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S4GRU

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Blog Entries posted by S4GRU

  1. S4GRU
    by Ian Littman
    Sprint 4G Rollout Updates
    Friday, September 14, 2012 - 9:35 AM MDT
     
    In the past, Apple’s iPhone wasn’t quite the ideal Sprint phone from a network perspective; it lacked 4G of any sort and didn’t include support for Sprint’s nascent SMR-800 1x CDMA network (in place of Nextel iDEN). The situation could be worse (for example, CricKet iPhones can’t get native service in many of the company’s newer, AWS-only markets), but as a flagship phone it was odd to see the iPhone lacking one core piece of Network Vision support that every other Sprint phone released in the past year has had.
    That issue has now been solved...sort of. I’m Ian Littman, standing in for AJ (aka WiWavelength) with an analysis of the non-AT&T edition (A1429) of the iPhone. I’ll focus on the pieces that Sprint subscribers will use, as the phone supports a cornucopia of bands and technologies (quad-band GSM/EDGE, quad-band HSPA+ including dual-carrier, EvDO Rev. B with up to 3 carriers in the cellular band) in addition to CDMA 1x, EvDO and LTE (in 2100MHz and 1800MHz, which Sprint won’t use).
    So, without further ado, the rundown:
     
    On the surface it looks like the iPhone is a very capable device; it can realistically hit 100 Mbps on LTE, using both its antennas to receive (but not send) the signal on a 20MHz channel (which a number of Sprint phones don’t support, my Galaxy SIII included). It supports a ton of bands (my bet is that even the “GSM version” of the A1429 has CDMA built in, but it is not certified/disabled in non-CDMA countries) and technologies. However the good news ends there.
    For example, several Sprint phones now have SVDO and/or SVLTE support; you can make a call on 1x while maintaining a data connection. The Sprint/Verizon versions of the iPhone, to our knowledge, can’t do that. The best it can do is VoIP over LTE or EvDO...garden-variety VoIP, not the more robust VoLTE variety. Being able to transmit LTE on only one antenna isn’t terribly surprising...most current phones are 1x2 MISO (Multiple In Single Out), however Apple’s attention is obviously directed at carriers with HSPA networks when it comes to delivering a high-quality wireless experience. Another example of this is Apple’s HD Voice ability; Sprint will be the first US carrier to support the technology, but not on the iPhone, which can only use HD Voice over WCDMA.
    Apple’s ability to pack a ton of bands into a single, super-slim phone is definitely a technological marvel, particularly in conjunction with a wide-channel LTE network (since the iPhone’s WiFi is SISO, it may be able to pull down data more quickly on LTE than on 802.11n, given ideal conditions on both). However a tailor-made Sprint phone it most definitely is not, though the inclusion of SMR CDMA softens the blow a bit.
    As an aside, the AT&T edition of the iPhone supports LTE in the PCS (without G), AWS and Cellular bands, in addition to AT&T’s current 700MHz lower-B/lower-C network (band classes 2, 4, 5 and 7, respectively). So the AT&T edition of the phone is actually a better fit for providers like CricKet, MetroPCS and US Cellular...if not for the glaring omission of those carriers’ 3G network technologies (and VoLTE).
     
  2. S4GRU
    by Robert Herron
    Sprint 4G Rollout Updates
    Tuesday, June 26, 2012 - 2:40 PM MDT
     
    The next market in our Network Vision/LTE deployment schedule update series is the Bold New City of the South...Jacksonville. Jacksonville and Florida's First Coast has yet to be announced by Sprint, but is expected to be announced in the near future. Perhaps around the time of the first market launches.
     
    The Sprint Jacksonville market encompasses all of the Sprint native coverage in Northeastern Florida and extends down to even parts of the west coast of Central Florida. This includes the Jacksonville Metro area and the Beaches, Orange Park, St. Augustine, Palatka, Gainesville, Ocala, Wildwood and down over toward Crystal River and Homosassa Springs. Sprint's Network Vision OEM Ericsson is scheduled to begin mobilizing with its subcontractors next month. Completed Network Vision sites should start coming online in August.
     
    Jacksonville Market Launch
     
    It was Sprint's original plan to launch markets when they reached 50% of sites converted to Network Vision. However, it has now been determined that Sprint will move up launches sooner than 50% completion in several markets. This is likely to maintain a Mid 2012 launch in markets that have already been announced. However, in an unannounced market like Jacksonville, we don't know if they will resume pushing back market launches to 50%, or if they will now settle on a 40% completion to be the new normal for market launches.
     
    If Sprint waits for 50% completion to launch the Jacksonville market, it would make the launch month to be November (should the OEM stay on schedule). If they plan on a 40% market completion for launch, that would be October. You may think that 40% - 50% site completion is not enough to launch LTE service, but it would provide pretty good coverage. Even Verizon doesn't launch on all sites in a market initially. Usually less than 50%, then filling in with more and more sites every few months.
     




    Anticipated Sites Complete at Market Launch. According to the Network Vision schedules



    that S4GRU has reviewed, if Sprint launched the market in October, these are the anticipated



    sites that would likely have LTE complete at that time. This would provide fairly good LTE



    coverage over many parts of the market.


     
    Schedule details and the bottom line
     
    We currently do not have a date that Sprint will formally "launch" LTE service in Northeast Florida. It is difficult to try to pick a date now this far out, but we will take a stab at it. In looking at the schedule as of today, it would indicate an November or December market launch (going on a 40% - 50% completion for launch). But there is no way to know if Ericsson and their subcontractors will actually hit their schedule dates this early in the deployment for this market. We will be able to gauge better after a few months of production.
     
    Ericsson will only need to hit a production rate of 40 sites per month to stay on schedule. This appears to us to be an achievable rate. If properly prepared and equipped and if backhaul is ready timely, this market shouldn't have problems staying on time. But this is easy to say before they get started.
     
    S4GRU has examined the schedule in great detail in this market and sees that most of the sites will be complete by March 2013. However, there may be a few sporadic sites that will linger past the completion.
     




    Photo of Jacksonville skyline provided courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.


     

    NOTE: S4GRU Sponsor Members can track regular updates of
    Network Vision sites completed nationwide. Completed sites are shown in an interactive Google Maps interface. Information about sponsorship can be found here: S4GRU Sponsorship

  3. S4GRU
    by Robert Herron
    Sprint 4G Rollout Updates
    Tuesday, November 18, 2011
     
    I received lots of messages and e-mails today showing a parody that Jay Leno featured last night on the Tonight Show where he took some good digs at the Sprint iPhone. It's pretty funny. You can fast forward to 3:10 seconds if you don't want to watch the whole skit.
    Click on image to follow the link to the video...
     
  5. S4GRU
    by Robert Herron
    Sprint 4G Rollout Updates
    Thursday, June 14, 2012 - 12:59 PM MDT
     
    S4GRU keeps rolling on with our Network Vision/LTE deployment schedule update series. Now we want to tell you what we know about the Kansas market, which makes up the KC Metro Area, Western Missouri and the State of Kansas. Back in February, Sprint CEO Dan Hesse told us all how the Kansas market will be launched with Network Vision and LTE in Mid-2012.
     
    Sprint's Network Vision OEM Ericsson has been steadily deploying around the Kansas market. As of this week, there are approximately 30 Network Vision sites broadcasting a LTE signal. These sites are all around the Kansas City area and extending out to St. Joseph and Sedalia, Missouri.
     

    Network Vision Sites in the Kansas market. Thirty sites are complete in the market. All of these broadcasting Sprint LTE, but being blocked from accessibility by Sprint.


     
    30 Live LTE Sites, but still being blocked by Sprint
     
    Despite the good news of these live LTE sites, Sprint is still actively blocking LTE connections. They originally planned to allow sites converted to Network Vision standards to go live immediately upon completion by the OEM Contractor. This is still the case with 3G EVDO and even CDMA 800 sites when they are completed. In Sprint's original Network Vision plans, they were also planning to allow 4G LTE signals to be handled the same way. Turn them on and allow them to be discovered prior to the formal market launch at 50% site completion.
     
    Market Launch and Remaining Schedule
     
    In recently seen correspondence, Sprint has decided to move up launches sooner than 50% completion. This is likely to maintain a Mid 2012 launch in markets that have already been announced...like Kansas City. If they waited for 50% now, it would delay launch until September. In the case of the KC market, should Sprint launch by Mid July, they would only be complete with approximately 25% to 30% of all NV sites. This doesn't sound like a lot, but it would provide pretty good coverage. A little known item is not even Verizon launches on all sites in a market initially. Usually less than 50%, then filling in with more and more sites every few months.
     




    Anticipated Sites Complete at Market Launch. According to the Network Vision schedules that S4GRU has reviewed, if Sprint launched the market in Mid July, these are the anticipated sites that would have LTE complete at that time. This would provide fairly good LTE coverage over many parts of the market.


     
    At market launch, some areas will be well covered with LTE, and others may be kind of spotty. However, more sites will come online every week until the whole market is complete. And even with one or two bars of LTE signal on your device, you will still get speeds that are double to triple that of well performing 3G EVDO in most instances.
     
    And speaking of 3G EVDO, Sprint is not reporting any of these live Network Vision sites are currently broadcasting EVDO, only LTE. According to the NV schedule, these should have started coming online in May. However, none have shown up as NV 3G active to date. We know the new backhaul is in place at these sites since they are broadcasting LTE. That most likely means that the Switch Center is not ready for these sites. A huge backlog of 3G sites will probably come online in this market suddenly when the network is ready.
     
    The bottom line...
     
    We currently do not have a date that Sprint will formally "launch" the Kansas market. We believe they are targeting a launch month of July based on reports internally within Sprint. However, we hope that they will actually remove LTE blocking before the launch, since there are quite a few active LTE sites that can be used now in this market.
     
    Sprint's Network Vision schedule for this market currently has 30 Network Vision sites complete. Ericsson is plotting continual progress from here with production ramping up to a rate of almost 60 sites per month. S4GRU has poured over the schedule in this market and sees a December 2012 completion date. In our estimation of the schedule, it appears that Ericsson is behind in the market. But with the rate the schedule is supposed to pick up in June, Ericsson can certainly finish on time.
     
    We don't know how much longer Sprint LTE device holders will be denied access to active sites. However, we hope that Sprint lifts the connection ban for you soon.
     




    Photo of Kansas City provided courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.


     

    NOTE: S4GRU Sponsor Members can track regular updates of
    Network Vision sites completed nationwide. Completed sites are shown in an interactive Google Maps interface. Information about sponsorship can be found here: S4GRU Sponsorship

  6. S4GRU
    by Robert Herron
    Sprint 4G Rollout Updates
    Tuesday, January 31, 2012 - 10:13 PM MST
     
    LightSquared has now been in the tech news headlines for two days in a row. Yesterday, it was announced that the FCC is opening up a public comment period for the LightSquared Terrestrial LTE network and today it was announced that Sprint extended LightSquared’s deadline by another 45 days. Both are seen as good news for the beleaguered would-be 4G LTE network wholesaler.
     
    Dan Hesse has ordered a 45 day stay of execution for LightSquared Agreement
    Sprint’s original deadline with LightSquared was for them to get FCC approval to run a terrestrial LTE network that runs on satellite L band frequencies no later than December 31, 2011. However, when LightSquared could not meet the deadline, Sprint agreed to extend the deadline to January 31, 2012.
    As the clock on the previous extension neared expiration today, Sprint has now announced another 45-day extension for LightSquared to get FCC approval. The new deadline is March 15, 2012. Although, there is not much harm in Sprint extending the deadlines for LightSquared. Sprint previously announced that they put the LightSquared LTE integration into Network Vision on hold. Sprint’s Network Vision and their own LTE deployment is proceeding without LightSquared at this point.
    Since Sprint would have to restart a LightSquared integration program in the future should the FCC finally give approval, it doesn’t really much matter whether the FCC approves on March 14th, April 22nd or May 31st. It, of course, would matter a lot to LightSquared when the approval comes, though. LightSquared is steadily bleeding its remaining funds and is in a difficult position that it will likely not be able to raise new funding until the FCC grants the approval it desperately seeks.
     
    Why wouldn’t Sprint extend it, again?
    The only reason why Sprint would not offer further extensions to LightSquared is because they either have a new partner to host with (possibly Dish Network?), or they think they can renegotiate an even better deal in the future should LightSquared finally get FCC approval and raise the appropriate funding. This is a risky proposition though, because LightSquared may start to negotiate with a new partner and leave Sprint out in the cold.
    LightSquared is a potential cash cow for Sprint, and a place for additional LTE network capacity. And now given that LightSquared will now need to be integrated after Network Vision is half or nearly completely deployed, why not keep extending LightSquared indefinitely? Sprint stands to make a lot of money hosting LightSquared’s network. If the FCC ever comes around, just wipe the dust off the plans and get down to business. That is, should LightSquared ever survive long enough to get FCC approval.
     
    FCC Opens up Public Comment Period on LightSquared Terrestrial LTE Network
    In one of the few pieces of good news that LightSquared has received in the past few months, the FCC has moved forward with a Public Comment period. The public comment period will be open until February 27th, with follow up responses due by March 13th.
    The public comments are not likely to produce any positive points for LightSquared directly. However, it will run the clock out farther and gives LightSquared more time and opportunity to work to solve the problems and persuade more folks about their proposed solutions.
    LightSquared continues to battle the GPS industry and connected politicians for its survival on all fronts. If it can get the approvals and negate the GPS interference concerns, LightSquared’s wholesale LTE network is seen as a very critical piece in keeping mobile broadband competitive for consumers. A LightSquared LTE network allows smaller national and regional carriers the ability to have a nationwide LTE network for their customers to roam on. Giving these smaller wireless carriers a better opportunity to compete with the Big Two.
  7. S4GRU
    by Robert Herron
    Sprint 4G Rollout Updates
    Tuesday, January 17, 2012 - 4:09 PM MST
     
    Embattled LTE wholesale upstart LightSquared has written a letter to Assistant Secretary Lawrence Strickling of the National Telecommunications & Information Administration (NTIA) and filed with the FCC blasting how Phase 1 testing was conducted on destructive interference trials between their terrestrial LTE network and high precision GPS systems.
    In the letter, LightSquared starts in the first paragraph, with guns a-blazing, “As you know, from the outset, LightSquared found serious anomalies in NPEF’s test process.” Further claiming that testing was not carried out in a scientifically accurate, fair and unbiased manner.
    LightSquared Executive Vice President Jeffrey Carlisle complained further in the letter that “We now know that many of the worst performing devices in the test were manufactured years ago, in some cases over a decade; in some cases are testing modules that are not sold to the general public; and in others are niche devices that would rarely, if ever, come close enough to a LightSquared base station to suffer any kind of impact.”
    LightSquared requested that any future testing needs to be conducted with:
    Only using the Lower 10MHz channel that LS2 is requesting use of, and Testing needs to be at power levels not exceeding -30dBm In its conclusions, LightSquared said that they hired their own independent testing laboratory. In the letter they claimed, “These test results demonstrate conclusively that LightSquared’s proposed mitigation solution works flawlessly for high precision (GPS) devices.” The test results will be sent to the FCC in the near future (and hopefully made public).
     
    And this matters to Sprint, because…
    LightSquared (LS2) has a LTE spectrum hosting agreement with Sprint. Where LightSquared’s LTE network will be deployed on Network Vision towers. LightSquared would pay Sprint billions for Sprint deploying and hosting LS2’s LTE network. Also under the deal, Sprint can use up to 50% of LightSquared 4G LTE capacity as a wholesale customer. Sprint has said they would only use LS2’s LTE network as additional capacity where needed and rely primarily on its own LTE network.
    Sprint said last week that they have suspended any work associated with LightSquared until they can get the appropriate federal regulatory approvals. Sprint is not in the position to delay Network Vision deployment for even days at this point. Network Vision, full speed ahead. LightSquared be damned!
    Things are not looking good for LightSquared. Even if science and technology are on their side. But politics are just not working to their favor at the moment. Can the underdog prevail? Stay tuned.
    Sprint has currently extended LightSquared’s deadline to get federal approval until the end of January. Which is virtually impossible. We will have to see if Sprint provides another extension.
     
    Thanks to @StevenJCrowley for Tweeting the letter.
     
    Source: http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=7021753533
  8. S4GRU
    by Robert Herron
    Sprint 4G Rollout Updates
    Wednesday, July 11, 2012 - 7:03 AM MDT
     
    The next market in our Network Vision/LTE deployment schedule update series is...Long Island. Which I like to pronounce Lawn Guy-land. But I digress...the Long Island market has yet to be announced by Sprint, and may not be announced until as late as this Fall.
     
    The Sprint Long Island market encompasses Nassau and Suffolk counties. This includes the cities of Hempstead, Levittown, Garden City, West Babylon, Freeport, Hicksville, Valley Stream, Islip, Long Beach, Huntington Station, Massapequa, Happaugue, the Hamptons and Montauk. Sprint's Network Vision OEM Alcatel/Lucent is scheduled to begin mobilizing their subcontractors around the market in November. The first completed Network Vision sites are scheduled to start coming online in December.
     




    Anticipated Sites Complete at Market Launch. According to the Network Vision schedules that S4GRU has reviewed, if Sprint launched the market in May, these are the anticipated sites that would likely have LTE complete at that time. This would provide fairly good LTE coverage over many parts of the market.


     
    Schedule details and the bottom line
     
    Sprint has not yet selected a date to formally "launch" LTE service in Long Island. It is difficult to try to pick a date now this far out, but we will try. In looking at the schedule as of today, it would indicate a May market launch (going on a 40% - 50% completion for launch). But there is no way to know if AlcaLu and their subcontractors will actually hit their schedule dates this early in the deployment for this market. We will be able to gauge better after a few months of production.
     
    Alcatel/Lucent needs to hit a production rate of only 25 sites per month to stay on schedule. This is a pretty low amount compared to many markets. There is no reason why they should not be able to complete the market on time, and there is a good chance that they may even be able to get ahead of schedule.
     
    S4GRU has examined the schedule in great detail in this market and sees that most of the sites will be complete by September 2013. However, there may be a few sporadic sites that will linger past the completion.





    Photo of Long Island provided courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.


     

    NOTE: S4GRU Sponsor Members can track regular updates of
    Network Vision sites completed nationwide. Completed sites are shown in an interactive Google Maps interface. Information about sponsorship can be found here: S4GRU Sponsorship

  9. S4GRU
    by Robert Herron
    Sprint 4G Rollout Updates
    Thursday, November 10, 2011
     
    If you are here reading this, you now are experiencing Beta Version 1.0 of the S4GRU Community.
    It's designed to be a full community, including unique sign-in and forums. THIS IS ONLY A BETA. In the beginning, I am only looking for serious testers. Everyone is open to peruse the site. However, I only want people who regularly participate to register for membership.
    The first trial is limited to just 50 members. If it works out, I will add more. The more I add, the more it costs me. And I'm willing to front the cost if the Betas are successful.
    The possibilities are very exciting, including live chat. We will not be opening that up on day one, but maybe in the future we will open up chats once a month or once a week, etc.   We will start with one category of registration in the beginning, “Member.” Members will be able to comment on The Wall, start forum threads and comment on forum threads. If the Beta is successful, we will add Premium Members, which will be able to post on the Wall and start chats. Then if the S4GRU community really starts to take off, we will add Moderators and Contributors.   Again, I just want to ask only those who are serious about participating to join in the beginning. Feel free to check things out and visit the pages, but in the beginning we are limited to only 50 members. So I’m looking for the very serious and hardcore. I wanna see if there is any potential in this.   The sky is the limit, and it’s all up to you. I have really enjoyed interacting with all of you on Social Media. It’s because of you that I do all of this. It’s very exciting, and I hope that this is something that will be useful and fun. Hope to see you soon at the S4GRU Community!
  10. S4GRU
    by Robert Herron
    Sprint 4G Rollout Updates
    Thursday, May 17, 2012 - 12:06 PM MDT
     
    It appears Sprint is moving forward with a revised launch date of the EVO LTE on Wednesday, May 23rd. Our source yesterday said that Sprint was working toward the 23rd. The blog Inside Sprint Now is reporting that the 23rd appears to be a go.
    In an e-mail to one of our Sprint sources for more information, he did confirm that May 23rd is being said internally, but he has no details about the specifics of the authorizations from Customs or the supply chain. We will release more details with updated information about the EVO LTE deliveries as we know more. However, S4GRU Members who purchased from Best Buy are starting to get updates about a May 23rd delivery. Fingers crossed...
     
    Source: Inside Sprint Now, Sprint Internal Source
     
    UPDATE 12:30 PM MDT: Inside Sprint Now is reporting that they are working on shipping pre-orders earlier to arrive prior to the revised launch date of May 23rd. Our source was unable to confirm that at the time of this update.
  11. S4GRU
    by Robert Herron
    Sprint 4G Rollout Updates
    Tuesday, May 15, 2012 - 11:12 AM MDT
     
    I just received information from a very reliable internal Sprint source that there is a delay occurring with the shipments of the EVO LTE pre-orders. According to the source, the delay is being caused by HTC and may impact shipments going out as late as May 25th. This may be the cause of the EVO LTE pre-order statuses being changed yesterday for many customers to "back-ordered."
    What is not clear yet at this time, if this affects all the pre-orders, or some of the pre-orders. It may be related to the quantities that Sprint will receive from HTC and when. We will bring you more information as we learn it.
     
    UPDATE 11:40 AM MDT: The source believes this will delay the launch to be as late as May 25th. Therefore, it affects stores and third parties as well. Will update with more info as we learn it.
     
    UPDATE 6:41 PM: The source of the delay is customs due to alleged infringements of Apple patents. S4GRU article here: http://s4gru.com/ind...firmed-delayed/
  12. S4GRU
    by Robert Herron
    Sprint 4G Rollout Updates
    Wednesday, June 20, 2012 - 12:00 PM MDT
     
    The next market in our Network Vision/LTE deployment schedule update series is...the City of Angels. Los Angeles, a.k.a. "L.A." The LA Metro market has not been announced by Sprint, but appears to be on the way for a September launch.
     
    The Sprint LA Metro market covers all of Los Angeles County. Adjacent counties are in different Sprint markets. Sprint's Network Vision OEM Alcatel/Lucent has been actively deploying in Los Angeles since March and is making good progress. As of this week, there are approximately 65 Network Vision sites that have completed upgrades. These sites are located throughout the market. Mostly in the SF Valley, Los Angeles Basin and the I-110 Harbor Freeway Corridor.
     

    Network Vision Sites in the LA Metro market. Approximately 65 Network Vision sites are complete in the market.


     
    Market Launch and Remaining Schedule
     
    It was Sprint's original plan to launch markets when they reached 50% of sites converted to Network Vision. However, it has now been determined that Sprint will move up launches sooner than 50% completion in several markets. This is likely to maintain a Mid 2012 launch in markets that have already been announced. However, in an unannounced market like LA, we don't know if they will resume pushing back market launches to 50%, or if they will now settle on a 30% - 40% completion to be the new normal for market launches.
     
    If Sprint waits for 50% completion to launch the LA Metro market, it would make the launch month to be October (should AlcaLu stay on schedule). That being said, if Sprint should launch in September (as we suspect), then the market would be less than 50% complete. This doesn't sound like enough, but it would provide pretty good coverage. Even Verizon doesn't launch on all sites in a market initially. Usually less than 50%, then filling in with more and more sites every few months.
     




    Anticipated Sites Complete at Market Launch. According to the Network Vision schedules that S4GRU has reviewed, if Sprint launched the market in September, these are the anticipated sites that would likely have LTE complete at that time. This would provide fairly good LTE coverage over many parts of the market.


     
    Sprint is not reporting any of these live Network Vision sites in the LA market as currently broadcasting 4G LTE, only 3G EVDO. According to the NV schedule, these should have started coming online in May with LTE. However, none have shown up as LTE active to date. This most likely means that either the backhaul is not quite ready to service 4G LTE, or the 4G cores that these sites are tied to are not quite ready for LTE traffic. A backlog of LTE sites will probably come online in this market suddenly when the network is ready.
     
    The bottom line...
     
    We currently do not have a date that Sprint will formally "launch" the LA Metro market. We believe they are targeting a launch month of September based on reports internally within Sprint. They will likely announce a launch date for this market, and a few others like Austin, Boston, Chicago and Washington DC around the time of the first market launches.
     
    Sprint's schedule for this market currently has 65 Network Vision sites complete. Alcatel/Lucent is continuing to progress and is planning to increase the production rate up to 110 sites per month from here forward. This seems like a very difficult rate of completion to achieve.
     
    S4GRU has examined the schedule in great detail in this market and sees that most of the sites will be complete by February 2013. However, there are several sites that will linger past the completion. In our estimation of the schedule, AlcaLu is currently pretty much on time, but may have issues meeting this rate identified in Sprint's schedule.
     




    Photo of Downtown Los Angeles provided courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.


     

    NOTE: S4GRU Sponsor Members can track regular updates of
    Network Vision sites completed nationwide. Completed sites are shown in an interactive Google Maps interface. Information about sponsorship can be found here: S4GRU Sponsorship

  13. S4GRU
    by Robert Herron
    Sprint 4G Rollout Updates
    Tuesday, August 7, 2012 - 9:39 AM MDT
     
    S4GRU has recently been apprised of some additional Network Vision information. As you may recall, when Sprint originally announced Network Vision details and explained their change to LTE for its 4G technology, Sprint also said that planning/design/permitting is under way at the first 22,000 sites. S4GRU was able to obtain the information about these first 22,000 sites last Spring and we have received several updates since. Now we have planning information on the first 24,000 sites.
     
    In perusing the last update we received, we noticed a new market that we have not discussed before. That is West Kentucky. So now it appears that Louisville and the West Kentucky market are making a play for an earlier start.
     

    Louisville/West Kentucky. There are over 360 sites in the West Kentucky
    Sprint market.
    West Kentucky 
    The West Kentucky market is included in Sprint's initial 24,000 sites planning. However, in a cross check with the NV schedule, this market has all its dates as "TBD." It's quite possible since all the planning and permitting for this market will be done in advance, it may actually be moved up to the end of the second round.
     
    I would interpret that TBD means that they are finalizing the Network Vision schedule for this market. We cannot say with any certainty at this time. This should be seen as good news though for the folks living in the West Kentucky market.
     
    We do not have any more details than this to report at this time. S4GRU will keep pushing for all the latest information for you on Sprint's Network Vision and LTE Depolyment. Stay tuned to S4GRU.com for breaking Network Vision news.
     


    Photo of Downtown Louisville courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.


  14. S4GRU
    by Robert Herron
    Sprint 4G Rollout Updates
    Wednesday, March 28, 2012 - 11:10 AM MDT
     
    Mark Hearn, the founder, editor and daily operator of SprintFeed.com is closing shop and heading on to new opportunities as an Editor at TechnoBuffalo. We will be sad to see him go from the daily news makings at Sprint. I personally visited SprintFeed.com several times per day.
    I have enjoyed my interactions with Mark talking about Sprint and about personal issues. We even share a similar faith.
     
    Mark: Thank you for your contributions to the online community and for Sprint fans. We wish you the best of luck with your new endeavors at TechnoBuffalo. We look forward to seeing you in your new role and we rejoice with you at this wonderful opportunity!
    Robert
    and the S4GRU Team!  
    I would encourage everyone to stop by and thank Mark for his service!
     
    Source: http://www.sprintfee...come-to-an-end/
  15. S4GRU
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    by Robert Herron
    Sprint 4G Rollout Updates
    Monday, February 27, 2012 - 11:49 AM MST
     
    Sprint has issued a Press Release that Señor Hesse will be speaking at MWC (Mobile World Congress) in Barcelona, España this week. You think he is going to break with some exciting Network Vision news? Or will it only be things we have already covered at S4GRU.com?
     
    Either way, MWC is largely a GSM event, so for Dan Hesse to show up and speak is kind of a big deal. He's a cookin' a sumthin' up!
     
    .
    .
    Press Release:
     
     
     
    Sprint CEO Dan Hesse to Speak March 1 at GSMA Mobile World Congress 2012 in BarcelonaHesse to discuss Sprint’s approach to innovation and importance of customer experience in his first MWC keynote
     

    OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (BUSINESS WIRE), February 27, 2012 - Sprint (NYSE:S) CEO Dan Hesse will deliver a keynote address at GSMA Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2012 in Barcelona, Spain, marking the first time a Sprint CEO will address the wireless conference. Hesse will deliver remarks on March 1 at 9:30 a.m. CET in a session titled “Driving the Mobile Technology Revolution.”  

    Recognized as the world's premiere wireless conference, MWC 2012 will convene an international group of wireless industry leaders, along with leading media and analysts, to examine the opportunities and challenges that will redefine the wireless future. More than 60,000 people from 200 countries are expected to attend this year’s conference.  

    "We are very pleased to have Dan Hesse joining us for the first time at Mobile World Congress 2012 in Barcelona," said Michael O’Hara, Chief Marketing Officer, GSMA. "As a new LTE carrier and one of the leading players in the U.S. wireless industry, Hesse has a unique perspective on mobile today and in the future. The unparalleled line up of keynote speakers at Mobile World Congress reflects more than ever the continued expansion of the mobile ecosystem.”  

    Joining Hesse during the keynote session on March 1 are Warren East, CEO, ARM; Kevin Johnson, CEO, Juniper Networks; and Shi Lirong, President, ZTE.  

    About Sprint Nextel  

    Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline communications services bringing the freedom of mobility to consumers, businesses and government users. Sprint Nextel served more than 55 million customers at the end of 2011 and is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including the first wireless 4G service from a national carrier in the United States; offering industry-leading mobile data services, leading prepaid brands including Virgin Mobile USA, Boost Mobile, and Assurance Wireless; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. Newsweek ranked Sprint No. 3 in its 2011 Green Rankings, listing it as one of the nation’s greenest companies, the highest of any telecommunications company. You can learn more and visit Sprint at www.sprint.com or www.facebook.com/sprint and www.twitter.com/sprint.  
     
     
    Contact(s):

     

    Sprint
    Julie DeVoe, 913-315-3216
    Julie.DeVoe@sprint.com

    Special thanks to S4GRU Member BenChase7 for tipping us off!
     
    Source: http://newsroom.spri...article_id=2192
  16. S4GRU
    by Robert Herron
    Sprint 4G Rollout Updates
    Wednesday, June 27, 2012 - 6:00 AM MDT
     
    The next market in our Network Vision/LTE deployment schedule update series is The River City...Memphis. The Memphis market has yet to be announced by Sprint, but is expected to be announced in the near future. Perhaps around the time of the first market launches.
     
    The Sprint Memphis market encompasses all of the Sprint native coverage in western Tennessee, northern Mississippi and NE Arkansas. This includes the Memphis metropolitan area, Jackson, Dyersburg, Tupelo, Mississippi's Golden Triangle (Columbus, Starkville, West Point), Greenwood and Jonesboro in Arkansas. Sprint's Network Vision OEM Ericsson is scheduled to begin mobilizing in this area with its subcontractors in early August. Completed Network Vision sites should start coming online in September.
     
    Memphis Market Launch
     
    It was Sprint's original plan to launch markets when they reached 50% of sites converted to Network Vision. However, it has now been determined that Sprint will move up launches sooner than 50% completion in several markets. This is likely to maintain a Mid 2012 launch in markets that have already been announced. However, in an unannounced market like Memphis, we don't know if they will resume pushing back market launches to 50%, or if they will now settle on a 40% completion to be the new normal for market launches.
     
    If Sprint waits for 50% completion to launch the Memphis market, it would make the launch month to be December (should the OEM stay on schedule). If they plan on a 40% market completion for launch, that would be November. You may think that 40% - 50% site completion is not enough to launch LTE service, but it would provide pretty good coverage. Even Verizon doesn't launch on all sites in a market initially. Usually less than 50%, then filling in with more and more sites every few months.
     




    Anticipated Sites Complete at Market Launch. According to the Network Vision schedules that S4GRU has reviewed, if Sprint launched the market in November, these are the anticipated sites that would likely have LTE complete at that time. This would provide fairly good LTE coverage over many parts of the market. Some sites will are scheduled to be live in Jackson, Dyersburg and Jonesboro at the time. However, Mississippi sites won't start until early 2013.


     
    Schedule details and the bottom line
     
    We currently do not have a date that Sprint will formally "launch" the Memphis market. It is difficult to try to pick a date now this far out. And we know Sprint won't want to do that. But we will take a stab at it. In looking at the schedule as of today, it would indicate a November market launch (going on a 40% - 50% completion for launch). But there is no way to know if Ericsson and their subcontractors will actually hit their schedule dates this early in the deployment for this market. We will be able to gauge better after a few months of production.
     
    Ericsson will only need to hit a production rate of 40 sites per month to stay on schedule. This should be an easy to achieve rate. If properly prepared and equipped, and if backhaul is ready timely, this market shouldn't have problems staying on time. But this is easy to say before they get started.
     
    S4GRU has examined the schedule in great detail in this market and sees that most of the sites will be complete by February 2013. However, there may be a few sporadic sites that will linger past the completion.
     




    Photo of Memphis provided courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.


     

    NOTE: S4GRU Sponsor Members can track regular updates of
    Network Vision sites completed nationwide. Completed sites are shown in an interactive Google Maps interface. Information about sponsorship can be found here: S4GRU Sponsorship

  17. S4GRU
    by Robert Herron
    Sprint 4G Rollout Updates
    Monday, June 25, 2012 - 7:15 AM MDT
     
    The next market in our Network Vision/LTE deployment schedule update series is a place where things are just starting to get hopping...Miami and South Florida. This is the first Second Round market we have written up in this article series. The Miami/West Palm market has yet to be announced by Sprint, but is expected to be announced in the near future. Perhaps around the time of the first market launches.
     
    The Sprint Miami/West Palm market covers basically all of South Florida, from West Palm Beach to Key West. Dade, Broward, Monroe and West Palm counties. Sprint's Network Vision OEM Ericsson began mobilizing in this area with its subcontractors in May and has been actively working throughout June thus far. To date, there are no completed and active Network Vision sites in the market, but there should be pretty soon.
     

    Network Vision work in Miami/West Palm market. A site receiving Network Vision overhaul in Homestead, Florida in June 2012. Photos courtesy of S4GRU Member flycuban.


     
    Market Launch and Remaining Schedule
     
    It was Sprint's original plan to launch markets when they reached 50% of sites converted to Network Vision. However, it has now been determined that Sprint will move up launches sooner than 50% completion in several markets. This is likely to maintain a Mid 2012 launch in markets that have already been announced. However, in an unannounced market like Miami, we don't know if they will resume pushing back market launches to 50%, or if they will now settle on a 40% completion to be the new normal for market launches.
     
    If Sprint waits for 50% completion to launch the Miami/West Palm market, it would make the launch month to be November (should Ericsson stay on schedule). If they plan on a 40% market completion for launch, that would be October. You may think that 40% - 50% site completion is not enough to launch LTE service, but it would provide pretty good coverage. Even Verizon doesn't launch on all sites in a market initially. Usually less than 50%, then filling in with more and more sites every few months.
     




    Anticipated Sites Complete at Market Launch. According to the Network Vision schedules that S4GRU has reviewed, if Sprint launched the market in October, these are the anticipated sites that would likely have LTE complete at that time. This would provide fairly good LTE coverage over many parts of the market.


     
    The bottom line...
     
    We currently do not have a date that Sprint will formally "launch" the Miami/West Palm market. It is really hard to call at this point, but the schedule as of today would indicate an October or November market launch (going on a 40% - 50% completion for launch). But there is no way to know if Ericsson and their subcontractors will actually hit their schedule dates this early in the deployment for this market. We will be able to gauge better after a few months of production.
     
    Ericsson will only need to hit a production rate of 65 sites per month to stay on schedule. This seems like a reasonable rate, compared with how some other Ericsson markets are going along. The Atlanta/Athens market has hit rates beyond this. And the Chicago market has been able to hit 50 sites in a week at times, but that market is being handled by Samsung and a different subcontractor base.
     
    S4GRU has examined the schedule in great detail in this market and sees that most of the sites will be complete by February 2013. However, there may be a few sporadic sites that will linger past the completion.
     




    Photo of Miami provided courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.


     

    NOTE: S4GRU Sponsor Members can track regular updates of
    Network Vision sites completed nationwide. Completed sites are shown in an interactive Google Maps interface. Information about sponsorship can be found here: S4GRU Sponsorship

  18. S4GRU
    by Robert Herron
    Sprint 4G Rollout Updates
    Tuesday, July 10, 2012 - 7:30 AM MDT
     
    The next market in our Network Vision/LTE deployment schedule update series is...Minnesota. The Minnesota market has yet to be announced by Sprint, and may not be announced until as late as this Fall.
     
    The Sprint Minnesota market encompasses most of Minnesota and Western Wisconsin. This includes the Twin Cities (Minneapolis/St. Paul and suburbs), Duluth/Superior, Rochester, St. Cloud, Mankato, Brainerd, Bemidji, Winona, Eau Claire and La Crosse. Sprint's Network Vision OEM Samsung is scheduled to begin mobilizing their subcontractors around the market in late August. The first completed Network Vision sites are scheduled to start coming online in September.
     




    Anticipated Sites Complete at Market Launch. According to the Network Vision schedules that S4GRU has reviewed, if Sprint launched the market in April, these are the anticipated sites that would likely have LTE complete at that time. This would provide fairly good LTE coverage over many parts of the market.


     
    Schedule details and the bottom line
     
    Sprint has not yet selected a date to formally "launch" LTE service in Minnesota. It is difficult to try to pick a date now this far out, but we have attempted to do that. In looking at the schedule as of today, it would indicate a April market launch (going on a 40% - 50% completion for launch). But there is no way to know if Samsung and their subcontractors will actually hit their schedule dates before deployment in this market begins. We will be able to gauge better after a few months of production is achieved.
     
    Samsung needs to hit a production rate of approximately 65 sites per month to stay on schedule. This is a big chunk to complete monthly, but is doable with the appropriate amount of resources allocated.
     
    S4GRU has examined the schedule in great detail in this market and sees that most of the sites will be complete by September 2013. However, there may be a few sporadic sites that will linger past the completion.





    Photo of Downtown Minneapolis provided courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.


     

    NOTE: S4GRU Sponsor Members can track regular updates of
    Network Vision sites completed nationwide. Completed sites are shown in an interactive Google Maps interface. Information about sponsorship can be found here: S4GRU Sponsorship

  19. S4GRU
    by Robert Herron
    Sprint 4G Rollout Updates
    Monday, February 27, 2012 - 6:01 PM MST
     
    Our beloved Sprint today announced that it is putting up for sale $2 Billion in notes to help pay its struggling partner in crime, Clearwire. Sprint also plans to refinance some other debts coming due and pay additional unnamed network upgrades with the proceeds.
     
    Sprint only recently raised $4 billion in the debt markets in early December to pay for up front Network Vision costs and to help pay some Clearwire bills, err, uhh, provide initial payments for long term WiMax and LTE usage. This move to the debt markets is critical for Sprint, as it needs billions to initiate and complete the build out of its Network Vision program ($10 Billion) and to fulfill its contract obligations with Apple to carry the iPhone ($15 Billion). These moves are seen as the most critical elements for a Sprint renewal and resurgence to profitability and sustainability.
     
    This newest run for more money is an optimistic sign that Sprint believes the market will provide them with cash they need. Sprint will sell notes due in 2017 and 2020. The sale is to be completed March 1st and includes the five-year notes at 9.13% and eight-year debt at 7%, which will be guaranteed by units in Sprint.
     
    Source: Business Week
  20. S4GRU
    by Robert Herron
    Sprint 4G Rollout Updates
    Tuesday, December 20, 2011 - 3:31 PM MST
     
    “I shoulda taken that left turn at Albuquerque”, as Bugs Bunny often said. Or in the case of AT&T, maybe they should have taken a left turn at T-Mobile and went straight for Dish Network. Today BGR and Retuers wrote articles that perhaps an AT&T buyout of Dish Network is the natural migration path now for Big Blue and it’s 4G spectrum crunch. Seem far fetched?

    Dish Network is sitting on 40MHz of S-Band spectrum (2.0GHz). This is the largest single chunk of spectrum available for a 4G network in the United States, short of Clearwire. And Dish Network picked up this spectrum for a relative steal.
    Currently, the S-Band can only be used for satellite communication. But Dish Network has submitted a request to the FCC for a variance for it to be used for a terrestrial mobile broadband LTE network. This is expected to be approved by the FCC, with probably only build out timelines as requirements. Only Sprint put forth any significant opposition to the move, and they withdrew their concerns a few weeks ago. Probably to help grease the wheels for a deal with Dish.
    Dish is weighing several options for a build out of it’s planned LTE network. It could go it alone and build it from scratch. This is seen as too slow and cost prohibitive. It also has been in talks with Sprint and going along with it’s Network Vision build out. And this may still happen. But there is nothing to believe that this has been worked out to date.
    We also know that Dish has been talking with T-Mobile. It’s possible that Dish could use its massive spectrum on T-Mobile’s network. This could be a part of a hosting agreement, a joint venture, or it’s possible that Dish Network might buy out T-Mobile itself from Deutsche Telekom. These are likely more expensive propositions than a spectrum hosting deal with Sprint. And also would mean a slower deployment. However, depending on the preferred path Dish took with Tmo, it could leave them in a much better position and control.
    If Dish Network prefers a Sprint deal over a Tmo deal, or vice versa, they aren’t letting anyone know. They are playing their cards close to their chest. They are most likely leveraging the potential deal with the other to secure the best deal possible. Having some competition helps, right? Dish Network is the wealthy and pretty girl who just moved to Wireless Carrier High, and all the guys are fighting over her and her assets.
    And now, maybe this will be a three way competition? Maybe AT&T wants a piece of this Dish Network action? 40MHz of spectrum is hard to ignore for a carrier with a hundred million customers starving for a robust 4G network. And though Dish’s 2000MHz spectrum isn’t as wonderful as 700MHz, it’s a far cry better than Clearwire’s 2.5-2.6GHz.
    AT&T could come up and offer Dish a network sharing deal that could easily trump Sprint and Tmo’s best. Also, AT&T may just buy out Dish Network out right. Most likely through a structured agreed to deal, but maybe even a hostile takeover of Dish stock. AT&T could afford to do that. And it just may have no choice. It’s long term spectrum options are thin. And if AT&T can steal Dish Network out of Sprint’s arms, then that would just be icing on the cake! Talk about high school dramatics.
    An AT&T/Dish Network deal will not receive the regulatory approval scrutiny that the previous merger with T-Mobile did. Dish Network is not an AT&T competitor. The same number of Tier 1 carriers will still be around after closing of a deal. It will likely not affect competition in the Top 100 markets. And currently, Dish’s spectrum is unused. The FCC would love to see it in use for 4G and as soon as possible. That’s something AT&T will be able to deliver should a deal with Dish Network be reached.
    All be told, this is going to be a very exciting time in the wireless world in the next few months. Everyone wants to take Dish to the prom. What is a Dish to do?
     
  21. S4GRU
    by Rickie Smith
    Sprint 4G Rollout Updates
    Monday, April 23, 2012 - 9:01 AM MDT
     
    The LG Viper is one of Sprint’s first 4G LTE capable phones, and was launched along side with the GNEX LTE. When you first take it out of the box the phone is very light and thin and may lead you to believe that this phone can’t be all too powerful and great, but it is, just like its name suggests. The phone's casing is 50 percent recycled plastic and the package is made from 87 percent recycled material, and it comes with an "energy-efficient" charger that essentially turns itself off when not in use.
    The Viper boots very fast, around 45 seconds, with its 1.2GHz dual-core processor and is quick to scan storage. But its speed does not stop there. While I don’t have much downloaded yet to the phone, its smoothness between functions is very outstanding. Hardly any lag time at all which is great for a so called entry level LTE phone. It comes with Android 2.3 (Gingerbread), but we are awaiting for announcements to upgrade it to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich in the coming months. But how does it perform on the network? We will get to that a bit later.
     
    A display that exceeds expectations
    Many may wonder about the clarity of the display, as its not HD, but its 4” screen is very bright and crisp. On Friday I stopped into my local Sprint store. And the employees there were quite jealous because even they had not received their stock of Vipers yet. These Sprint employees commented they thought it was one of the clearer displays they have seen.
    The first glaring omission to me is the Viper does not sport a dedicated camera button. But the Viper’s 5 megapixel camera is commendable. Very fast and sharp, even in low light the outcome is very good. Using the video camera side is quite good as well. Notable is the focus is a bit slow to respond. Overall camera performance I would say is quite acceptable for this level of phone.
    The phone's big differentiator is Google Wallet. The integrated NFC chip, along with the Google Wallet app, allows you to "tap and pay" (with a PIN code) at stores that accept MasterCard PayPass, which includes a lot of small and large shops (major chains include CVS, Walgreens, Macy's and Gap). It comes with $50 prepaid when you activate the account, yet in the day I have had it, not been to a place that takes PayPass here in our small city of Hutchinson, Kansas. I will have to comment in the future as to how NFC and Google Wallet perform.
     
    Device in hand and headed to a known Network Vision site…
    Sprint's Sandhill site, north of Hutchinson, Kansas.
    Ok…what many have you have been waiting for, speed. I do have a partially completed Network Vision site close to my home. The Sprint Sandhills Site #WT03XC022 is here just north of Hutchinson. So once I got the phone activated, one of my first courses of business was to visit this site to check for LTE. Sprint did install an option so you could turn on and off the LTE mode until the network was more wide spread. This is done to help preserve your battery. So once all of that was completed I waited for it to scan for LTE at this site. No success. So cycled thru the steps taking it back to EVDO only then back to EVDO/LTE, and still nothing, so after all the wait I’m sorry to say I have no LTE speed test. S4GRU reported this site as only NV-3G active. So this is confirmed. No LTE yet deployed at the Sandhills site.
    The battery on the phone is a 1700mAh, which has a quoted talk time of 5.3 hours. Under 1 day a moderate use (downloading apps, texting and some phone calls) battery is down to 60% remaining. So overall battery life does seem quite well. However, how it performs under LTE conditions is going to be the real question.
     
    In conclusion
    So my overall take away from my experience with the LG Viper so far, even without the LTE speeds…the phone is very powerful and does not miss a beat. I know a lot of people might not justify getting a phone that won’t live up to its full potential is understandable. But I think anyone who is in the markets Sprint has already said is getting LTE (or as we know more than what Sprint has said as S4GRU members) it would be a great buy to start testing things out as the network comes around. But if you’re in the market for a powerful, yet economical smartphone (and maybe a tad greener than average), then I would recommend the LG Viper for you.
     
     
     
    Specifications:
    OS: Android 2.3 Dimensions: 4.59" Tall x 2.44" Wide x 0.46" Thick Weight: 5 ounces Display: 4.0" 480x800 LCD TFT (non-HD) Battery: 1700mAh Processor: 1.2GHz Dual Core Qualcomm Snapdragon S3 MSM8660 Memory: 1024MB RAM (1GB) Internal Storage: 4GB Additional Storage: MicroSD card expansion slot supporting up to 32GB (comes with 4GB MicroSD card) Camera: Two total, rear facing 5MP, front facing 0.3MP VGA Networks Supported: 800MHz CDMA (1x and EVDO-A);1900MHz CDMA (1x and EVDO-A); 1900MHz LTE; 850MHz CDMA Roaming (1x and EVDO) Bluetooth: 3.0 WiFi: 802.11b/g/n supported Mobile Hot Spot: Yes
  22. S4GRU
    by Robert Herron
    Sprint 4G Rollout Updates
    Wednesday, March 7, 2012 - 2:01 PM MST
     
    Ready for some more announcements? We are now prepared to tell you about two more Round Two markets in Sprint's Network Vision/LTE deployment plans for 2012. Music City and the Big Easy! The Nashville market engulfs all of Eastern Tennessee and the New Orleans market is the whole eastern section of Louisiana.
     
    Sprint's Network Vision vendor Ericsson will likely begin Network Vision and LTE deployment in these two Sprint markets in 2012. This is not an imminent start in the next few weeks. These are Second Round starts. Which means that the start of these markets is dependent on when the previous market before it wraps up. There is no way for me to determine at this point which markets will precede them. Even Sprint does not know definitively at this point.
     
    Sprint's Nashville market
     
    Sprint's Nashville market basically includes every Sprint site in Central and East Tennessee. Including the cities of Nashville, Clarksville, Murfreesboro, Knoxville, the Tri-Cities (Johnson City, Kingsport, Bristol), Chattanooga, Cleveland and Dalton, Georgia. It is bordered by the Atlanta market to the south and Charlotte market to the east, which were announced previously. The West Kentucky and the East Kentucky market borders to the north, and the Alabama market also to the south. These three markets are yet to be announced. The Nashville market will sport a whopping 804 sites in total after Network Vision is complete.
     


    Sprint's Nashville Market. All 800+ Network Vision sites are shown for the Nashville market in this map. Click on image to enlarge.


     
    Sprint's New Orleans market
     
    Sprint's New Orleans market is the whole eastern portion of Louisiana (where the toes go into the boot!) and the part of southern Mississippi along I-55 in Pike County. It includes Greater New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Houma, Morgan City, Hammond, Slidell and McComb, Mississippi. It is bordered by the Louisana market to the west, Mississippi market to the north, and Gulf Coast market market to the east. All of these adjacent markets are yet to be announced. 344 Network Vision sites in all.
     

    Sprint's New Orleans Market. All of the approximately 340 Network Vision sites are shown for the NOLA market in this map. Click on image to enlarge.


     
    We would love to give you the date, but...
     
    There is absolutely no way for S4GRU to be able to provide a start date for these markets, or any of the Second Round 2012 markets that will be announced after these. We are announcing these markets to you for your information, to give Sprint customers a rough idea of when these second round markets can be anticipated.
     
    There is absolutely no guarantee of the order in which these markets come live, because there is a lot of variability in the plan. The most significant variable being how quickly the preceding market before it wraps up. If things go quickly in the preceding market, work may start early. Things go late, these would likely start late. And to complicate start dates in each market, Sprint has said they may elect to slow down Network Vision in future quarters if cash flow becomes strained.
     
    Sprint has three different OEM vendors, with several different crews in many markets at once. There could be final permitting and design delays, some vendors and/or crews will work at different speeds, weather issues and any number of unforeseen circumstances to complicate matters even further. First round market starts are much easier to predict, but second round and third round markets starts are increasingly difficult to predict and put dates to. This is likely the reason why Sprint has elected not to announce these markets themselves at this time. But we know you don't want to wait for Sprint to tell you! With these caveats understood, we are releasing the Network Vision second round markets in the order that they are anticipating to start deployment, based on the schedules as they exist to date.
     
    We won't stop digging for you!
     
    Sprint 4G Rollout Updates will continue to scour through the data and gather deployment information for your use. It is our intent to provide at a minimum, all the Sprint markets that will likely begin Network Vision/LTE upgrades in 2012. And we intend to do so in a series of articles over the next few weeks. We will not likely announce communities slated for 2013, because the dates we hold for 2013 markets appear very tentative and subject to change. With the many variables to sort out between now and 2013. Sprint could make significant shifts in deployment plans based on dynamic need change, funding, market permitting difficulties, etc.
     
    With the release of Nashville and New Orleans markets today (and Central Jersey last night), that brings the total of Network Vision markets announced to 21. We have created a thread in our forums where we are keeping track of all the markets announced by Sprint and S4GRU.com. Click on this link here to view the Network Vision Market Running List.
     
    Stay tuned to Sprint 4G Rollout Updates. On Friday we will be announcing the next two Round Two markets for Sprint Network Vision and LTE deployment. We will be talking about it in a few hours in advance in a S4GRU Live Chat at 9:30 PM Mountain Time on Thursday evening. Come join us!
     






    Photos Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

     
    Information about the source: The information for all of our Network Vision information has been freely provided by several sources close to the Network Vision program who choose to remain anonymous. No source information will be released to protect anonymity.
     
    Special thanks to S4GRU Member digiblur for creating the Nashville and New Orleans Market maps! Thank you!
  23. S4GRU
    by Robert Herron
    Sprint 4G Rollout Updates
    Thursday, June 28, 2012 - 12:59 PM MDT
     
    The next market in our Network Vision/LTE deployment schedule update series is The Music City...Nashville. The Nashville market has yet to be announced by Sprint, but is expected to be announced in the near future. Perhaps around the time of the first market launches on July 15th?
     
    The Sprint Nashville market encompasses all of the Sprint native coverage in eastern Tennessee, and the Tri-Cities area of Western Virginia. This includes the Nashville, Chattanooga, Knoxville, Clarksville and the Tri-Cities (Johnson City/Kingsport/Bristol). Sprint's Network Vision OEM Ericsson is scheduled to begin mobilizing in this area with its subcontractors in late July. Completed Network Vision sites should start coming online before the end of August.
     
    Nashville Market Launch
     
    It was Sprint's original plan to launch markets when they reached 50% of sites converted to Network Vision. However, it has now been determined that Sprint will move up launches sooner than 50% completion in several markets. This is likely to maintain a Mid 2012 launch in markets that have already been announced. However, in an unannounced market like Nashville, we don't know if they will resume pushing back market launches to 50%, or if they will now settle on a 40% completion to be the new normal for market launches.
     
    If Sprint waits for 50% completion to launch the Nashville market, it would make the launch month to be December (should the OEM stay on schedule). If they plan on a 40% market completion for launch, that would be November. You may think that 40% - 50% site completion is not enough to launch LTE service, but it would provide pretty good coverage. Even Verizon doesn't launch on all sites in a market initially. Usually less than 50%, then filling in with more and more sites every few months.
     




    Anticipated Sites Complete at Market Launch. According to the Network Vision schedules that S4GRU has reviewed, if Sprint launched the market in November, these are the anticipated sites that would likely have LTE complete at that time. This would provide fairly good LTE coverage over many parts of the market. Some sites are scheduled to be live in the Tri-Cities at the time. However, Chattanooga and Knoxville sites won't start until early 2013.


     
    Schedule details and the bottom line
     
    We currently do not have a date that Sprint will formally "launch" the Nashville market. It is difficult to try to pick a date now this far out. And we know Sprint won't want to do that. But we will take a stab at it. In looking at the schedule as of today, it would indicate a November market launch (going on a 40% - 50% completion for launch). But there is no way to know if Ericsson and their subcontractors will actually hit their schedule dates this early in the deployment for this market. We will be able to gauge better after a few months of production.
     
    Ericsson will need to hit a production rate of 85 sites per month to stay on schedule. This will be a difficult rate to achieve and maintain consistently. Guessing now and based on the best production rates thus far, I could see this market taking longer to complete. Since they should be starting soon, we will be able to understand how things are going in a few months.
     
    S4GRU has examined the schedule in great detail in this market and sees that most of the sites are scheduled to be complete by March 2013. However, there may be a few sporadic sites that will linger past the completion.
     




    Photo of Knoxville skyline provided courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.


     

    NOTE: S4GRU Sponsor Members can track regular updates of
    Network Vision sites completed nationwide. Completed sites are shown in an interactive Google Maps interface. Information about sponsorship can be found here: S4GRU Sponsorship

  24. S4GRU
    by Robert Herron
    Sprint 4G Rollout Updates
    Thursday, January 12, 2012 - 10:59 PM MST
     
    Drawings were discovered and posted in the Howard Forums this evening showing permit sets of drawings for Network Vision improvements to towers in Lawrence, Kansas. These drawings show detailed before Network Vision, transition configurations and final layouts. This gives a good technical review of exactly how the towers will modified under Network Vision.
    Interestingly, it includes 1600MHz antennas shown on the plans. These were for LightSquared's LTE. When these drawings were produced over the summer, LightSquared was a part of the mix. LightSquared pre-paid Sprint $900 Million to include early planning and engineering. However, last week Sprint announced they have put all work integrating LightSquared into the Network Vision deployments on hold.
    In the 10 towers shown in these permit drawings, nearly all types of towers are shown. Monopole, self supporting tower, guyed tower, rooftop/building mount, water tower, etc. Gives a good broad view of what these final Network Vision towers will look like.
    The drawings show that 800MHz and 1900MHz will be deployed in the same antenna/radio combos. This was a surprise to me. Long live LTE!
    Network Vision Sites - Lawrence, Kansas:
    Clinton Lake Tower (SS) Delvin Tower (SS) Douglas County Law Enforcement Center Tower (MP) Lawrence Hill Tower (SS) Lecompton Tower (GT) Plaza Storage Tower (MP) Presbyterian Manor Tower (RF) Spectrasite Baldwin Tower (GT) Wakarusa Tower (MP) Fire Water Tower (WT) I had some problems opening links in my Chrome browser, but it was fine in Firefox, IE and Safari. Special thanks to digiblur for sending me the links!
     
    Source: http://www.howardfor...ion-Tower-plans
  25. S4GRU
    by Robert Herron
    Sprint 4G Rollout Updates
    Sunday, February 12, 2012 - 8:59 PM MST
     
    Another set of Network Vision drawings have appeared, and of course we have to post them up here at Sprint 4G Rollout Updates. There isn't anything earth shattering in these drawings that weren't really in the drawings S4GRU published a month ago in Lawrence, Kansas.
     
    The new drawings show a roof mounted cell site on top of the Hillcrest Bank at the corner of W. 95th and Nieman Road in Overland Park, Kansas. These drawings are a little newer than the Lawrence drawings posted, with the most recent revision date of 12/5/2011. These drawings show detailed before Network Vision, transition configurations and final layouts. This gives a good technical overview of exactly how a roof mounted cell site is modified under Network Vision. LightSquared antennas are still shown.
     
    You can click on this link to view and/or download the PDF file of the Hillcrest Bank NV drawings.
     
    Special thanks to Rickie546 for sending me the links!
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