S4GRU

by Robert Herron Sprint 4G Rollout Updates Friday, February 3, 2012 - 11:03 AM MST Regional Sprint affiliate, Shenandoah Communications (Shentel) and Sprint Nextel have completed their agreements to bring Sprint's Network Vision and 4G LTE to the Shentel service areas. Sprint 4G Rollout Updates initially reported back on November 29th that Shentel committed to Network Vision and LTE build out. Shentel also has been actively recruiting for Network Vision related employment positions the past few months. So this announcement today is not a surprise. This announcement does make it official now and all eyes will be on the small regional carrier to see how they deploy Network Vision and LTE. Alcatel/Lucent will be deploying for Shentel, just like they are for Sprint in the Mid-Atlantic region. As part of the agreement, Shentel will be able to use Sprint's licensed spectrum holdings on 800 ESMR and 1900 PCS for its network, installed on the Network Vision system architecture. Sprint users would use Shentel's new NV network as native coverage. This agreement extends the Shentel/Sprint partnership through 2024. May it be a model for Sprint to pursue other build outs of Network Vision and LTE in other tertiary and rural markets. Verizon is actively pursuing similar LTE deployment deals with rural wireless companies. Shentel may release additional details on its February 6th earnings call. Shentel Press Release: Shenandoah Telecommunications Company Announces New Agreement With Sprint Nextel and Plans for 4G LTE Buildout EDINBURG, Va., Feb. 2, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Shenandoah Telecommunications Company (Shentel) (Nasdaq:SHEN - News) announced today the Company has signed Addendum XII to its Affiliate Agreement with Sprint Nextel that paves the way to building a 4G LTE network in the Company's service area. Shentel will mirror Sprint's Network Vision architecture using Alcatel Lucent equipment. In addition to adding 4G services to the Company's network, the Addendum gives the Company access to additional 1900 and 800 MHz spectrum, extends the initial term of the contract five years from 2019 to 2024 and increases the cap on the Net Service Fee from 12% to 14% on July 1, 2013. The Company will host a conference call and simultaneous webcast at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time on February 6, 2012. The webcast can be accessed from the "Investor Relations" section of the company's website at http://investor.shentel.com/. Instructions for dialing in follow: Replays of the conference call will be made available after the conclusion of the call and can be accessed by dialing (855) 859-2056. About Shenandoah Telecommunications Shenandoah Telecommunications Company is a holding company that provides a broad range of telecommunications services through its operating subsidiaries. The Company is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol "SHEN." The Company's operating subsidiaries provide local and long distance telephone, Internet and data services, cable television, wireless voice and data services along with many other associated solutions in the Mid-Atlantic United States. This release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to various risks and uncertainties. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of unforeseen factors. A discussion of factors that may cause actual results to differ from management's projections, forecasts, estimates and expectations is available in the Company filings with the SEC. Those factors may include changes in general economic conditions, increases in costs, changes in regulation and other competitive factors. Source: http://investor.shen...eleaseID=645935

by Robert Herron Sprint 4G Rollout Updates Friday, February 3, 2012 - 12:50 AM MST On Monday of this week, we published a story about Sprint ‘retuning’ its iDEN network. We pondered what retuning meant. We now have been given a few more details. An internal source from Sprint sent us information on a slide regarding iDEN decommissioning. Retuning basically entails complete decommissioning of many iDEN sites. Basically the iDEN towers being removed from the network are excess capacity sites added many years ago when a much larger Nextel iDEN network was planned for. With the removal of many iDEN sites, the remaining sites will need to be “retuned” to increase coverage area to try to capture the same square mileage. This is the cause of why indoor performance may suffer, because a lot of signal overlap that exists today will be lost. And many users may find themselves farther from a signal, that by the time they get indoors they are sufficiently far enough away that the signal could be unusable or nonexistent. And these customers will be able to get out of their contracts, ETF free. Sprint will begin decommissioning these excess iDEN sites in the New Orleans area at the end of February at the conclusion of Mardi Gras. This will be the test market for this decommissioning plan. Then after NOLA’s iDEN is retuned, they will take that information nationwide and begin decommissioning iDEN towers in the rest of the country in April. CNS (Custom Network Solution) donor sites and towers deemed critical for potential disaster recovery efforts will not be decommissioned. Sprint listed one of the chief reasons for the early decommissioning of these excess sites is to reduce operating costs and allow Sprint to be more competitive. Sprint is also creating an “iDEN War Room” to support the iDEN Decommissioning project. This War Room will handle customer service fallout resulting from the significant iDEN network upheaval that is anticipated. Even though this transition is welcome news (except by perhaps iDEN customers), it sadly doesn’t sound like it includes any 800MHz refarming for post Network Vision uses, like 1xA voice and LTE carriers. Many of us were excited at this possibility. But now our hopes are dashed for the near future. But no matter how you slice it, the end of iDEN is nigh!

by Robert Herron Sprint 4G Rollout Updates Friday, February 3, 2012 - 1:15 AM MST Last month, Sprint announced that Network Vision and LTE Deployment is under way in Atlanta, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio. Sprint 4G Rollout Updates can confirm that Network Vision and LTE Deployment is well underway in Chicago also. As well as a few communities in Northeast Iowa. Sprint 4G Rollout Updates was able to receive information from internal Sprint documents that have not been released to the public. Unfortunately, the documentation will not be released here at the request of the source. The fact that Sprint is actively deploying Network Vision and LTE in Chicago isn’t a complete surprise. Sprint 4G Rollout Updates announced this on October 28th when a Samsung VP let the cat out of the bag that they were beginning LTE deployment that day in Chicago for Sprint. But we stood amazed when Dan Hesse announced the first four LTE cities last month and did not mention Chicago. What gives, I remembered thinking. Network Vision/LTE being deployed in Chicago in clusters We can confirm that Samsung is indeed actively working throughout Chicagoland on Network Vision and LTE Deployment, as well as many things in preparation. Network Vision is occurring in the Greater Chicago area in clusters, instead of one citywide deployment. This could be the reason why Chicago has not been announced with the other cities, as the deployment may not be totally complete in the whole area for some time. One of the issues in Chicago for Sprint is new fiber optic backhaul. CenturyLink is providing a new OC-48 fiber optic link for Sprint Network Vision cell sites. This fiber optic link is anticipated in Mid-February. After this is in place, many DS-3 subfeeds to the cell sites will need to be placed, and this will take another 60 days to complete. In some places the enhanced backhaul may arrive before Samsung overhauls the cell site with Network Vision, in other places afterwards. At sites where the backhaul arrives before Samsung, the enhanced backhaul may stay there unused until the site is overhauled. Even as Network Vision is underway, additional capacity is still being added Even though Sprint is actively working to bring enhanced backhaul to cell sites in Chicago, they are still deploying additional T1 backhaul to augment existing sites to help improve performance prior to Network Vision rework. Some orders for T1’s placed for other sites that are performing acceptably may be reallocated to underperforming locations. Significant performance improvements should be noticed in February as T1 lines that have been backordered for months will start occurring en masse. A large focus of capacity adds are in the Loop Area. Other things noted in the documents include, 3G-EVDO performance has improved where additional carrier and backhaul upgrades have been recently completed. However, some problem areas still exist and will not be fixed when the sites in the area are converted to Network Vision. Chicago is a Capacity Constrained Market for Sprint. Nearly 50% of all the Sprint cell sites in the Chicago area have carrier deployment exhausting all the available licensed spectrum. More specifically, many locations in Downtown Chicago, Aurora, Elgin and Des Plaines will likely require additional cell site deployments in order to increase performance. There are too many users in these cells to accommodate with additional carriers and backhaul alone. Smaller cells will be the only solution in these areas. The Downtown Loop is specifically highly strained due to its density. In the Loop, not only will additional cells be required, but Sprint has also identified 5 locations to deploy Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS) to increase capacity. Sprint deploying several things to relieve data burden, including forced WiMax offload Other items Sprint is pursuing to help alleviate data speed and performance issues in Chicago are commercial Femtocells, WiFi and forced WiMax data offload. Femtocells are being deployed at Willis Tower for United Airlines. Each Femtocell will accommodate up to 200 users, but can only hand off to the external macro Sprint network. They can cannot ‘hand-in’, so to speak. Sprint is working with Cisco on deploying WiFi in several key identified locations. However, the most notable solution that Sprint is looking to employ is forced WiMax offload. In Sprint devices that have WiMax capability, Sprint may force the devices to run in 4G WiMax mode. The details of how they would do it were not disclosed. Would they push a device update that would give them this capability? The forced WiMax offload would only occur when the device tries to use data. Presumably the devices would stay in a WiMax hibernation state until needed. For you Sprint customers in Chicago, the Cavalry is coming. It may be late, in many respects, but it is going to be thorough and comprehensive. Sprint isn’t just throwing up Network Vision on every tower and hopes it fixes the experience for its customers. Sprint is actively throwing everything it has to improve its network. And all these different solutions are what it’s going to take. Stay tuned! EDITED 3/5/2012: To include market map. EDITED 5/4/2012: Strike out of NE Iowa communities. When this first draft of this article was written, it did not include any info about Northeast Iowa. It was only about the Chicago market based on documents we seen. However, just prior to publishing, we were contacted by a source about Network Vision equipment deliveries that were occurring in several communities in NE Iowa and St. Cloud, Minnesota. At that time, not knowing as much about NV deployment as we do now, S4GRU made the assumption that Network Vision was beginning in those markets and chose to add NE Iowa to the article. We have since learned that NV Equipment deliveries (especially by Samsung) are happening far, far in advance in many locations. NV Equipment deliveries have very little bearing on the actual NV schedule. Also since the date this article was published we have seen national NV schedules and local NV schedules. We know definitively that even though equipment has landed in NE Iowa for Samsung to use in the future, NV has not begun in that market (to date). Planning, permitting and design are not even complete in that area. There will likely not be any NV deployment in any of the Iowa markets until 2013. Minnesota will start sooner, though. This point is one of the reasons why we no longer publish anything anymore based upon verbal communication, but only on things we see ourselves. Sorry for the confusion and disappointment this causes. S4GRU is committed to bringing you the most accurate information. I hope you appreciate the fact that we correct and update our articles when we learn of more accurate info. Thanks.

by Robert Herron Sprint 4G Rollout Updates Wednesday, February 1, 2012 - 7:51 PM MST Tim Godsil wants you to sign his petition. What petition do you ask? The petition he started on the Change.org website to motivate Sprint to carry the mega-sized Samsung Galaxy Note smartphone. The Android powered, not-quite tablet, not-quite smartphone is making many waves this season. If all the hype turns into sales, Samsung has the making of a new iconic smartphone series. And dozens of knock-offs will occur. The Galaxy Note has been announced for the AT&T network here in the United States. However, Samsung and Sprint have yet to announce a model for the Now Network. The blogosphere has been active with rumors of the Galaxy Note coming to Sprint, and possibly Verizon as well. Maybe even with a different name, like the Journal. Most likely the decision for Sprint to carry the Note has already been made months ago, whether for, or against. And it may be too late for Sprint to get the Note if the process has not already been started. If product development of the Note for the Now Network should just get started now, it would likely be obsolete by the time it got to Sprint store shelves. It never hurts to sign the petition, though, right? I signed it. Decisions to make big changes can occur from the grassroots from folks like us. So, if the thought of a Samsung Galaxy Note (especially if it has LTE) gets your motor started, then follow this link to the petition and sign yourself up. Heck, even if you don't want a Note for yourself, go and sign the petition anyway. More device choices is good for all of us. And maybe the next petition will be for a device you want. And we will be there to sign yours too. Join the rebellion...sign the petition! Source: https://www.change.o...roid-smartphone

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.

by Jeff Foster Sprint 4G Rollout Updates Tuesday, January 31, 2012 - 7:46 PM MST Since last fall, there had been talk of a Samsung Galaxy Nexus launching on American carriers other than Big Red. Sprint has finally announced several weeks ago that it is the another vendor slated for release in the U.S. Suffice to say, many of us out there, especially those adverse to heading to Verizon and paying its premium prices, are excited about the impending release. The good news is that Google could be working on an updated version of the Galaxy Nexus. It has unofficially been dubbed the Galaxy Nexus Plus. There is much anticipation that it will be released before Sprint turns on LTE this summer. It’s not the first time an OEM has refreshed a device and re-released it to the market place, which works to our advantage. It’s rumored that the new Galaxy Nexus will have either a 1.5 or 1.8 GHz Texas Instrument OMAP4670 dual core processor. This would be a significant upgrade from the 1.2 GHz dual core processor found in the current Verizon version. We don’t know anything about official specs, but it’s also rumored to have an 8 MP camera. This is a noteworthy upgrade to the 5 MP shooter on the Verizon model (which has been lauded by many techies). We already know that the Sprint model will come installed with Google Wallet, per previous announcements. Some rumors also point to a beefier battery as well. The phone should have all the other features that’s on the current Galaxy Nexus, so now all we have to do is wait. Source: http://androidandme....era-on-the-way/

by Robert Herron Sprint 4G Rollout Updates Monday, January 30, 2012 - 4:45 PM MST In a new graphic BriefMobile.com has released (see at bottom), Sprint is claiming to begin retuning iDEN towers in Louisiana (presumably in February) and the rest of the country starting in April. But what is retuning in this instance, really? In the graphic they are prepping Sprint CSR’s with info of what to tell iDEN PTT customers. It also mentions who can get out of ETF’s (Early Termination Fees) and when. It also mentions that there will be some loss in signal propagation and that indoor coverage may suffer after retuning. Obviously, this is much more than retuning. Retuning makes it sound like they are making changes that will have positive results. In the long term, Sprint is going to completely decommission the iDEN system and repurpose the 800MHz ESMR spectrum it currently uses for iDEN and re-use it for 1x Advanced voice and LTE carriers. However, in the past, Sprint has said they will not even begin iDEN decommissioning until 2013. But is this graphic telling us otherwise if we read between the lines? Are they really beginning now in Louisiana and moving on to the rest of the country in April? Sprint 4G Rollout Updates has been critical in the past of Sprint for waiting until 2013 to begin iDEN decommissioning. We have said several times here and on numerous forums that it makes more sense to roll out CDMA and LTE on iDEN 800 spectrum now in Network Vision. Sprint can really benefit from expanded coverage that 800MHz will bring them, as well as having double the LTE capacity from day one. Also, there are some financial efficiencies gained for doing all this at once. iDEN subscriber numbers are plummeting very consistently. It does not need the full 800 spectrum assets now for the iDEN network. And maybe even not at all. Sprint could possibly shunt their current iDEN subscribers off to their small 900MHz holdings to tie them over as their numbers continue to diminish. If Sprint planned the migration right, they could repurpose its entire 800MHz holdings right now in Network Vision. No need to wait until 2013 to begin. And perhaps that’s what this graphic is telling us. Has Sprint finally got hip to a smarter strategy for Network Vision, iDEN decommissioning and 800MHz CDMA/LTE deployment? I sense an urgency in this image from Sprint. They are pushing heavily for CSRs to incentivize iDEN subscribers into either jumping over to Sprint Direct Connect (SDC) for their PTT needs, conventional Sprint CDMA or even leaving altogether without an ETF. They want these customers to scram off the iDEN network, and quickly. That much is clear. We would love some more juicy dorky details. Like, are they just leaving a few iDEN carriers operating on 800 and allowing some re-use of 800 spectrum? Are they moving all iDEN traffic to 900 spectrum, completely? Are they doing something else that makes absolutely no sense? When can we expect 800 CDMA deployment to begin? Has it already begun? If you are a reader and you know, feel free to e-mail me, send me a private message…anything! Although, I would love to have a Sprint to English dictionary and find out how they define “retuning.” Special thanks to xcharles718 for posting the lead in the S4GRU forums and all our member comments. Photos Courtesy of Sprint and BriefMobile.com

by Robert Herron Sprint 4G Rollout Updates Friday, January 27, 2012 - 2:21 PM MST Earlier this week, Clearwire announced it was seeking $300 Million in additional funding, suspiciously timed with announcing cherry picked results from its 4th Quarter 2011. And now today, Clearwire has announced that they have closed sale on that $300 Million in debt. Clearwire said that these monies were raised “for the deployment of mobile 4G LTE technology alongside the mobile 4G WiMAX technology currently on its network and for the operation and maintenance of its networks and for general corporate purposes.” However, this all comes at a very high price. This funding is at a rate of 14.75% due in 2016. But for many of us, we are looking forward to a Clearwire TD-LTE network. So, whatever it takes to get to the finish line!

by Scott Johnson Sprint 4G Rollout Updates Thursday, January 26, 2012 - 12:01 AM MST Many of us enjoy the freedom that rooting or jailbreaking our phones gives. Adding custom ROMs, removing “bloatware” or Carrier IQ, and adding additional controls are just the start. We knowingly take the risk that that we may turn our phone into a brick, and our warranty will likely not cover repair or replacement. But will we knowingly commit a criminal act to unlock our phones? Apple has claimed that jailbreaking the iPhone was in conflict with copyright laws. Given the amount of time they spent locking down iOS, it’s no surprise they oppose it. In July 2010, the U.S. Copyright Office eventually decided that jailbreaking and rooting was not a violation of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA), as long as it was not done with the intent of circumventing copyright. However, this decision was not permanent. If it is allowed to expire next month, jailbreaking and rooting could be considered breach of the DMCA. Development websites like XDA started out with the public perception that they were underground gatherings of hackers and pirates. Since the U.S. Copyright Office published the finding that jailbreaking and rooting was not illegal, those development websites have become widely popular and have largely changed the public's perception. Even Steve Kondik, aka “Cyanogen”, creator of the widely popular Android ROM CyanogenMod was hired by Samsung. Due to the liberties that millions of us enjoy about to be removed due to the sunseting DCMA, the Electronic Frontier Foundation has begun a campaign to keep our phones free. They are undertaking a campaign to convince the U.S. Copyright Office that we should have the right to unlock not only our smartphones, but our tablets and video game consoles. They have a petition that they will send to the U.S. Copyright Office, and they are asking for Concrete examples of legal uses of jailbreaking that “will help show the Copyright Office why they should renew and expand the exemptions for jailbreaking.” You can visit the EFF’s jailbreaking page here: https://www.eff.org/...ee-your-devices Photo courtesy of iphonefreakz.com Source: http://www.phonearen...l-again_id26246

by Andrew J. Shepherd Sprint 4G Rollout Updates Wednesday, January 25, 2012 - 9:59 PM MST On AT&T’s Public Policy Blog recently, AT&T Senior Vice President Bob Quinn makes some bold claims about Sprint "disinvestment" in rural areas. But, at best, AT&T has failed to do its homework. And, at worst, the AT&T blog piece is an old fashioned hatchet job. The claims of Sprint "disinvestment" in rural areas in this case are largely contradictory to the facts. And the disparagement from AT&T is hypocritical, as it conveniently ignores AT&T’s own neglect of rural areas, especially those where it holds only PCS 1900 MHz spectrum. The rural coverage in question in Kansas and Oklahoma was constructed and is managed by Cellular Network Partnership d/b/a Pioneer Cellular. Sprint, as part of its Sprint Rural Alliance program, assigned portions of its PCS 1900 MHz spectrum seven years ago to Pioneer so that Pioneer could greatly expand its services to adjacent rural areas. Sprint Native Coverages with Pioneer Cellular, and then after native service ends and converting to roaming coverage. Click on image to enlarge. And here is an excerpt from the Sprint-Pioneer spectrum assignment application that the FCC approved in 2005: So, Sprint enabled increased investment – not "disinvestment," as Quinn incorrectly claims – improved wireless coverage, and enhanced competition in underserved areas in Kansas and Oklahoma. Rural residents benefited, Pioneer benefited, even Sprint benefited. It was a win-win all around. In a quid pro quo for that spectrum investment, Sprint was able to offer Pioneer footprint as pseudo native Sprint coverage. Obviously, that arrangement is coming to an end, with a more traditional roaming agreement to follow. Why? Only Sprint and Pioneer know for certain. But Pioneer has inked a pact with Verizon Wireless now, having joined VZW's LTE in Rural America program. So, that change in allegiance probably played a big role in the decision to end the Sprint-Pioneer arrangement. Regardless, AT&T’s criticism is misplaced. Sprint's infusion of spectrum has allowed a small carrier over the past seven years to expand rural coverage and deliver 3G mobile broadband to communities in Kansas and Oklahoma that generally lack choices in wireless or even wired Internet access. That type of universally beneficial cooperation in the industry should be cheered, not derided. And has the irony been lost on AT&T that it, too, relies upon roaming coverage in several counties in southern Kansas where Sprint-Pioneer have coverage? (see image above).AT&T lobs criticism at Sprint for soon to be roaming on Pioneer where Sprint has its own spectrum, but the same is true for AT&T. AT&T holds spectrum in these counties but has not built it out. Moreover, if AT&T truly wants to talk about "disinvestment" in rural areas, then Quinn really should turn the mirror upon his employer. For example, AT&T and its predecessors have held PCS 1900 MHz licenses for several quite rural Basic Trading Areas in North and South Dakota for the past 15 years. The FCC five year construction requirement deadlines for those licenses came up in 2002. AT&T met its five year benchmark by deploying typically single cell site "license protection" coverage in only the largest city in each BTA, often just barely meeting the minimum 25 percent population coverage. And AT&T proceeded to stand pat on that token coverage for the better part of a decade. To illustrate, compare an AT&T 2009 coverage map to the Aberdeen, SD and Minot, ND BTAs buildout coverage maps filed with the FCC in 2002. In the intervening years, AT&T failed to invest beyond the minimum coverage required to retain its licenses in the Dakotas and, instead, relied upon roaming for better than 90 percent of its coverage. Yet, Quinn has the temerity to castigate Sprint for strategically using roaming partners. (Story continues below...) AT&T Dakotas 2009 Coverage Map. Click on image to enlarge. AT&T Aberdeen, SD 2002 Buildout Coverage Map. Click on image to enlarge. AT&T Minot, ND 2002 buildout Coverage Map. Click on image to enlarge. It was only once VZW acquired Alltel and was required to divest numerous properties – AT&T conveniently was the acquirer of divested Cellular 850 MHz spectrum with superior propagation characteristics and an already constructed network across the Dakotas – that AT&T finally took an active interest in both states about 18 months ago. AT&T knows all too well that PCS 1900 MHz propagation is a challenge, both technically and economically, to make work in highly rural areas. For AT&T to hold Sprint and its PCS 1900 MHz spectrum to a higher standard is really quite disingenuous. Furthermore, the situation in the Dakotas is not an isolated occurrence. Rather, it is really a microcosm of AT&T's approach to rural deployment in general. AT&T started its 3G W-CDMA network overlay more than six years ago. And, believe it or not, AT&T still is not even close to finished. A glance over an AT&T coverage map from late 2011 shows that large swaths of 2G GSM/GPRS/EDGE coverage (unstriped orange on the map) linger in Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, South Carolina, Texas (AT&T's home state, no less), Wisconsin, Washington, etc. Why has AT&T been so slow to bring the benefits of 3G W-CDMA to these areas and their residents? That is a very good question, and one that AT&T should be made to answer, especially after AT&T made such audacious claims that its failed merger with T-Mobile would have emboldened AT&T to expand rural 4G LTE deployment to 98 percent of the population. AT&T’s slow and selective 3G W-CDMA roll out would seem to suggest just the opposite. (Story continues below...) AT&T National 2011 3G/4G Coverage Map. Click on image to enlarge. In the end, this rebuttal is intended primarily to bring a more complete set of facts to the discussion. Nearly all wireless carriers are at least sometimes guilty of putting their own financial interests ahead of the public interest by deploying minimal “license protection” coverage, passing over low population density areas, etc. But, additionally, AT&T, in its failed T-Mobile merger bid and otherwise, has shown a disturbing corporate willingness to play fast and loose with the truth in order to achieve its aims. And, sadly, the trend continues with Quinn’s recent AT&T Public Policy Blog post. That is unacceptable and cannot be allowed to stand unchallenged. Sources: FCC, AT&T, Sprint, Howard Forums

Migrated from Original Forum. Originally Posted 6 January 2012 The number that use WiMax? The last time I heard it was over 200. But I think it's in a steady decline now. It's not so much that LTE is a better technology, IMHO, it's that it offers WirelessCo's more control over their network (which is a good and bad thing) and, more importantly now has economies of scale behind it. LTE is cheaper than WiMax now. And it will be far cheaper next year. LTE prices are going down, while WiMax is trending up. And WiMax2 will be released before LTE Advanced. However, none of that matters now. WiMax is dying. Someone just needs to pull the plug. As for WiMax frequencies, about half the world uses 2.5-2.6GHz, like Clearwire. The other half are split between 2.3GHz, 3.3GHz and 3.5GHz. Some of those places that use higher frequencies use beamforming to transmit their signal. So, a 3.5GHz signal beamformed actually produces a stronger signal that penetrates walls better than Clearwire's 2.5GHz signal. In fact, if Sprint used beamforming on Clearwire's spectrum, it wouldn't even need any more 800MHz spectrum. Beamforming a 2.5GHz signal would produce a usable signal pattern better than 1900PCS, nearly equaling 800MHz. Beamforming takes a lot more engineering and signal planning though than a conventional deployment, and also more antennas. So there is some cost associated with it. But to be able to cover more area with 2.5GHz, deliver better results (and higher speeds), have happier customers and not have to buy expensive spectrum at auction all more than counteract the additional costs associated with beamforming.