WiWavelength

Nope. By no universally accepted standard is any iPhone "4G." The iPhone 4S supports W-CDMA Release 5, Category 10 -- HSPA 14. That is not even HSPA+ 21 or 42, which some call "4G" but I do not. "4G" is fourth generation, and that means an OFDM airlink plus a full IP core. Data speed capability is not the measure of the generation of a wireless network. For a parallel, you can bolt a jet engine onto a Ford Pinto and make it nearly as fast as a jet. But that does not make a Pinto a jet. AJ

Sanford Bernstein, cited in the WSJ article, points to analyst Craig Moffett, who seems to have nothing but negative things to say about Sprint and does not appear to understand Sprint's spectrum position. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444097904577539313305919578.html AJ

Hey, have you seen Roy's avatar photo? He is armed and dangerous. He may not even allow himself to be taken alive. AJ

They grant three wishes. AJ

He is willing to put a guy named Will in his last will and testament because Will has the will to ensure that Sprint and Clearwire will deploy LTE Advanced. AJ

Round up the posse. Our trusted right hand man, themuffinman, has gone rogue, running an illicit LTE tethering scheme. We have to bring him in -- preferably, alive. AJ

Ben... That YouTube vid (from KC, if I recall correctly) was previously posted a few times several days ago. But I am glad you posted it again, as you got me to watch it this time. I especially liked the simultaneous speed tests that dropped to ~16 Mbps per handset, showing that both handsets were still each getting 2x2 MIMO and together saturating the sector downlink. AJ

Right or wrong, one argument against "future proofing phones" is that subsidized upgrades equal contract renewals. And the more predictably that devices become effectively obsolete, the more subsidized upgrades that follow. AJ

People, people, we go over this ad nauseam. Do we really need to do it again? Sprint deeded Clearwire control of the 4G WiMAX buildout. That Clearwire did not deploy officially launched WiMAX in Detroit, Phoenix, Tulsa, etc., is the failure of Clearwire, not Sprint. If you think that Sprint did/does not care about those metros, you are woefully mistaken, letting your spite get the best of you. Sprint simply had its hands tied in many markets after Clearwire hit financial troubles. Yes, you can blame Sprint for handing that much control over to Clearwire. But it appeared at the time (circa 2008) to be a wise decision to let Sprint handle its multiplicity of 2G/3G CDMA1X/EV-DO/iDEN operations and Clearwire take the reins of the 4G WiMAX roll out. Sniping at that decision from the benefit of 2012 hindsight is basically nothing more than playing Monday morning quarterback. Short of much greater amounts of funding -- the levels of which only anti consumer duopolists VZW and AT&T can muster -- nothing could have saved the 4G WiMAX initiative once it started to founder. And, unfortunately, some markets became collateral damage as WiMAX deployment ground to a halt. Sorry. Bad things happen. Get used to it. AJ

Like this kind of "Red Dot"? AJ

And by "they/them," I mean primarily Chattanooga Donna and Yuma Ryan. AJ

Actually, "they" come to me. Then, using my power of geographic deduction, I tell "them" where you are. AJ

Agreed. While "+1" greatly predates Google+, those kinds of posts can propagate like weeds and really clutter forums. I recall a particularly annoying poster in another forum; this member's post count was high but padded with a significant minority, if not majority of nothing more than "+1" posts. "+1" can be fine if you have something additional and substantive to bolster the discussion. Otherwise, a good rule of thumb is: do not post. AJ

To clarify, the EVO LTE explicitly does support EV-DO 800, so the Secondary 800 MHz can/does affect both CDMA1X and EV-DO modes. However, the EV-DO scenario is unlikely to ever come to pass, as Sprint has no plans to deploy EV-DO 800. AJ

Secondary 800 MHz refers to SMR 800 MHz, which has long housed iDEN 800 but is being refarmed for CDMA1X 800 currently and LTE 800 eventually. For the EVO LTE, Secondary 800 MHz affects only CDMA1X and EV-DO modes. So, if you force Secondary 800 MHz and acquire a signal, then that indicates CDMA1X 800. Thus, Network Vision 3G 800 MHz upgrades are also in place in parts of your market. But the 4G indicator on the EVO LTE means exclusively LTE 1900. So, your handset maybe idling on CDMA1X 800 and LTE 1900. If all that you report is accurate, please confirm by launching the FieldTrial app (##DEBUG#) and reporting your 1X Engineering BAND # and CH # the next time that you successfully force Secondary 800 MHz. AJ

The dialer code is ##3282#, not ##3828#. AJ

No, EV-DO tends to be the more robust airlink. So, all other factors being equal, LTE will likely have somewhat less range than will post Network Vision EV-DO. However, LTE coverage should be similar to pre Network Vision EV-DO coverage. AJ

That is a good question. In this Internet age, I average only one or two phone calls per week. So, it may be a little while before I fully get to test out GrooVe IP + Google Voice integration. That said, set up seemed to be exceedingly easy. I installed the app, entered my Google Voice username and password, and that was that. A quick outgoing test call connected straight away. AJ

Hear, hear. Good show. I have long advised the populace in online forums to make uninformed assertions and blind accusations less, to read and ask honest questions more. AJ

I just used $5 from my Google Play credit to purchase GrooVe IP. Once installed on my Nexus 7, GrooVe IP now connects to my Google Voice integration. Galaxy Note owners, I chortle at your pint sized phones. AJ

In one pithy statement, this sums up why so many of us are here. Put this in the running for S4GRU quote of the year. AJ

And if we need to know why Robert is leaving on a summer vacation away from northern New Mexico, well, he took this photo outside his office on the Los Alamos mesa on July 15th. I kid, I kid. The high altitude New Mexico summer climate is great. In Kansas today, we are at 104 degrees -- again! AJ

Are you on good terms with your local law enforcement? AJ

Since VZW and now AT&T have announced their shared data plans, I have wondered if individuals will form wireless cooperatives to take advantage of the volume discounts built into the higher tiers. Under AT&T shared data, an account holder who qualifies for, say, eight lines could sign up for those eight lines plus a 20 GB data allotment, then sell the remaining seven lines to other people. Cost per person for a smartphone with roughly one eighth of 20 GB would be $55 per month. However, I am not sure that the cost savings would be worth the likely logistical headaches of administrating the lines of potentially that many unrelated individuals. Thoughts? AJ

The issue is not what "they are" but what "they want to be." Yes, they are carriers, but they also want to be content creators because there is a lot of money to be made in content -- especially, if they can use their networks to give their content a decidedly non neutral advantage. AJ