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dkyeager

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Everything posted by dkyeager

  1. dkyeager
    The EARFCN does line up with what is LTE 2500 3rd carrier in most markets which is not possible with Mini Macros or the Clear LTE equipment. Definitely worth a look at the site for equipment for LTE 1900 and LTE 800. Edit: except Samsung Clear Equipment which can handle four carriers [credit: lilotimz].
  2. dkyeager
    Sorry I missed that. I only saw discussion of new LTE 800 in the Seattle thread going back to November. There have reportedly been some Clear to NV conversions a few years ago especially in the upper peninsula of Michigan, but most were isolated cases. Many of these sites were basically public protection sites, but they did do a good job of covering their small town in the WiMAX days, often before any other carriers had LTE in those areas. Most of the Clear sites outside of major metro areas in Ohio were completely removed after the WiMAX shutdown, although one was later converted to LTE 2500 in Portsmouth, Ohio.
  3. dkyeager
    In the Samsung markets (Midwest, northern West Coast) we have also seen the LTE 2500 GCIs change to match that of the LTE 1900 and LTE 800. The GCI sectors go to being sequentially ordered by sector across all bands. This is step 10 for the Samsung markets.
  4. dkyeager
    It is quite possible you are at step 8 of the process so far as we understand it: 1) permits obtained, 2) tower improved if needed (plates added for strength, safety ropes changed, etc. 3) trenches dug and conduit installed, 4) concrete poured and cured [or metal grate expended according to some permits], 5) cabinets arrive and are positioned, 6) antennas installed then cables, 7) wait, 8)LTE 2500 Carrier Aggregation switched from Mini Macros to 8T8R, 9) LTE 2500 third carrier is soon added [sometimes next day], 10) LTE 1900 and 1x900 CDMA and then LTE 800 and 1x800 are added [uncertain of exact order]. Ultimately coverage of the new triband site and surrounding sites will need to be fine tuned which could take as long as a couple of months. You would want to find the site by GCI and look and/or take pictures to be certain. The first site in Cleveland was picked up around Thanksgiving in logs so your dates are reasonable.
  5. dkyeager
    Here is an article that puts the odds of the merger at 40%. https://www.lightreading.com/mobile/5g/t-mobiles-legere-calls-dish-a-spectrum-hoarder/d/d-id/749306? So we have a range of 40-90%. IMO it may be 2020 before we know. If you are a regulator why rush? The main premise is that Sprint will fail without a merger. The second argument is that the merger will benefit the rest of the country with a true competitor. If you stall as a regulator, you will get to see if Sprint gets traction on 5G. Given the fragmentation of the mmWave spectrum, with much still under auction, and its tremendous buildout requirements, Sprint's 2.5Ghz 5G will really be the only viable option for 6 months until the second 5G chipset comes out with support for midrange and low bands which T-Mobile and AT&T have announced plans to use.
  6. dkyeager
    Most of us have learned that predictions of more than a month out by Sprint are risky. Once they get permits most of the work is done within a year (in my market, but they are sometimes allowed to die in mass in other markets). Of course a merger could occur any time during that period -- or not!! The best thing to do is watch site improvements and signals. Once work actually begins you can get more optimistic, but I would still not bet the farm.
  7. dkyeager
    It also needs non-contiguous CA, which S10 has to 5CA.
  8. dkyeager
    today's FCC filings: https://ecfsapi.fcc.gov/file/102042192910190/Pricing Commitment Ex Parte 02.03.2019.pdf https://ecfsapi.fcc.gov/file/10204163125179/Legere Pricing Commitment Letter 02.01.2019.pdf
  9. dkyeager
    While many people laugh at the idea of 600MHz 5G NR, I think it is brilliant. Doubling the slow speed at the edge of the cell will be far more useful/noticeable that going from 200Mbps to 400Mbps. The main issue is T-Mobile was not quick enough to get it included in the first 5G chipset. It will take much much longer to build out mmWave to be as noticeable.
  10. dkyeager
    Many people can not afford or don't have the need for an ISP. Smartphones and LTE tablets are their computers. The carriers have tie-ins with streaming TV services like Netflix or Hulu which further enable this.
  11. dkyeager
    The statement that 2.5 does not penetrate buildings is untrue. I can get 100Mbps inside my home on 2.5 CA with 64QAM and 2x2 MIMO. Now definitely lower frequencies are best at building penetration. I am wary of starting from the premise that 2.5 does not penetrate buildings and applying it to mmWave. Some of the things learned from 2.5 should help with mmWave. Massive MIMO would be first on my list. Picking the best reflected signal should help. They will also need overlapping sites. A big difference will be the carrier size. We will be going from today's 20Mhz to 100MHz for 2.5 5G NR and 400MHz for 28GHz 5G NR. The biggest question is how far can the phone transmit. Perhaps mmWave should be paired with a lower frequency like AWS for that reason, but it might already be too late for that decision. Today's small cells will likely have mmWave added plus they will need more. mmWave makes the most sense for dense areas. It could also be used to keep people who are close to cell sites from hogging a larger share of low frequency bandwidth to the detriment of those further out.
  12. dkyeager
    I have heard that equipment shortages are what is holding 600MHz back.
  13. dkyeager
    It is worse than what the article states. When I looked at the mmWave spectrum for some of the Verizon and AT&T 5g markets I saw heavily fragmented licenses with only occasional 100Mhz chunks, the rest being 50MHz. Licenses swapping and the standard being raised from 100MHz to 400MHz maximum channels is really what is needed for them. Likely awaiting the outcome of the 28MHz, 24MHz, and 39MHz auctions. T-Mobile has an ideal mmWave spectrum position in most of Ohio with 850Mhz contiguous of 28GHz spectrum including Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati, but their marketing message has all been 600MHz 5GHz which won't come until the second 5G chipset from Qualcomm. Unfortunately for them so will other mid-band spectrum. Tower hands told me a number of months ago that almost all of the radios they were installing for the duo were 5G upgradeable. My local T-Mobile network contacts have told me that they have not been working on mmWave. This could be a strategic mistake by T-Mobile unless they plan on selling this spectrum or worry that it would contaminate their marketing message. The downtown and university areas should have enough density. They might need Sprint sites and small cells to pull it off. The merger could be almost a year off imo, if it occurs. Even then there are penetration issues in an area with lots of trees, although I tend to discount much of these concerns about mmWave given the same has been said about 2.5GHz.
  14. dkyeager
    Most of us have abandoned ship because it does not get recorded into the main map from many phones. Root metrics hexagon based coverage maps or cell mapper (if you are in a non spreadsheet market) are recommended. SCP Pro recommended for active spreadsheet markets. Most have ways to defer sending data which can then be done over WiFi.
  15. dkyeager
    Based on the Shentel nTelos Merger, my guess is one year from the Department of Justice approval for the FCC to hammer out all the details. It would be to Sprint users benefit to go that long so hopefully the planned updates are completed. That will be all you get until T-Mobile would convert your market which is planned to take 3 years.
  16. dkyeager
    I think this is where the economies of scale of merging comes in. At that point we should see full blown expansion with stores IMO. Currently is T-Mobile just trying to cover the map to save on roaming and for marketing, making sure they meet minimal licenses requirements, acting like Sprint as I noted, dealing with equipment shortages as some T-Mobile RF engineers have mentioned, or doing expansions in stages. To me if you have cash, one tower climb makes the most sense. But I think T-Mobile is a marketing driven firm.
  17. dkyeager
    MagicBoxes are a different animal than Air Harmony Small Cells.
  18. dkyeager
    The best way we get information is by people going to sites and taking pictures and using Signal Check Pro. Then you will know what is there and what coming. If you need help, just take pictures of every rack on the tower and post them here. For the price of your typical lunch, we are willing to share our sponsor data with you, which will help you find the right towers much much sooner.
  19. dkyeager
    Are these shades of Sprint I am hearing from T-Mobile? Often Sprint has built its towers around here a number of miles from the nearest town. which results in lower speeds and the entire town is on one sector. I also wonder if T-Mobile is building out before backhaul, which is the usual way Sprint has handled adding bands and channels.
  20. dkyeager
    This confusion could be eliminatedby adding: If PCI 450 or greater then SC#2 else MM#2. The upper limit is MagicBoxes starting at PCI 488 (which matches our market sheets) as mentioned here: Hopefully 5G has more PCIs available.
  21. dkyeager
    So many groups have made up their minds first, find facts to back them later. In a more straightforward article would want to see the models assumptions in detail. The article quotes Dish, whose role is typically to drive up the costs of mergers. Without Dish doing that for the purchase of Clearwire, there possibly could have been billions more for Sprint network expansion or lower prices.
  22. dkyeager
    All small cells that we have seen in Ohio have a PCI of 450 or greater.
  23. dkyeager
    The bigger question is which Sprint phones will T-Mobile upgrade the firmware to make them more compatible with both networks and what will be the discount given for us to get upgraded phones to replace the other incompatible ones?
  24. dkyeager
    Likely are some people avoiding Sprint because of merger talk, but then some are moving from T-Mobile hoping to be grandfathered in on cheaper plans. A good opportunity to talk about network improvements and 5g.
  25. dkyeager
    If Sprint has Band 41 in your area (deployed or not) you could also possibly have a mutual leasing arrangement with them to make your spectrum contiguous. Compared to 15Mhz, 20Mhz would be more useful and have slightly better building penetration and be less susceptible to interference. The FCC may address contiguous 2.5 spectrum -- or they may not. Initially the thought was they tabled this issue until after the mid-term election. They may have tabled it until after a merger decision, which could be a year away based on recent mergers.
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