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It is normal when you have a very weak LTE signal that drops back and forth. Because your device is constantly scanning, which takes a hit on battery life. LTE in normal circumstances does not have less battery life than EVDO. The big difference comes from you'll likely use your device more when you have LTE. Robert via Samsung Note II via Tapatalk

The passenger compartment is the little glass canopy at the top. Robert via Samsung Note II via Tapatalk

I lived in Solano County for almost 10 years. We considered ourselves apart of every city in Northern CA. We were part of Sacramento and the Bay Area. Legends in our own minds. Don't you know how important we think we are??? Robert via Samsung Note II via Tapatalk

To me, Bon Marche was a department store in the Pacific Northwest. Also known as The Bon. At least until Macy's bought them out and homogenized them. Robert via Samsung Note II via Tapatalk

They should. But I don't think they will in the next 12 months. Robert via Samsung Note II via Tapatalk

I was thinking more like Gru's car in Despicable Me. Robert via Samsung Note II via Tapatalk

I agree that 3Mbps is more than sufficient for most smartphone use. However, if there is any customer who is a braggard about their LTE speeds, it's the VZW customer. VZW has options. But they are all painful. VZW 750 LTE provides less coverage than their 850 CDMA in my observations here in New Mexico. And that is with their downtilt at virtually zero. You can see on VZW sites that LTE panels are less steeply angled than the CDMA panels. Option #1...in an area where they have already installed on all their 850 sites, they can start cell splitting. But this means adding base stations and new site leases. This adds up to a lot of money and takes some time. But if they are really watching closely the trends, they may be able to keep up. But most likely they will be behind trying to add capacity through cell splitting and the customer experience will suffer as they try to get new sites deployed. This is expensive and less than ideal. It takes 6 months to a year to plan, permit and build a new site. In a high barrier to entry market, dealing with NIMBYs, it can take years! In VZW's few 1900 markets, they can probably still add a lot of LTE 750 capacity because they have greater site density. Although it will be an engineering interference challenge taking LTE 750 to PCS density, it definitely can be done. Option #2...start deploying LTE AWS. This is a good option that can start now. However, VZW still is not selling AWS devices. I have been bewildered why VZW did not start selling AWS LTE devices in Mid 2012. They could have. AT&T has. T-Mobile even has the GS3 and Nexus 4 capable of AWS LTE and they do not even have any markets running yet. VZW was probably trying to keep AWS LTE devices down as long as possible trying not to give other companies any advantage in LTE bands supported. If so, that bet is now backfiring on them. But at any rate, Verizon could be adding AWS LTE now as hotspot overlays throughout their network. It is not known when VZW will ever start pushing AWS LTE on its devices. But they need to start selling them soon. AWS LTE is not going to provide any short term relief for LTE 750 capacity issues. It will take a good year, and if VZW does it right. Another thing to this though...we aren't sure how easy this is to implement for VZW. They do not have a Network Vision style network with multi-modal sites designed for diversity. Each AWS site will likely require its own base station and its own set of panels. There will be sites that cannot accept the new cabinets or new panels. This could be a big challenge for VZW. Option #3...refarm existing CDMA 850 resources for LTE. This is a good long term solution. However, I don't think many (if any) VZW devices support LTE 850. Also, there are existing 850 CDMA carriers still needed for a while. They may be able to come up with room for a 3x3 LTE carrier in some markets. Or maybe even a 5x5. But these places are less likely to be places they need an additional LTE carrier. In places they need more LTE capacity are places they also most likely have the largest CDMA 850 demand. And you can forget a matching 10x10 carrier in 850 for a long time. In my estimation, VZW has OK long term prospects, but their short term prospects are very challenging for LTE. They will likely manage their tenuous position as well as possible, but I'm already disappointed they have not started toward AWS implementation yet. That's a misstep. And I am not rooting against Verizon. I have two VZW devices. One for work and one hotspot. But the most important thing is to remember, VZW LTE has dropped to 3-6 Mbps at peak times in many places now. And that is still acceptable now. But they dropped to 3-6 Mbps very quickly. Since nothing is occurring in the short term to change this, there is no reason to believe that these speeds will stop dropping. They are going to keep dropping in the short term. Unless they start implementing some draconian network management schemes. And I wouldn't be surprised if VZW started capping speeds for certain activities like streaming, based on their position on Net Neutrality laws. Last Thursday, I had my first VZW LTE speed test that was under 2Mbps that was not an anomaly. It was roughly the same speed as the EVDO from the same site. VZW needs to get moving. Its reputation is on the line. Robert via Samsung Note II via Tapatalk

service kitchen Robert via Nexus 7 on Tapatalk

Kitchen Nightmares Robert via Nexus 7 on Tapatalk

All great points. But all this points to the fact that Verizon's LTE network is not as perfect as the tech industry and many customers think. It is more reputation than fact that causes people to think that VZW LTE is infallible. Robert via Nexus 7 on Tapatalk

Sounds good. Just reporting as it was explained to me. Robert via Nexus 7 on Tapatalk

Sites are not congesting yet. Not even close. What I'm reporting is consistent in all markets. 20Mbps+ speeds are not anomalies with a strong LTE signal. If you are experiencing strong signals and meh speeds consistently in your market, then perhaps your market is having an issue with the core they are working though. Are you determining your signal strength through engineering screens? I hope you are not using the bars in your signal strength indicator to determine LTE signal strength. Robert via Nexus 7 on Tapatalk

When you see 4G accepted at an Ericsson site, but not 3G, it usually means the Ethernet conversion box was not installed. Ericsson had problems sourcing these boxes. They only really started moving on 3G deployment about six weeks ago or so. So when this happens the NV panels are only broadcasting LTE. And only the LTE is connected to the new backhaul. The 3G work is physically complete except for these conversion boxes. But in this instance, the 3G continues to run on legacy panels and on legacy backhaul. In most instances they cannot hook up legacy 3G to new backhaul. They cannot hook up 3G to new backhaul until all the 3G improvements are complete. In an instance where only 3G is accepted as complete, it usually is connected to new backhaul unless the backhaul is not ready. Robert via Samsung Note II via Tapatalk

Yes. From cabinet to RRU's is fiber installed by OEM subcontractors. Robert via Samsung Note II via Tapatalk

From our sources, yes. Robert via Samsung Note II via Tapatalk

LA Confidential Robert via Samsung Note II via Tapatalk

Ericsson is just now starting to go back and pick up 3G upgrades in markets they are actively installing in. Robert via Samsung Note II via Tapatalk

Your car would do much better for LTE reception if it was several stories in the air above the ground clutter like a cruise ship. Robert via Samsung Note II via Tapatalk

I cannot prove you wrong. However, based on a conversation I had with a Samsung engineer early in deployment where he was talking about cable Ethernet installed at a site in Chicago, he said that sometimes they are installing coax directly to the telco box. He said final connections from AAV were not fiber very often. He is the guy I got the term "indirect fiber" connections from. The connection from the telco box (demarcation) to the routers would be Cat 5e in this instance. Robert via Samsung Note II via Tapatalk

Sometimes. It varies. Robert via Samsung Note II via Tapatalk

Duck Tales Robert via Samsung Note II via Tapatalk

Sprint has more options to deploy more LTE carriers than VZW can. Also Sprint has half the customers. And Sprint LTE network is much denser than VZW. I'm not too worried about Sprint LTE capacity. Robert via Nexus 7 on Tapatalk

I have a VZW LTE smartphone and hotspot. Speeds drop down to 3-6 Mbps during peak times in Los Alamos, Española and Santa Fe even with a strong signal. VZW will need to start deploying more LTE carriers (or increase site density) soon to keep speeds up. Robert via Nexus 7 on Tapatalk

Black Death Robert via Nexus 7 on Tapatalk

It may connect on its own. But you may need to cycle airplane mode if it doesn't. Robert via Samsung Note II via Tapatalk