Jump to content

Leaderboard

Popular Content

Showing content with the highest reputation since 02/28/2024 in all areas

  1. They just expanded the primary n41 carrier here in Omaha! Up until sometime this morning we were at 80+40n41. This afternoon we are 100+40! A relatively small change but nice to see nonetheless.
    9 points
  2. With that change... first time I've cracked Gig+ in Omaha. Granted it was before 6am, but still...
    8 points
  3. Scattered reports over on Reddit that TMO has started deploying a third 10MHz n41 channel in select markets (bringing the BW up to 190MHz). Keep an eye out for it.
    5 points
  4. From Big Cities to Small Towns and Places In Between, T-Mobile Customers are Getting a Massive 5G Boost Not wasting any time exploiting the Auction 108 winnings.
    5 points
  5. Here are the 10 rows I have of B26 with T-Mobile PLMN. (Plus one row of B5.) https://i.imgur.com/lupKbiK.png I left B18 active on one of my phones by mistake and I guess B26 is running MFBI for B18, as I have two detected that way. - Trip
    5 points
  6. They're running it on selected sites as protection sites to keep the licenses alive. I've found a handful of them floating around. - Trip
    5 points
  7. A new SignalCheck beta is rolling out now and should be available on Google Play shortly. It includes some new user-suggested features and several bug fixes. One change that should be noted is that secondary SIM cells are no longer logged by default; there is a new option under the Beta Crew menu to re-enable it if you prefer. I have not been able to get Dual SIM logging to be reliable yet, random entries mix and match the provider details and SIM number. Hoping this at least resolves the issue with inaccurate log entries for the primary SIM. Will continue to work on that.. it remains the final hurdle to open up Dual SIM support for all users.
    4 points
  8. Took a trip down to Columbus this week and they seem to have just turned up the spectrum in some of the rural counties I passed on the way down in the past few days. This Sprint convert near North Baltimore, OH used to be 50+30mhz n41 on Thursday, but on my way back yesterday it had been converted to 100+80mhz s I also enabled UL MIMO according to a guide on https://band.radio, and it seems to be working according to AirScreen, however, it doesn't show 256QAM UL being active on n41 which is strange. I didn't do much testing with AirScreen outside my hotel in downtown Columbus, so I'm not sure if 256QAM UL is just disabled on the phone or market wide or something. Also, it seems like the Sprint DAS in the convention center has been shut down. Even though T-Mobile SA works OK in the convention halls during events, the upload gets congested really quickly so sending pictures/videos take forever. AT&T has a DAS throughout the whole convention center with n5 on it so they work really well in the convention center. The VZ DAS seemed to get overloaded really quickly, I ended up having to hotspot to my friends on VZ since they couldn't even send an imessage.
    4 points
  9. https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/1030712968789/1 Very rosey reports from SpaceX of satellite to phone performance stating ingredients it even worked inside. Note the testing was done at low altitudes. Operates on band 25 g block as was noted in the past. Number of satellites will be key, as well as how use is limited, since satellite capacity is finite. Credit: https://www.reddit.com/r/tmobile/s/MrnobMcnMR
    4 points
  10. The second n41 block in the metro Seattle area was expanded from 40MHz to 80MHz giving a total n41 bandwidth of 180MHz.
    4 points
  11. 4xCA is finally citywide, but Sprint keeps are still occasionally a tossup. Rare to find 4xCA them, most do 3xCA finally, but only 41+25 or 41+71. n71 is down to 15 MHz, since the Dish lease is up. With the financial situations going on at Dish, a deal for that 5 MHz block alongside the 800 MHz spectrum doesn't seem too bad. The subway DAS at West 4th has been utter rubbish for T-Mobile since 2017-2018, hasn't ever changed. Even adding B2 to it wasn't helpful. Capacity at all stations need some upgrades, as even Fulton street station DAS in Lower Manhattan with its 50 MHz n41 can slow to crawl, NSA or SA.
    4 points
  12. B26 is data only on two sites here in Ohio. Calls will hangup on first ring.
    4 points
  13. Looks like the licenses for T-Mobile for auction 108 have been issued! https://wireless2.fcc.gov/UlsApp/ApplicationSearch/applMarketSum.jsp?applID=14456695
    4 points
  14. https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-24-171A1.pdf - Trip
    4 points
  15. Depends on if you are in the standard Beta group or the Internal Test group. I roll all releases out to both groups simultaneously, but Beta releases get screened/analyzed/reviewed by Google Play first, in the same manner that production releases are. Internal Test releases become available immediately. When they came out with the Internal Test option (which has a limit on number of users), I offered it with the caveat that they're slightly riskier because of the lack of review and let users decide which group to be in.
    3 points
  16. I have workarounds that essentially do this, but it has taken some time to catch every instance in the code where things need to be adjusted, especially with dual SIMs in play. I have been making further improvements in a soon-to-be-released beta. I see this frequently as well on my Pixel 8.. unfortunately, I have yet to come up with a workaround because the OS is still reporting it as a valid connection; at least the timestamp freezes so you have a clue that something is up. I'm still trying to find the best way to handle this. I overhauled the site note editing/saving/querying functions in the aforementioned beta in progress.. "coming soon" Appreciate all of your feedback as always!!
    3 points
  17. When I looked yesterday, I had 100+50, but B41 LTE was gone. Today, B41 LTE is still gone, but now 100+90. - Trip
    3 points
  18. Anywhere that has less than 80MHz on n41 doesn't allow for it to be the primary carrier on SA out here, but allows for it to CA with n25 and n71. That's why you don't see n41 on any western Nebraska or Northeast Colorado sites on Cellmapper. They're all 50+30, 40+40, 20+40, or something like that. At least they were. n41 was there, but was never the primary carrier. But still allowed to operate as 3 or 4xCA while in SA mode. Not sure if that's what you meant, but that's what I've seen on some very rural sites that appear to be using all the spectrum available at the time.
    3 points
  19. Not sure if this is similar for anyone else but since they expanded the second n41 carrier, if I bandlock to n41 SA only then my phone will often camp on the second carrier. This makes it possible to map for the first time.
    3 points
  20. Re: Dish, cable providers still exist. Comcast/Charter probably wouldn't mind instantly having a nationwide network to drastically improve their economics, and their existing agreement with VZW could be swapped to roaming, so a cable network SIM would suddenly have better coverage than any other carrier. Samsung is a vendor to both Dish and Charter/Comcast so n48 strand mount overlays in areas that need it could be deferred thanks to n70, but would integrate reasonably well with the Samsung macro gear. That, or Amazon buys.
    3 points
  21. Technically they have to *attempt* to sell it but they aren't obligated to take any offer less than the $3.5 billion purchase price that Dish agreed to. Meaning if no one offers at least that much for the spectrum T-Mobile gets to keep it. I'm doubtful that T-Mobile is going to keep it though. Burns & McDonnell already said last year that they wanted the spectrum for private wireless networks. https://www.fiercewireless.com/wireless/dish-isnt-only-one-interested-t-mobiles-800-mhz-spectrum
    3 points
  22. https://www.fiercewireless.com/wireless/dish-says-theres-zero-chance-it-will-buy-t-mobiles-800-mhz-spectrum Dish is throwing in the towel on its agreement to purchase all of T-Mobile’s 800 MHz spectrum licenses for $3.59 billion. In an SEC filing, Dish parent company EchoStar revealed that it is unable to get the financing necessary to pay T-Mobile for the 800 MHz spectrum licenses by the April 1 deadline. So much for that....
    3 points
  23. Looks like T-Mobile added themselves to the DAS in my office in midtown. I noticed I had a much stronger signal than normal and confirmed the existence of a new LTE eNB but it has an older 5-digit numbering scheme. No 5G on the DAS but I'm glad to see them join anyway. Now I have full signal everywhere in the building. Speeds are fine at ~50Mbps which is slightly faster than what I get on the AT&T and Verizon DAS in here but pings are terrible at 100-200ms. I'm hoping it'll improve over time though as today is the first day it's active. — — — — — Edit: DAS turned off for about an hour for all carriers and came back. Now pings are 30-40ms with peak speeds over 100Mbps on T-Mobile. Edit 2: Looks like Band 2 is at 10MHz on the DAS as opposed to 15MHz on macros. Band 66 is at 20MHz though.
    3 points
  24. Just got back from Puerto Rico. I spent a lot of time going around the San Juan metro area, predominantly in Viejo San Juan, Santurce, Isla Verde, and a short stop in University Gardens. T-Mobile's network still performs as well today as it did when I last tested and in my opinion is the best on the island. n41 is still at 100MHz in most areas though I did record a few areas with only 80MHz. Yesterday the FCC announced that they're finally granting T-Mobile their Auction 108 winnings so we'll probably finally see that increase. They also have 15MHz of n25 and 15MHz of n25 and 15MHz n71. The fastest speed I recorded while there was 922 down and 120 up, presumably aggregating n41+n25 and potentially n71 as well but I wasn't able to confirm that. A couple of things I noticed about their network are that their is a ton of split-sector n25 deployed in San Juan, much like in the U.S. I even noticed some n41 sites that had 4 or more sectors. The weirdest being the site on top of SJU Airport where they have 6 n41 sectors each broadcasting 80MHz of n41. AT&T SIMs roam on LIberty's network but they still treat it as the home network. In my opinion they're the second best network in Puerto Rico. Liberty is still using the AT&T MCC-MNC code and is pretty much coasting on AT&T's network upgrades. They have 10MHz n5 virtually everywhere but I never saw my phone connect to any other 5G bands. Their saving grace was just how much spectrum they have to aggregate across midband and lowband. I'd see combos like 10MHz n5 + 20MHz B2 + 10MHz B66 + 10MHz Band 30 + 5MHz Band 2 and get upwards of 200Mbps. Coverage was slightly worse than T-Mobile in my experience, even indoors which is a surprise given T-Mobile usually struggles a bit indoors due to their macro density. Verizon is roaming on Claro in Puerto Rico just as they have been for years. No idea if there is 5G roaming because I was connected to LTE the entire time. Toggling 5G didn't do anything and both pings and speeds weren't great. Speeds were in the 20-40Mbps range consistently and pings over 200ms. For comparison T-Mobile's pings are in the teens and Liberty pings are in the 40's even when roaming using an AT&T SIM. Claro's network is ok in my experience with nothing really notable about it. — — — — — Here are some pics of sites that I took:
    3 points
  25. I posted this in the Nebraska Premier thread last week, but just wanted to share in this thread the progress that T-Mobile has made in filling in the great coverage gap known as Nebraska. Between late last year and this year, they have added 28 new expansion sites filling in the coverage hole, plus 11 Sprint site conversions in eastern Nebraska and far western Iowa. Notably, in the last month n41 coverage was added on over a dozen expansion sites in western Nebraska that were added to the network last year. For comparison, here is the very first map that I created in October of 2022 after we noted expansion sites outside of Sprint conversion in Lincoln and Omaha. It doesn't show any western parts of the state, but just know there was nothing besides roaming coverage and a little B12 coverage leaking down from South Dakota to the west of Valentine, NE.
    2 points
  26. I love that service has progressed/improved in many, many areas (including the Lexington metro area) to the point where the forums are largely quiet. When service is great, there's not much reason to look forward to upgrades! I guess, because, they've long since been completed! Bittersweet but kinda awesome.
    2 points
  27. I'm starting to find FDD+TDD UL sites. It seems to be enabled on a per-site basis, rather than market wide from my testing. So far I've found one in my immediate area, which is a site T-Mobile used to have a low 12/66 rack, and moved up to a higher Sprint rack (while adding n41 and the usual bands) within the last week. I've also found a few UL CA enabled sites along US-23 when I was going up to Ann Arbor today. Uploads peaked at 135mbps, which isn't exactly as fast as I had expected, but that's expected given I can't figure out how to enable 256QAM NR upload on my S24 (I could on my S21).
    2 points
  28. When I'm near the mini-macros performance is fine. They're pretty much like high powered small cells so they do have a place in the network. However in some areas T-Mobile has been using them instead of normal macros which introduces a ton of problems. They have terrible range, most can't cover more than a block, they're often 2x2MIMO as opposed to 4x4MIMO+ that you get on traditional macros, they take forever to upgrade because antenna manufacturers typically have trouble getting the newest technologies in a smaller form factor (at least initially), and more often than not they're 2-sector because they get installed on the facade at the corner of a building so they only provide coverage in two directions. A bunch of us in this thread have found some mini-macro sites that have been upgraded to NR but they are few and far between. The majority of them are still LTE only, some with Band 2/66 only and others with Band 2/12/66. The good news is, T-Mobile seems to be reevaluating their usefulness and decommissioning or converting them to full macros where possible. A good example of this is T-Mobile eNB 40003 which I posted a while back. Instead of just upgrading the small antennas, they moved to the roof of the building, installed regular antennas, and installed a third sector which has boosted coverage significantly.
    2 points
  29. We're tentatively planning a ferry-over from Nova Scotia to Newfoundland and back road trip in mid to late summer of 2025, and was curious if anyone has any experience within the last 3-4 years traveling around up there? We'd be starting at the long ferry trip port of Argentia and trying to travel the entire expanse from there - St. Johns, then up and over through Gander to Twillingate/Elliston area, then across to Gros Morne, doing the Viking road up to St Anthony/L'Anse aux Meadows, then back down the entirety of the west coast to take the shorter ferry from Port aux Basques back over to NA mainland. Thanks in advance if you have any insight!
    2 points
  30. The Bridle Trails tower is live, I was with the wife so I couldn't go driving down 134th to test the signal.
    2 points
  31. Looks like they finally killed B41 LTE here in favor of wider n41. https://imgur.com/a/EUa8v4V - Trip
    2 points
  32. Rural Nebraska sites had 100+40 before the spectrum was allocated, I'm sure they'll put it all into n41 as they never bothered to but B41 on the expansion sites out here.
    2 points
  33. T-Mobile eyes auction for 800 MHz spectrum that Dish can’t buy https://www.fiercewireless.com/wireless/t-mobile-eyes-auction-800-mhz-spectrum-dish-cant-buy
    2 points
  34. I saw T-Mobile running B26 LTE in northeast Colorado this weekend driving between Omaha and Denver. I have no idea why.... but it was there. Most markets are affected to some degree, more rural areas where Sprint/Clear didn't focus on WiMax/B41 seeing the biggest boost.
    2 points
  35. On the T-Mobile side of things, as of probably 9:20am this morning Austin is now 100+80 MHz n41; B41 is now gone. I can now hit 750ish Mbps indoors a half mile from the cell site, and wouldn't be surprised to break 1.5 Gbps closer/outside. So TMo now has 10x10 n25 + 15x15 n71 + 100+80 n41 here, for a total of 230 MHz 5G. With the C-Band they'll have 270. Re: 800, the band class is wrong for anything other than B26 LTE and n26 NR. Though I wouldn't be surprised if T-Mobile could throw Ericsson and Nokia enough cash to add band 26 support to their existing gear, so we *could* see B/n26 come back if there's nothing better to do with the spectrum. B26 probably makes more sense as that would allow for dropping B71 LTE everywhere with negligible coverage drops.
    2 points
  36. Bankruptcy could take years. Many painful years. Now is the time to surrender to a white knight while it can still be saved. Dish basically seems paralyzed. Plenty of rational ways to improve cash flow. Start with Ergen not being the CEO.
    2 points
  37. What's particularly interesting is that I spot-checked one of the Hawaiian islands where T-Mobile will have to divest and it looks like if they were to sell two PCS blocks to AT&T, they could swap such that AT&T ends up with 20x20 contiguous and T-Mobile ends up with 25x25 contiguous in PCS. - Trip
    2 points
  38. Yep, the FCC released its ruling yesterday
    2 points
  39. T-Mobile wins more 5G spectrum over AT&T's objections So now it's official?
    2 points
  40. Looks like T-Mobile is now on the site near Bear Mountain Inn that Verizon built in 2020 and AT&T joined in 2021. — — — — — The Sprint conversion on One Brooklyn Bridge Park (360 Furman St) actually has much better range than we initially thought. It seems that the antenna is adjusted downward to cover Furman St and Brooklyn Bridge Park. I maintained a much stronger signal driving along there than I did walking along the promenade or driving on the BQE. On Furman I stayed connected to the site all the way to Clark St where I only disconnected because I connected to the small cell near the Cranberry Street Ventilation Shaft. — — — — — Also spotted a new Verizon site on top of 10-25 Jackson Ave in Long Island City, continuing the trend of Verizon immediately hopping onto newly constructed buildings. I wish the other carriers were as proactive about new builds. T-Mobile used to be fairly good about building new sites before the Sprint merger and they're finally wrapping those up so we'll probably start seeing more but AT&T rarely ever adds new sites. Even the new AT&T site on Vanderbilt & Myrtle in Clinton Hill was built to replace another site that got decommissioned two blocks over.
    2 points
  41. March update is already out - woke up to the install prompt.
    1 point
  42. What if Dish goes out of business? Looks like they're circling the bowl, are out of ideas, and can barely pay the payments on their debt, let alone buy anything additional or invest in capex. https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/echostar-chairman-charlie-ergen-skips-dish-network-parents-quarterly-earnings-call-as-investor-angst-about-debt-keeps-mounting/ar-BB1jbB35 That whole Dish part of the merger was sketchy from the beginning, because it depended on trusting Charlie Ergen. (PSA: Don't ever trust Charlie Ergen. 🙂 ) If that happens, it'll be interesting to see what a bankruptcy would look like. Who gets Dish's spectrum? This whole deal was structured to make sure ATT, Tmobile and Verzion don't get bigger. Grab your popcorn.....
    1 point
  43. Nope they're not using it but it could be used for n26 or Band 26. I still don't think T-Mobile will keep it though. The radios that they have deployed don't so far don't support Band 26 or n26. Really only Dish is prepared to deploy n26 immediately. T-Mobile might just decide to hold onto the spectrum if no one buys it and then sell it to Dish years down the line. I still think the best deal for T-Mobile would be a swap where T-Mobile would give Dish a steep discount on the spectrum in exchange for a single 600MHz block in key markets. For example T-Mobile's lease of Dish's 600MHz D-block in NYC expires pretty soon and T-Mobile will fall back down to 15MHz n71 here without it. I have no doubt that this has already been offered to Dish but Dish is rightfully wary about handing their competitor an advantage like that. Realistically almost any swap would end with T-Mobile benefitting more than Dish. Dish doesn't *need* T-Mobile's 800MHz but it would've been a nice-to-have for the little gains in capacity.
    1 point
  44. I wish they could get the FCC to agree to allow them to keep it if they run old technologies such as analog, GSM, 2G, and 3G with open access for a small fee from all providers on it for compatibility with old IOT devices. Although if those old devices are not configured to use 800mhz, it won't help.
    1 point
  45. Mine's already on that so I guess it updated sometime
    1 point
  46. I've always wanted to go Newfoundland. And possibly Labrador. And Saint Pierre. Don't forget to stop at Mary Brown's Chicken. They're great. They are all over Canada now, but the chain started in Newfoundland. Robert
    1 point
  47. WTB instructed to process all 2.5GHz licenses across the USA. They are only giving up some spectrum in certain markets of Hawaii.
    1 point
  48. Wow that's great news! Summary for others: FCC approves grant of TMOs 2.5GHz licenses with the requirement they divest the spectrum they volunteered to give up in parts of Hawaii and AT&Ts complaint is denied.
    1 point
  49. New Third-Party Report Ranks T-Mobile Fastest in North America with the Best Video Experience in the U.S.
    1 point
×
×
  • Create New...