S4GRU

It is just the Sprint corporate West Virginia market. It does not include nTelos areas at all. Robert

I'm flattered. Welcome to the dark side. Robert

Site acceptance reports from Thursday (12/12): Alabama - 2 updates (1 LTE) Albuquerque - 4 updates (3G) Arkansas - 2 updates (1 LTE) Atlanta/Athens - 5 updates (1 LTE) Austin - 2 updates (3G) Buffalo - 2 updates (3G) Boston - 1 updates (3G) Central Illinois - 1 updates (3G) Central Iowa - 3 updates (3G) Central Pennsylvania - 1 updates (3G) Charlotte - 2 updates (3G) Cincinnati - 6 updates (3G) Colorado - 7 updates (LTE) East Michigan - 7 updates (2 LTE) East Texas - 2 updates (LTE) GA/SC Coast - 1 update (LTE) Gulf Coast - 1 updates (3G) Houston - 2 updates (1 LTE) Jacksonville - 2 updates (3G) Kansas - 2 updates (3G) LA Metro - 2 updates (1 LTE) Las Vegas - 4 updates (1 LTE) Long Island - 1 updates (3G) Louisiana - 1 updates (3G) Memphis - 1 updates (3G) Miami/West Palm - 1 update (LTE) Milwaukee - 14 updates (LTE) Minnesota - 5 updates (3G) Missouri - 7 updates (4 LTE) Myrtle Beach - 1 updates (3G) New York City - 2 updates (LTE) Northern Connecticut - 1 updates (3G) Oklahoma - 1 updates (3G) Orange County - 1 updates (3G) Oregon/SW Washington - 4 updates (3G) Orlando - 2 updates (1 LTE) Philadelphia Metro - 1 updates (3G) Phoenix - 3 updates (3G) Pittsburgh - 2 updates (LTE) Providence - 1 updates (3G) Riverside/San Bernardino - 6 updates (3 LTE) San Diego - 4 updates (3 LTE) Southern Connecticut - 1 updates (3G) Southern Jersey - 4 updates (2 LTE) Tucson/Yuma - 2 updates (1 LTE) Upper Central Valley - 6 updates (4 LTE) Upstate NY East - 3 updates (1 LTE) Utah - 14 updates (5 LTE) VT/NH/ME - 4 updates (3 LTE) Washington DC - 2 updates (3G) West Kentucky - 6 updates (3 LTE) West Texas - 2 updates (3G) West Washington - 21 updates (2 LTE) Maps are updated. Robert Links: Comments regarding this thread, NV Sites Complete Map

-110dBm signal is highly variable in usability, based on signal quality, sector loading, etc. I have had 15Mbps at -110dBm RSRP before. And I have had virtually zero throughput too. It's highly variable. On Band 41, you could even hit 30Mbps with -110dBm in some instances. A threshold just based on signal strength is not a sound demarcation point. It needs to be network controlled ideally in this situation. Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

Someone can be against the ATT buyout of Tmo and for the Sprint buyout of Tmo. The difference is night and day. Also, AJ has not said he is for the buyout at all. Personally, I think Sprint is on the right path to compete already on their own. They will be in a good position in 12 months and will be able to grow organically from there pretty well. They don't need to take Tmo to complete their plans. However, the problem for them is kind of like Alltel. You can't let someone else scoop them up either. We know that ATT nor Verizon can buy Tmo...now. But the Obama Admin ends in Also, I think SoftBank really would love to have a GSM/WCDMA ecosystem. Robert via Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Tmo is a disrupter now. But so is SoftBank. SoftBank may be interested in Tmo because of these actions. SoftBank does not fear Tmo. They may even adopt a lot of these strategies and can now implement them on a much larger scale. It may allow them to take uncarrier directly to the duopoly in a much larger and more impacting way. I think all of our attempts to try to parallel our market to Canada or Europe is problematic. It's very different in so many ways. Let me be clear, I am not for this buyout. I am not even close to making up my mind. And I do think a buyout needs to be properly vetted and the government needs to be make sure competition would be vibrant post purchase close. Everyone's competition concerns are valid. But SoftBank deserves the right to make their case. And we all have to admit that there are scenarios where it's possible that if Sprint buys Tmo that it could even bring more competition against the duopoly. If anything Sprint and Tmo are competing against each other. They need to compete with the duopoly. But I don't think the Feds are against a triopoly. They never said that with ATT/Tmo. They were concerned that there would now be a new mega carrier and a weakened third carrier. If ATT/Tmo merger would have created a triopoly of equals, it probably would have been approved. I'm actually concerned that this could get approved without the appropriate safeguards for competition being required. I really want to see the regionals getting some ability to compete via guaranteed LTE roaming access at reasonable rates, regionals getting better access to devices by de-boutiquing subset bands and probably even getting some spectrum. I think this has a good chance of rubber stamping from regulators. I don't share the sentiment that this will be flatly denied outright. Robert via Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Good points. However, just the speculation about Bieber anything now makes me against the merger. Robert via Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

My point is a nationwide carrier in Europe is akin to a regional carrier in the US. It is much easier to be a national carrier in Europe than the US. You have to compare continent wide carriers in Europe to nationwide carriers in the US. And national carriers to regional carriers here to get closer to apples to apples, in my opinion. But I get it that you disagree. That's fine. I stand behind my point that three strong national carriers with healthy regulation leveling the playing field for regionals is plenty fine for competition. I just don't see any government entity denying a Sprint purchase of Tmo outright. It would just likely be highly conditional. AT&T probably could have closed the deal with Tmo if it were willing to make a lot of concessions. But they wanted Tmo specifically to screw consumers. And the FCC knows that. SoftBank's motive is not to screw consumers, but to have a better position to compete. Scale is huge when negotiating contracts. Including backhaul. Robert via Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Three companies of equal size will not be happy just to sit there with their piece of the pie. And SoftBank is not doing all this just to be as big as the other two. It's about getting to number one. And they will continue to compete to get there. And I don't think VZW and AT&T will want to give up their positions easily. This is not the end of the road for competition. The duopoly is going to fight hard. And they are scrappy. I really don't fear competition will be hindered with three equal sized competitors. I fear competition could be worse with 2 strong competitors and two weak ones fighting over scraps. I'm coming around to the thought a little more. I have much more confidence in SoftBank than the old Sprint to pull this off. I have been with AT&T for 3 months, and I can tell you this grass is not greener over here. They just mow their lawn slightly more often. They also have sites that only run 100kbps at times. They just have less of them. But the worst part of it is I have a 4G icon lit when I see it!!! Robert

I have a hard time seeing SoftBank keeping Legere on board post merger. I don't see them as compatible. It's not like Tmo is Legere's baby that he has nurtured for many years. Legere will be happy to accept big piles of money and move on after the buyout. I don't see him insisting to be a part of the new company in order to get this purchase worked out. Robert

In Europe, there are not 4 carriers that span the whole EU. Each country typically has one national carriers, one or two large European carriers and perhaps a small local carrier. We count the locals when we tout European open markets, but when we talk about in the U.S., we only discuss the big national ones. We need to be fair and include the USCC's, Cincy Bells, CSpires et all in our conversations. Most European countries do not have 4 large continent wide carriers in each country. They just don't. There are much smaller carriers in that mix. And we need to do more more the smaller carriers in this country...like access to LTE roaming from their competitors at reasonable rates and guaranteed availability to the device ecosystem. Three national carriers and an even playing field for the locals would ensure a very vibrant US carrier competition. I could see even spectrum divestiture to smaller local wireless companies as part of this approval. I'm still not for this. But I think it could be done responsibly. And if it can be done so responsibly, there is no reason for the government to block it. The government does not to exist to impose its will upon companies. It exists to make sure the best solution can be had for the public good. And there is a route to do that here, if SoftBank and Tmo can agree on all the terms that would likely get handed down to make this work. Robert

Here are my initial network related thoughts from the Staff thread: AND WOULDN'T IT BE IRONIC if it was Sprint who brought the backhaul and LTE to all those damn Tmo EDGE sites that Legere likes to pretend do not exist??? Also, I do not buy into the fear about this hindering Network Vision. Network Vision is already fully paid for and contracted out. It will continue regardless of a Tmo merger, or not. This is SoftBank's world now, and the way the old Sprint has done things are now a thing of the past. Robert

This is absurd. And not a view point shared by many around here. You need to stop with the SIM's. Really. Almost makes me think you're an astroturfer. Robert

They do provide SIM's. And for free. Why is it you keep babbling about this? You seem to be the only person who is currently having this problem. Let me clarify this for you... SPRINT PROVIDES SIM CARDS FOR FREE IN REMOVABLE SIM DEVICES. And if you want to discuss this further, find another thread. It is off topic here. Robert

Samsung has already released a few Triband devices. They will continue to release them on their schedule without any bearing on LG's update. If the rumors that the S4 Triband is going to hit the streets in the next week or so, then it will certinaly beat the LG Triband update. However, I think the LG G2/Nexus 5 will get the update far in advance of an S5 going on sale. Robert

What?? I do not understand what you're asking. Maybe it's not even a question? Robert

The LG G2 has not formally had the update for Band 41 yet. And there is a reason. They are still working out issues. If it was ready to work on Band 41, it would have been enabled at launch like the other non LG devices. If it has problems after LG/Sprint rollout the Triband update, then that would be cause for concern. I think at this point, we all are expecting issues when we try to use the G2/N5 on any LTE band other than 25. Robert via Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

I did not have any issues activating my wife's 32GB Nexus 5 about 3 weeks ago. Sprint put all the 32GB MEID's in their system within a few days of release. Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

salted balls Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

Site acceptance reports from Tuesday (12/10), Wednesday (12/11): Alabama - 3 updates (2 LTE) Albuquerque - 5 updates (3G) Arkansas - 3 updates (3G) Atlanta/Athens - 6 updates (3G) Austin - 1 update (3G) Baltimore - 5 updates (1 LTE) Boston - 2 updates (1 LTE) Central Iowa - 1 update (3G) Charlotte - 8 updates (7 LTE) Cincinnati - 3 updates (LTE) Cleveland - 2 updates (LTE) Colorado - 10 updates (2 LTE) Columbus - 4 updates (LTE) Delaware - 3 updates (3G) DFW - 6 updates (2 LTE) East Michigan - 15 updates (3G) East Texas - 3 updates (LTE) Ft. Wayne/South Bend - 2 updates (LTE) GA/SC Coast - 2 updates (1 LTE) Georgia - 4 updates (3 LTE) Gulf Coast - 4 updates (1 LTE) Houston - 57 updates (55 CDMA 800) Jacksonville - 7 updates (2 LTE, 2 CDMA 800) Kansas - 7 updates (3G) LA Metro - 8 updates (4 LTE) Las Vegas - 10 updates (7 LTE) Long Island - 1 update (LTE) Louisiana - 1 update (3G) Lower Central Valley - 1 update (LTE) Memphis - 2 updates (3G) Miami/West Palm - 4 updates (3 LTE) Milwaukee - 28 updates (9 LTE) Minnesota - 7 updates (3G) Missouri - 5 updates (1 LTE) Myrtle Beach - 5 updates (LTE) Nashville - 1 update (LTE) New York City - 3 updates (2 LTE) Northern Connecticut - 2 updates (LTE) Northern Jersey - 5 updates (1 LTE) North LA - 1 update (3G) North Wisconsin - 3 updates (LTE) Oklahoma - 3 updates (1 LTE) Orange County - 3 updates (3G) Orlando - 3 updates (1 LTE) Philadelphia Metro - 4 updates (1 LTE) Phoenix - 7 updates (4 LTE) Providence - 1 update (3G) Richmond - 12 updates (3G) Riverside/San Bernardino - 4 updates (3 LTE) San Antonio - 1 update (LTE) San Diego - 12 updates (7 LTE) South Bay - 1 update (LTE) South Carolina - 1 update (3G) Southern Connecticut - 5 updates (2 LTE) Southern Jersey - 12 updates (9 LTE) South Texas - 2 updates (1 LTE) Southwest Florida - 1 update (LTE) Tampa - 1 update (LTE) The Panhandle - 1 update (3G) Tucson/Yuma - 5 updates (3 LTE) Upper Central Valley - 1 update (3G) Upstate NY Central - 4 updates (2 LTE) Utah - 14 updates (3G) VT/NH/ME - 7 updates (6 LTE) Washington DC - 3 updates (2 LTE) West Iowa/Nebraska - 16 updates (3G) West Kentucky - 11 updates (6 LTE) West Texas - 3 updates (3G) West Washington - 27 updates (5 LTE) Maps are updated. Robert Links: Comments regarding this thread, NV Sites Complete Map

Great info! I may be in Canada next summer. Glad to know this. Thanks! Robert

I also went straight from 4.4 to 4.4.2 two days ago. Never got to enjoy the short stop along the way. Some other thoughts: I have not had any adverse effects of using ART, battery life is improved. Not like 50% improved, but I would venture a guess around 15%-20%. Speaker volume performance seems to have improved with this update. And...I love my Spigen Neo-Hybrid case on my N5. Best case ever! On AT&T, there is no difference in RF performance on WCDMA on 4.4.2. I hope it improves on LTE, as on Band 12, the N5 was not as good. Seemed about the same as a really good Band 25 signal on Sprint. Currently, the closest live AT&T LTE is 50 miles. Will try it out in a few weeks in the same locations. Robert

Unfortunately, people don't want just a 1 Mbps connection. They think they want faster and faster. The demand is there. It's not as if Sprint is not working on Network Vision to just work on Spark/Band 41. They have to be able to do it all. Work on the present, and plan for the future. It's not as if planning for Band 41 deployments in the future is stopping backhaul to a site in Pierce County, Washington now. C'mon, get real. Robert

I have updated the NV Running List to include these December launches: http://s4gru.com/index.php?/topic/212-network-visionlte-deployment-running-list/ Robert

Site acceptance reports from Saturday (12/7), Sunday (12/8), Monday (12/9): Alabama - 1 update (LTE) Albuquerque - 4 updates (1 LTE) Arkansas - 3 updates (3G) Atlanta/Athens - 34 updates (CDMA 800) Buffalo - 8 updates (7 LTE) Boston - 6 updates (3 LTE) Central Illinois - 6 updates (5 LTE) Central Jersey - 2 updates (3G) Central Pennsylvania - 2 updates (3G) Chicago - 1 update (LTE) Cincinnati - 17 updates (2 LTE, 15 CDMA 800) Colorado - 34 updates (CDMA 800) Columbus - 7 updates (LTE) East Iowa - 4 updates (CDMA 800) East Kentucky - 1 updates (3G) East Michigan - 14 updates (3G) GA/SC Coast - 2 updates (3G) Georgia - 1 update (LTE) Gulf Coast - 1 update (LTE) Houston - 1 updates (3G) Jacksonville - 3 updates (2 LTE) Kansas - 6 updates (3G) LA Metro - 1 updates (3G) Las Vegas - 6 updates (1 LTE) Louisiana - 1 update (LTE) Lower Central Valley - 1 updates (3G) Miami/West Palm - 4 updates (LTE) Milwaukee - 17 updates (1 LTE, 16 CDMA 800) Minnesota - 41 updates (CDMA 800) Missouri - 8 updates (3 LTE) Nashville - 5 updates (LTE) New Orleans - 1 update (LTE) New York City - 4 updates (2 LTE) Northern Connecticut - 2 updates (1 LTE) Northern Jersey - 7 updates (2 LTE) North LA - 2 updates (3G) Orange County - 4 updates (3G) Oregon/SW Washington - 1 update (CDMA 800) Orlando - 7 updates (1 LTE, 3 CDMA 800) Philadelphia Metro - 56 updates (53 CDMA 800) Phoenix - 8 updates (2 LTE) Pittsburgh - 35 updates (17 LTE, 18 CDMA 800) Providence - 2 updates (LTE) Raleigh Durham - 24 updates (1 LTE) Riverside/San Bernardino - 2 updates (LTE) Rochester - 4 updates (LTE) San Diego - 2 updates (3G) SF Bay - 43 updates (CDMA 800) South Bay - 5 updates (CDMA 800) Southern Connecticut - 1 updates (3G) Southern Jersey - 1 updates (3G) South Texas - 10 updates (7 LTE) Southwest Florida - 3 updates (1 LTE) Tampa - 6 updates (CDMA 800) The Panhandle - 1 update (LTE) Tucson/Yuma - 3 updates (3G) Upper Central Valley - 10 updates (CDMA 800) Upstate NY Central - 1 updates (3G) Utah - 55 updates (8 LTE, 47 CDMA 800) West Iowa/Nebraska - 13 updates (3G) West Kentucky - 13 updates (9 LTE) West Michigan - 3 updates (LTE) West Texas - 3 updates (3G) West Virginia - 4 updates (LTE) West Washington - 39 updates (3 LTE) Winston/Salem - 21 updates (4 LTE) Maps are updated. Robert Links: Comments regarding this thread, NV Sites Complete Map