WiWavelength

The FCC is not being a *tight ass* regarding SoftBank-Sprint. Xenophobic politicians and Dish are/were the ones *constipating* the deal. Research. Go read the FCC docket: http://transition.fcc.gov/transaction/softbank-sprint.html AJ

No, like the tech bloggers, you are missing the point. And, living in Hawaii, you may not be in position to understand the true nature of T-Mobile network deployment, since you have just small areas of populated land that need coverage surrounded by Pacific Ocean that does not. On the mainland, T-Mobile has deployed HSPA+ basically in islands -- pardon the pun. Many cities have HSPA+, but some cities plus the highways and rural areas in between are stuck on EDGE or GPRS. T-Mobile LTE deployment is following the same pattern. Only those sites that already have HSPA+ because they have advanced backhaul are also getting LTE. Thus, those areas without LTE will likely be without HSPA+, too. So, the T-Mobile HSPA+ fallback is hardly the panacea that many make it out to be. The only reason it should really come into play is LTE coverage failure because LTE is a more fragile airlink. In comparison, Sprint is taking care of that problem by deploying LTE 1900 at full site density and utilizing LTE 800 for superior coverage. AJ

Now, you are scaring our many spelling challenged members. They see *loose* and think you might *lose* your sphincter. AJ

I would not hold out hope for that wish to come true. Many markets will be lucky to free up 40 MHz for their total 600 MHz band plan. AJ

"According to data from Cisco Visual Networking Index, the average smartphone connection speed in Japan was 2.1 megabytes per second in 2012—nearly 40% faster than the average 1.5 megabytes per second in the U.S." A non tech reporter getting megabytes and megabits confused, imagine that. Well, I can guarantee that the average smartphone connections speeds in Japan and the US are not 16.8 Mbps and 12 Mbps, respectively. AJ

Eh, AT&T is still deploying new GSM as we speak. AJ

Well, I wish that you would tell your story straight. Previously, you said that you were going to use roaming until Sprint kicked you off. Now, you claim that your roaming setting is actually turned off. So, those two parts are basically contradictory. In the end, if you use mainly WiMAX and Wi-Fi and keep your roaming to a minimum, then you might be able to fly under the radar. But I seem to recall that Sprint also includes a majority roaming clause in the Ts and Cs. So, if you are going to be in Rapid City for six months, your best bet might be to have your Sprint account put on seasonal standby, then go prepaid for the time being. As for the spectrum issue, Sprint does not hold any traditional PCS A-F block spectrum licensed specifically for Rapid City. Rather, Sprint's Denver MTA PCS A block license comprises portions of six states and includes Rapid City. As of 2002, Sprint covered 74 percent of the population in the licensed area, more than is necessary to satisfy its FCC buildout requirement. Like it or not, Rapid City is just not a priority market. Off the top of my head, since Qwest disbanded its wireless network, the only wireless operators that offer native service in Rapid City are VZW and AT&T. And neither built a network there; both got into the market via acquisition. AJ

Mooeydj, NIDs do not require unique number identifiers. They are just subdivisions of SIDs. AJ

NID consolidation is likely to affect other markets, too, and that has ramifications for those who have experienced NID boundary problems for many years. (This Bud's for you, larryt510.) AJ

Indeed, Josh, that is the widespread relevance of this thread. AJ

And, overnight, Lawrence has been absorbed into NID 308, too. We are now one with the Borg. AJ

For Wi-Fi, it probably is of little benefit. Leave Wi-Fi on all the time. I do and notice no significant battery drain. AJ

If you get anything, expect to be shipped a R-R-R-Retina MacBook Pro! AJ

I have made several previous posts on this subject. In a nutshell, it has nothing to do with Asia. That is coincidence. BRS/EBS 2600 MHz band plan is not configured well for FDD operation. Plus, TDD makes far more sense for data centric use. AJ

Well, I guess that no one likes my send up of the two biggest contingents of Nextel iDEN users: hardhat wearers and, via Boost Mobile, drug dealers. Stereotypes may not be politically correct. But they can be funny. And their generalizations tend to contain more truth than people want to admit. AJ

Maybe it is a P-P-P-PowerBook! https://encyclopediadramatica.se/P-p-p-powerbook AJ

Actually, I do know the TD-LTE downlink:uplink ratio that Clearwire is, at the very least, currently using. About a week ago, 4GHoward sent me a very recent Clearwire FCC filing from the 600 MHz band plan docket. Not surprisingly, Clearwire advocates a TDD band plan and, in the course of doing so, reveals that it is utilizing the 3:2 downlink:uplink ratio, which it claims to offer the best balance of performance factors. I did not get a chance to thank 4GHoward, so consider this some publicly expressed appreciation. Now, to cut to the chase, the 90-99 Mbps peak figure seems about right, maybe a bit inflated. Here is the back of the napkin math. A 3:2 ratio can be converted to a 60:40 proportion. If we want to compare to FDD, let us just hypothetically convert the TDD proportion from time to spectrum. In other words, of the 20 MHz bandwidth, it is as if 12 MHz is effectively used for downlink, 8 MHz for uplink. A little bit of each is lost due to the guard periods, but we can disregard those right now for the sake of simplicity. Thus, compared to 10 MHz FDD, 20 MHz TDD has a 20 percent advantage on the downlink, a 20 percent disadvantage on the uplink. If 10 MHz FDD can peak at 75 Mbps on the downlink, then a 20 percent increase puts the 20 MHz TDD peak right at 90 Mbps. AJ

Even with Clearwire TD-LTE, the claim to the fastest LTE network will be questionable. VZW and T-Mobile likely will both have some markets with 20 MHz FDD deployments. And from a peak speed standpoint, 20 MHz FDD is definitely faster than 20 MHz TDD. In fact, 20 MHz TDD is really more comparable to 10 MHz FDD, which VZW, AT&T, and T-Mobile already have in many/most/all markets. So, Sprint still will not win the peak speed contests, but it may win the average speed contests -- or, at least, be far more competitive. AJ

Cool it, guys. Several of you need to quit talking "shit." This is your warning. If the behavior continues, you will be subject to disciplinary action. AJ

No, as the network goes dark, we just all together sarcastically yell, "Nextel, where you at?" AJ

Now, that is one honestly named dairy farm. The cows were milked. They ate. And, of course, they shat. AJ

Yes, but you should be able to accomplish the same via a restart or even airplane mode cycle. AJ

I just returned from my drive testing. Both Lawrence Service Area and Tonganoxie sites are still NID 43. AJ

You would be wise to seek treatment for your compulsion. A PRL update, for example, likely does nothing to benefit you. It rarely giveth, but it can taketh away. AJ

PTT using drug dealers speak very highly of that combo. AJ