bretton88

I can confirm that the 4.4.3/4.4.4 radio is the cause of the 1x issue. I corrected it by flashing the old radio and doing another CDMA/GSM swap. After the swap was successful (phone registered on Sprint with everything working), I flashed the 4.4.4 radio and everything is now working 100%. Thanks to everybody who helped nail down this issue!

I have the same dropping 3G issue, it didn't pop up until the 4.4.3 update. I don't swap SIM cards so that might not be the root issue. But it's definitely not hardware related. I was just fine before 4.4.3

Could sprint open up rrpp coverage as evdo native now? It would seem to expand the native footprint nicely while waiting on the member carriers to deploy LTE.

I'm curious, why can't sprint just try to open up the RRPP members as EVDO coverage until their LTE is ready?

SIM based authentication will make things much easier for the consumer, IMO.

This will have to improve. I remember this issue well. Especially when I roamed on Commnet. Verizon roaming seemed to show up much faster.

 

Robert

I find it ironic Verizon gets their roaming data much quicker since Verizon allows unlimited roaming.

Vodafone buying T-Mo would be significant especially considering the amount of money Big Red just paid them to exit their partnership.

I would think that buyout probably has a noncompete clause for so many years, if not permanent, so Vodafone can't just take all that cash and plow it into a competitor. That would rule out Vodafone coming back into the us market.

I am sure given the quantity of lower A block 700MHz that USCC owns, I am sure T-Mobile is looking at them as a easy target for acquisition as well.

I don't think T has the money for a buyout. Unlike Masa, Deutsche Telekom doesn't like pouring capital into the market. They might be able to afford a spectrum swap or a purchase of the 700A spectrum only.

Yes, yes and yes. A purchase of USCC is making more and more sense. I don't know if USCC can be had for a decent price, or if the Carlson's can come to terms to even sell. But I think this should be Masa's #1 acquisition target.

 

Letting Tmo get MetroPCS was a huge Sprint blunder. The Sprint board should have let Hesse buy them out. Could be a lot more B25 carriers or wider B25 carriers out there now with MetroPCS purchase. And Tmo would not be as strong as they are, especially wideband. This strengthened Tmo a lot.

 

I'm afraid USCC is going to be like MetroPCS. If Sprint doesn't move on USCC, someone else will. And it's just going to hurt Sprint more whomever it goes to. In some ways, it will also be like the Alltel loss.

 

USCC has a lot of nice assets and coverage that will help fill in a lot of Sprint's maps. And now that Sprint is moving to add B12/B4 to its devices, USCC becomes a good and easy network fit again. Sprint could allow Sprint customers near overnight access on USCC LTE, EVDO and 1x and vice versa. They can even have a sharing agreement in place so that can start even before the deal receives FCC approval and closes.

 

Then they can take their time on USCC network Network Vision upgrades and decommissioning redundant sites. It could be quite easy. And the pick up of Cellular band spectrum is just gravy on the deal.

 

Sprint should be able to get USCC for a few billion. Masa could finance it himself, if he wanted. But they could easily secure the financing for that purchase on quick and affordable terms. Including the network upgrade costs.

 

Sprint + USCC + RRPP + CCA = Duopoly Disruptor

 

To me it seems a no brainer. And Sprint may even be better to just buy the network and spectrum only. Not deal with inheriting so many employees, real estate/offices, and an influx of expected subprime customers. Just offer existing customers a great deal to join. There is a lot of corporate baggage the distracts the purchase, like employee integration. It may be better just to buy the network/spectrum only. If such a deal can be arranged.

 

Almost no matter how you slice the deal, it should be done.

 

Masa, make it so! Randall Stephenson would buy USCC just to pick up Nebraska alone. And keep YOU from getting something that would make you more powerful. It's time.

 

Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

I doubt USCC would need much for upgrades. Some 8t8r panels, I don't know if their existing panels can broadcast b25. But the physical plant and backhaul is in fairly good shape in most of their markets.

Also, I'm not sure why USCC's subprime subscribers would be a problem since Sprint was willing to absorb all of T, which has a ton of subprime subscribers as well.

And I live in a 925,000 person metro that T-Mobile only serves via a protection network...

I have a 300k metro area that gets the dreaded iwireless, Tmo just passed the whole state to an affiliate. T-Mo wants nothing to do with this area either.

Great, more junkware to clutter up my phone.

VZW 3G has gotten so bad. It is unusable in many areas anymore. It appears VZW has completely stopped capex on 3G now. If you mention it to any VZW employee they try to hard sell you on a LTE device. When you explain you have one, they look at you like you're from Mars. "Why would you use 3G?" They always ask.

 

Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

I have a Verizon work phone, I used to fall back on its 3g for music streaming and basic browsing when Sprint's 3g was useless. But now Verizon's 3g has basically become useless here.

I meant to add to my original post that Verizon always comes in under what NY device says as does AT&T. I just checked my Sprint account again and it is dead-on now. Strange.

 

Sent from my LG G3 using Tapatalk

I wonder if Verizon is significantly compressing data then.

Sprint normally comes under or close to my phones report. Verizon however, comes in way under. Verizon often says I've used several hundred mbs less than my phone reports.

Over here, Mediacom accidentally cut a major Fiber Backbone. So that's what's causing the issues here.

The nexus 5 still has the 1X icon.

USCC is certainly a prime candidate for a buyout with great synergies, but the Carlson Family has shown zero interest in a buyout.

I have to wonder if Chairman Wheeler is a Verizon customer on unlimited.

 

Robert

Apparently that's what it took for the FCC to finally invoke the C block rules, lol.

Both you guys and Eastern Iowa, the last frontier, lol.

Insider trying to get ntelos to ditch sprint and join Verizon rural lte partner possibly?

 

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Doubtful. Unless there's an easy out clause in their network agreement with Sprint. My guess is the ntelos board didn't feel like they got favorable enough financial terms in the agreement.

I should note that 10gb is for all four lines. So 2.5gb each.

I'm surprised Sprint hasn't approached Brookings about buying Swiftel yet. For the right price, I'm sure the city would sell.

If the USCC deal is ever to happen, I'd imagine the C-Spire deal would be the blueprint for it instead of the RRPP.

When I was in Wichita a couple of weeks ago, I camped on B26 and had only 3g downtown, I have a nexus 5. Wichita needs some tweaking.

Has anyone else with GMO sites in their area found that they have issues connecting to them? Specifically 3G data not connecting? If so have you found that this is something Sprint can correct, like the sites aren't configured correctly or something, or is this just the nature of GMO sites and the way they will be until they get converted to full builds?

 

For example, in my area there are some GMO sites outside of the current LTE footprint. When entering one of these areas my phone has the hardest time connecting to them. voice usually connects fairly quickly but it will sit there anywhere from 1 to 10 minutes or more trying to connect to 3G. usually it gives up and just sticks me on 1xRTT, but sometimes even that doesn't always connect, ie the "3G" icon never shows up and i don't have any data what so ever until it does.

 

and its not just my phone (LG G Flex), it happens on my wife's and my brother's iphone 5's as well. doing airplane mode doesn't really seem to help, it just starts the cycle over of trying to connect to 3G. this is also with good signals, -85dbm or better, that it still does this.

 

so if anyone has had issues like this and has had success getting them fixed please let me know what it took

I've had it happen. When I get kicked to the 3g GMOs my phone (nexus 5) will often not connect to data. It will show the 3g icon but not throughput any data.

While the relationship between Pioneer and Sprint did end ugly (if I read things right), the new Sprint management has shown a much greater willingness to accommodate partners, so I wouldn't think that it would be too hard to get pioneer back on board, their legacy networks are already compatible with the Sprint network.