WiWavelength

by Andrew J. Shepherd and Robert Herron Sprint 4G Rollout Updates Friday, April 6, 2012 - 2:20 PM MDT Today, S4GRU brings you the wireless equivalent of the much sought after paparazzi photo of the newborn celebrity baby. In an S4GRU exclusive, here is the first published look at a live Sprint LTE signal. Sprint recently lit up a cluster of Network Vision sites in Olathe, KS within Sprint's Kansas market. With trusty spectrum analyzer in tow, S4GRU staff ventured to Olathe this morning and captured a snapshot of Sprint's PCS G block 1990-1995 MHz allocation, clearly showing the up and running LTE OFDMA downlink coming from Sprint's completed Network Vision site (KC60XC009) in Black Bob Park. See below our PCS G block downlink frequency domain analysis: Additionally, S4GRU has mapped the live Network Vision cluster in Olathe and projected its RF footprint. See the approximated current LTE coverage map: Finally, we have also compiled an ongoing map of completed Network Vision sites as they go live. Come back and visit S4GRU.com often as work is completed on many more Network Vision sites in markets around the country, and see below for the most recent update: The old cliché says that a picture is worth a thousand words. So, we will keep this brief and let the images tell the story. But we are very excited to bring you this first inside look at PCS G block spectrum as it springs to life with Sprint's nascent LTE network. Sources: Sprint, author's spectrum analysis, author's RF map

Sgt., the deployed bandwidth of the LTE airlink tells us only the ideal peak throughput. So, yes, VZW LTE 10 MHz x 10 MHz has higher peak throughput than does Sprint LTE 5 MHz x 5 MHz. But peak throughput is not the only way to measure data speeds. Average throughput per user is actually a far more relevant metric to the end user experience. And we can almost assuredly say that Sprint LTE, which is currently unloaded, offers higher average throughput per user than does VZW LTE, which is loaded with 5-10 percent of VZW's subscriber base. AJ

PCS 0725 is the first full CDMA1X channel assignment in the PCS D block, which is one of two PCS A-F licenses (the PCS E block is the other) that Sprint holds in Chicago. When I was last in Chicago a few months ago, PCS 0325 and 0725 were the two EV-DO carriers that I encountered, while PCS 0350, 0375, and 0775 were the three 1X carriers that I spotted. So, I suspect that your PCS 0725 is an EV-DO carrier. AJ

Robert, have you been eating bait? Eww! And, judging from another thread, eating that bait has not only given you bad breath but also grown hair on your brain. AJ

The next thing you know, we will have members talking about using their handsets' vibrate function for "other purposes"... (cue Ed McMahon when someone says something risqué) AJ

The original EVO 4G has a 5:3 or 15:9 (1.67:1) aspect ratio screen. The EVO 3D and EVO 4G LTE have 16:9 (1.78:1) screens. So, yes, the EVO 4G LTE will be narrower. AJ

No, not to my knowledge, at least not on the 3GPP2 (cdma2000) side of things. Some AT&T LTE handsets, however, may utilize only one chipset because a dirty little secret in the 3GPP (GSM) ecosystem is that it does not generally support SVLTE. Absent VoLTE, when a GSM based LTE handset utilizes simultaneous voice and data, it falls back to W-CDMA. This is one reason why AT&T will not go directly to LTE; instead, it has to deploy W-CDMA first, even in rural areas, and that is a highly inefficient, wasteful use of spectrum. AJ

You people are terrible. I am reporting all of you to Cellphone Protective Services. AJ

Yes, it appears that the CDMA1X/EV-DO and LTE modems in the Qualcomm MSM8960 chipset can operate separately and simultaneously. So, that should enable SVLTE. We had initially assumed that HTC would throw in another Qualcomm MDM, a la the Rezound and the LG Viper. But that second modem would not really add anything beyond SVDO. Furthermore, because the EVO 4G LTE will rely on only one chipset (and a 28 nm process chip, at that!), it should have excellent uptime on its 2000 mAh battery. The dual chipset configurations for LTE handsets (and WiMAX handsets, too) have been a real drain on batteries, so the single chipset, 28 nm die, and extended battery in the EVO 4G LTE should be multiple steps in the right direction. AJ

No, HD Voice has nothing to do with SVDO. And SVDO is not a network upgrade, per se; rather, it is a device capability. AJ

Sgt., to address your questions more seriously, the chances that the EVO 4G LTE will go through FCC authorization for LTE 1900 (band class 25) now, then FCC authorization for LTE 800 (band class 18 or 26) and/or TD-LTE 2600 (band class 41) in the future are slim to none. When a grantee files a follow up application, it is almost always for 1) a minor modification prior to commercial release or 2) a revision for release on another carrier. But it is rarely to add a substantial radio feature after a device has already been released. The converse, though, is often true. A device may be tested and authorized for radio capabilities that are never utilized or are even locked out through firmware. AT&T, for example, is known to lock out AWS 2100+1700 MHz on some of its devices, presumably so that they cannot be as readily used on T-Mobile. Now, as I am known to remind my students, the absence of certain information does not imply the negation of that information. In other words, that nothing has been stated about LTE 800 nor TD-LTE 2600 in the EVO 4G LTE does not tell us that it lacks those capabilities. At this point, we just have an incomplete picture. Maybe it comes through the FCC OET next week with authorization for LTE 800 or TD-LTE 2600 or both. Such is possible, albeit doubtful, because neither the LG Viper nor the Samsung Galaxy Nexus applications have sought beyond 5 MHz x 5 MHz LTE 1900. AJ

Not even close. No handset is ever "future proof." Under the 18-24 month contract-subsidy system, by the time that you are eligible for a fully subsidized upgrade, no matter what handset you choose, it will be woefully outdated. A dozen years ago, I seriously thought that this would be just about the only cellphone that I would ever need. How naive was that?! AJ

My perspective: just make the devices MAC addressable (a la DOCSIS modems), then enable subs to hot swap among MAC addresses on their accounts by way of a system app on the devices themselves. Or, better yet, implement the long rumored multiple device data plan that, along with Google Voice integration, would allow subs to run multiple devices simultaneously. AJ

The technology is EVRC-NW, a successor to the current EVRC codecs that can convey twice the vocal frequency range of those current codecs. The connection to Network Vision is tangential, at best. Basically, the MSCs just have to be configured to support the new codec. AJ

Remember this? It is about as close to a "starfish" phone as you are likely to get. http://www.phonescoop.com/phones/phone.php?p=92 AJ

Yeah, it's possible, there's a chance... AJ

NFC operates in the HF band at 13.56 MHz. At that frequency, wavelength is 75 feet. By comparison, 1900 MHz wavelength is roughly 6 inches. So, I am dubious that NFC could have been made to work in a full metal shell. And, personally, I think that HTC and Sprint should have stuck with the solid polycarbonate body. AJ

Nope, not exactly. Band class 25 is a superset band class that wholly encompasses band class 2. In short, band class 25 is PCS blocks A-G, while band class 2 is only PCS A-F blocks. So, a device that supports band class 25 by definition also supports band class 2 (but not the other way around). AJ

If Beats Audio makes your music sound like Dr. Dre, maybe HD Voice makes you sound like Dr. Dre. AJ

Here is Sprint's fact sheet: http://newsroom.sprint.com/news/htc-evo-4g-lte-fact-sheet.htm AJ

Preorder begins Monday 5/07: http://www.sprint.com/landings/evo4glte/index.html?ECID=vanity:evo4glte AJ

The EVO 4G LTE will also be the first handset to support "HD Voice," presumably using the EVRC-NW codec. Here is Sprint's official press release: http://newsroom.spri...article_id=2230 AJ

HTC EVO 4G LTE has arrived: http://www.phonescoo...cle.php?a=10191 To quell some of the rumors, here are the facts: aluminum/plastic body kickstand non-removable 2000 mAh battery S-LCD 720p screen 32 GB microSD card support dedicated camera shutter release $199 on-contract price point AJ

A MHz of bandwidth at 1 GHz is the same MHz of bandwidth at 2 GHz, 10 GHz, 39 GHz, etc. All other factors being equal, it has the same information carrying capacity. Now, that said, available spectrum is far, far more prevalent around 39 GHz than it is at those lower frequencies, so licenses/allotments around 39 GHz may be of much greater bandwidth. In other words, it may be possible to occupy 100 MHz of available bandwidth around 39 GHz, while that would be all but impossible around 1 GHz. To use an analogy, available spectrum around 1 GHz is like Manhattan real estate. Available lots are relatively small in size and few in number, not to mention they will cost you a mint. In contrast, available spectrum around 39 GHz is like eastern New Mexico real estate. For the price that you would pay for one small lot on Manhattan, you could buy thousands of acres in New Mexico, where there is plenty of available land. AJ

How do you arrive at "10 bands, 7 antennas"? I count the following seven bands: Lower 700 MHz Cellular 850 MHz GSM 900 MHz DCS 1800 MHz PCS 1900 MHz AWS 2100+1700 MHz IMT 2100+1900 MHz And I see one WWAN antenna covering those seven bands, plus a secondary MIMO/Rx diversity antenna for W-CDMA/LTE operation in at least four of those seven bands. AJ