S4GRU

I want to pay the lowest sustainable price that includes proper network growth and maintenance. I know that the lowest prices possible is not always in my best interest. If it lowers it to the point that one or two of the four ends up on shaky financial footing, it's going to lead to less competition. When they go out of business or the Feds do end up allowing mergers to keep one from going bankrupt. I have no idea where that threshold is. We are probably not there yet. But I have a feeling that Legere is willing to drive Tmo into the ground if necessary. He doesn't seem like he's going to blink. If Sprint does end up finding a price point to beat Tmo, Legere will just double down and go lower. Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

And now with Masa, I no longer feel concerned that Sprint will have to make a bad deal with Charlie and get taken for a ride. I know Masa will not make a bad deal out of desperation for cash. If a deal is made with Dish now, it will be good for Sprint. But I still have a strong dislike and mistrust for Charlie. But business is business. Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

Thanks for supporting S4GRU. We have been enjoying your posts. It's nice to see someone else on the other side of the world who suffers our same affliction. Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

Yeah, elevators are tough. I almost never get even 700MHz or 850MHz in an elevator unless it's 1x or EDGE. Low frequency LTE can only typically make it in an elevator shaft if the shaft walls are not solid concrete and the site is really close by. But modern building codes have really tough fire rating requirements for elevator shafts, as they can easily spread fires from floor to floor quickly. So nowadays, most interior elevator shafts are 8" or thicker concrete. Radio signals can't get through except for door openings and the roof of the elevator shaft. The best elevators to get signals in are the ones on the exterior wall of a building. As only the walls that abutt the building would need to be fire rated. Oh, and of course, glass elevators are always nice. Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

Chicago even beats St. Louis in murders. That's tough to do! Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

Most excellent write up. Thanks! Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

Sounds dirty when you say it. Wireless porn. Brown chicken, brown cow. Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

He doesn't have to deal with it. Legere's got a spot in his chambers just for him. Come feel the magenta love. Seriously, if Sprint doesn't meet his needs, he should go with the wireless provider who does. Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

Go to Tmo. They love HD TV streaming. They want you to do it on every site and every sector. Do it on several devices at once, while doing speed tests. You can also simulatenously stream music without counting against your data allotment. Granted, you can't do this outside the city limits. But hey, what's a streaming HD guy gonna do? Ya know? Go with Tmo. Just make sure you don't miss giving Legere his back rub at 10:45 PM. That's your slot. He likes when you warm up the lotion first, though. Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

Son, in my circles, if someone kicks perfectly good fried chicken, that's something beyond a penalty. More like a capital offense! Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

No. The issue here is not where, it's how they managed the backhaul contracts. Bidding, execution and deployment. Those failures would have just been isolated to cities instead of failing everywhere. I'm not sure how that would have yielded a better result. Also, backhaul went much easier in the rural areas. So rural backhaul was not the cause of any delays in urban/suburban areas. Rural buildout really never siphoned work away that could have happened in the cities. That's a fallacy and maschination for egocentric city dwellers who think that those people work on that farmer's tower could be working on mine instead! But the reality is that rural tower had easy to get backhaul and didn't require permits. So if they skipped the rural site and waited until the urban sites had permits and backhaul, they would have people waiting around that could be deploying something. Hell, they would probably still not be working in rural areas if they did it that way. Sprint is rebuilding its entire network. Cities and rural areas. And they worked on every site the moment it was ready. Whether in the city or in a rural area. And that's the way it should be. My complaint with Sprint in regards to backhaul is they should have released all the backhaul systemwide back in October 2011, while Network Vision plans were being finalized. However, they tried a just in time backhaul scenario plan instead of letting backhaul vendors get way out in front. Sprint did this for financial reasons, undoubtedly. But it really should have been figured in. Additionally, Sprint should not have gone with the lowest priced backhaul providers that say they will meet their spec/schedule. There should have been a lot more emphasis to find the lowest priced vendor who can best meet the schedule. And last...all of it should have been better managed. When vendors got behind, they should have used the remedies allowed in the contract instead of giving them grace after grace. But all this is really just Monday morning quarterbacking at this point. This phase is largely over. And the new guys under Masa are on it. These types of failures are just not going to happen like this ever again. Onward! Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

I thought that term might not be understood by our South African Wireless Nerd Brother. It can be tough learning American colloquialisms and culture references. Seems like you're already pretty well versed. Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

Sprint never formally bid for Tmo. They only had talks with them. So there is no break up fee to be paid. Robert

I was watching the soccer commentators on the Bar TV where Christina and I went to dinner after church tonight. I tried and I tried. But I just couldn't get into it. Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

I wasn't being general at all. I was speaking about a very specific group of aggressive Tmo trolls defecating all over FierceWireless article comments. And that is my feelings about that very specific group of people. And maybe I don't travel out of my own forums very often, but I typically see on Sprint topics folks explaining what Sprint is doing rationally and intelligently and then a whole lot of attacks commence against them. The poisoned Hate-erade people be drinking is messin' up their minds. Americans are getting so polarized. Our egomaniacal over valued self worth and opinion is crossing bounds that it even infringes on others to have an opinion. Even something as trivial as an opinion over which wireless provider they use. We are finding our identities in brands and life themes, persecuting people who think differently. It almost feels like we are socially devolving to some extent. Robert via Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

This is so true. With a DB as their icon, they just follow the examples passed down and run rampant around the internet vomiting up nonsense and argument. Neal is the only exception. But he was pretty in pink long before the current incarnation of virtual alley trolls came into being. Robert via Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

He's a classless douchebag. And he proves it every day. I'm so glad that Masa called off the merger for many reasons. But I'm probably most thankful that Legere will not be running Sprint. We get to see what an independent Sprint by Masa and a Tmo by Legere will look like in 3 years. In 5 years. Whatever happens to Sprint, good or bad, will be because of Masa. And likewise with Tmo, it will be Legere. You'd have to be a fool not to take Masayoshi Son in that fight. Hardly 5 feet tall. But that's where I'm backing. Doubling down on Sprint now. Robert via Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Thanks Rai. We will always have Kankakee! Robert

Yep, you were around with us on Facebook before there was even an S4GRU.com. The good 'ol days. You also were one of our first forum members of all time. Robert

One thing that was interesting in that article is it shows that most customers wouldn't notice the difference. The Sprint LG G3 took 1 or 2 seconds longer at tasks. It goes to show you that "Ludicrous Speed" is not necessary on a smartphone. And only the e-penis people who keep doing speedtests are really going to notice the difference between 3Mbps with <100ms ping and 30Mbps. Robert

This is very true. Sprint picked poor performing companies in many instances. They also waited late to execute many critical backhaul agreements. And they also allowed too many poor performing companies to exceed the contract schedules without penalty or cancellation. The backhaul deployment scheme could have been handled way better. And Sprint is doing much better managing their backhaul deployment in 2014. But it was a long and painful process to get here. And they ain't outta the woods yet. Robert

Yes, future Sprint devices will support Bands 4 and 12 too (AWS/Lower 700). However, only a few CCA members use those bands. Sprint is including them to reach even more places and provide a better experience. But these new bands will only be required with a few providers. Robert

C.A.R just made a generous contribution and shot up to the #13 spot from #25. aackman is now perilously close from being bumped off the list! We appreciate all that you guys and gals do to keep S4GRU financially stable! Robert

I read this article this afternoon: http://s4gru.com/index.php?/blog/1/entry-110-2011-year-in-reviewsprint-4g-rollout-updates/ Oh, har far we have come since the end of 2011. Read the article if you have a moment. It gives some background about how S4GRU started. Fun times! Robert