dkyeager

At least in Samsung markets with AirHarmony small cells, the PCI of small cells is 450 or greater. EARFCN would be another way, but that sometimes gets location specific. GCI would be another way, but then you would need to know the MM cutoff point for each market (we have those for Ohio)

Accepted and then verbally confirmed on Reddit:

The best incoming SNR or RSRQ is where you want to place the MagicBox. Right now you may have a lot of retries.

Don't forget to check the SNR or use the RSRQ. You might also be better away from the window. Also check to see if it using B41 -- it might be on B25 backhaul. You could also be above the best signal, depending on your floor in the condo.

Sprint is slicing these root metric wins finer and finer. The reality is Sprint came in a distant forth in Seattle. http://www.rootmetrics.com/en-US/rootscore/map/metro/seattle-wa/2018/2H Sprint has one outright win for this six month period when they used to get six or seven in recent years. Some of this is how Rootmetrics counts upload speeds the same as download when the usage ratio is more like 10 to 1. PCmag understands this so Sprint has done better there. When the duo starts doing the same with TDD for their MM 5G spectrum I expect RootMetrics to alter the formula to balance upload speeds with usage . But this can not overcome limited backhaul capacity and years with very limited CapEX. Recently Sprint has done a great job improving its network, but the competition has done better. This will however help with reducing churn.

T-Mobile is going to do as they wish, subject to FCC limitations. The Sprint executives will likely be on some beach figuring out whether their drink umbrellas are adjusted correctly while they watch their enhanced investment portfolios and figure out what they want to do next, if anything. The joys of golden parachutes! Most of the Next gen sites I have seen are rural locations often with only Sprint on the tower. This fits Sprints historical pattern of doing rural areas first. The comments could point to collusion if the merger review drags out for another year like I think and urban former Clear sites are not Tri-banded as permits indicate. The more interesting paragraphs: "So we've recently improved the liquidity again by expanding the term loan B by just over a billion dollars and more importantly in many regards from my respect putting in place this amendment to the term loan B documentation which then allows us to potentially significantly up size the spectrum notes if the merger didn't get approved, and if we had to pay for standalone life." "...this last quarter we returned to wireless service revenue growth year-on-year. We expect that level of wireless service revenue growth to continue for the foreseeable future... ...Now we don't expect that level of growth to expand materially, but we do think that the level of growth that we've now got is sustainable. So once you get through a few quarters of that, all of a sudden you start to generate year-on-year wireless revenue, service revenue on a full year basis. So there's a revenue growth story." source: https://seekingalpha.com/article/4226498-sprint-corporation-s-management-presents-bank-america-merrill-lynch-leveraged-finance?part=single

It can take several months to fully optimize B26 LTE 800. Same with 1x800.

OK, so no free lunch. I saw that as they could remain on their Sprint plan but perhaps be limited in some fashion or get a new T-Mobile plan. Traditionally T-Mobile just moves people to new plans that are typically better and then T-Mobile gets the cost savings of reduced back office expense and easier customer service.

"Free agents", this implies that a person could go out and buy a top of the line phone on lease or installments or 24 month contract that they can not really afford and expect that when the merger is approved in the first half of next year, as mentioned by Legere, their outstanding amount would be forgiven. Is that really what you meant to say? I could not find it in the article or transcript (perhaps I missed it). I would hate to see others get in trouble based on this.

I assume they will update firmware for VoLTE for as many phones as economical, along with other bands. This may not occur until an area is moved over.

Assuming approval, the big question for us is where do they want to start market wise. T-Mobile typically goes to where they can get the best return on investment, which has historically meant urban areas. However they could start with old T-Mobile oversubscribed markets, markets where they are losing the most Sprint customers, or the easiest markets to complete (ones with small sprint market share), or areas where Sprint spent the most on roaming which could now overload T-Mobile if present in those areas. The first few markets could also just be used to test their approach.

It is important that we all sign-up, as google uses this as a proxy for interest and whether they should invest time and money.

If the merger is approved, T-Mobile plans on becoming completely self-funded. They will issue bonds in dollars and Euros for $19 billion of debt refinancing, $4 billion for liquidity, $7 billion for loan B debt. This includes bi-lateral with Deutsches Telekom, for a total of $19 Billion. That will give the new T-Mobile $70 billion in high yield debt. They do have consents for Sprint and T-Mobile bond holders. This article also mention $10 billion of integration spending. source: https://seekingalpha.com/article/4226264-t-mobile-us-inc-tmus-presents-bank-america-merrill-lynch-2018-leveraged-finance-conference?page=7 Note: secured loan B debt is defined as: "senior debt and are usually not subordinated to other indebtedness of the borrower." It may not be allowed to be prepayed. Source: https://content.next.westlaw.com/Document/I03f4d8b5eee311e28578f7ccc38dcbee/View/FullText.html?contextData=(sc.Default)&transitionType=Default&firstPage=true&bhcp=1

I assume that MagicBox Ethernet backhaul has been user tested and failed. Disappointing. Has anyone tested WiFi backhaul?

The early public comments were that band 41 would be shutdown, Sprint users moved to AWS, and Band 41 then brought back up as 5G only. This would rule out keeping Mini Macros and 8T8R. Massive MIMOs would need to be moved to areas with less spectrum if I am correct in that they can only handle 120Mhz (60MHz 4G and 60Mhz 5G initially). Sprint has all the B41 licenses in many urban areas. With gaps, that is 194Mhz of spectrum. Why pay for 4G complexity if you are only going to have 5G? 8 or 9 carriers gets reduced to 2 or 3 carriers with a dramatic increase in upload speeds (depending on whether FCC allows use of the gaps). Uncertain on how small cells would be handled. T-Mobile may go fiber fed for better performance and to free spectrum. They certainly would need to be relocated in many cases and upgraded to 5G. Small cells would be easier to attach to if they were on the primary B41 frequency with the secondary used for backhaul. You would also likely want a 5G MagicBox. Areas with 28mm T-Mobile Spectrum (parts of Ohio for example) may stand a better chance of retaining Sprint sites for use with this band. P.S.: Early plans likely have been modified. Assuming the merger is approved, the FCC merger condition documents will be a must read.

The new T-Mobile is going to boil down to a neighborhood by neighborhood decision for Sprint customers, some of which will depend on what work gets completed by Sprint assuming merger is successful. I am assuming former Clear sites that do not get Triband upgrades are typically toast. Sites with more recent investments stand a better chance of surviving, assuming they are not co-sites. Of course all existing equipment could still be junked. 800 RRHs have the best odds, given they will likely be the last bastion of Sprint CDMA. We are seeing some 1900 firmware changes that would allow for more spectrum to be used for LTE that may affect these RRH's retention. I would also assume cabinets are toast or at least retrofitted. The main factor in keeping some of the equipment would be new equipment shortages and future 5G compatible replacements being needed in coming years. Network needs and leasing costs would be main individual site factors. I would think markets with a low Sprint Market share would lose the most Sprint sites while those with a large Sprint Market share would have better odds for unique Sprint site retention. Of course the FCC might mandate that VoLTE must cover all areas covered by Sprint CDMA, but this would mostly affect rural areas. I am also assuming that the new T-Mobile will start urban in the larger markets given T-Mobile's past history.

It used to drive some of us crazy in Ohio that Sprint did not know which sites had LTE or Band 41 in terms of the coverage maps. We laboriously gave them site IDs and LAT LONGs with GCIs thrown in for good measure in spreadsheet and map formats. For LTE they did add them in a few months. For Band 41 they ended up removing the category that covered it from the coverage maps. I think the key item is if you have small cells in your area, then Magic Boxes will likely work.

more 5G details starting to come in:

Connectivity https://imgur.com/a/j0yeqic Chip https://imgur.com/a/VUjEamZ Applied (AI) https://imgur.com/a/hjvnb2Q source: Qualcomm,

Actual performance will be hard to predict until we can actually do our own testing. Within several years it will also likely be quite different. I do not believe a single Massive MIMO antenna system will initially be able to cover all b41 spectrum. Sprint currently has spectrum carve-outs for small cells and Magic Boxes as they currently stand. Once 5g begins to expand to other areas beyond the ideal sites I would expect simplier less expensive alternatives to current Massive MIMO. The big question will be whether Sprint will be willing to provide 5g sites with proper backhaul, which has always been a presumption as to why 4g b41 has not scaled as expected as carriers have been added. We were getting reports of up to 80Mbps on the first single carrier b41 sites with personal observations approaching 70Mbps on some sites. All of this was well before 5 carrier, 4x4 MIMO, and 256 QAM were discussed. When you start discussing initial speed needs before 5g killer apps are invented the T-Mobile 5G 600MHz approach makes sense. Who wouldn't want the low band edge performance possibly doubled? Who knows how actual phones will perform with 5g and whether any sacrifices will be made to 4g performance not forgetting 3g either. Will all bands have latent 5g support or will new phones be needed as each band is ultimately converted to 5g? How will 5g plans be structured? Of course when discussing any wireless merger the FCC must come into play. Besides spectrum, coverage and handset transition requirements (and any MVNO protections), the key factor is the length of time. This is often far longer than predicted. I feel that positive anticipation is warranted, but results will likely come in lower than hyped given the many factors touched on above. Exciting times for S4gru members to see what actually happens.

5G for b41 should be a big win given far larger carriers ( 60 MHz wide for Sprint, 100Mhz wide for new T-Mobile) which will greatly speed uploads. Better ability to reach into RF shadows and ability to handle more custumers also a big plus.

Finally getting down to the details - the densest areas will be be covered by 5G (or maybe more importantly, the busiest sites). There are likely other factors - amount of spectrum in the market, fixing RF shadows in areas where small cells are difficult for whatever reason, etc.

It would be interesting to study whether this would have an effect on battery life. If it is a continuous scanning the answer would be no, but if it is done on a timed interval (perhaps ever increasing then random) then the answer may be yes for global consuming more battery than LTE mode. We know it is not purely defined by the border of the United States as I have gotten Sprint signal in Canada and Canadian signal in the U.S.

Yes. https://www.verizon.com/about/news/verizon-completes-acquisition-vodafones-45-percent-indirect-interest-verizon-wireless

The key item to watch with the FCC will be if MM bands get counted. They could go down to almost the tower level in terms of what coverage is required. I would certainly expect the FCC to spend a lot of time on how customer's phones are treated. The real comparison to observe in the future is if Softbank puts in more money for more control and quicker 5G or sells out at a much later date. The closest comparison is Verizon and Vodaphone's control of Verizon Wireless. Ultimately Verizon bought out Vodaphone.