WiWavelength

You just had to go and say those two words: "it's Friday." Look at what you did. Yep, here it comes... Oh, the horror... AJ

I am not quite as bullish on T-Mobile's spectrum position -- even after multiple spectrum transactions this year. T-Mobile still has insufficient spectrum in some markets, excess spectrum in other markets. By comparison, Sprint has a far more level spectrum portfolio. Above all else, keep in mind that federal regulators still have to approve the VZW-SpectrumCo-Cox transaction in order for this most recent spectrum swap to come to fruition for T-Mobile. I do believe now that the FCC will approve all of the pending spectrum transfers. But the DoJ may rightly halt the VZW-SpectrumCo-Cox deal because of the cross-marketing agreements that effectively reduce competition between telco and cable. If that part of the deal is blocked, the cable companies have said that they will not sell the spectrum alone. And that could put VZW, SpectrumCo, Cox, and T-Mobile all back to square one. AJ

The Nexus 7 is a very low (or even negative) profit margin tablet. Asus, of course, already gets its cut. There may be no margin left to give retailers -- at least, not on the 8 GB. Reports are that the 16 GB will be sold at retail in the UK. That could end up being the case here, too, since the 16 GB price seems to have a greater built in margin. AJ

T-Mobile is deploying LTE only in AWS 2100+1700 MHz spectrum and is refarming some of it PCS 1900 MHz spectrum from GSM to W-CDMA so as to be more iPhone compatible. T-Mobile currently has no plans to deploy LTE in PCS 1900 MHz. AJ

Proximity is unlikely to play a significant role in any merger proceedings. Shuttling people between Reston and Overland Park, albeit a hassle, would not likely rank among the top 10 challenges that Sprint Nextel has had to face. AJ

Nope. PRLs list SIDs, NIDs, and channels, not individual sites/sectors. Also, PRLs control only CDMA1X and EV-DO system selection. PRLs have no effect on LTE. AJ

No can do on EVO LTE. AJ

Scott, I ordered the 8 GB without hesitation. And I am not concerned in the least about the lack of an SD card slot. I have never felt the need to carry with me the entire vault of Walt Disney Pictures and back catalog of Interscope Records everywhere I go. AJ

AnandTech mini review (including benchmarks) is up: http://www.anandtech.com/show/6054/google-nexus-7-mini-review AJ

Could...not...resist. Ordered. AJ

In that case, I am going to be Frank Drebin. AJ

Joking aside, that may actually be Sprint telling you to "get off VZW's lawn." LTE authentication is network side. So, as I understand it, VZW has to check back with your HLR to determine your account's permissions. At that point, Sprint may respond in effect, "Hey, we're not paying for eHRPD roaming. So, cut it out." AJ

That is just VZW telling you to... AJ

Let me start with a caveat. This explanation will be incomplete because even I do not know exactly how LTE network selection works. CDMA1X/EV-DO network selection is PRL guided, but that is not the case with LTE. My guess is that Sprint TD-LTE capable devices will not be configured to seek out Clearwire TD-LTE 2600 independently. Rather, Sprint's LTE 1900/800 eNodeBs will have to redirect devices to TD-LTE 2600. And this will occur only once LTE 1900/800 carriers hit a certain percentage of their total capacity. AJ

I simply reject the notion that women have a right/need to break men of our bad habits -- or even that collecting old electronics is necessarily a bad habit. My electronics are physical embodiments of one of my key interests. Anyone who tells me to get rid of them discounts my intellectual pursuits. I had a girlfriend who took it upon herself to move some boxes in my house. In doing so, she damaged a 16-bit video game system that I had imported from Japan during my teenage years. I also loaned her a laptop that I rarely used any longer, and she proceeded to beat the hell out of it. Her attitude was basically that those things are "just old electronics." Needless to say, that went over like a lead balloon. AJ

Is it inherently wrong if some things that you keep "collect dust"? Does your wife retain anything (e.g. wedding dress, old photos, etc.) that "collect dust"? AJ

This is why I am not married -- so I can be an A/V, computer, and mobile tech polygamist. AJ

Negatory. AT&T is reducing bandwidth allotted to its GSM/GPRS/EDGE network and reclaiming that spectrum for 3G/4G uses. But AT&T is not yet shutting down its 2G network technologies -- not even in NYC. AJ

I doubt it. Josh, what you have to understand is that many modern day shareholders do not care if the "network starts to go to cr@p." Purely profit focused shareholders want 1) to keep network CAPEX as low as possible 2) to remain competitive not through innovation or evolution but through coerced retention and 3) to limit competition and make subs feel as if they have no place else to go because they perceive that only AT&T offers the coverage they need, all of their friends/family are on AT&T, AT&T is the best carrier for iOS devices, or that other carriers are simply scary, unknown commodities, etc. AJ

Many believe that Humm was brought in from parent Deutsche Telekom largely to sell off T-Mobile USA. I just tweeted a question, asking if the sudden resignation of Humm and the spectrum swap with VZW indicate a change in DT's long term strategy regarding T-Mobile USA. AJ

You are correct. St. Louis, Cincinnati, and Buffalo are the three major metros in which SpectrumCo did not win the AWS B block 20 MHz license (nor any other AWS spectrum). Cincinnati and Buffalo are depicted accurately on the chart, but I am not sure how St. Louis snuck in there. Thanks for the catch. AJ

Look for USCC to acquire Lower 700 MHz A block spectrum only as overlay where it has current CDMA2000 operations. So, that probably rules out Minnesota, unfortunately. Milwaukee is a real problem market. T-Mobile holds only 20 MHz of PCS and 10 MHz of AWS. That is insufficient spectrum for T-Mobile to maintain its current operations and launch LTE. And T-Mobile has been unable to acquire additional spectrum for Milwaukee in previous spectrum transactions. So, this swap with VZW is crucial, as T-Mobile will net gain another 10 MHz of AWS -- not a lot of added bandwidth, but just some breathing room. No, VZW offers no LTE devices that are overtly AWS capable. AJ

AT&T is making it known that it is going to try to capitalize on Sprint's iDEN shutdown over the next year. http://www.att.com/gen/press-room?pid=22974&cdvn=news&newsarticleid=34695&mapcode=consumer|enterprise AJ

I have created a new blog. The first post details some of the ramifications of the VZW-T-Mobile spectrum swap and includes a top 20 market AWS spectrum chart. http://www.wiwavelength.com/2012/06/contiguity.html Just FYI, starting my own wireless focused blog is something that I have neglected to do for far too long. Rest assured, I will continue to write for S4GRU. My blog will be an outlet for more general, less Sprint specific wireless articles. AJ