dkyeager

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.

Hopefully you are also using the Google Maps off-line feature for your main driving areas, which would then speed up the traffic reporting when you have data signal since less map data would be needed at that time. Sprint drive would also help, but of course more $$.

You can see some of the LTE roaming areas with Sprint, although the T-Mobile roaming primarily occurred after their Aug 31 cutoff date.

1 phone out of 4 used for that test did not have the "Use New Sprint/Samsung Indicators" option turned on, which was the one these screen shots came from. Sorry for the error. Thanks again

Using the latest beta at the time, I disabled EARFCN using the modem and got these results: This is not an exhaustive list. My hope is for SCP to catch the unique Sequential GCI Sectors to give an idea of what is being looked at band-wise. Perhaps this has already been fixed since that time. Thanks!

This merger is a growth play more than just cost savings. Verizon is just doing what Sprint has already done is terms of cost cuts. However Verizon is different in that they are trying to preserve their margins. With a far better cost structure for the new T-Mobile (depending on FCC conditions), the question will be if the merger is handled successfully, which is then what will really determine job gains or losses. The competition will not stand still while the new T-Mobile gets itself organized and motivated. Some of the new ideas will fail. How quickly do to they adjust will be key. Just because something has been tried before does not mean that it can not be successful now, for timing is everything in business.

Here is what I posted: FCC conditions should include: 1) Upgrade the smartphones firmware to support the new T-Mobile network or to give discounts for new phones as was done with the Shentel-nTelos and T-Mobile-Metro PCS mergers. This should include support for all bands and VoLTE if previously certified by the FCC. For example the LG V20 has VoLTE support which should be enabled by firmware for the new T-Mobile Network. 2) VoLTE coverage should be extended to fully cover the 1x800 CDMA range currently covered by Sprint. I have seen it as far as 50 miles from the originating site, but that is a rare exception. In the Shentel-nTelos merger, LTE coverage was mandated to extend fully over all nTelos 3G coverage. 3) Given its more limited building penetration and shorter range, band 41 coverage should be considered on its own and not be allowed to be reduced in terms of quality. Sprint has band 41 only sites in many metropolitan areas which provide service to areas poorly covered by other bands. For example, CB52XC033 at 2837 Dublin Rd, Columbus OH provides up to 100Mbps coverage to my home, while B25 is often around 5Mbps, and B26 is in the 3G range. The 205ft (about 160ft for the RRUs) height of the tower help to reach into nearby ravine areas. 4) Many small towns could use the increased capacity of multiple cell sites on opposite edges of the town. 5) I encourage the FCC to preserve the integrity of the MNVOs without cutting into the b41 spectrum of the new T-Mobile and to factor in all other purchased/leased spectrum in the MM bands by all carriers in any spectrum screen calculations. S4Gru members should note that the above site number was personally observed during a site upgrade.

Based on the earlier public released plans and interviews, that would be true on a market by market basis as the new T-Mobile converts B41 to 5G. What is in the latest plans is anyone's guess. Going to 5G would provide 100MHz wide carriers which would mean 5 times faster uploads before factoring in 5G speed improvements. Could one radio handle all of the available B41 bandwidth that Sprint has in numerous cities (up to 8 or 9 20MHz carriers)? Rumors are the Sprint Massive MIMO radios can only handle 6 carriers for a total of 120MHz, but I could be wrong. My understanding is also that T-Mobile small cells are all fiber fed which would free up bandwidth for phones. T-Mobile would likely go for different radios hopefully covering the full 194Mhz since they would only want 5G support. In deals like the Shentel-nTelos and T-Mobile-Metro PCS the FCC has always had the firms either upgrade the firmware to support the new network or to give discounts for new phones. Your voice will only be heard if you tell the FCC. The FCC comment period is now open until early December. If T-Mobile drops CDMA, then voice coverage will also be reduced given the vast range of 1x800. (I have observed it up to 50 miles away, but that is in rare cases). In the Shentel-nTelos merger, LTE coverage was mandated to extend fully over all nTelos 3G coverage. Once again this is something you should ask for. Another area of concern is VoLTE support. I personally think Sprint will only offer it on phones it is currently selling. Hopefully T-Mobile will go back to phones such as the LG V20 and have VoLTE support. But always best to ask. https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-18-1155A1.pdf https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/search/filings?proceedings_name=18-197&sort=date_disseminated,DESC

That was in the initial public plan discussions. Since then they have submitted at least one more plan. At this point I would say we have no idea how many separate Sprint sites they will end up keeping. Don't forget that co-located sites are not counted in his tally. Nor do I assume small cells. In the Shentel - nTelos Merger the FCC paid attention to coverage areas and said all of the nTelos areas (mostly 3G) must be covered by 4G LTE. If the same standard is applied to this deal with 1x800 voice calls and T-Mobile gets rid of CDMA which I view as likely based on past actions with MetroPCS...

Actually he was more ambiguous: "FABER: Does leaving an enfeebled competitor worry you to act – sort of figure into your decision making? In other words, the idea that Sprint wouldn't ever be able to compete if it was truly left independent? DELRAHIM: That would certainly be one of the considerations that goes into a number of factors we would review to see, you know, what would happen to the competitive landscape. Does that -- what you're insinuating, does that mean there's only be then two competitors if this merger doesn't happen -- and one of them would fail or both of them might fail without this merger? Those would be factors we would consider. But I don't know if the evidence fully supports that."

I think T-Mobile has a point with 5G on 600Mhz which is expect to double its relatively slow speeds. Sprint is expected a 5 fold increase in Band 41, however I personally think the real difference will be in upload speeds given 100Mhz will be available for upload as compared to today's typical 20Mhz that most Sprint customer observe. T-Mobile's plan given merger approval is to use the spectrum to shift customers around while it upgrades each band to 5NR starting with Band 41 (doing this on a market by market basis). This is according to publicly available plans and comments. Since those were released the plans have been revised. My guess is the FCC is pushing T-Mobile - Sprint towards a Shentel - nTelos type of deal where coverage must remain the same, customers must end up with a phone in some fashion that fully supports the new network, some divesting of spectrum, and they must report back to the FCC on progress towards these goals. The only area that is really new is the MVNO possible conditions. To placate possible opposition and appeal to FCC stated goals, wireless internet is thrown in, at least for rural areas, which is also a shot across the bow for cable companies getting into wireless. Doing 5G earlier would allow the new T-Mobile a longer time frame to depreciate these assets. It is also expected that new "must have" applications will be developed as a result of the increased speeds.

Correct, just noting that VoLTE is not being shown despite its footprint being much smaller that 1x800 CDMA.

Changed device to S8+, checked voice - no VoLTE showing A far amount of LTE extended in sparce parts of Ohio. Now is that AT&T or T-Mobile?

For a more definitive answer, acquire the SCP pro version for several dollars. It will provide you with GCI data and possibly EARFCN which will make possible certainty on identifying that signal.

Tidbits from latest Shentel Quarterly results: From a competitive standpoint, we believe a merger would be beneficial in establishing a stronger competitor against the much larger AT&T and Verizon. We showed the components of change of our Wireless customer base from September 30, 2017, to September 30, 2018. We had 785,500 postpaid and 255,500 prepaid subscribers at the end of current quarter, for a total of 1,041,000 customers. This includes 54,000 customers acquired as a result of the Richmond Expansion in February 2018 and 34,000 added from organic growth. This represents growth of 8% in postpaid and 14% in prepaid as compared to the third quarter of 2017 and also a sequential improvement from the second quarter of 2018. At the end of the quarter, 21% of our customers were still on subsidized plans down from 22% at the end of the second quarter. 7.1% of our base upgraded their device in the quarter and of these upgrades, 98% were phones and 2% non-phones. Overall 8.5% of the postpaid base are now tablets and data devices. We continue to have a positive poured in versus poured out ratio at 1.35 to 1 for the third quarter of 2018. You also see postpaid churn for the quarter of 1.84%, a 35 basis point improvement versus the third quarter of 2017 with churn in our core legacy area at 1.68%. Phone churn was 1.7% and non-phone churn was 3.38%. Our significant progress in churn was aided by the completion of the nTelos migration of subscribers in 2017, but somewhat offset by increases in line level churn as a result of the new Sprint rate card. Prepaid gross adds increased to 38,500 and net adds increased to 3,400 on the strength of Boost customer additions. We are reaping the benefits of our strategic investments in the Boost brand through local advertising and the continued expansion of Boost stores throughout our service area. Additionally, prepaid churn for the quarter of 4.62% is a 63 basis point improvement over last year’s third quarter and ARPU gained traction as well. I'd like to update you on our store expansion. By year-end 2018, we're on track to have 167 branded Sprint stores and 151 branded Boost stores, representing about 21% and 30% increases, respectively, since the end of 2017. 53% of homes past are now capable of an upgrade to DOCSIS 31 and broadband speeds of up to 1 gig per second. More than half of 2018 capital is allocated for cell site upgrades and the expansion of our coverage in recently acquired territories. Q On margins and expansion ...With respect to our expansion, we continue to build fiber wherever we can. In fact, we're going to build fiber to over 100 towers this year incrementally. And that does a couple of things for us, it helps grow our fiber footprint and create sales opportunities in the commercial and wholesale space, but it also drives cost out on above-market rates that we're paying primarily related to the nTelos acquisition. So we're pretty proud of the results we've had. I think the best way to think about that is that, over time, we expect them to remain where they are or grow that, but that could be lumpy because as we've talked about, we like the towers up, right? And then we unleash what is proving to be a pretty robust and effective marketing arm and sales arm, and we spend a lot of time thinking about the timing of those two things, so there's not a lag there. So the opportunity for us is in these expansion territories where the penetration is very low when we acquired it. As we build it out, it goes – just doing nothing heroic, we're getting that penetration up to what we're at now like 18% or so. I think that gives us a lot of potential upside. And the other part of that is, is that dependent – and obviously, of course, it's dependent on the pricing and the promotions and whatnot from Sprint. But if Sprint letting the promotional – promotions lapse, if that does, we start to see some of the same things that Sprint saw. I think that's, again, more margin expansion. Q: in the transition of Voice Over IP, have you quantified how much in cost savings you expect to see? In terms of the VoIP margin benefit, it's in the range of $2 million to $3 million annualized. Q: Could you talk about the cost savings you had on these switches moving to VoIP facilities? Was this the remnants from nTelos or was this the CapEx program for the entire company? Now, that was related to some Sprint architecture changes, it's company-wide, system-wide, not nTelos related... Q: First on the expansion territories, I think you guys have had Parkersburg for a little bit over a year now. And presumably, you've begun kind of selling into that. I just was curious on whether Parkersburg was a meaningful contributor to gross adds? And then, also, if you could give us an update on when you expect to start selling into Richmond, when that network build-out is going to be complete? Parkersburg in terms of a meaningful contribution to gross activations, I wouldn't characterize it as meaningful. The majority of the capital investment in the Wireless business this year is to wrap up the investments in the acquired nTelos territories. So we're seeing more contribution from legacy nTelos markets than Parkersburg. And with respect to the Richmond sliver, we really haven't begun in earnest our upgrade program in the acquired Richmond geography, and so that's more of a 2019 and 2020 opportunity for us than it is a 2018 opportunity. Q: CapEx, obviously, came in a little bit lower than previous. You called out some equipment deliveries. Can you help us understand what's going on there a little bit? And then longer term on CapEx, what are your thoughts about 5G spending, particularly as you heard what Sprint's plans might be? there is not really any meaningful story on CapEx relative to what was budgeted. I think the primary drivers, as noted in the scripted comments this morning, were really better Wireless equipment pricing. And as you can expect with the vast majority of our capital going into the wireless business, equipment pricing benefits that weren't budgeted or expected were meaningful. We had budgeted some fiber RUs, we ended up not needing, which was several million dollars and other just kind of cats and dogs related to timing, but there's no major headline there, so to speak. In terms of our go-forward plans relative to 5G, I think the company has previously disclosed and I would reiterate that the 5G opportunity for us, as well as the threat, is relatively muted just given the geography that we cover and in particular, the fact that Sprint leverages the 2.5 spectrum band for most of their LTE advanced deployments and the 5G opportunity that they see. And that's a relatively small portion of our macro network, it's 23% versus 70% for Sprint in the more urban areas. So you shouldn't expect to see a big increase in CapEx related to 5G for us. Q: And there's a spectrum lease agreement between Sprint and T-Mobile announced recently. Are you familiar with that, the agreement? Obviously, it's outside of the auspices of the transaction, but will that have any impact on your ability for spectrum? Yes, we're aware. And no, we don't believe it will impact our spectrum strategy. source: https://seekingalpha.com/article/4218935-shenandoah-telecommunications-shen-ceo-chris-french-q3-2018-results-earnings-call-transcript?part=single

Factory reset is your best immediate option. Network reconfiguration by Sprint can also cause this issue. Usually resolves itself in a few days. Reboot daily to see if fixed. After a few days none of the above works, contact Magic Box support. They are getting more skilled.

I would combine them as soon as possible. You don't want one group basically hoping for the old system to survive as long as possible (iDen, WiMAX). It will prove to be a lot more difficult than people think for Sprint workers to get used to having cash flow. For engineers and others, any one of your ideas could then be accepted and you would have to implement it -- so they all better be good. No management changing their mind to save you from bad project planning. Nor any rest breaks due to cash flow issues. Plus all of the other cultural changes that may drive people to leave or be removed. For those who stay there will be lots of additional work as previously stated above. T-Mobile is very thin on some areas of its coverage map and will need to both expand and fill-in. Otherwise they could soon be overwhelmed by people expecting their network to be on par with the duo. Plus, it would not surprise me if Masa puts in some extra cash for more shares (assuming it is allowed).

Each suburb likely varies. Based on what I see in the Columbus metro, if Verizon has small cells in that suburb, the Sprint likely has a few as well. AT&T are rare. We have not found a T-Mobile one yet. Post a your question about what suburbs you travel in and what areas concern you to the Cleveland market threads. This thread is possible, but quite slow: The action starts in this thread which requires a contribution (the cost of your usual work lunch is recommended) for 6 months of usage and has a lot of valuable data in it: The Premier Cleveland thread is really where you want to be for B26 and B41, but you would need to make a larger contribution (if people really like you, you can earn your way there with lots of SignalCheck pro logs for Cleveland -- but you still need to start in Sponsor).

For EBS you have to do things like plot the radii for each frequency and then split the footballs for where they overlap given which licensees which may alternate on different frequencies between several different locations. Some BRS licenses are grandfathered to be like EBS and the frequency ranges can also vary.

It related most importantly to the internal throughput of the phone, then various signal capabilities enter into play, such as 4x4 MIMO.

There are lots of Sprint small cells in the Cleveland area. Joski1624 just needs more help in finding them. This can be as simple as doing your regular driving/traveling and getting SignalCheck Pro to log the best RSRP for each site, and sending in your logs for analysis. The more people doing it in a market the easier it becomes. When ever I am up in Cleveland it is easy for me to find 10 new small cells. Much easier for someone who lives there and you don't even have to go out of your way!

T-Mobile has stated they believe it will take three years to combine both networks. Then you have the task of competing with the duo, which will require more sites to provide new or better coverage and certainly more bands at each site, plus conversion of various bands to 5g. The duo will not stand still. The new T-Mobile will have to hit a moving target. Middle management is of course always a target, which is an area I should have mentioned above. The key determinate for many Sprint employees is whether they will successfully adopt to the new firm. Many contractors I have talked to prefer Sprint over T-Mobile. They say Sprint gives details, lets them do their jobs and move to the next site. T-Mobile tends to ship them boxes of parts and let them figure it out. Then they stay until the integrator is satisfied, often up in the tower for hours during nasty weather. I have heard this from many contractors in recent months. Most of the T-Mobile contractors I have met seem disgruntled. There have been a few happy ones. Hopefully they do actually pick the best ideas from both companies, which may hold if the merger goes well. Sprint employees will get the ax if the merger starts going badly. Sprint efficiency would have been better if they did not always have to stop and restart projects due to limited cash flow and changing management priorities.

T-Mobile can also show up as nTelos in other parts of the country away from West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio , and Kentucky

One of the stipulations in these merger deals is often the retention of existing customers. Failure can kill the merger in some cases, but it is more frequently tied to golden parachutes for departing executives. I doubt that Sprint is losing money on these deals. Iirc, about $25 per month is built into the ED1500 plan for phones. In my view, they should give customers what they want. Without two year plans, customers are retaining their phones about 50% longer. It is hard to get people to enjoy the new features of your network without new phones. HPUE, 4x4 MIMO, 5 Carrier B41, dramatically improved throughput of the phone itself for better speeds are all missing on most phones over 2 years old. Many customers often leave their current network, get new phones, and think how wonderful their new network is when their old network would also have been dramatically better with new phones. There are some people in Reddit who downvote many Sprint posts, so I would not let that bother you.