S4GRU

The Colorado market will get LTE 800 at full build sites. But LTE 800 deployment will not probably begin in this area until 2014. There are GMO sites in the area. But not a lot. There are maps of GMO sites in the Premier Sponsor section. Robert via Samsung Note II via Tapatalk

Yes, but a majority of GMO sites will get new backhaul. One of the ones here in New Mexico recently went from 400-600kbps, to 2.5Mbps day and night. Additionally, this new equipment will be less expensive to operate and more reliable. Those are benefits that can be enjoyed right now and can be used for the next 16 months before the full build would start at these locations. Most of the sites not getting backhaul upgrades are ones that cannot get them without a lot of extra effort and expense. They will likely get upgraded at the end of NV, though. But these sites not getting backhaul upgrades now are some of the lowest usage sites in the country. And they are likely served sufficiently by T1's. Robert

Also, there is no guarantee that you are connected to the site you think you are. Even if you were standing right beside it. Robert via Samsung Note II via Tapatalk

3G upgrades have to go live in clusters. You are most likely still on a legacy connection. It will not be live with Network Vision upgrades until the whole cluster is ready. Robert via Samsung Note II via Tapatalk

Not all Central PA market sites are GMO. What I was saying is that all sites accepted to date have been GMO's. Only GMO's In Progress at the moment in the Central PA market. Full builds will not start until some time this summer. There is a map in the Premier Sponsor section that shows GMO sites in most markets. It does include the Central PA market. Robert via Nexus 7 with Tapatalk HD

There are not many GMO sites in the Nashville market. I think all site in the Knoxville area are full build sites. AT&T also uses Ericsson, and has the same RRU's and base station cabinets. Robert via Nexus 7 with Tapatalk HD

There were a lot of markets not reported in the last update. I think there was an issue with their reporting system last week. This week may be much larger than normal. Robert via Nexus 7 with Tapatalk HD

I wonder if it is just the site cannot be in the exclusion zone, or if sites that have signals that broadcast into the exclusion zone are also impacted? Never thought about it before. Robert via Nexus 7 with Tapatalk HD

Yeah, this would be expected, as the trees on the east bank would shield the Phillips site to the east more. Whereas on the west side, you have open water to the east of you and more likely to have line of sight to the Phillips site. The best way to determine is to get the Cell ID from the LTE Engineering screen, then go to the Phillips site, get out about 500' away from the tower on the SW side and see if it has the same Cell ID. Robert via Nexus 7 with Tapatalk HD

This is accurate, but to clarify, the 6-8Mbps number that Sprint promoting was figured on heat maps of anticipated burdened loads. Sprint is advertising what the worst normal speeds that will likely be encountered, which is at a seam between two sites that is fully burdened, but not overburdened. These areas have not only reduced signal strength, being farther from the site, but also have some interference occurring from overlapping signals. So if you built a heat map of NYC fully built out, based on speeds, you would see that near the sites speeds are 20Mbps+. In the middle area around a site, speeds would be 10-20Mbps. In the outer ring, you get 6-10Mbps. Beyond the outler ring, you would have a weak signal which may or may not provide service. Sprint uses the outer ring to base its averages, because a lot of people will experience this performance if they live, work or travel through these areas. All carriers do this, actually. Robert via Nexus 7 with Tapatalk HD

It can also be a backhaul issue or something wrong at the LTE core. Robert via Nexus 7 with Tapatalk HD

I thought the same thing at first. But then I recalled that VZW and ATT 10MHz channels can achieve peak speeds around 70Mbps. So a 10MHz TDD LTE carrier should reach close to that, if they kept their upload time slots minimal. A 20MHz TDD LTE carrier could reach over 100Mbps with appropriate backhaul. One of our Clearwire sources hit over 100 in testing. Initially, I though Prusch may have been saying 60Mbps is a burdened real world speed, but I went back and reread that he is saying this 60Mbps is the unburdened speed. I'm starting to think they are going with 10MHz carriers here. Robert via Nexus 7 with Tapatalk HD

If so, it is testing. It was not accepted as of yesterday. I wonder if it might be the new site that was accepted off Phillips Hwy. If you lose it more than 1/2 mile from the bridge on either side, then it probably is the new site on our maps. Thanks for posting your new find! Robert via Nexus 7 with Tapatalk HD

Thanks for posting. To me, this does not look like an Ericsson GMO site. The cabinets do not look right, and neither do the RRU's. The cabinets look similar to what AT&T installs around here. But those little boxes are not like anything I've ever seen. Robert via Nexus 7 with Tapatalk HD

Yes. Sprint runs a fiber optic line from the new RBS unit at the base cabinets to the RRU installed next to the panel on the tower. Then coax is used to connect the RRU to the panel. Probably one day the panel/RRU connection may be fiber too. But currently, OEM's are still designing and building units where this final connection piece is coax. But the distances are so short that it doesn't really much matter. Robert via Nexus 7 with Tapatalk HD

The site in Central PA I reference is in a Shentel market, not the Central PA market. Additionally, the Central PA market is not 100% GMO's. Sites in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and Lancaster areas are full build. But the Central PA market does have a lot of GMO's. The Western PA market is the only one I know of that is all GMO's. Robert

AJ writes our spectrum articles. If you are looking for a specific write up, send him a message. Robert

It is located in Mont Alto, PA. Robert

It is often orange. Sometimes gray. But it doesn't matter if it ends up buried. Robert via Samsung Note II via Tapatalk

Don't know if it will be that soon, but the sites there are already bring worked on and they will receive LTE. Robert via Samsung Note II via Tapatalk

A new LTE site was accepted today in that area, just inside the LA Metro boundary. Its on the Sponsor maps now. Robert via Samsung Note II via Tapatalk

Ten new LTE sites accepted in the New Orleans market today. Details in this Sponsor thread: http://s4gru.com/index.php?/topic/579-network-vision-site-map-new-orleans-memphis-gulf-coast-east-texas-mississippi-and-louisiana-markets/page__view__findpost__p__104865 Robert

Three new LTE sites accepted in the San Diego market on Tuesday. More details in this Sponsor thread: http://s4gru.com/index.php?/topic/617-network-vision-site-map-san-diego-riversidesan-bernardino-and-las-vegas-markets/page__view__findpost__p__104858 Robert

by Robert Herron Sprint 4G Rollout Updates Wednesday, February 13, 2013 - 1:13 AM MST Often you may see us refer to a GMO site around S4GRU. But, what is a GMO site? GMO stands for Ground Mount Option. Or sometimes, it will be referred to as a GMR (Ground Mount RRU) site. In this article we will explain many points about the Ground Mount Option. In the most basic explanation, a Ground Mount site is one where they are doing a partial Network Vision conversion instead of a full build conversion. A full build site is one where they upgrade all the hardware at a site, including the base station equipment (RBS/MBS), install new multi-mode antenna panels on the tower, add Remote Radio Units (RRU’s, sometimes also called RRH’s), and run new fiber optic lines from the base station equipment up to the RRU’s on the tower. These are the ones most people who follow along Network Vision deployment are familiar with. However, a GMO site will install new base station equipment, with the RRU’s mounted down at the Ground Level, near the new base station cabinets. Then the existing lines running up the tower and the existing panels are reused. These are not to be confused with full build sites with Ground Mounted RRU’s. Those are not Ground Mount Option sites, because they still offer full Network Vision panels, and complete 800MHz and LTE services (where possible). They just are required to mount the RRU’s away from the panels for logistical reasons. How did Sprint determine which sites were to receive the Ground Mount Option instead of a full Network Vision rebuild? I have had the privilege of talking with several Sprint and OEM employees about the Ground Mount Option the past few weeks. Every one of the 38,000+ Sprint sites in the country had a site survey visit in 2011 to establish logistics and planning for the Network Vision upgrade. Each site is broken down to three priorities, largely based on the traffic and carrier count. See the priorities below: High Priority...site gets full Network Vision upgrade. If site cannot support RRU's and new panels, engineering is done and structure modifications will be made and the site is fully upgraded. Moderate Priority...site gets full Network Vision upgrade. If the site requires minor modifications to support RRU's and NV panels, then it gets fully upgraded. If it requires major attention with full engineering, then a ground mount solution is implemented. Low Priority...low priority sites only get a full NV upgrade with new NV panels and tower mounted RRU's if no structural modification is necessary. If anything is required at a low priority site, the Ground Mount Option is deployed. Also, some low capacity/low priority sites get GMO installs, no matter if the site can support a full install now. At the site survey time back in 2011, each survey team made a judgment call based on their review of the site whether to go full build or GMO, taking into account the priority. And there are anomalies that just do not make any sense. Some markets have no GMO sites at all. And some markets have all GMO sites, like Western Pennsylvania. Also, some site owners will not allow NV full build for various reasons. In these instances, a Ground Mount Option was selected. What are the advantages of a Ground Mount site? The biggest advantage of a GMO site is these sites are being worked on now and getting Network Vision benefits in the middle of the NV program, instead of at the end of the build out. Many 3rd Round Markets have started earlier because of GMO conversions. 1st and 2nd round markets have mostly full build sites with only a few GMO’s, or none at all. This allows some love for customers that would have been pushed off to the very end of Network Vision to see some improvements now. GMO sites are much faster to deploy with no tower work required. Most GMO sites will require minimal permitting from local authorities, or often no permitting at all. Also, GMO's require less negotiation with the site owner, as it does not materially change the site. GMO site conversions are already under way all around the country, and all of them should be completed before the end of this Summer. There are already 100’s of them with 3G upgrades in place. Ground Mount Option sites also will bring LTE much sooner at many locations. Because LTE 1900 can be run on most GMO sites if the appropriate backhaul is available and Sprint has the OEM install the appropriate number of RRU’s or RRU type. The first LTE capable GMO’s are coming online now. Alcatel Lucent has two live, one in New Bern, North Carolina and another one in the Shentel market in South Central Pennsylvania. Samsung has one live in Dayton, Minnesota. This is just the beginning. What are the cons of a Ground Mount Option site? There are a few. The first con with the Ground Mount Option, is there will not be any 800MHz service deployed. Sprint is in the process of adding CDMA 800 voice service to full build Network Vision sites. Sprint will also begin deploying LTE 800 service to full build NV sites before the end of 2013. However, GMO sites cannot support 800MHz service, as the existing tower mounted panels do not support 800MHz. In some rural areas, this is a big disappointment as customers have been waiting for 800 MHz signal propagation benefits in the boonies (like me). The second issue, is the availability of LTE. All full build sites get LTE, but some GMO sites will not be getting LTE deployments. Most GMO sites can support LTE through existing panels, so long as there are not too many CDMA carriers installed. However, some higher capacity GMO sites will not get LTE. Also, some of the most backhaul challenged sites in the Sprint network are GMO sites. They will not get LTE initially because Sprint is unable to get sufficient backhaul to the site to support LTE performance requirements, or in some instances Sprint does not want to go through the difficulty of equipping some sites that are a low priority. The last negative detriment of a GMO site is signal propagation benefits of panel mounted RRU’s. A Network Vision full build site with panel mounted RRU’s can achieve up to a 20% signal gain at 1900MHz. However, the full 20% is only realized at very tall boomer sites with little downtilt. Most sites get more like a 5% signal increase. And these GMO’s will not get that extra signal benefit. Are Ground Mount Options this way forever? Furthermore, at sites where the GMO is implemented, supposedly they will come back at the end of NV and do the engineering and structural modifications. At that time 800 service will be added when the new panels are installed, as well as LTE to sites that can secure appropriate backhaul. I have heard that in some instances (maybe a few hundred), they are using GMO's where they could not come to an agreement with the site owner. Whether financial agreement or logistical/structural. In those instances, Sprint is identifying other adjacent sites that they may move the site to at the end of NV. If no other options can be achieved, it may permanently stay a GMO and never have NV panels and 800 service. My understanding has grown tenfold in the past 2 weeks between talking to the Ericsson tech that's been on site and a long conversation I had with an OEM deployment manager. The most recent conversation I had, the source said they recently heard that more funding is being identified that could go ahead and do more work with GMO sites. Which may include converting them to full builds earlier, or at least changing out legacy panels to NV panels to add support for 800MHz. Differences between vendors Not all GMO sites are the same. Sprint is using three different vendors to deploy Network Vision. Ericsson, Samsung and Alcatel Lucent. Each of these three OEM’s have their own proprietary equipment. Different base station equipment and different RRU’s. Samsung has two types of RRU’s. 800MHz and 1900 MHz RRU’s. Each of the two Samsung RRU types can do both CDMA and LTE from the same unit, supporting up to four carriers each. At a Samsung GMO site, only one RRU is needed per sector, as the RRU can do LTE and CDMA on the same unit. However, Ericsson and Alcatel Lucent do not have it so easy. These two OEM’s cannot run CDMA and LTE on the same RRU. They need a separate RRU for CDMA and LTE on each sector. This is more work and more cost. S4GRU has been told that Ericsson is finalizing a new RRU that can handle CDMA and LTE on the same unit, but they are not in production yet. These are referred to around the forums as RRUS12. Many Ericsson GMO sites have been spotted with only a single RRU per sector. Unfortunately, these have all been RRUS11 units, which cannot support CDMA and LTE together, only in separate RRU’s. Hopefully many of these will get a second RRU still to support LTE, or maybe be switched out with an RRUS12 unit when they start to hit the streets. In closing Some of our members have been quite disappointed to learn that their site was selected for a Ground Mount Option. And I have to admit, I too initially was disappointed myself. Especially since my site is one of the GMO’s that will not receive LTE. At least, at first. The thing that we have to keep in mind is these are sites that are either very low priority or very difficult to upgrade. These were always going to be the very last sites to be touched at all, if at all. The majority of GMO sites probably wouldn’t have started until Spring/Summer 2014. For these sites to receive partial upgrades now is a very good thing. Many of us want everything, and we want it yesterday too. This is not practical though. All things considered, the Ground Mount Option is an elegant solution to the problem. Sprint just needs to push the envelope and install LTE on every one where it is physically possible. Oh and Dan, please add LTE to my GMO site (EP03AL506). It just will take two more RRUS11 units, or possibly a prototype RRUS12 unit. Just imagine the good S4GRU publicity you’d get. I will even arrange the backhaul for you! Ericsson GMO site photo. New Ericsson NV base cabinets in the back and ground mount RRU's on the left. Three CDMA RRU's present here, one for each sector. No LTE at this site initially. Samsung GMO site photo. New Samsung NV base cabinets at the left and ground mount RRU's directly in front. Three RRU's present here, one for each sector. Samsung GMO sites can run CDMA and LTE if set up that way. Alcatel Lucent GMO site photo. New AlcaLu NV base cabinets on the right and ground mount RRU's on the center. Six CDMA RRU's present here, two for each sector (one behind each also). AlcaLu GMO LTE sites will require two RRU's per sector.