EvanA

Ugh, 1.5 mbps for video, yikes! I haven't seen what video looks like using BingeOn, nor do I want to. However, that is a pathetic speed to be delivering video at. The minimum, which could also be the maximum, should be at least 3mbps, double what T-Mobile is claiming. T-Mobile could even offer 1080p at 3mbps. By T-Mobile claiming its set at 1.5 mbps, ought to show customers how T-Mobile really only is allowing customers to BingeOn what T-Mobile Cringes On, which is decent video quality for these days. 1080p ought to be standard, at least no less than 720p. T-Mobile could do this without much trouble, if they were a smart carrier.

BingeOn is meant to reduce congestion due to video traffic first. Consumer benefit is secondary no matter how the executives try to spin it. T-Mobile likely arrived at 1.5Mbps based on detailed analysis of how that relieves congestion on the network.

The new technical requirements are much more detailed than before. They even explicitly state that "optimized" video is limited to 1.5Mbps averaged over a minute of video. I think it would've saved them a lot of hassle if they stated that from the beginning instead of only after the EFF discovered it.

 

http://www.t-mobile.com/content/dam/tmo/en-g/pdf/BingeOn-Video-Technical-Criteria-March-2016.pdf

Well YouTube is now apart of BingeOn

 

http://www.tmonews.com/2016/03/t-mobile-binge-on-adds-youtube-and-more-as-some-changes-are-made-for-video-providers/

 

 

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Providers are now able to opt out of having their video streams "optimized" (read: throttled).

 

New Options for Video Providers

Today, T-Mobile announced yet another update and new options for video providers giving them more choice over how Binge On’s video optimization applies to their content. Now video providers can choose to have their content stream at native resolutions – including Ultra HD and beyond – without Binge On’s mobile optimization, using up customers’ high-speed data faster.

https://newsroom.t-mobile.com/news/binge-on-amped-again.htm

 

I suspect Google pressured T-Mobile into making this change since YouTube is managing the streaming quality according to what Legere said in his Twitter video announcement. https://twitter.com/JohnLegere/status/710461264061829120

IIRC I think Sprint is/was also wanting to make B41 dl/up ratio dynamically change based on load. So if more upload was needed, it could change the dl/ul ratio on the fly to help improve experience.

Time ratio cannot be change dynamically. It must be uniform network wide otherwise the network breaks down. That's just the nature of TDD.

Also where did you get confirmation of the S7 being 2x2, every single place I have seen confirms the X12 supports 4x4MIMO.

FCC as mentioned already. Here's the filing. Also there is no uplink CA

 

https://apps.fcc.gov/oetcf/eas/reports/ViewExhibitReport.cfm?mode=Exhibits&RequestTimeout=500&calledFromFrame=N&application_id=AR4en7WJpgKHSJOXYVSLmA%3D%3D&fcc_id=A3LSMG930US

Sprint advertised single carrier B41 at 50-60mbs.. But we have seen quite a bit higher and closer to the actual peak of around 80mbs.

 

The mere fact that they mention over 300mbs, means its technically possible unlike 3xCA would be in its current configuration.

 

Could this be 4x4 MIMO?

No, it's a transmission mode change. The S7 is a 2x2MIMO device.

Oh and my sanity post was aimed solely at the notion that no carrier is our buddy or friend. That was all. [emoji41]

 

 

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Thank you --- I thought it was 2.3!

 

Being aws does that assist with in building use?

 

 

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Yes, due to the lower uplink frequency (1700MHz).

One of the times I side with T-Mobile. Interesting read though nonetheless.

T-Mobile says that the repacking can happen in under 39 months and under budget, but we know from past experiences as referenced in the NAB's slides that transitioning takes much longer than initial expectations. There should be no expectation that this reconfiguration will be any different. Even AT&T agrees that 39 months is an ambitious timeline.

The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) filed a report with the FCC that called T-Mobile's repacking plan "oversimplified and misleading"

 

Here's the report. It's a quick read.

 

http://www.nab.org/documents/newsRoom/pdfs/030916_Repacking_TMobile_ExParte.pdf

I think they have already maxed out the AWS band.They need to refarm the PCS band to LTE from WCDMA.

They still have AWS-3 to deploy in some markets as well.

Nokia or Samsung?

Nokia for 8T8R, Ericsson for NV

This is also the reason that Legere is so vocal about VoLTE being disabled during RootMetrics testing. It wouldn't make such a huge difference if they were simply overlaying L700 where they already had E1900.

With VoLTE now being tested by RootMetrics I suppose they'll just go back to their claim of RootMetrics being bought out by Verizon and publishing outdated results.

All that optimism early was dashed... Stock closed down 4.5%

Stock is still climbing! Up nearly 3% already today.

Looks like T-Mobile's coverage map is going to get a little more LTE coverage this year: http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/t-mobile-well-cover-30m-40m-new-pops-year/2016-03-03?utm_medium=rss&utm_source=feedly&utm_campaign=rss

They're referring to retail footprint, not coverage. There are only 321 million people (estimated) in the US.

What I noticed is that the CA gets turned off when the data is not in use. I had to run a speedtest in the background to capture service mode screenshot. SignalCheck was only showing LTE without any band information.

It should show "CA-Add" in service mode when the data session is idle. Interesting...

Wow, here's an analyst that I actually somewhat agree with. Great analysis.

 

Sprint's Spectrum Is Worth A Premium, Not A Discount http://seekingalpha.com/article/3949406

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-03-02/sprint-s-plan-to-mortgage-its-airwaves

No new news here. Sprint talked about Network Lease Co and use of some spectrum as collateral in the last earnings call.

 

See the call transcript: http://seekingalpha.com/article/3835836?source=ansh

Which this spectrum swap in numerous markets, I wonder how long it'll be before markets with only 5x5 on B25 become 10x10?

After it's approved by the FCC it'll probably take several weeks to organize logistics with other carriers and do the necessary spectrum shuffling to activate 10x10.

I assume to fire up 3xCA can be done remotely?

Yes. Additional carriers are configured via software.

That's such a botched article though. Starts with points about Google embedded RCS and ends with them pushing their OTT Jive app.

Did you read the same article I did? Google will be releasing an RCS client that will work across many Android devices. Google embedding RCS into Android is never mentioned except as something that they won't be doing.

Have they already turned off GSM? That surprises me if so.

No, they have GSM M2M commitments. GSM can eventually be squeezed into LTE guard bands, but that probably won't happen for a few years.

600 won't be available until 2018/2019. Meanwhile 700 can be rolled out this year. That's the main reason they're focusing on 700 expansion.

Most recent analyst estimates have pushed back 600MHz availability to 2020.

You still need to have 3 physical cards for 3x aggregation on band 41. or a second carrier card on band25. Unless of course you already had them installed.

No cards. It's entirely software defined.

Vegas report has officially been posted

 

http://www.rootmetrics.com/en-US/rootscore/map/metro/las-vegas-nv/2016/1H

 

Several other reports were also posted today. Sprint posted a strong showing in Colorado Springs.

 

http://www.rootmetrics.com/en-US/rootscore/map/metro/colorado-springs-co/2016/1H