S4GRU

Success!!! It is now on Sensorly: http://sensorly.com/fullscreen/map/4G/US/USA/Sprint/lte_310sprint We have our first Austin LTE confirmation there in Round Rock. Yeehaw! Thanks for uploading it. Robert

SouthernLinc network will still function just fine. However, without Nextel iDEN around, the number of devices available for SouthernLinc customers will get lesser and lesser. And SouthernLinc customers will not be able to roam on Sprint Nextel iDEN after June 30, 2013. In the long term, SouthernLinc needs to transition to another PTT technology beyond iDEN. There is a possibility they may get bought out by Sprint. Sprint would really like SL's 800 spectrum in the southeast US. Robert

Where in Bolingbrook? Near the river? Robert

Please run the Sensorly app the next time in this area so we can plot the location. This is great news! Thanks! Robert

It's possible you are not connected to the site you think you are. How do you figure which site you are connected to? The bars in your signal strength indicator does not show your LTE signal strength, ever. It only shows your 1x signal strength. We discuss that in this topic here: http://s4gru.com/ind...ignal-strength/ You may just be at spots that have line of sight to a more distant tower that the one you are parked near. This could especially be true if you are in a hilly area and near the top of a hill. The next time you are in one of these spots, go check your actual LTE signal strength (as described in the link above) by going into the LTE Engineering screen. This will help us to determine if you are connected to the tower above you, or one further away. One quarter mile is not a typical distance, except in a very dense urban deployment with lots of adjacent sites. Robert

grief stricken

No. I do not. Please see my comments above about the narrow threshold for pass/fail for LTE. Additionally, building bad habits will lead to more people using the network when not necessary. So a whole bunch of people using smartphones on LTE at home (where they have WiFi) streaming video is enough to push a carrier above the pass/fail threshold. Robert

He asked if we thought if there would be any new WiMax devices. The SGS2 is already sold on Virgin. Robert via CM9 Kindle Fire using Forum Runner

We have some Clearwire sources. However, there is not a lot of information out there yet. What we do know is they are going to focus on their existing WiMax sites first, and only on sites where Sprint needs additional capacity (or other future partners). So if you saw a coverage map of Clearwire LTE after the first wave of deployment, it would look like a bunch of LTE islands over their first cities. The goal for Clearwire is to not build a cohesive network over any one market, but rather sell extra capacity to other carriers who need it at point loaded zones. Clearwire is working with Sprint (and possibly other unnamed partners) to identify which Clearwire sites will need LTE most. These are the ones they are focusing on first. In later phases, they will expand these hotzones to 31 of their existing markets. In possible future unplanned phases, the may move to all 71 of their markets, or even on to Sprint Network Vision sites outside their markets. In some news today, Clearwire told Kevin Fitchard of GigaOm that they are starting work in two weeks: http://gigaom.com/2012/09/20/clearwire-breaking-ground-on-new-lte-network/ Robert

Melrose, eh? Did you ever go to Interlachen High School? I graduated from there in 1994. Robert

I see a blip on Sensorly appeared in North Attleborough today. Was that you? Robert

Nope. Not until late Spring 2013 will it start showing up. Robert

It does not support 800 SMR. It supports 850 Cellular. Back when it first came out, HTC referenced it as supporting CDMA 800, which was still a common way to refer to the Cellular spectrum (as 800). Because there was no one in the world using SMR spectrum for CDMA. However, after Sprint started ordering devices with CDMA support on SMR, it caused a change for Cellular band to start being referred to as 850 and SMR band as 800. Even as late at the Apple iPhone 4S were there references to CDMA 800 for 850MHz support only. The EVO Shift does not support Sprint's 800MHz SMR band. Only 850MHz Cellular band and 1900 PCS band. On a recent search, only PCmag.com got it right, declaring that the EVO Shift supports 850, not 800. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Upgrading to a device that supports Sprint's 800 SMR will cause you to have better voice coverage in the Chicago area, though. You will know when you are connected to 800 SMR in the 1x Engineering screen in Debug when you see you are connected to Band Class 10, Channel 476 or 526. Robert

It went live today. However, when you are back in the area, be sure to cycle through airplane mode. EVO LTE is not known for connecting to LTE on its own very well. Robert

There is already a site live on the west side of Deerfield off Lake Cook Road. If you become a Sponsor, you have access to our sites complete map that updates every week. http://s4gru.com/index.php?/topic/1195-information-about-s4gru-sponsorship-levels-and-how-to-become-a-sponsor/ Robert

A site is live in Rockford today. Out on East State near the Tollway. Probably more soon. Robert

I'm in the same boat. But I always thought that the Quad Core/LTE problem was going to be short lived. Robert

I'm not sure. Since Sprint is calling it a prelaunch, it may not show up on coverage maps. They weren't shown on their coverage maps a few minutes ago. Other prelaunch areas that have LTE service like Wichita, Topeka, Lawrence, Wichita Falls, Fredericksburg, etc. are not shown on coverage maps. Robert

It is correct. Sites have been going live yesterday and today. More will likely go live this afternoon and tomorrow morning. But this is just a pre launch, just allowing sites that are already complete the ability to be used. This is not wall to wall coverage all over the market. That is a long way away still. However, more and more sites will go live every week for the next 6 months until the entire market is covered. Robert

good intentions

This is the first time I've seen this. I've always seen/heard that the tonnage carried by one 10x10 carrier is only slightly larger than two 5x5's. And any differences only come in the fact that the number of subcarriers is slightly less in two 5x5's than one 10x10. The one 10x10 has an additional subcarrier or two in the space between the two 5x5 carriers. That's my understanding. Robert

Hello lurker. Fortunately for us, the difference between the WiMax deployment and the current deployment is night and day. WiMax deployment was handled by another company called Clearwire. And it was never intended to go nationwide over the entire Sprint network. Clearwire had plans/funding for only the Top 100 markets in the country and tentative plans to go to the Top 125 markets. Also, Clearwire did not deploy out over the entire Sprint market area in places where they deployed, only over what it deemed was the market area of a city. Clearwire ran into financial problems and stopped deploying in late 2010. After only deploying in approximately 70 markets. Far short of their plans. However, places like Mokena and Matteson would have never likely received WiMax under the original plans, even if Clearwire had never run into problems. The frequencies that Clearwire and WiMax used were not good for deployment in the exurbs and rurals. They were ideal for more high capacity areas and dense urban centers. Now move forward to the present. Sprint is now upgrading its entire network in a program called Network Vision. In Network Vision they are upgrading every single piece of hardware/equipment at every single site in the country. All 38,000+ sites. Even in places like Mokena and Matteson. Every one of Sprint's native sites in the country are being upgraded to Network Vision standards. Sprint will have a brand new state of the art, singularly tied together cohesive network, that includes 1x voice, upgraded 3G and 4G LTE. 4G LTE is a part of the Network Vision upgrade. So it is being added at virtually every single Sprint site in the country. There are less than 100 sites out of the 38,000 that will not be getting LTE. And that is because those sites can't get the upgrades for reasons outside of Sprint's control. If you become a S4GRU Sponsor, you can see all the sites that get completed and accepted by Sprint in every market, every week. There even is already a completed LTE site in Matteson (and several in Joliet). You will be able to see how Sprint is deploying over the entire market, all the way to the Wisconsin border, over to Rockford/Freeport, down to Kankakee and east into Indiana. This deployment is completely different and nothing like the previous WiMax deployment. And your market is much farther along than most others. By the end of 2013, the Chicago market will be one of the best in the country for Sprint LTE. In fact, there will be more Sprint LTE coverage in your market than AT&T by far, even than Verizon in many rural areas. Robert

We are completely member supported and count on the donations we receive to keep us online. So I say donate as much as you can afford. However, if you can afford very little, we will still upgrade you. Let your conscience and your wallet be your guide. For more info about sponsorship: http://s4gru.com/index.php?/topic/1195-information-about-s4gru-sponsorship-levels-and-how-to-become-a-sponsor/ Robert

No one has yet said that their WiFi is overloaded at home with too many devices and it performs too poorly to use, and that's why they use their Sprint LTE at home instead of WiFi. That would be a whole different discussion. The discussion pertains to people who have an acceptable WiFi at home, but refuse to offload to it. That's what I have a problem with. Robert

It's just a great place to spend a long weekend, or a vacation. Good dining, beaches, etc. But I guess to someone who has those things already to them on a local scale, Cape Cod may just appear to be a big tourist trap. Robert