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PCS/AWS-2 H block FCC Auction 96 results thread


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FCC Auction 96 is underway.  Round 1 was just completed this morning.  Round 2 will begin in an hour.  The 67 provisionally winning bids from Round 1 are listed below.  Most of those are top 100 markets.  That leaves 109 licenses still FCC held at this stage.

 

Provisionally Winning Bids

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Total Items: 67 Items 1-67 of 67  spacer.gif License arrow-select.gif   Bid Round   Bid Amount


AH-BEA003-H 
Boston-Worcester MA-NH-RI-VT   1   $9,027,000 AH-BEA004-H 
Burlington VT-NY   1   $133,000 AH-BEA005-H 
Albany-Schenectady-Troy NY   1   $272,000 AH-BEA008-H 
Buffalo-Niagara Falls NY-PA   1   $114,000 AH-BEA010-H 
NYC-Long Is. NY-NJ-CT-PA-MA-VT   1   $37,580,000 AH-BEA012-H 
Phil.-Atl. City PA-NJ-DE-MD   1   $9,306,000 AH-BEA013-H 
Wash.-Balt. DC-MD-VA-WV-PA   1   $10,774,000 AH-BEA015-H 
Richmond-Petersburg VA   1   $623,000 AH-BEA016-H 
Staunton VA-WV   1   $21,000 AH-BEA020-H 
Norfolk-Virginia Beach VA-NC   1   $1,504,000 AH-BEA022-H 
Fayetteville NC   1   $43,000 AH-BEA024-H 
Columbia SC   1   $331,000 AH-BEA025-H 
Wilmington NC-SC   1   $495,000 AH-BEA026-H 
Charleston-North Charleston SC   1   $276,000 AH-BEA028-H 
Savannah GA-SC   1   $207,000 AH-BEA030-H 
Orlando FL   1   $3,230,000 AH-BEA031-H 
Miami-Fort Lauderdale FL   1   $4,161,000 AH-BEA032-H 
Fort Myers-Cape Coral FL   1   $263,000 AH-BEA033-H 
Sarasota-Bradenton FL   1   $286,000 AH-BEA034-H 
Tampa-St. Petersburg FL   1   $4,243,000 AH-BEA040-H 
Atlanta GA-AL-NC   1   $4,541,000 AH-BEA041-H 
Greenville-Spartanburg SC-NC   1   $333,000 AH-BEA049-H 
Cincinnati-Hamilton OH-KY-IN   1   $1,376,000 AH-BEA054-H 
Erie PA   1   $30,000 AH-BEA057-H 
Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint MI   1   $5,625,000 AH-BEA058-H 
Northern Michigan MI   1   $15,000 AH-BEA061-H 
Traverse City MI   1   $22,000 AH-BEA063-H 
Milwaukee-Racine WI   1   $1,679,000 AH-BEA064-H 
Chicago-Gary-Kenosha IL-IN-WI   1   $16,686,000 AH-BEA067-H 
Indianapolis IN-IL   1   $1,462,000 AH-BEA071-H 
Nashville TN-KY   1   $1,813,000 AH-BEA072-H 
Paducah KY-IL   1   $20,000 AH-BEA073-H 
Memphis TN-AR-MS-KY   1   $1,784,000 AH-BEA095-H 
Jonesboro AR-MO   1   $23,000 AH-BEA096-H 
St. Louis MO-IL   1   $2,468,000 AH-BEA099-H 
Kansas City MO-KS   1   $1,626,000 AH-BEA107-H 
Minneapolis-St. Paul MN-WI-IA   1   $3,634,000 AH-BEA110-H 
Grand Forks ND-MN   1   $21,000 AH-BEA111-H 
Minot ND   1   $12,000 AH-BEA114-H 
Aberdeen SD   1   $22,000 AH-BEA119-H 
Lincoln NE   1   $50,000 AH-BEA120-H 
Grand Island NE   1   $62,000 AH-BEA121-H 
North Platte NE-CO   1   $4,400 AH-BEA127-H 
Dallas-Fort Worth TX-AR-OK   1   $8,574,000 AH-BEA131-H 
Houston-Galveston-Brazoria TX   1   $3,513,000 AH-BEA132-H 
Corpus Christi TX   1   $73,000 AH-BEA133-H 
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission TX   1   $147,000 AH-BEA136-H 
Hobbs NM-TX   1   $25,000 AH-BEA140-H 
Pueblo CO-NM   1   $40,000 AH-BEA141-H 
Denver-Boulder CO-KS-NE   1   $2,046,000 AH-BEA142-H 
Scottsbluff NE-WY   1   $9,300 AH-BEA148-H 
Idaho Falls ID-WY   1   $89,000 AH-BEA149-H 
Twin Falls ID   1   $18,000 AH-BEA150-H 
Boise City ID-OR   1   $184,000 AH-BEA152-H 
Salt Lake City-Ogden UT-ID   1   $1,265,000 AH-BEA153-H 
Las Vegas NV-AZ-UT   1   $2,045,000 AH-BEA156-H 
Albuquerque NM-AZ   1   $267,000 AH-BEA157-H 
El Paso TX-NM   1   $250,000 AH-BEA158-H 
Phoenix-Mesa AZ-NM   1   $2,882,000 AH-BEA159-H 
Tucson AZ   1   $365,000 AH-BEA160-H 
LA-Riverside-Orange Cnty CA-AZ   1   $22,841,000 AH-BEA161-H 
San Diego CA   1   $2,980,000 AH-BEA163-H 
San Fran.-Oakland-San Jose CA   1   $5,696,000 AH-BEA167-H 
Portland-Salem OR-WA   1   $1,909,000 AH-BEA170-H 
Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton WA   1   $3,147,000 AH-BEA174-H 
Puerto Rico-US Virgin Islands   1   $657,000 AH-BEA176-H 
Gulf of Mexico   1   $20,000

 

AJ

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When will the public find out who is buying these licenses?

 

I also found it odd, that in the 2nd round, a license that was bid/won in the first round can be overbid.

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When will the public find out who is buying these licenses?

 

This auction is being conducted anonymously.  To increase competition and help prevent collusion, the winning bidders will not be revealed until the auction has ended.

 

AJ

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Who are the bidders for H Block? Dish and spectrum hoarders?

 

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

 

http://www.phonescoop.com/articles/article.php?a=13446

 

 

FCC Qualifies 23 Bidders in Upcoming Auction 96

 

 

The Federal Communications Commission today announced the list of companies that have been qualified to participate in Auction 96, which kicks off later this month. The auction will sell 176 licenses for the H Block spectrum, which falls in the 1915-1920MHz and 1995-2000MHz bands. Some of the qualified entities include American H Block Wireless, Michigan Wireless, NE Colorado Cellular, Spotlight Media Corp., and others. The FCC also disqualified a handful of potential bidders, including Cellular South, McBride Spectrum Partners, and Union Telephone Company. All the qualified bidders have been given instructions on how to bid and what their obligations are to participate. The FCC will hold a mock auction, to test the bidding process, on Friday, January 17. Official bidding for the auction begins January 22.

 

 

I would have linked the FCC docs but they are just a bunch of txt files

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Who are the bidders for H Block? Dish and spectrum hoarders?

 

http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2014/db0108/DA-14-8A2.pdf

 

AJ

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How difficult will it be to get phones with this band enabled?  Especially when none of the big 4 are bidding?

 

The owner(s) of the spectrum will need to petition to 3GPP to have a new band created that incorporates this spectrum, then chipsets would have to be made. 

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I'm wondering who the Michigan Wireless is, did they go after the Detroit license or the Traverse City and Northern Michigan licenses.  No first round bids for Grand Rapids.

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I'm wondering who the Michigan Wireless is, did they go after the Detroit license or the Traverse City and Northern Michigan licenses.  No first round bids for Grand Rapids.

 

The FRN for Michigan Wireless leads to PCS and AWS licenses that are linked to Bugtussel Wireless.

 

http://www.bugtusselwireless.com

 

AJ

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The FRN for Michigan Wireless leads to PCS and AWS licenses that are linked to Bugtussel Wireless.

 

http://www.bugtusselwireless.com

 

AJ

Looks like a Wisconsin based company going after BEA059 license, maybe 058 too.  I love their coverage map, looks like it was made with the tools that made the first NV/LTE coverage maps here.  Wish all wireless providers had maps like that

 

Edit in: no bids on 059, maybe 58 & 61

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Round 2 results are in...

 

Provisionally Winning Bids

toprightcornermask.gif

Total Items: 78 Items 1-78 of 78  spacer.gif License arrow-select.gif   Bid Round   Bid Amount

 

AH-BEA003-H 
Boston-Worcester MA-NH-RI-VT   1   $9,027,000 AH-BEA004-H 
Burlington VT-NY   2   $160,000 AH-BEA005-H 
Albany-Schenectady-Troy NY   2   $313,000 AH-BEA008-H 
Buffalo-Niagara Falls NY-PA   2   $131,000 AH-BEA010-H 
NYC-Long Is. NY-NJ-CT-PA-MA-VT   2   $45,096,000 AH-BEA012-H 
Phil.-Atl. City PA-NJ-DE-MD   1   $9,306,000 AH-BEA013-H 
Wash.-Balt. DC-MD-VA-WV-PA   1   $10,774,000 AH-BEA015-H 
Richmond-Petersburg VA   2   $716,000 AH-BEA016-H 
Staunton VA-WV   2   $24,000 AH-BEA020-H 
Norfolk-Virginia Beach VA-NC   2   $1,805,000 AH-BEA021-H 
Greenville NC   2   $74,000 AH-BEA022-H 
Fayetteville NC   2   $49,000 AH-BEA024-H 
Columbia SC   2   $381,000 AH-BEA025-H 
Wilmington NC-SC   2   $569,000 AH-BEA026-H 
Charleston-North Charleston SC   2   $317,000 AH-BEA028-H 
Savannah GA-SC   2   $238,000 AH-BEA030-H 
Orlando FL   2   $3,876,000 AH-BEA031-H 
Miami-Fort Lauderdale FL   2   $4,993,000 AH-BEA032-H 
Fort Myers-Cape Coral FL   2   $302,000 AH-BEA033-H 
Sarasota-Bradenton FL   2   $329,000 AH-BEA034-H 
Tampa-St. Petersburg FL   1   $4,243,000 AH-BEA040-H 
Atlanta GA-AL-NC   1   $4,541,000 AH-BEA041-H 
Greenville-Spartanburg SC-NC   2   $383,000 AH-BEA049-H 
Cincinnati-Hamilton OH-KY-IN   1   $1,376,000 AH-BEA054-H 
Erie PA   2   $35,000 AH-BEA056-H 
Toledo OH   2   $190,000 AH-BEA057-H 
Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint MI   1   $5,625,000 AH-BEA058-H 
Northern Michigan MI   2   $17,000 AH-BEA060-H 
Appleton-Oshkosh-Neenah WI   2   $185,000 AH-BEA061-H 
Traverse City MI   2   $25,000 AH-BEA063-H 
Milwaukee-Racine WI   1   $1,679,000 AH-BEA064-H 
Chicago-Gary-Kenosha IL-IN-WI   1   $16,686,000 AH-BEA067-H 
Indianapolis IN-IL   1   $1,462,000 AH-BEA071-H 
Nashville TN-KY   1   $1,813,000 AH-BEA072-H 
Paducah KY-IL   2   $24,000 AH-BEA073-H 
Memphis TN-AR-MS-KY   1   $1,784,000 AH-BEA095-H 
Jonesboro AR-MO   2   $26,000 AH-BEA096-H 
St. Louis MO-IL   1   $2,468,000 AH-BEA099-H 
Kansas City MO-KS   1   $1,626,000 AH-BEA104-H 
Madison WI-IL-IA   2   $488,000 AH-BEA105-H 
La Crosse WI-MN   2   $170,000 AH-BEA106-H 
Rochester MN-IA-WI   2   $57,000 AH-BEA107-H 
Minneapolis-St. Paul MN-WI-IA   1   $3,634,000 AH-BEA110-H 
Grand Forks ND-MN   2   $24,000 AH-BEA111-H 
Minot ND   2   $14,000 AH-BEA114-H 
Aberdeen SD   2   $26,000 AH-BEA115-H 
Rapid City SD-MT-NE-ND   2   $34,000 AH-BEA116-H 
Sioux Falls SD-IA-MN-NE   2   $65,000 AH-BEA117-H 
Sioux City IA-NE-SD   2   $64,000 AH-BEA119-H 
Lincoln NE   2   $58,000 AH-BEA120-H 
Grand Island NE   2   $71,000 AH-BEA121-H 
North Platte NE-CO   2   $5,300 AH-BEA127-H 
Dallas-Fort Worth TX-AR-OK   1   $8,574,000 AH-BEA131-H 
Houston-Galveston-Brazoria TX   2   $4,646,000 AH-BEA132-H 
Corpus Christi TX   2   $84,000 AH-BEA133-H 
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission TX   2   $169,000 AH-BEA136-H 
Hobbs NM-TX   2   $29,000 AH-BEA140-H 
Pueblo CO-NM   2   $46,000 AH-BEA141-H 
Denver-Boulder CO-KS-NE   1   $2,046,000 AH-BEA142-H 
Scottsbluff NE-WY   2   $11,000 AH-BEA148-H 
Idaho Falls ID-WY   2   $102,000 AH-BEA149-H 
Twin Falls ID   2   $22,000 AH-BEA150-H 
Boise City ID-OR   2   $212,000 AH-BEA152-H 
Salt Lake City-Ogden UT-ID   2   $1,518,000 AH-BEA153-H 
Las Vegas NV-AZ-UT   1   $2,045,000 AH-BEA155-H 
Farmington NM-CO   2   $40,000 AH-BEA156-H 
Albuquerque NM-AZ   2   $320,000 AH-BEA157-H 
El Paso TX-NM   2   $288,000 AH-BEA158-H 
Phoenix-Mesa AZ-NM   1   $2,882,000 AH-BEA159-H 
Tucson AZ   2   $420,000 AH-BEA160-H 
LA-Riverside-Orange Cnty CA-AZ   2   $27,409,000 AH-BEA161-H 
San Diego CA   1   $2,980,000 AH-BEA163-H 
San Fran.-Oakland-San Jose CA   1   $5,696,000 AH-BEA165-H 
Redding CA-OR   2   $43,000 AH-BEA167-H 
Portland-Salem OR-WA   1   $1,909,000 AH-BEA170-H 
Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton WA   1   $3,147,000 AH-BEA174-H 
Puerto Rico-US Virgin Islands   2   $756,000 AH-BEA176-H 
Gulf of Mexico   2   $23,000

 

In Round 2, bidding started on 11 additional licenses, but still over half of the 176 BEAs have no bids.

 

AJ

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Does anyone know how much money is Sprint expected to get back for all the licenses nationwide for the costs of BAS relocation?

 

$94,875,516

 

AJ

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I wonder if the FCC met their 1.56 billion reserve price in this auction.

Not chance, they were just over 200 million at the beginning of round 3 and the new bids were bringing in an extra 20-30 million.

 

Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk

 

 

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Not chance, they were just over 200 million at the beginning of round 3 and the new bids were bringing in an extra 20-30 million.

 

Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk

 

So what does this mean?  Didn't Dish plead to the FCC to set the reserve price of 1.56 billion and promised to pay that if the FCC approved the 2000-2020 MHz spectrum to be supplemental downlink?  Obviously they are well short so I assume Dish will need to pay the remaining balance to hit the 1.56 billion reserve price?

 

http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/sprint-abandons-pursuit-h-block-spectrum-clearing-way-dish-bid/2013-11-13

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Guys, this auction is not a one day event. It is not over.

 

AJ

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The first day concluded with Round 3.  No additional BEAs received a first bid this round, so more than 100 licenses are still FCC held.

spacer.giftopleftcornermask.gifspacer.gifspacer.gif
Provisionally Winning Bids

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Total Items: 78 Items 1-78 of 78  spacer.gifLicense arrow-select.gif   Bid Round   Bid Amount

 

AH-BEA003-H 
Boston-Worcester MA-NH-RI-VT   1   $9,027,000 AH-BEA004-H 
Burlington VT-NY   3   $200,000 AH-BEA005-H 
Albany-Schenectady-Troy NY   3   $368,000 AH-BEA008-H 
Buffalo-Niagara Falls NY-PA   3   $154,000 AH-BEA010-H 
NYC-Long Is. NY-NJ-CT-PA-MA-VT   3   $54,115,000 AH-BEA012-H 
Phil.-Atl. City PA-NJ-DE-MD   1   $9,306,000 AH-BEA013-H 
Wash.-Balt. DC-MD-VA-WV-PA   1   $10,774,000 AH-BEA015-H 
Richmond-Petersburg VA   3   $841,000 AH-BEA016-H 
Staunton VA-WV   3   $28,000 AH-BEA020-H 
Norfolk-Virginia Beach VA-NC   3   $2,166,000 AH-BEA021-H 
Greenville NC   3   $85,000 AH-BEA022-H 
Fayetteville NC   2   $49,000 AH-BEA024-H 
Columbia SC   3   $448,000 AH-BEA025-H 
Wilmington NC-SC   3   $669,000 AH-BEA026-H 
Charleston-North Charleston SC   2   $317,000 AH-BEA028-H 
Savannah GA-SC   2   $238,000 AH-BEA030-H 
Orlando FL   3   $4,651,000 AH-BEA031-H 
Miami-Fort Lauderdale FL   2   $4,993,000 AH-BEA032-H 
Fort Myers-Cape Coral FL   2   $302,000 AH-BEA033-H 
Sarasota-Bradenton FL   2   $329,000 AH-BEA034-H 
Tampa-St. Petersburg FL   1   $4,243,000 AH-BEA040-H 
Atlanta GA-AL-NC   3   $5,109,000 AH-BEA041-H 
Greenville-Spartanburg SC-NC   3   $450,000 AH-BEA049-H 
Cincinnati-Hamilton OH-KY-IN   1   $1,376,000 AH-BEA054-H 
Erie PA   3   $41,000 AH-BEA056-H 
Toledo OH   3   $219,000 AH-BEA057-H 
Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint MI   1   $5,625,000 AH-BEA058-H 
Northern Michigan MI   3   $20,000 AH-BEA060-H 
Appleton-Oshkosh-Neenah WI   3   $213,000 AH-BEA061-H 
Traverse City MI   3   $29,000 AH-BEA063-H 
Milwaukee-Racine WI   1   $1,679,000 AH-BEA064-H 
Chicago-Gary-Kenosha IL-IN-WI   1   $16,686,000 AH-BEA067-H 
Indianapolis IN-IL   1   $1,462,000 AH-BEA071-H 
Nashville TN-KY   1   $1,813,000 AH-BEA072-H 
Paducah KY-IL   3   $30,000 AH-BEA073-H 
Memphis TN-AR-MS-KY   1   $1,784,000 AH-BEA095-H 
Jonesboro AR-MO   3   $31,000 AH-BEA096-H 
St. Louis MO-IL   1   $2,468,000 AH-BEA099-H 
Kansas City MO-KS   1   $1,626,000 AH-BEA104-H 
Madison WI-IL-IA   3   $561,000 AH-BEA105-H 
La Crosse WI-MN   3   $196,000 AH-BEA106-H 
Rochester MN-IA-WI   3   $66,000 AH-BEA107-H 
Minneapolis-St. Paul MN-WI-IA   1   $3,634,000 AH-BEA110-H 
Grand Forks ND-MN   3   $28,000 AH-BEA111-H 
Minot ND   3   $16,000 AH-BEA114-H 
Aberdeen SD   3   $33,000 AH-BEA115-H 
Rapid City SD-MT-NE-ND   3   $39,000 AH-BEA116-H 
Sioux Falls SD-IA-MN-NE   3   $75,000 AH-BEA117-H 
Sioux City IA-NE-SD   3   $74,000 AH-BEA119-H 
Lincoln NE   3   $71,000 AH-BEA120-H 
Grand Island NE   3   $87,000 AH-BEA121-H 
North Platte NE-CO   3   $6,600 AH-BEA127-H 
Dallas-Fort Worth TX-AR-OK   1   $8,574,000 AH-BEA131-H 
Houston-Galveston-Brazoria TX   3   $5,459,000 AH-BEA132-H 
Corpus Christi TX   3   $99,000 AH-BEA133-H 
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission TX   3   $199,000 AH-BEA136-H 
Hobbs NM-TX   2   $29,000 AH-BEA140-H 
Pueblo CO-NM   3   $56,000 AH-BEA141-H 
Denver-Boulder CO-KS-NE   1   $2,046,000 AH-BEA142-H 
Scottsbluff NE-WY   3   $14,000 AH-BEA148-H 
Idaho Falls ID-WY   3   $120,000 AH-BEA149-H 
Twin Falls ID   3   $28,000 AH-BEA150-H 
Boise City ID-OR   3   $249,000 AH-BEA152-H 
Salt Lake City-Ogden UT-ID   3   $1,898,000 AH-BEA153-H 
Las Vegas NV-AZ-UT   1   $2,045,000 AH-BEA155-H 
Farmington NM-CO   3   $46,000 AH-BEA156-H 
Albuquerque NM-AZ   3   $384,000 AH-BEA157-H 
El Paso TX-NM   3   $338,000 AH-BEA158-H 
Phoenix-Mesa AZ-NM   1   $2,882,000 AH-BEA159-H 
Tucson AZ   3   $494,000 AH-BEA160-H 
LA-Riverside-Orange Cnty CA-AZ   3   $32,891,000 AH-BEA161-H 
San Diego CA   1   $2,980,000 AH-BEA163-H 
San Fran.-Oakland-San Jose CA   1   $5,696,000 AH-BEA165-H 
Redding CA-OR   3   $49,000 AH-BEA167-H 
Portland-Salem OR-WA   1   $1,909,000 AH-BEA170-H 
Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton WA   1   $3,147,000 AH-BEA174-H 
Puerto Rico-US Virgin Islands   2   $756,000 AH-BEA176-H 
Gulf of Mexico   3   $27,000

 

AJ

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No first round bids for Grand Rapids.

 

As usual, all cell providers hate Grand Rapids ;)

 

Actually, to be fair, Grand Rapids's reserve price feels like it's been set really high for the area, particularly when compared to other markets, even after accounting for the urban / rural difference.

 

Traverse City, MI at roughly $30k / 144k people = approx $0.2 dollars per person covered

Grand Rapids + Muskegon, at roughly $879k / 950k metro people = approx $0.93 dollars per person covered. (no bids)

Seattle / Tacoma, at $3,147k / 3,500k metro people = approx $0.89 dollars per person covered (bids)

 

Our spectrum is apparently worth a 4c premium over Seattle, despite us having only 30% of their population, spread out over a much larger area (requiring significantly more buildout / capex to cover those people)

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    • https://www.t-mobile.com/2023-annual-report Most items s4gru members will be aware of, but an interesting read.
    • I've now seen 100 MHz n77 from SoftBank and 100 MHz n78 from NTT. NTT seems to be a bit better south of Osaka, though in some cases it drops down to B19 LTE as some areas around here are pretty rural. SoftBank has n77 around, but it's flakey enough that I switched eSIMs earlier this morning.
    • I'm currently typing this from a bullet train headed from Tokyo to Osaka. Using a roaming eSIM rather than T-Mobile as it's a lot cheaper, but I'll start with T-Mobile's roaming experience. Since I have a business line, I can't add data packs online, so I'm just using the 256 kbps baseline service you get by default. That service runs on Softank 4G. SoftBank has a well-built-out LTE network though, with plenty of B41, falling back to B1/3/8 as needed. 5G roaming from T-Mobile doesn't appear to exist though. I've seen 20+10 MHz B41 when I've looked, generally speaking. WiFi calling works well, and voice calls over LTE work fine too (I forgot to turn WiFi back on after doing some testing, so I expect my bill to be a dollar more next month). I want to say I even got HD voice over the cell network for the VoLTE call I did. I have a bunch of eSIMs and a couple of physical SIMs to try out. I've gotten the eSIMs up and running, but last I checked the physical SIM wasn't working even after activation so I'll run through eSIMs for the moment and update this thread with pSIM info and details on not-Tokyo in the coming days. First off, there's US Mobile's complimentary East Asia eSIM (5GB) that I grabbed before my unlimited plan Stateside expired. That SIM uses SIM Club, routing through Singapore, running on SoftBank LTE and 5G. I've seen 40 MHz n77, as well as 10x10 n28, and have seen download speeds in excess of 200 Mbps with uploads of more than 50 Mbps, though typical speeds are slower. Routing is via Equinix/Packet.net. 5G coverage is rather spotty, but LTE is plenty fast enough; either my phone doesn't want to use the 5G band combos that have more coverage or 5G coverage is just spottier here than in the US (at least on T-Mibile). Latency is as low as 95ms to sites in Singapore (usually closer to 120ms), which is pretty great considering the 3300 mi between Tokyo and Singapore. Next there's Ubigi. It also routes through Singapore via Transatel (despite being owned by NTT), and sites on top of NTT docomo's network. I didn't see NTT 5G in Tokyo when I tested it, but since then I've seen 10x10 n28, and have seen B1/B3/B19 on the LTE side. So far it's not the fastest thing out there, but I'm guessing coverage will be a little better...or maybe not. This was $17 for 10GB. Latency is a bit higher to Singapore, but still under 150ms it seems. Then there's Airalo, which was the cheapest when I bought it at $9 for 10GB. It also routes through Singapore (on Singtel), but on my S24 I have my pick of KDDI (au) or SoftBank. KDDI has extensive B41 coverage and I've seen 20+20 with UL CA. While waiting for the train at HND Terminal 3 (Keikyu line) I hit 250+ Mbps down and 10+ Mbps up...over LTE...with pretty respectable latency numbers (not much above 100ms). This is in adition to supporting SoftBank, also on LTE (my S24 defaulted to KDDI, while my wife's Pixel 8 defaulted to SoftBank and didn't seem to want to connect to KDDI). Of the various carriers mentioned, I'd say this was the best pick, though prices have bumped back up to $18 for the 10GB plan...but it's probably still what I'd pick if I had to pick just one carrier. Then there's Saily, which uses Truphone out of Hong Kong. I haven't used this as much, as I only grabbed 3GB for $7. It runs on NTT but doesn't seem to have 5G access and doesn't seem to have as good speeds. Yes, Hong Kong is way closer to Japan, but latency didn't seem to be any better, at ~150ms. In all cases, I've had reception even in train tunnels and even at high speed on the bullet train, on all three carriers I've tried (I don't think I'll be able to play with a Rakuten SIM, which is rather disappointing). There have been cases where service has degraded, but it looks like you'd have reasonable cell service no matter which of the big three carriers you picked...and since T-Mobile roams on one of them, that's good enough if you're content to buy day passes.
    • https://www.phonearena.com/news/t-mobile-older-rate-plan-prices-june_id157821 We're on Sprint Max for our seven phone/two Apple Watch (with Cellular) family plan... Because it doesn't make sense to switch to anything else, especially if we can't even finance all of our devices. Some of you may recall that T-Mobile suddenly cut our credit limit to $1,500 (which is barely more than one iPhone 15 Pro) with no notice at all. I escalated it to the Office of the CEO and was told to pound sand, even though I have 800+ Credit as a longtime customer and was suddenly being treated as a deadbeat. I ultimately upgraded my three iPhone lines directly through Apple and they're Unlocked. I haven't bothered to check on whether my Credit Limit has updated, but I don't plan on upgrading them through T-Mobile again. I guess we'll find out if "Sprint Max" counts as "older" soon enough.
    • From just under a week ago: https://www.t-mobile.com/news/network/t-mobile-announces-163-million-in-completed-network-upgrades-for-arkansas Progress!
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