, 02, and 03.

 

My phone jumps between the 2 carriers but if you keep checking, you'll eventually see both, if it's active in your area.

 

Sent from my SPH-L720T using Tapatalk

Where did this second carrier come from? Was there a spectrum acquisition in the Harrisburg area? Chicago is in the process of adding a second pcs LTE carrier and I can't wait.

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Where did this second carrier come from? Was there a spectrum acquisition in the Harrisburg area? Chicago is in the process of adding a second pcs LTE carrier and I can't wait.

Fallow PCS spectrum. I don't think the PCS bock has been identified yet, but if someone can grab a screenshot of the upload/download channels it shouldn't be to hard to figure out.

 

Sent from my Nexus 5

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Also an issue here, I don't think Shentel has control over the Band 41 deployment, or it'd probably be done already. It was Clearwire's job to convert things to B41, and Sprint has been taking that over now. So it's really not clear where that leaves your area since Sprint can't technically build over it without breaching contract, and I'm not sure Shentel holds rights to build out Band 41 yet.

 

Sent from my Nexus 5

 

band 41 purgatory I suppose for my area :unsure:

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band 41 purgatory I suppose for my area :unsure:

But the second PCS carrier and Band 26 will help tremendously. Both of which should be online within a few months. We just don't have any definite timeline available right now.

 

Sent from my Nexus 5

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Also an issue here, I don't think Shentel has control over the Band 41 deployment, or it'd probably be done already. It was Clearwire's job to convert things to B41, and Sprint has been taking that over now. So it's really not clear where that leaves your area since Sprint can't technically build over it without breaching contract, and I'm not sure Shentel holds rights to build out Band 41 yet.

Sent from my Nexus 5

I'm pretty sure I remember Robert stating in a thread somewhere that Shentel does now have a tenative agreement with Sprint to get things rolling with band 41, but it is at a later date. We'll be good to go eventually.

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Where did this second carrier come from? Was there a spectrum acquisition in the Harrisburg area? Chicago is in the process of adding a second pcs LTE carrier and I can't wait.

 

 

Fallow PCS spectrum. I don't think the PCS bock has been identified yet, but if someone can grab a screenshot of the upload/download channels it shouldn't be to hard to figure out.

 

Sent from my Nexus 5

 

I actually have to work out there this weekend, I can provide a screenshot if someone doesn't beat me to it to help out

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I'm pretty sure I remember Robert stating in a thread somewhere that Shentel does now have a tenative agreement with Sprint to get things rolling with band 41, but it is at a later date. We'll be good to go eventually.

I vaguely remember that as well. Just not the details.

 

Sent from my Nexus 5

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I actually have to work out there this weekend, I can provide a screenshot if someone doesn't beat me to it to help out

Assuming you're using your One max, you'll need to navigate to the LTE Engineering screen for the info. To get there, type ##33284# into the dialer, then choose LTE.

 

Signal Check Pro does show DL/ul channels on a few devices, I'm not sure if the max is one of them.

 

Sent from my Nexus 5

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I vaguely remember that as well. Just not the details.

Sent from my Nexus 5

Yeah, I really hope we're both correct. That would be awesome.

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