joshuam

http://newsroom.t-mobile.com/media-kits/jump-on-demand.htm

Tmobile basically leases phones now....hahahahahahahahahahhaha!

After all that damn lease bashing Leger did on Twitter too.

Baltimore RootMetrics report is out. Sprint still in last unfortunately but the results do look accurate. Median download actually decreased from 9Mbps when they tested in Janurary to 8.3Mbps now.

 

http://www.rootmetrics.com/us/rsr/baltimore-md/2015/1H

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Where do you see the Sprint download speed? Is there a way to view the full report?

Before the iPhone 6 was released (adding band 41 to iPhones)....band 41 sites would easily top 50Mbps in Baltimore...anymore, they are below 20Mbps or even 10Mbps in congested areas. Which is still excellent, band 26 or 25 would be 2G speeds without band 41 around.

And most people listening to "hifi" Tidal are probably using cheap earbuds ???????? ...killing networks for bragging rights. Stupid!

As I recall, Arysyn mentioned streaming Tidal, which uses lossless compression.  Is it FLAC?  If so, for two channel 16 bit 44.1 kHz audio, it should average 500-800 Kbps.

 

AJ

But think of the speed test results that won't impress Twitter!!!

I, too, am surprised they don't rank higher. I think the whole Baltimore/Richmond/Hampton Roads space is going to show a tremendous amount of improvement in the 2H2015 report. Again, this is all based on my own anecdotal use, but the network is really, really on point for me now. I will be curious to see the Richmond 1H report.

Yeah, I really don't understand how they can have lower scores. Unless maybe some tower optimization is on-going during the testing period and caused some minor hiccups.

http://www.rootmetrics.com/us/rsr/baltimore-md/2015/1H

Baltimore 1H 2015 root metrics report out...oddly enough, call performance actually has a lower score than the last test. Overall, no significant change for Sprint in Baltimore yet. Although I can say, I think 800LTE optimization is going on, I"ve seen areas with significantly improved LTE coverage lately (less switching to 3G).

I hate Tmo-News, but do open it up every so often.

http://www.tmonews.com/2015/06/21gb-soft-cap-quietly-added-to-t-mobiles-unlimited-4g-lte-simple-choice-plans/

21GB "soft cap" put on unlimied plans. Kind of interesting...I think T-Mobile is realizing their network is suffering from speed tests and unlimited data.

Edit:

This is a comment on TmoNews

They really shouldn’t be claiming Unlimited 4G LTE when they have a “Soft” Cap in place now. My phone is my source for Internet/work/fun, etc, there was no need for me to have Internet at home because of my Unlimited T-Mobile service. I had to call customer service and complain because my internet/downloads are so slow. Buffers like crazy trying to watch a 1 minute video. I’m currently at 25GB.

That is just mind blowing. This is why they can't offer truly unlimited data, because of idiots like this.

That was my understanding.  If so, VoLTE has no relevance to Project Fi.

 

AJ

The only time I could see a "hand off" issue is if you have a fringe wifi signal, and LTE takes a second or two to light up. Otherwise it should be seamless for the user...like making a Skype voice call or something similar.

What would it take for Sprint to have seamless handoff between VoWiFi and VoLTE once they establish VoLTE? Is their codec (?) compatible? Is it just a software update that is sent out to towers/equipment? One has to wonder the impact the lack of seamless handoffs between WiFi calling and Sprint's nonexistent VoLTE will have on Project Fi customers.

Aren't all Google Fi calls voice over IP?

Still no.  In fact if any other carrier decided to sell their PCS spectrum Sprint should jump on it.

Much of Sprint's network is built for 1.9Ghz (as far as density goes)...selling 1.9Ghz would be terrible. That is their primary band for 1x voice service...eventually they will have more 1.9Ghz spectrum once they migrate to voLTE...but seriously, there is nothing wrong with band 25...it's not cooking along at 70Mbps, but it is respectable.

This is just a polite reminder to our membership. Please do not run speed tests on a constant basis.

 

You are not helping inform Sprint of fast or slow speeds -- Sprint already knows. You are also not helping yourself. If anything, you and others who do likewise are hurting network speeds for yourself and those around you. Each speed test can consume upwards of 50 MB of data for no real purpose. Run several speed tests per day every week, and those can consume several gigabytes per month. That can be akin to putting additional users on the network.

 

If you really feel the need to run numerous speed tests because Sprint is not serving you at the level you desire, then S4GRU has long suggested that you find a different provider.

 

AJ

THIS^^^^^^

When I had the T-Mobile test drive recently, I gobbled up 86GB of data in 7 days! Most of it from speed tests and the root metrics app ????

I will occasionally run one on Sprint, but not often. If my phone is doing what I need it to do, and quickly...who cares?

Super cool that he is meeting directly with the top to get business done...instead of leaving it to contract negotiators that take months to move on anything.

Baltimore's Root Metrics report for 1H 2015 is "Coming Soon"...usually they are posted within a day or two of that.

I'm considering switching to Verizon from T-Mobile's unlimited plan, where with Verizon I'll have some choices to make regarding more data vs less cost.

 

One of my ideas with that, is to plan ahead using Tidal's offline feature by downloading hifi music on WiFi before going out. That would save me the cost of extra data and spare the network having to stream that, when its well enough just getting what I want to play that day ahead of time.

It's a good reason to get a phone with more than 16GB of storage. I prefer to use the offline mode in Spotify, so I'm not running an active data stream all day every day.

http://www.phonearena.com/news/Sprint-stops-honoring-12-month-warranty-on-non-branded-Sprint-accessories_id70660

Would anyone actually contact Sprint for warranty service on an accessory anyways? I mean...if I had a Onyx speaker and it broke, I would call Harmon Karden...not Sprint. But interesting policy change none the less.

I'm just supposed to take your word? LOL, That's not shady at all.

John Legere, is that you?

Sprint's Claure: Unlimited prices might go up later this year; network is getting better

 

http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/sprints-claure-unlimited-prices-might-go-later-year-network-getting-better/2015-06-19

I'm clinging to my $45 unlimited framily (8 lines within my family, all happy with Sprint) for as long as possible!????????

Look NV 1.0 by any fair assessment was a something of a small failure. It was over budget, delivered far less benefit to Sprint than was forecasted and wasn't finished on time (it still hasn't been finished). Has there been substantial improvement in their network? Yes, but it comes way late to the game and their competition have maintained their networks for the most part. Is sprint's network on par with that of the other choices out there in most places no.

 

I like sprint as a company and use their service. That doesn't mean they didn't for the most part fall flat on their faces with NV 1.0. The author of the article is right when he says that sprint has a long history of a great network just around the Conner, someday soon and never quite getting there.

That is a grossly inaccurate assessment of what Sprint accomished with NV1. Sprints call quality has improved to match Verizon in many markets, HD voice was launched, texting performance is significantly better, LTE launched and covered 225m or more POPs. Of course their competitors worked on their networks too, that is a dumb argument. Sprint now has a brand new network that has uniform gear, and will be easier to maintain moving forward...something none of their competitors can claim.

One other point to consider, for heavy users...if Apple and Top tier Androids increase base storage amounts, less streaming is required. I have a 16GB iPhone6 Plus, and don't have the storage to have offline Spotify, so I stream most of the time. Next phone is going to have more storage for sure. Once that happens, my data usage will drop a lot.

I don't see how doing away with unlimited would cause any change in the network's performance. If someone tried to argue that an unlimited user would have a point where they stop burdening the network, then I would simply argue that with everyone having a new allowance at the beginning of their new cycle and with everyone having a staggered cycle across the nation, that there would be no change noticed on a national scale to the network. The noticed effects would only be on a specific site where the heavy user repeatedly hinders the network once that user reaches the end of their allotment AND ONLY if that user decides to not use beyond their allotment and pay overage charges . Removing the unlimited plan and forcing a charge of a data bucket would only be a financial gain to Sprint.

I think it really depends on how many "heavy users" there are.

I'm not sure how many Sprint markets there are in the US that are so congested that they are down to 2G speeds, but I'm guessing there isn't many. The whole "permanent throttle" argument isn't really valid anymore.

 

-Anthony

Come to Baltimore :-)

There are definitely some areas where Band 25/26 is below 1Mbps, and Band 41 either isn't active on that tower, or the range is terrible because its a CLEAR site.

Blog Post by John Saw about Root Metrics results in KC: http://newsroom.sprint.com/blogs/sprint-perspectives/sprint-takes-back-its-hometown-market.htm

KC report is out!

 

http://www.rootmetrics.com/us/rsr/kansas-city-mo/2015-1H

 

 

The accompanying press kit

http://newsroom.sprint.com/presskits/kansas-city-proud-network-press-kit.htm

To hit an average download speed of 15.4Mbps, that is quite impressive. Especially when it is a 62% increase in speed since last October! Good job Sprint! For those that didn't read...T-Mobile dropped in avg speed to 12Mbps!

Arysyn, you personally do not want Comcast to take over T-Mobile, and you are letting that bias color your thinking.

 

I searched to see if this was discussed previously, and perhaps I missed it. I apologize if it has.

Has anyone noticed the "video streaming limited to 3g speeds" note on the family share packs? I know I've seen it before in certain areas before, that video streams could be limited...but I don't think I've seen the defacto statement that they will be limited. Anyone experienced it? Are all video streams impacted, or just the big hitters like Netflix, Youtube?

http://sprint.com/landings/datashare/index_c.html#!/  <--see bottom of middle column in the pricing chart.