iansltx

Yes, yes it would. In fact, it's something that the SpectrumCo deal was specifically NOT allowed to do. For what it's worth, Fort Worth's incumbent cable provider is Charter. Incumbent telephone company is AT&T. In Dallas it's TWC/Verizon. In San Antonio and Austin it's TWC/AT&T, but there are a number of alternate providers (Grande Communications, Zayo, Alpheus) that Sprint could buy from if the ILEC/MSO weren't doing a good enough job.

Correction: the iPhone has two antennas. Both are used consurrently for Rx. Only one can be used at a time for Tx. I would bet (but can't test) that if you were downloading something on EvDO or LTE and a call or text came in, the data session would stop but you'd still get the call, because the 1x network is passively connected/receiving data.

The only thing that make sense to call Nextel is the Direct Connect service. Everything else? Doesn't make sense. Alltel on the other hand...

I also bought up my upgrade eligibility over the phone and had it billed to my account. But this was prior to recent changes in that process, so my experience is just a historical artifact now.

Turned it off and it hasn't turned itself on since. My WiFi will of course autoconnect to my home network when I'm here, and it will let me know when a WiFi network is available, but it's a notification, not an in-your-face "GIVE ME WIFI NAO!!!1!" thing. /me needs to swap out radios sometime soon

See this article: http://www.fiercebroadbandwireless.com/story/verizon-pushes-back-volte-service-until-2014/2012-10-11 At first, VoLTE will be used to deliver "Rich Communications Services" (which look like something similar to what Voice over IP/Video over IP outfits offer today) rather than completely replacing narrowband voice. It will be awhile before Verizon is willing to commit to that, due in part to LTE outages in late 2011. On the flip side is MetroPC, which has pushed VoLTE as hard as it could. Then there's Sprint, which will stick to voice over 1x for the foreseeable future, but routes Direct Connect over IP. Sprint's latest DC incarnation seems quite similar to one facet of RCS over LTE.

T-Mobile has now said that they will keep VoLTE on MetroPCS alive for the time being, but will probably transition away from it to GSM/WCDMA based voice. http://gigaom.com/mobile/t-mobile-will-maintain-metropcss-volte-service-but-its-future-is-up-in-the-air/ As AJ mentioned earlier, LTE is inherently more fragile than previous techs. That makes it a not-so-great option for voice unless you've got stellar coverage. T-Mobile has reasonably good coverage on H+ and even better coverage on GSM, but their LTE will be at best a little less than H+, coverage-wise. When you already have to maintain a WCDMA network for legacy devices (and by legacy I mean every phone currently sold by T-Mobile), and that network offers both solid data speeds and simultaneous data and voice capabilities, there's no good reason to move to VoLTE, even if T-Mobile's LTE equipment supports the option. Contrat this with MetroPCS's situation: they have limited spectrum holdings and relatively heavy voice traffic. They can move data traffic aggressively to LTE, but that leaves voice sitting on 1x, where the company might have to deploy two or three carriers to keep up with demand...and every 1x carrier counts. MetroPCS is running 1.4x1.4 LTE in some (many?) areas because they are using the rest of their available spectrum for 1x (and maybe EvDO, but usually those markets are 1x-only from what I recall). So if VoLTE allows demand to be shifted off of 1x enough to refarm one 1x carrier, MetroPCS's LTE capacity in that market more than doubles, improving the user experience for everyone. MetroPCS still has to run 1x for older phones and extra coverage, but they, like Sprint, would in an ideal world be running a single 1xA carrier and using the rest of their spectrum for LTE. The difference is that Sprint can put this 1xA carrier on SMR, while MetroPCS needs to put it on PCS. In short, T-Mobile's network decisions make perfect sense given its network portfolio (GSM which won't be going anywhere soon, HSPA+ which won't be going anywhere soon), as do MetroPCS's (limited spectrum, LTE's capacity advantage over 1x, immediate benefits when a 1x carrier is turned off). That said, when this deal goes through, my guess is that T-Mobile will scrap VoLTE as quickly as possible, swapping VoLTE phones for HSPA+ equivalents (a Samsung Galaxy Blaze should do the trick for the double-handful of LG Connect 4G users who have VoLTE capable phones) and writing off the expense as a migration cost for those subscribers from MetroPCS to T-Mobile networks.

When my phone apparently loses signal (according to Android's battery meter) for extended periods (though it still has WiFi connectivity)... LTE must be coming...

I wiped prior to installing the first leak, but then didn't wipe when I upgraded to a later leak. I don't think a wipe is requires. You just need to Odin in the appropriate recovery.

I'm running LIH. Odin'd ClockworkMod Recovery and then installed the update.zip. Did not have to root, per se.

Just for kicks, I signed up for the service. **iansltx now works, though all you'll get is a voice message from me saying that my contact information is on its way. I'm using the "send text message" option rather than the "Send Contact Info" function because I don't have any good, recent pictures of me for profile photos Gentlemen, start your dialers...

IMO the key to rural wireless development is getting availability of cheap base stations and fixed terminals for LTE. With fixed terminals you can get one PCS or AWS site to cover a 10 mile radius, and if you've got 10x10 of unused spectrum you'll be able to give satellite and even DSL a run for its money. The issue of course is that those sites would be spaced too far out for total rural coverage, bu it would at least be a start...too bad FCC subsidies don't cover that sort of thing directly (e.g. Stelera Wireless).

The phone wasn't rooted, as far as I could tell, so I think it's safe to say that it was in CDMA + LTE mode.

That particular model also has serious issues getting good throughput. I've seen a max of about 8-9 Mbps on it when the network could do double that with the home modem. Much lower signals too. But hey, it's small...and the field test system is one of the best I've seen.

By way of contrast, MetroPCS has at most 10x10 of AWS in any given area. That's fine if you've already got an AWS portfolio, but as a nationwide network, their AWS doesn't quite do enough to merit integrating another band into devices (added cost), base stations (added cost) etc. Much easier to sell the AWS off or swap it for PCS. Let T-Mobile and Verizon own AWS, and when T-Mobile needs more funding for expansion, buy PCS off of them.

It omits the G block. Sprint has PCS G and SMR in addition to PCS A-F and T-Mobile has AWS. Guess which has more spectrum?

Good...I want the S IV to have SMR and 2500 LTE support, and if it's getting released in March that's not gonna happen.

I will say that the Victory doggedly holds onto even the weakest LTE signal, seems like. I was hitting 1-2 Mbps down, 100 kbps up in the Sprint store near 360 and 183 in Austin today...on 4G...when my SIII would not connect. The RSRP on the Victory was -119 (!), with a SNR of around zero. I didn't check the store's iPhone 5 to compare, and it could be that I need to update to the latest JB build to get proper LTE on my SIII again, but that was impressive to see on the Victory, even if speeds were low.

Fair enough. Any idea of how long it took for Sprint to migrate Qwest users from Qwest's own network to Sprint's? Not sure what compatibility issues Qwest had though...did they run a CDMA network before they ended up as a Sprint MVNO?

AJ, the difference I see here between TMo-PCS and Sprint-Nextel is that TMobile has a plan right out of the gate for integration: shut down MetroPCS's network within 2.5 years. As for the Sprint counteroffer, hopefully Sprint gets some PCS spectrum out of this deal in markets where MetroPCS has it and Sprint has less than 30MHz in A-F. Heck, maybe T-Mobile will wise up and shut down MetroPCS's CDMA side earlier and push Metro CDMA subs to roaming on Sprint for the time being, just to make sure Sprint leaves the MetroPCS deal alone (though to be honest it would work out in favor of T-Mobile this way, since they can use MetroPCS's spectrum that much sooner).

This is a telling slide from TMo's presentation as to how long it'll take to get MetroPCS spectrum integrated and 20x20 LTE up: They're planning on keeping MetroPCS AWS CDMA online until mid-2014, at which point Sprint will have had NV complete in Dallas for a year, maybe more, if they step things up in the least. At this point Sprint will probably have three 5x5 LTE carriers online (one in SMR), while TMo will have 10x10 on its own network and 5x5 on MetroPCS's. In 2H2014, T-Mobile will have a single 20x20 LTE FD channel, plus DC-HSPA+ in both PCS and AWS. If Sprint gets aggressive with CDMA refarming (i.e. no more than three CDMA carriers in PCS, plus one in SMR) it can probably hit four 5x5 LTE carriers at that point, or three 5x5 and one 10x10. But by this point Clearwire should be able to deploy TD-LTE carriers at a few weeks' notice, bringing Sprint's capacity up to par with T-Mobile's (or maybe above it) without too much effort. In 2H2015, T-Mobile will have rebalanced HSPA+ to three carriers on 1900MHz and one on AWS, maintaining the same capacity as they do now (a little more than a single 10x10 LTE channel can provide, in best-case conditions for H+). They'll have 20x20 + 5x5 of LTE in AWS, since they won't want to force 20x20 LTE devices onto H+ with a 25x25-only channel. By this point, I predict that Sprint will have PCS H, allowing 10x10 LTE in G+H, plus another 10x10 carrier in A-F, plus another 5x5 carrier in SMR (plus CDMA in PCS and SMR). So LTE bandwidths will be the same, unless there's Nx20MHz TD-LTE in a given area. In that case, Sprint will have more capacity with, if T_Mobile is "all that", a similar subscriber base on the tech. This is just for one market, and this makes a few assumptions about what Sprint will be able to do spectrum-wise (the largest being the purchase of the PCS H block). But if Sprint can get NV rolling at a reasonable pace, including Clearwire congestion abatement LTE cells, they don't have anything to worry about, and they don't have to go around subsidizing phones to get people off of an incompatible legacy network technology to refarm spectrum for LTE.

FWIW my weekly chat with a TMo guys indicates that T-Mobile has taken the corporate tack of hating Sprint's guts now. Apparently they either can't compete with AT&T and Verizon, or they don't want to focus on that competition since AT&T just gave them a nice breakup fee and a good bit of spectrum, and Verizon also did a spectrum swap with them. So that leaves Sprint. As a result, TMo will probably end up running MetroPCS CDMA for another couple years, even if that CDMA is using up AWS spectrum that could be otherwise used for LTE. Of course T-Mobile will be dropping CDMA customers incentives to switch to HSPA/LTE devices, but they'll have to be quite a bit better than TMo's normal offerings, since every single MetroPCS customer has had T-Mobile as an option and have chosen to go with Metro. Naturally, "TMo guy" is excited for the marger, mentioning beating out Sprint in subscriber numbers in relatively short order. Me? Well, this could end up being another Sprint-Nextel if T-Mobile can't move MetroPCS customers off of CDMA quickly enough. But hey, at least T-Mobile has a solid transition plan for MetroPCS customers right out of the gate, something that Sprint has only recently gotten with regard to Nextel. The real question here is how much LTE Sprint can get in place by March 2013 or so, because that's when it sounds like TMo will be spinning up LTE-A. The MetroPCS merger will probably slow T-Mobile down a bit, but Sprint basically has five months to build a head of steam on its own LTE deployment before Magenta starts running attack ads.

Well, the MetroPCS merger just killed Leap's stock. It's down 15% from yesterday and will probably stay that way. Sprint could probably acquire them for $600 million , less than CricKet paid for its AWS licenses six years ago. If you place some nominal value on CricKet customers (say, $50 apiece), the deal looks even better EDIT: Forgot to factor in debt. Still isn't too raw of a deal.