WiWavelength

You guys need to stop conflating EV-DO Rev B with multi carrier EV-DO. Rev B adds 64-QAM for faster peak data rates. But that will not help fringe coverage data rates at all. So, what you really are asking for is 2xEV-DO or 3xEV-DO, which is optional for Rev B. AJ

Nah, no operator in the US is doing HSPA+ with MIMO. MIMO does not seem to play well with W-CDMA. AJ

As I stated in another thread today, using incomplete deployment to judge average speeds is premature and misguided. Here is an example. Because LTE deployment is still patchwork, many Sprint users are currently connecting to LTE sites one, two, even three cells distant. That distance leads to poor signal quality and lowers speeds for those users. Plus, those distant users loading up the live LTE sites lower speeds for the users who are actually located in the cells. Thus, many of the speeds that users are seeing right now are not representative snapshots. Honestly, some of the attitudes displayed in this thread and that other thread today disappoint me. You are just adding fuel to the argument that Sprint should have kept LTE under wraps in each market until it was almost fully deployed. But, for many of you, that would have meant absolutely no LTE until the middle of 2014. So, as the saying goes, do not look a gift horse in the mouth. Be thankful that you have any LTE at all almost right away. AJ

I know that you are joking, but iDEN, being a TDMA based airlink, should not be affected much at all by loading. AJ

Nah, iDEN uses lesser, lower bit rate codecs -- VSELP and AMBE. It is similar to half rate GSM in that regard. But I have heard this iDEN voice quality claim before. My guess is that it has to do with the handset transducers. A lot of ruggedized iDEN handsets are, basically, the size of a big dump. That allows them to accommodate larger microphones and speakers. AJ

A couple of thoughts... One, there is only one LTE carrier in the PCS G block. And, two, you are not a sponsor, so you do not necessarily know the Sprint site density nor the LTE site completion percentage in the area where you are running speed tests. As a parallel, would you judge the overall traffic carrying capacity of a highway while one of the lanes was still under construction? AJ

Any judgements prior to 100 percent site completion are premature. Plus, no matter how much spectrum you throw at them, some areas are always going to have slow data speeds in certain situations, just as certain freeways are always going to be bumper to bumper during rush hour. AJ

Yes, and if we use my city as a model -- taking Sprint's total spectrum bandwidth, multiplying by sector density, then dividing by an estimated number of subs based on market share -- Sprint subs have about 65 kHz per capita. That blows out of the water the alarmist 1.3 Hz per capita figure that Entner presents. AJ

Consider who you are citing. Roger Entner is one of the biggest shills for the duopoly and its spectrum agglomeration. Plus, the MHz per million (or, as I prefer, Hz per capita) calculation that gets bandied about is one of the most misleading metrics in wireless. It has been debunked numerous times because it acts as if there is just one sector for an entire population. It completely disregards cellular reuse, which is the basis of cellular networks. As a counterexample, look at Wi-Fi. If we take the total spectrum in the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands and divide that by the US population, we end up with a Hz per capita figure around 1. That is only ~1 Hz per person. But, hey, that is a specious measurement. Because of cellular/spatial reuse, I have 60 MHz all to myself at home with my dual band Wi-Fi network. AJ

Okay, folks, time has come for another one of my charitable fund challenges. Donate to non profit S4GRU to become a sponsor or increase your sponsorship level, and I will equal the first $100 of your donations to S4GRU with matching donations to the American Red Cross in support of the tornado disaster relief in Moore, OK. Use the PayPal link on the front page of The Forums. And be sure to put "Moore" in the comments. http://s4gru.com/index.php?/index Alright, current and prospective S4GRU sponsors, I know that you will step up to my challenge... AJ

Considering Otosan, I am guessing doggy style... AJ

And that forward compatibility has not always panned out well. Not to mention, the Clearwire acquisition is still up in the air. So, tri band handsets may happen in the coming months, but I would not hold my breath. What you basically can count on are dual band handsets, since both SMR 800 MHz and PCS 1900 MHz are under Sprint's direct control. AJ

Sprint is leasing the spectrum back to USCC, but that leasing agreement can be amended, periodically and geographically, as the transition period progresses. Read the "New Lease" attachment here: http://wireless2.fcc.gov/UlsApp/ApplicationSearch/applAdmin.jsp?applID=7180929 So, it remains to be seen. We may have to wait until the USCC network in the affected markets has gone dark before Sprint gains use of all additional spectrum. Or, every once in a while, here and there, Sprint may gain a few MHz because the leasing agreement is amended, as USCC subs flow to Sprint or go elsewhere. AJ

Adding more and more bands becomes a logistical headache and reduces economy of scale for each band. Plus, by some models, mobile data usage is already reaching an inflection point. Moreover, Wi-Fi offloading (unlicensed spectrum) is taking over much of the heavy lifting, and small cells will increase capacity geometrically in existing spectrum. AJ

AJ

Maybe, or it may just end up underwater, like a lot of foreclosed homes during the housing crash. I have long been saying that we are unnecessarily flooding the market with so much new spectrum -- AWS-1, AWS-2, AWS-4, BRS/EBS, SMR, Upper/Lower 700 MHz, WCS, 600 MHz -- that the spectrum bubble could burst any day now. AJ

Nothing about the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 (MSM8974) enables tri band LTE. Plenty of current devices already have quad band LTE. AJ

Maybe an iPhone. That is likely the only high end Sprint handset that will debut in September. Otherwise, you are looking more likely at an October to December timeframe. AJ

Correct on both counts. Oh, come on. The FCC first established SMR about 30 years ago. And for years after that, all mobile operations were narrowband, for which the SMR configuration is well suited. You are playing Monday morning quarterback decades after the fact. AJ

And with that capital gain, Robert is buying a round for The Forums. I recommend you order the "Charlie Ergen." It is some generic alcohol mixed with bitters. AJ

The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away. Alternatively, you could realize that deployment is ongoing, will not be finished for a number of months, hence will be in flux for some time still. AJ

I would expect those offers to be limited to USCC subs with acceptable credit. And that might exclude many, as the anecdotal evidence of sub prime customer base in Chicago and St. Louis continues. AJ

That brings a whole new definition to FttH -- fiber to the hole. AJ

Close, but not entirely. I assume that you are talking VZW "green field" LTE spectrum in aggregate. The Upper 700 MHz C block 22 MHz (11 MHz FDD) licenses are nationwide. But the SpectrumCo-Cox transaction does not give VZW truly nationwide AWS 2100+1700 MHz spectrum. Several markets are missing, and VZW has since fragmented some of that spectrum depth, due to swaps with T-Mobile. About seven years ago, during the AWS-1 auction, I produced this map of SpectrumCo's winnings: My 5000th post... AJ

Forget Masa Son. Give me a good corn masa, any day. That is the key to making tasty tamales. AJ