WiWavelength

I will stand to be corrected, but Sprint has yet to deploy any LightSquared LTE 1500-1600 infrastructure, as LightSquared has yet to garner FCC approval. Sure, Sprint has included space for LightSquared in its Network Vision plans. However, Sprint does not have to execute that element of the plan if LightSquared fails to hold up its end of the bargain.

So, most likely, the mounting poles set aside for LightSquared will go empty for the time being. Similarly, you will note that the legacy CDMA1X 1900 antennas will remain mounted only during a transition phase, then they will be retired. And those mounting poles will become empty. No big deal.

AJ

it does make sense. Sprint was anticipating, but not dependent upon a certain and significant contribution of funds from Lightsquared. now that it's all but assured that LS is going to fail, they are likely looking for a new funding source/partner.

Indeed. And according to some posted Network Vision schematics, the LightSquared L-band 1500-1600 MHz antennas had to be additional and separate from the Sprint SMR/PCS 800/1900 MHz antennas. But if T-Mobile were to contribute PCS 1900 MHz spectrum to a joint venture with Sprint, that would not require much if any additional or separate infrastructure, as the Network Vision dual band antennas would already be in place. Thus, T-Mobile spectrum would be an easy fit.

would it be fair to say that t-mobile would NOT have access to the 800MHz LTE and 2.5GHz TD-LTE networks once they inevitably go live?

Ah, you are going to have to wait for part three of the article series next week. As part of my discussion "why" Sprint-T-Mobile could/should pursue an LTE network sharing agreement, I will address how Sprint and T-Mobile could maintain differentiation while still selling access to the same LTE network. And, yes, differential access to LTE 800 and/or TD-LTE 2500-2600 is one potentiality that I plan to cover.

AJ

WiWavelength,Yeah I came across it as it was one of few things that has some info in it. This article just made me want to know more exactly as to what areas they own what exact spectrum and how much of it. Like me not seeing Raleigh(my home, lol) in the spreadsheet just makes me want to know more at the least about their holdings here and else where to try to get a grasp on their possibilities.

At the very least, I can tell you that Sprint's PCS 1900 MHz licenses in Raleigh-Durham have not changed. That market I know off the top of my head. Sprint still holds its original PCS D block 10 MHz license won at FCC auction and a PCS A5 block 10 MHz partition/disaggregation acquired from the old AT&TWS. Since both the PCS A5 and D blocks are contiguous, Sprint in Raleigh-Durham controls a solid 20 MHz block of spectrum, in which it can deploy a max of seven CDMA2000 carriers.

AJ

solid article. Do you by chance have a map/spreadsheet showing all of sprints spectrum holdings exactly detailed out?Been looking for one for awhile and always seem to get old info with them or just bits of it, not showing exactly all the details.

Sgt., I did that legwork on Sprint's PCS 1900 MHz spectrum holdings about nine years ago. You may have already come across my old spectrum catalog and map at wirelesswavelength.com. Unfortunately, I do not have more recent info in finished form (only the raw data that I have compiled for this article and others). That said, my nine year old info is still ~90 percent accurate.

AJ

One question about your CDMA1x/EVDO analysis about how three 1x carriers and three EVDO carriers take up 17.5 Mhz. How much spectrum do guard bands take? If I do the math (1.25 x 6 = 7.5 Mhz) that would mean that guard bands take up 10 Mhz and this was done on CDMA2000 1x?

Just as LTE is 5 MHz x 5 MHz, 10 MHz x 10 MHz, etc., keep in mind that CDMA1X and EV-DO are 1.25 MHz x 1.25 MHz. In other words, do not forget to count both uplink and downlink. Thus, each carrier channel is 2.5 MHz bandwidth in total. Then, do the math (e.g. 2.5 MHz x 6 = 15 MHz). And a good rule of thumb is that a CDMA2000 deployment requires guard bands equivalent to the bandwidth of one carrier channel (i.e. 2.5 MHz, split 625 kHz at the top/bottom of the uplink and top/bottom of the downlink). Do the math again (e.g. 15 MHz + 2.5 MHz = 17.5 MHz), and there you have it.

Once 1x Advanced can be put on 800 Mhz that would free up more 1900 Mhz spectrum since Sprint can put 2 1xAdvanced voice carriers on 800 Mhz.

The uplink/downlink calculations above are equally relevant here. If Sprint's final rebanded SMR 800 MHz allocation is 14 MHz (i.e. 7 MHz x 7 MHz), and Sprint deploys one 5 MHz x 5 MHz LTE channel, then Sprint will be able to support concurrently just one 1.25 MHz x 1.25 MHz CDMA1X Advanced carrier.

AJ