WiWavelength

No, that is unlikely. With only one CDMA1X 800 carrier, it will not be able to handle all voice traffic. So, some CDMA1X 1900 carriers will also be necessary. And in a PCS A/B block 30 MHz (aka 15 MHz FDD) market, a 10 MHz x 10 MHz (aka 10 MHz FDD) carrier would take up two thirds of the available spectrum, leaving enough remaining spectrum for only three CDMA2000 carriers. Until Sprint shuts down EV-DO, three CDMA2000 carriers would be inadequate in most major markets. Additionally, many of the pre tri band LTE handsets do not support wider bandwidth LTE carriers. AJ

"You know what it is -- you always go that one move too far. And then you try to save it. No, don't move. Freeze! Don't...ah...ah... You moved. You moved! It's not my fault. Come on, you clearly exhaled." AJ

Agreed. By paying off ETFs and providing handset trade in credits, T-Mobile's sub acquisition costs are going to go through the roof. T-Mobile is acting more like a wireless startup 10-15 years ago than a national operator in a mature market. AJ

On the other hand, you were actually at Walmart. Boo... AJ

Band 25 includes band 2. The reverse, however, is not necessarily true. AJ

Your analysis is off target. If you take "unlimited" data for all it is worth and upgrade precisely on schedule, then the existing plans with included subsidy may be superior. But if you upgrade more or less often than the month when eligible, subsidy becomes an albatross around your neck every month. I demonstrated this in a post earlier today, showing that the max discount Framily plan can beat existing plans -- even including full price handsets costs. Additionally, financing is not required. Plenty of us would just pay the full price upfront. AJ

Would you like to buy the London Bridge? I can make you an offer you cannot refuse. AJ

Unfortunately, that band 25 LTE 1900 joint venture opportunity likely passed almost two years ago. But as the author of the articles in question, I appreciate your readership and thoughts on the matter. AJ

I see your umpteen billion and raise you $Dubai. I call... AJ

Thanks, but this was already posted twice early this morning. AJ

Yep. Even deactivated devices were good for CDMA1X network spelunking, but that is no longer the case with LTE. AJ

I think our resident Cornhusker means a replacement LTE device "that is really old." AJ

Does AT&T make Robert wear a condom when he uses the phone? AJ

As Robert notes, T-Mobile's included international roaming comes from its Deutsche Telekom parent. That may go away, since we are basically all in agreement that the Germans are retreating from this market -- sooner or later. Moreover, the included international roaming is maybe the least beneficial "uncarrier" perk that Legere has engendered. It is little more than a psychological ploy for 99 percent of T-Mobile subs. Oh, I might travel overseas -- someday. Sure, you might, but you probably will not. And you would be far better served worrying about your T-Mobile coverage in Paris, Texas than in Paris, France. AJ

Hold the phone. Are you forgetting the plight of the S4GRU writer who does not have a wife and children from whom to pillage frequent subsidized upgrades? Regardless of cost, I buy a new flagship device at least once a year so as to stay abreast of the latest processors, basebands, and RF capabilities. As Kenan Thompson says on Saturday Night Live, "I do this for you, people. For you!" On my current Everything Data plan with volume pricing discount, I pay a base rate of $66 per month. Over a two year period, which includes one $200 subsidized upgrade and one $600 full price upgrade, I shell out a total of $2384. Now, compare that to a maxed out Framily plan. I would pay a base rate of $25 per month. The two year period would include two $600 full price upgrades, but my total out of pocket costs would be just $1800. And the Nexus wildcard could lower the full price upgrades even further. In other words, for an S4GRU writer who is frequently upgrading but not trading in his museum piece devices and not sucking Sprint "unlimited" data dry, a maximum discount Framily plan makes a lot of sense. AJ

Of course, Sprint wants more revenue from data add ons. But allowing "unlimited" data leads to a more congested network for everyone else. Sprint has to find that balance between ARPU and user experience. AJ

Sprint does not want to force people off of "unlimited" data, but it does want to entice people away from it because it just is not sustainable. Giving people a potentially significant break on their monthly service costs by keeping their data usage under 1 GB is a great carrot to dangle in front of them. However, those that want "unlimited" data can still get it -- they just have to pony up the extra dough to compensate for their added load on the network and opportunity cost to their fellow users. AJ

Plenty of S4GRU members do. People who buy high end Samsung or HTC handsets or iPhones while they are still fresh and new easily pay an average subsidized upgrade price of $200. Your example of the LG G2 is not representative. It feels almost as if that handset was dumped on the market. AJ

To be fair, are you factoring in the $200-300 per line for subsidized upgrade price at least once every two years? If not, you need to increase your effective monthly cost per line by about $10. AJ

I have to comment on that last stat, as it boggles my mind. The vast majority of SignalCheck Lite users actually uninstall it? Why is the Lite retention rate only 30 percent? Or is that low retention rate simply characteristic of free apps in general? AJ

What you describe is e/CSFB working as intended, tunneling incoming notifications via LTE. But if that is not working for you, well, you have several options. Become an S4GRU sponsor so that you can view our maps and confirm that your home serving site is LTE accepted. As suggested previously, disable LTE while at home. Notifications will then come in via CDMA1X. Enable LTE when you leave home. Hope that LTE 800 solves your signal strength issues. Hope that Sprint offers an LTE capable Airave (or similar) femtocell for e/CSFB purposes. Use Google Voice integration and a VoIP app, such as GrooVe IP, for voice calls over Wi-Fi while at home. As for T-Mobile, it almost certainly has a site closer to your house than Sprint does. Such is luck of the draw. The shoe is often on the other foot with Sprint having a site closer than T-Mobile does. Additionally, you are in Dallas, where T-Mobile is throwing everything including the kitchen sink, spectrum wise, at LTE because it is also a major MetroPCS market. Nothing will solve either one of those "problems." AJ

Eleventy billion dollars. AJ

Not to be pedantic, but that question has been addressed and answered earlier in this thread. The eligible upgrade is basically a trade in program. It replaces the One Up program. AJ

Well, the Nexus 5 is the non Sprint specific handset that crashed the party... AJ

Manually enabling bands 26 and 41, then adjusting band priority has produced mixed results. We expect there is more to the Spark update than just the hidden settings and the icon. AJ