S4GRU

266 in the market. 14 of them are in the USVI. Robert

Gotcha. Two different subjects being discussed in this thread and got my wires crossed. If their device doesn't have the capability to roam on VZW 850, then, they would miss out on that aspect, but could still use it on the network. However, if Metro Prepaid customers wanted to come to Sprint, they most likely would be drawn to a Sprint Prepaid brand, right? Which they do not offer off Sprint network coverage the last time I checked. Robert

Well, it seems to be more complicated than that. In the beginning, all the LTE devices had the threshold issue. But all were given OTA's that solved the problem. And in all the other devices, the OTA solved the problem. But not in the EVO LTE. In fact, the EVO LTE has had three OTA's and it hasn't solved the problem. When you marry these points with the fact that we reported that the EVO LTE was having LTE connectivity issues even during lab testing, before the device even started shipping, it lends credence to this issue is much more than just a threshold setting for the EVO LTE: http://s4gru.com/index.php?/blog/1/entry-168-s4gru-reconfirms-june-10th-launch-of-the-evo-4g-lte/ Robert

When a company makes a roaming deal with Sprint, it only covers the Sprint network, not Sprint's roaming partners too. If Metro needed/wanted to roam on VZW 850, they would have to make a roaming agreement with Verizon. It would not be covered under their roaming deal with Sprint. Sprint doesn't have the right to resale VZW service. Robert

Sort of. It lowers the minimum signal strength that it will hold on to for LTE, before it goes looking for 3G to connect to. In my opinion, keeping LTE at the weak signal threshold still produced better than 3G performance in 95% of our testing. The only times it didn't was when we were in those rare super powered 2Mbps+ 3G sectors. Robert

Why do they have to roam on Verizon 850 too? Roaming on Sprint would be more than enough to give Metro customers. Sprint native coverage is far greater than Metro's coverage. Robert

No. This is not accurate. The difference is usually a 8-10dBm spread. It's only at the maximum threshold of the GS3 is the data unusable. In our testing, when the EVO LTE would give up the signal, the GS3 was still performing 4-6Mbps download. It is just that the GS3 will stick to the signal all the way down to zero. In our observations, the GS3 would not stick to a signal all the way to zero download, but would drop to as low as zero upload. The differences the poster noted above could be related to the servers being used in his testing. We varied our testing to several servers and took averages. The extra usability beyond where the EVO LTE gives up its LTE signal is significant. And it is not just the GS3 that out performs the EVO, it's also the LG Viper, Galaxy Nexus, Photon Q and now the iPhone. Do not underestimate the EVO's LTE connectivity issue. It is indeed giving up much usable LTE coverage. Robert

gold mine "She got the gold mine, and I got the shaft!"

Correct. Both the S4GRU Coverage Map and Sprint Map shown at the top were from 8/8/2012. Coverages have probably changed since then. Robert

The article is still on my To Do List. I'm buried and trying to dig out. Robert

Because he can take another swipe at Sprint about their failed merger with MetroPCS. He is a dirty jack-wagon. But now, Tmo is the belle of the ball. What a buffoon. Robert

fried chicken

Work has started. We are just awaiting for a field verification from one of our eagle eyed S4GRU members down there. Robert

chicken hearts

If so, it will be in the comments. The best place to monitor market activity is in our forums. We have over 5,000 members in all 97 markets constantly watching sites and uploading data. Also, in our Sponsor section, we have interactive maps that show all the sites converted. It gets updated every week. For more information about how to become a Sponsor, you can check out this page: http://s4gru.com/index.php?/topic/1195-information-about-s4gru-sponsorship-levels-and-how-to-become-a-sponsor/ Robert

Merged threads

We are waiting for confirmation of work beginning in the field. Seems like most second round markets starts are running 30-60 days behind schedule. Robert

Does it matter when they call it launched? It is just a milestone. Deployment starts when it starts and ends when it ends. Picking a day during that time period to call it launched is pretty meaningless. However, the only thing about launching that is important is that they stop blocking LTE connections on sites completed. So in my mind, I would rather them launch as soon as possible, if it means that the sites completed can start being used. Additionally, they will not target only certain areas and leave the rest of the market alone. They will be deploying over the whole market in waves. And all the sites in the market will be converted. Robert

eHRPD is not deployed on only Network Vision sites. It has to be deployed on any site adjacent to them to for handoff purposes. The appearing of eHRPD is a good sign for the future, but having eHRPD does not mean that the specific site you are connected to has been converted. eHRPD is just a software upgrade and very easy to install. Thanks for the notification of eHRPD in your area. Robert

The schedule says the first LTE sites will not go live until the end of November. So if they start coming online sooner than that, then the market is ahead of schedule. To me, it appears the market is on schedule at the moment. Robert

At this point, I think the best scenario is a soft launch by the end of the month. Robert

Inner Harbor

Just a note, the New Hampshire coverage comes completely from sites within Massachusetts. Robert via Samsung Galaxy S-III 32GB using Forum Runner

sewing circle Robert via CM9 Kindle Fire using Forum Runner

You shouldn't say all. The E4GT radio performance testing was average in our testing, the GNex and Epic 4G were poor, but the GS3 was among the best. Samsung device radio performance pretty much is all over the place. But they are not all poor. Robert via CM9 Kindle Fire using Forum Runner