Tengen31

For those asking why older devices won't be supported until the nationwide VoLTE launch:
To roll out VoLTE on a market-by-market basis, Sprint has added a "VoLTE enabled" flag to each site.  This is not a part of a traditional VoLTE implementation and thus, additional software is required on the device end to support this 'hack'.  When Sprint launches VoLTE nationwide, all of this will no longer be necessary, and they will be using a traditional VoLTE setup.  Adding support for older devices will then be very simple.  
Interesting side note: some people with rooted Android devices have found a way around the VoLTE enabled flag and have been using VoLTE on Magic Boxes as well as sites that aren't currently officially enabled.  The network is ready for VoLTE nationwide, Sprint just needs to flip the switch.  

Personally I agree with everything you said, but I do think that there might be two [emoji3577] additional consessions...

2. The DOJ will require Sprint will sell Boost to Dish Wireless for very little or nothing

4. TheDOJ will require the New T-Mobile to host Dish's 600Mhz and AWS-3 spectrum right away for free

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I know. If you take a look at the sponsor maps, you can see all of the sites that were in planning. 

If I were in charge of Sprint and the merger fell through today, here are the changes I would make:

• Day 1 changes:
  • Drop the L800 Qrxlevmin to -128.  I don’t want users falling off L800 at -120 or -122 because:
    • L800 will almost always offer better speeds than CDMA at those signal levels.
    • This will reduce the reconnect time to usable LTE. 
    • The pocket 3G problem will be eliminated.  
    • VoLTE reliability will skyrocket.
  • Remove the per-site “VoLTE enabled” flag (which by the way is a big part of the reason Sprint is struggling to support older devices) and allow it on all sites and Magic Boxes.  This will allow software updates enabling VoLTE to be pushed to ISIM devices in a matter of weeks. 
  • Revert L2500 to Config 1 to both increase L2500 upload speeds and effective range. 
  • In markets where spectrum allows, split 8T8Rs into two 4T4R transmit chains and run 6 L2500 carriers.  Some markets such as Seattle already have this.
• Short-term changes (within the first 12 months):
  • Contact high-traffic venues (casinos, airports, stadiums, arenas, concert venues, underground train systems, convention centers, etc) and sign onto DAS systems. 
  • Begin buildout in high-roaming high-traffic areas such as ski resorts (e.g. Big Sky, MT and Sugarloaf, ME), rural tourist attractions (e.g. Mount Rushmore, SD and Yellowstone National Park) and large cities (e.g. Billings, MT and Chyenne, WY).
  • Identify and begin to close in-city coverage gaps by means of:
    • Implementing a verified coverage map to identify areas without LTE.
    • Allow T-Mobile roaming and possibly even AT&T roaming everywhere and focus on high-roaming in-city areas. 
  • Expedite the Massive MIMO rollout to stay at the front of the 5G race. 
  • Expedite the tribanding of any remaining single or dual band sites.
  • Look to increase backhaul to high-usage sites.
  • Prioritize interband CA deployment.
  • Prioritize the implementation of dynamic NR UL and move NR to the PCC. 
  • Begin talks with Dish to host their 600 and AWS-4 spectrum.  This will at least double Sprint’s lowband capacity nationwide and give them greenfield lowband to deploy NR on. 
• Long-term changes (after the first 12 months):
  • Cut EVDO completely ASAP.  Run a 1x1900 carrier in L1900 guard bands and maintain the 1x800 carrier. 
  • Begin to replace 800 radios with NR/LTE/1x DSS-capable radios. 
  • Begin a rural highway buildout in areas where the most T-Mobile and AT&T roaming occurs.  The deployment will primarily be lowband.  This task is not as daunting as it seems for sites already exist that cover effectively every major highway in the United States.  The only thing to do will be to negotiate a reasonable lease. 
  • Open up an NR test drive program similar to the one T-Mobile ran for LTE and advertise it heavily. 

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Walter Piecyk thinks that the increased concession demands by the DOJ will drive T-Mobile to abandon the merger. So what should Sprint do? Here are my suggestions to upper management:

1. Finish tri-banding all of their sites

2. Get in bed with the rest of the cable cos for small cell deployment

3. Host Dish's and Comcast's 600MHz spectrum holdings in return for capacity

4. Host Dish's midband AWS-3 nd AWS-4 holdings

5. Merge networks and spectrum with T-Mobile but not marketing and administration.

 

Now personally I think the merger will be approved. FCC/DOJ want Dish's spectrum put in use. It has been laying fallow for a long time. Here's how I think the merger will go down:

1. Dish and Private equity firms will form a wireless company Dish will contribute the spectrum and PE firms the cash. 

2. Sprint will sell Boost to Dish Wireless for let's say $3B

3. There will be not be any divestiture of spectrum

4. The New T-Mobile will host Dish's 600Mhz and AWS-3 spectrum right away for an annual fee

5. Dish network will acquire Sprint network assets and back office assets as they are decommissioned. That will allow them to then host Dish's AWS-4 spectrum and eventually their 600Mhz and AWS-3 spectrum

6. Dish will sell their 700MHz band E to AT&T

As you can see there are a lot of moving parts and so the negotiations are rather complex. Probably why the DOJ is taking so much time. 

 

 

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Did the majority of the network just get VoLTE in the last few days? Heard on reddit that mainly the Dakotas are the only area that wasn't switched on. Upstate NY here, VoLTE live! 

This is a classic case of how companies ruin their reputations. We all know how Samsung & Sprint blamed each other for the horrible S-10 issues.  Customers had very serious issues for months and it just lingered with nobody offering a solution or even a hint as to what the trouble was and who was going to fix it.
Now we have the S-9  running on the April Update in July.  Not old phones but actually very recent phones. Nobody wants to offer any clue as to why this is happening.   No VOLTE, various CA options not available, original radios were poor and the April update made it worse.  HPUE not effective at all.    Get locked onto a poor Band 41 signal and can not transmit anything to the cell site. Locking people onto band 41 at a -130 level does not work but I have this happen every day.
Yep, both Sprint and Samsung are seeing reputations go deeper into the sewer every day.

B46 is LAA unlicensed LTE on 5 GHz. I believe LTE-U is as well (Band 252? or around there). 
As far as I can see it's mostly 1 PCC of FDD type + multiple LAA carriers. 
The newest specs for it has 1 lowband PCC + 1 midband SCC + SCC LAA's.
 
There is no B66-2-46 standard config i can find  at glance but feel free to find it and let me know. 

Why is my S9+ still on April patch? Do you think it's cause I'm AT&T now?

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Phoenix I believe

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No a second 5mhz

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Sprint FDD/TDD spotted in Nokia market! B26+B41+B41 and B25+B25+B41

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Did you read what he wrote? Clearly losing higher orders of MIMO is a huge deal, and might not be a worthwhile trade off even more so on Band 25/26.

FDD-TDD limitations due to different radio technologies. Samsung phones has the most advanced radio configs and thus supports the most carriers but have limitations on MIMO streams as in no 4x4 MIMO on any component carriers. Most other devices are FDD+TDD and some are FDD+TDD+TDD but again there are limitations on MIMO streams.  
Most of Sprints 1.9 network has 4x4 or 2x4 now live  and a large portion on 2.5 is 4x4  so that's a chunk of downlink capacity being traded off. It's a large balancing act and with the turnaround inside of Sprint and with the rudderless leadership, we can see why many projects do not come to fruition.  
FWIW, FDD+TDD was identified early in the industry on as one potential solution to slow uplink speeds years ago alongside uplink CA using higher order MIMO. It is not the end all solution but a very useful tool in the toolkit if they can figure out how to use it. 

FDD-TDD limitations due to different radio technologies. Samsung phones has the most advanced radio configs and thus supports the most carriers but have limitations on MIMO streams as in no 4x4 MIMO on any component carriers. Most other devices are FDD+TDD and some are FDD+TDD+TDD but again there are limitations on MIMO streams.  
Most of Sprints 1.9 network has 4x4 or 2x4 now live  and a large portion on 2.5 is 4x4  so that's a chunk of downlink capacity being traded off. It's a large balancing act and with the turnaround inside of Sprint and with the rudderless leadership, we can see why many projects do not come to fruition.  
FWIW, FDD+TDD was identified early in the industry on as one potential solution to slow uplink speeds years ago alongside uplink CA using higher order MIMO. It is not the end all solution but a very useful tool in the toolkit if they can figure out how to use it. 

As Tim mentioned to me earlier, there is one major downside to mixing TDD/FDD, none of these devices would support more than 2xCA while on TDD/FDD on PCC so you'd lose access to that additional capacity.

Bottom line, this isn't exactly the be all end all resolution for some of these upload issues.

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Your right about that but that begs the question of why cant Sprint use b25+b41+b41+b41? Is there a reason?

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What's holding up TDD/FDD aggregation anyways? Is it the use of equipment from multiple vendors? Ericsson seems to have been able to achieve the feat back in 2015 using Qualcomm chips. (LINK) Is Sprint trying to avoid any negative PR from showing vendor or device favoritism?
It looks like HPUE was just a failed attempt to mimic the extended range of combining 2.5 downlink and 1900 uplink

The LG G7, G8, V40, V50, Pixel 3A, 3A XL, 3, 3XL, S9, S9+, Note 9, S10e, S10, S10 Plus, S10 5G, iPhone XR, XS and XS Max all support it.

That's plenty of "device ecosystem " and way more than just three 5G devices yet that is being rolled out.

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I like it but their LTE is still the least reliable thanks to FDD/TDD not being a thing. 
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When did they start blocking them? T-Mobile engineering used to work on my S8+ just fine.

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Verizon blocks all of them. The only way to get a Verizon engineering screen is to buy the unlocked S10


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Don't need it to be 15x15 even 5x5 on B26 would be fine to help stabilize B41's upload on the edge of signal. (Would like to point out, that B41 on M-MIMO does exhibit considerably better upload stability vs 8t8r)

Isn’t today the day that the shot clock expires on the Sprint and T-Mobile merger?

 

If so will a decision be made today?

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