WiWavelength

Indeed. However, this common perception can be problematic. The national network in your local area may not be representative of the national network as a whole. Moreover, your local area may be of utmost importance to you, but it is not necessarily of utmost importance to a national carrier. While it may not be reassuring to think of you or your area as potentially inconsequential, you have to look at the overall big picture in order to see decisions through the eyes of a national carrier. AJ

Nope, not even close. First, Nextel has relatively little rural coverage compared to all of the rural coverage that VZW has purchased. So, even if Sprint were to retain the entire Nextel national network, it would not even remotely meet or exceed VZW's footprint. Second, the vast majority of the Nextel national network and the Sprint national network overlap. Only ~1000 sites still provide coverage that is decidedly unique to Nextel iDEN. Thus, even your proposed one third of sites would be tremendous overkill, would result in expensive redundancy. Unfortunately, the Sprint web site is down right now, so I cannot post coverage maps. AJ

No, propagation will be largely the same, as the spectrum is the same, the modulation is the same, etc. And, somewhat ironically, coverage footprint will likely be smaller for TD-LTE. But that is by design. WiMAX was intended to be a complete network overlay, though that was never fully realized. On the other hand, TD-LTE 2600 will be deployed selectively, creating islands of coverage or "hot spots" where additional LTE capacity is needed above and beyond that of the underlying Sprint LTE 800/1900 network. This type of heterogeneous network or "het net" design is the future of wireless. AJ

I doubt that. PCS 1900 MHz licensees are not required to register individual sites. Yes, licensees (or tower owners) do have to register towers that exceed certain standards. But not all sites are located on towers, let alone towers that require registration. AJ

Be sure to wear your "I'm with S4GRU" T-shirt. AJ

Yes. And that is not exclusive to CDMA; that is how wireless networks in general work. AJ

And David is great on ABC's "Shark Tank." AJ

Good idea. We have set up an auto debit system. When you receive an e-mail from Barrister James Mbakwe of Nigeria, simply give him your bank account and routing numbers. He will take care of everything else. AJ

Maybe that was true when you were in 5th grade. But when I was in 5th grade, the top 10 included Jamestown, Plymouth Colony, and Santa Fe. AJ

None. AJ

A spectrum based comparison/contrast between Sprint LTE and T-Mobile LTE: Sprint is rolling out LTE initially in PCS 1900 MHz spectrum, secondarily in SMR 800 MHz spectrum (while Clear is deploying TD-LTE in BRS/EBS 2600 MHz spectrum). T-Mobile will be constructing LTE in AWS 2100+1700 MHz spectrum. Sprint is deploying LTE in a 5 MHz x 5 MHz configuration in all markets. T-Mobile will be deploying LTE in a 10 MHz x 10 MHz configuration in some markets, a 5 MHz x 5 MHz configuration in other markets, and not at all in other markets (as T-Mobile lacks enough spectrum to run GSM, W-CDMA, and LTE all at the same time.) AJ

digiblur is not saying that one is "better." That is the point. If you are looking for a simple answer, you will not find it. Or if you do, it will not be a very comprehensive, accurate assessment. AJ

Hey, who said that you could out my personal LTE site?! AJ

I would assert the reverse: Nextel had deep seated issues prior to the Sprint merger. Unfortunately, the symptoms had not yet even reached the surface, so iDEN subs were blissfully unaware of the coming sickness from overselling the network (largely due to Boost Mobile), 800 MHz rebanding, and a dead end airlink tech. All of that crap hit the fan after the merger, and that is why so many current and former Nextel users think -- in classic post hoc fallacy fashion -- that Sprint caused all of those problems. AJ

Is that the reason why some hope that the iPhone does not increase screen size from 3.5" to 4"? AJ

Sprint now plans to withhold LTE from Santa Fe until 2017 simply out of spite. AJ

Two days of moderate usage... AJ

[in my best Paul Hogan accent] You call that good battery life? Now, this is good battery life. AJ

A sticking point with Ting is that the voice footprint is Sprint native + roaming coverage, but the data footprint is only Sprint native coverage. AJ

I will offer a counterargument: a true "donation" should never have a set minimum. Sponsors -- new and old, at any level -- should not get the impression that they are paying for content or access, rather they are supporting the site. And, as a contributing author, I may be biased, but I think that our content speaks for itself and that sponsors will do what it takes to keep the site healthy. AJ

Enter Sprint MVNO Ting... https://ting.com/plans AJ

Judging by the thread title, I think blinky speaks your language, Robert. AJ

That is all good to know. I think transparency is key. And I can certainly try to contribute more on both sides of the equation. AJ

Robert, I have noted several new Premier Sponsors recently. I continue to be impressed with the outpouring of support within our community. As you did a few months ago, could you give us an update on our membership and finances? Think of it as a State of S4GRU address. AJ

Elaine: "So, I guess I'll have to buy him a new coat, even though I don't think I should be held responsible, which I am anyway." AJ