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


Boosted20V

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I'd say there's a Clearwire location much closer to your location at work than a Sprint site. Not all Clearwire sites are colocated with Sprint sites.

 

Only 40% of Clearwire sites are colocated with Sprint.

 

Robert via Galaxy Nexus using Forum Runner

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That is probably why they didn't want to go the Network Vision Route.

 

I disagree, why not save the cost of another site visit and construction crew when they could hook it all up in a single swoop? I think Clear simply didn't have the money to do it right now.

 

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I disagree, why not save the cost of another site visit and construction crew when they could hook it all up in a single swoop? I think Clear simply didn't have the money to do it right now.

 

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Clearwire may do Network Vision in areas where they don't already have coverage, but it is not official that they are expanding to new areas.

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Clearwire may do Network Vision in areas where they don't already have coverage' date=' but it is not official that they are expanding to new areas.[/quote']

 

I didn't mean every tower, just the 40% Co-located, as Robert stated, spacing issues with the rest of the towers

 

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  • 4 weeks later...

Wanted to give this topic a bump as it's been over a month and wondering if anyone has had any LTE love in Central PA. I have noticed a distinct boost in 3G speeds on the East Shore, but no LTE.

 

I've also noticed little change in my reception at work. Kind of a bummer, but waiting until downtown Harrisburg towers are up and running before I make any conclusions.

Edited by JayMunOne
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Yesterday I woke up and was connected to EHRPD in Susquehanna Township. I'm no longer connected to it, only EVDO-A but they're definitely in the process of at least the EHRPD software upgrades.

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  • 5 weeks later...

Haven't seen eHRPD or LTE anywhere with my phone yet. Really miss the WiMAX data from the OG EVO. However, I've been getting 3g speeds in excess of 2 MBps in some spots on 22, especially at the 83/22 Interchange by the Colonial Park Mall, and by 22 and Mountain Road. Impressive. Unfortunately, some locations are downright terrible, especially DOWNTOWN HARRISBURG. In the locations I actually have good reception downtown, the speeds are frustratingly slow. If Shentel is indeed working, hopefully they are covering downtown as well. It's pretty pathetic the speeds I get in the heart of the metro area.

Edited by JayMunOne
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  • 4 weeks later...

As an update, 2 towers in the Harrisburg area have been upgraded. Both are directly off of I-81, one at mile marker 72, the other near mile marker 82 at the I81/I78 split. Both towers still have legacy panels in the center and there is still no EHRPD connection. I'll post pictures tomorrow morning when it's light out. Excited to see towers start deploying, I figured it would have to be soon since Shentel reiterated on their last earnings call they were planning on launching LTE service by the end of Q3.

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http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/94/imag0027eq.jpg/

 

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/839/imag0028k.jpg/

 

Here are some pictures. Shentel is the top rung, 2 legacy panels on the inside, 2 NV panels on the outside with RRU's underneath. I'm curious about the 2 different size NV antennas on there. I'm accustomed to the style on the right, the large 800mhz capable antenna. What is the deal with the flat, much wider antenna on the left? Is the one on the left only 1900mhz capable? Is one for sending and the other for receiving? Thanks for any input on this.

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This is not like any NV deployment I've ever seen. The one all the way to the right looks like the ALU curved panels I've seen in LA and Boston. However, the one all the way on the left doesn't look like any NV panel I've ever seen. Is there WiMax in this area?

 

Robert via CM9 Kindle Fire using Forum Runner

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This is not like any NV deployment I've ever seen. The one all the way to the right looks like the ALU curved panels I've seen in LA and Boston. However, the one all the way on the left doesn't look like any NV panel I've ever seen. Is there WiMax in this area?

 

Robert via CM9 Kindle Fire using Forum Runner

 

Robert, agreed on the ALU antenna on the right, that stood out to me too since ALU is doing the work for Shentel. This also IS a WiMax area and Clear is located on this tower, however, I am 99% sure their equipment is located at the bottom end of the tower not shown in the pics. They have a microwave radome as well as their tiny 2.5ghz panels located almost directly off the tower and not on a large rack. I can get pics of that as well, I'm surprised to hear you haven't seen an antenna config like that.

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After driving around this weekend I can say that Shentel wasn't kidding about its ability to put up 3-4 sites per day going forward. I saw no less than 7 total sites upgraded along 81/83/581/Carlisle Pike which were not completed just a few weeks ago. I'm looking forward to these going live. Legacy panels are still on all sites and there is no eHRPD connections yet so I'm curious when the cutover will be.

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After driving around this weekend I can say that Shentel wasn't kidding about its ability to put up 3-4 sites per day going forward. I saw no less than 7 total sites upgraded along 81/83/581/Carlisle Pike which were not completed just a few weeks ago. I'm looking forward to these going live. Legacy panels are still on all sites and there is no eHRPD connections yet so I'm curious when the cutover will be.

 

Thanks for your updates. I appreciate hearing about what is going on up there.

 

Robert

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Anyone have any official word from Shentel since the earnings call? I know that I have been getting faster data (averaging about 1500kbps down/200kbps up) in Harrisburg in my office (7th Street, coverage isn't great) but I am really hoping for LTE soon. Really really hoping because the promise of LTE from AT&T and Verizon are more tempting every day.

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Anyone have any official word from Shentel since the earnings call? I know that I have been getting faster data (averaging about 1500kbps down/200kbps up) in Harrisburg in my office (7th Street, coverage isn't great) but I am really hoping for LTE soon. Really really hoping because the promise of LTE from AT&T and Verizon are more tempting every day.

 

They'll be launching by the end of the 3rd quarter. Shentel has done a good job of getting needed backhaul to all of their towers I hit. To be honest, I don't really even see a need for LTE when I'm pulling down between 1.5 - 2 mb/s on 3G.

 

EDIT - Also, I travel between Harrisburg and the Lehigh Valley often and Shentel has done a much better job maintaining their network than Sprint. I'll be curious to compare the two once NV is completed in both areas.

Edited by Boosted20V
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They'll be launching by the end of the 3rd quarter. Shentel has done a good job of getting needed backhaul to all of their towers I hit. To be honest, I don't really even see a need for LTE when I'm pulling down between 1.5 - 2 mb/s on 3G.

 

EDIT - Also, I travel between Harrisburg and the Lehigh Valley often and Shentel has done a much better job maintaining their network than Sprint. I'll be curious to compare the two once NV is completed in both areas.

 

The faster speeds are appreciated, though I'll be happy to see LTE mostly for the ping times since I'm currently seeing most at > 500ms. The real world applications of using my phone to quickly do something using data aren't quite there for me even with the better speeds. I'm also hoping that their network enhancement helps coverage to some point because though I have decent coverage I still find myself sitting on 2nd Street in Harrisburg or Route 30 in York without coverage at least once a week.

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The faster speeds are appreciated, though I'll be happy to see LTE mostly for the ping times since I'm currently seeing most at > 500ms. The real world applications of using my phone to quickly do something using data aren't quite there for me even with the better speeds. I'm also hoping that their network enhancement helps coverage to some point because though I have decent coverage I still find myself sitting on 2nd Street in Harrisburg or Route 30 in York without coverage at least once a week.

 

Well without a doubt, the 800 mhz overlay is going to fill in those gaps and should present EXCELLENT indoor coverage. As I stated above, there are quite a few NV sites upgraded, so Shentel and ALU are working on it. Since the end of the 3rd Q is at the end of this month, I expect to hear something from Shentel by then.

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I work on 2nd and Market and I have DISGUSTING reception indoors. It's pathetic. Even outside, my reception is okay (3-4 bars) but horrible data speeds.

 

Does anyone know where the Sprint towers are in DT Harrisburg? Why do you say indoor penetration will be better downtown? This directly affects me; I'm a Sprint customer for 14 years and just got the EVO LTE at launch a few months ago but completely bummed over the terrible service. At least with the OG EVO I could get great Clear/WiMax reception in my office. Clearly the WiMax signal was coming from a different tower than the CDMA signal. I hope this changes with NV or I'm done with Sprint.

Edited by JayMunOne
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I work on 2nd and Market and I have DISGUSTING reception indoors. It's pathetic. Even outside, my reception is okay (3-4 bars) but horrible data speeds.

 

Does anyone know where the Sprint towers are in DT Harrisburg? Why do you say indoor penetration will be better downtown? This directly affects me; I'm a Sprint customer for 14 years and just got the EVO LTE at launch a few months ago but completely bummed over the terrible service. At least with the OG EVO I could get great Clear/WiMax reception in my office. Clearly the WiMax signal was coming from a different tower than the CDMA signal. I hope this changes with NV or I'm done with Sprint.

 

800mhz signal propagates a whole lot better than 1900mhz, and RRU's located next to the antennas. Also, Shentel explicitly stated on their last earnings call that have been extremely judicious in adding carrier capacity since all the hardware will get thrown away once the NV upgrades are complete. So with you being downtown, when everyone is working during the day I have no doubt speeds suffer. Also, as I've noticed with mine, the EVO LTE isn't exactly a stellar performer in it's radio. Makes me sad, my gf's GSIII is much better for reception (how ironic, given Samsung's history).

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800mhz signal propagates a whole lot better than 1900mhz, and RRU's located next to the antennas. Also, Shentel explicitly stated on their last earnings call that have been extremely judicious in adding carrier capacity since all the hardware will get thrown away once the NV upgrades are complete. So with you being downtown, when everyone is working during the day I have no doubt speeds suffer. Also, as I've noticed with mine, the EVO LTE isn't exactly a stellar performer in it's radio. Makes me sad, my gf's GSIII is much better for reception (how ironic, given Samsung's history).

 

So you're saying once these go live, they will transmit in 800MHz right away? I thought we had to wait until mid-2013 for that. If it's 800MHz right away, that's great news. Will I have to provision my phone to receive 800MHz?

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