Paynefanbro

By my count we're at 597 Dish permits in NYC. Not sure how many sites though as some permits are for site modifications like adding a sector, etc.

I've been impressed so far with Dish's progress on their buildout here. Seems like they have a good understanding of the type of density needed to provide adequate service in this city. If Washington Heights and Inwood are anything to go by then they'll likely have macro density matching or exceeding Sprint's pre-merger macro network which is pretty cool. 

Permits submitted for conversion of: 

1. Sprint eNB 5888 located at: 40.62612420782191, -73.93492681183974
2. Sprint eNB 74215 located at: 40.76799258032864, -73.96145498789635
3. Sprint eNB 6705 (This is already on the keep site map)

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Completed conversions:

1. Sprint eNB 74159 ->T-Mobile eNB 315013
   1. Located at 40.77920256366785, -73.98366535050262
       
2. Sprint eNB eNB ID 899078/899079 -> T-Mobile eNB 219280
   1. Located at 40.83020468769792, -73.94832166648911

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Sprint eNB 253884 located right next to the Manhattan Bridge doesn't seem to be broadcasting the keep PLMN anymore.

51 minutes ago, T-MoblieUser207 said:

Sprint eNB 5862, the BQE billboard site, is now live as T-Mobile eNB 216162.

One more! Sprint eNB 81393 is now T-Mobile eNB 307641

Location: 40.73821436023412, -73.99052297757794

Hoboken is littered with small cells on all 3 carriers.

AT&T's small cells look similar to what they deploy on utility poles in NYC but performance can be hit or miss. They all have great range, covering up to  similar to what I see in Brooklyn but speeds vary widely. On some, I'll get 110Mbps and on others I'll only get 20Mbps.

Verizon's has blanketed much of Hoboken in small cells as well. Almost every small cell has a combo of mmWave, CBRS, and Band 2/66. Here's what they look like. Like AT&T they have decent range and thanks to how small, dense, and lax w/ regard to small cell regulation Hoboken is, you're never too far from another mmWave node. I was peaking at around 1.4Gbps just driving around the city.

T-Mobile has deployed these Ericsson Band 2/46/66 strand-mount small cells and they're all insanely fast. It's my understanding that newer T-Mobile nodes in NYC are using the same antennas but have them in an RF transparent enclosure due to city regulations. That way they don't have to install an antenna on top of the pole, though they do sacrifice coverage a bit when doing so. Speeds are great on them though, easily over 500Mbps and in some areas so densely deployed that you just hop from small cell to small cell without ever touching a macro. Recently Extenet has also been deploying some new cantenna-styled small cells for T-Mobile in Hoboken. They have really great range like a mini-macro but I didn't get to test performance at all and I'm not certain if they also have LAA.

— — — — —

Here's a pic of a T-Mobile strand mount I connected to along w/ speeds.

T‑Mobile to Acquire and Turbocharge Mint Mobile and Ultra Mobile, Brands Will Continue Delivering Value on the Un‑carrier’s 5G Network

Quote

T-Mobile US (NASDAQ: TMUS) today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Ka’ena Corporation and its subsidiaries and brands: Mint Mobile, a successful direct-to-consumer (D2C) prepaid wireless brand in the U.S.; Ultra Mobile, a unique wireless service offering international calling options to communities across the country; and wholesaler Plum.

That's not to say it's bad all of the time. Their performance just lags T-Mobile and Verizon. Both of these tests were done outdoors on different sites in Crown Heights. The first was done while standing right in front of the site and the other was done outdoors about a quarter mile from the site w/o line of sight. AT&T will probably improve a ton on the speed side once they get more DoD spectrum deployed and they have access to the full 80MHz of C-band here. Their loaded pings could use some work though.

— — — — —

Sites broadcasting keep PLMN:

1. Sprint eNB 79875 located at 40.826362068044936, -73.92218591640425
2. Sprint eNB 6801 located at 40.8328577437497, -73.9282779016007

New keep sites:

1. Sprint eNB 5782 -> T-Mobile eNB 344159
   1. Located at 40.631128643985576, -74.01866899548162
2. Sprint eNB 6650/74793 -> T-Mobile eNB 894781
   1. Located at 40.82232944902255, -73.8167720163949

Sites on the keep site map that are now live:

1. Sprint eNB 9294 -> T-Mobile eNB 874561
2. Sprint eNB 9987/9988 -> T-Mobile eNB 331079

— — — — —

Drove around Staten Island trying to confirm some sites for AT&T specifically but also got to test out that new Tello SIM. No more drops to 2G or switching over to VZW which is great. I've spotted a lot of DoD antennas in Staten Island but I couldn't connect to it on any of them. Also spotted a Link5G that's actually a location where there aren't any macros nearby.

(spot the signature AT&T slight uptilt for maximum range)

Also figured I'd share this speed test that I did while out there. Great speeds for 40+40 n41.

On 12/9/2022 at 5:45 PM, Paynefanbro said:

Got a Samsung Galaxy A13 5G. It's Dual SIM and I have a cheap Boost Mobile 2GB plan for mapping AT&T in one SIM slot and an inactive T-Mobile SIM in the other but it still connects to the network. Now I'm able to map both carriers at the same time. So glad to be back in action lol.

Switched to the promotional $25 "Unlimited" Boost Mobile plan so that I can test AT&T's performance more frequently.

I also switched to a $5 Tello plan to map T-Mobile's network because my inactive T-Mobile SIM has been kind of finicky. It was a business SIM so it had access to Verizon's network via roaming and I found that it would frequently push me over to VZW and get stuck on their network in areas with weaker signal, the same areas where my iPhone would show 1-2 bars. I also realized that recently the T-Mobile SIM would get stuck on 2G and not move me over to LTE until I restarted the device. Super annoying.

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As much as I love AT&T's excessive use of small cells citywide, I've also noticed that it's no substitute for macro density (at least on the midband 5G side of things). Take a look at these speed tests in Downton Brooklyn, taken on Bridge St btwn Fulton and Willoughby. This isn't really a fair comparison considering there is a T-Mobile site pointing straight down the street but it's more to illustrate the point about AT&T.

Three things about AT&T here:

1. No C-band. No amount of toggling airplane mode could connect me to C-band. This is in spite of the two nearest macros having C-band antennas installed. 
2. My phone connected to the macro for n5 but connected to a small cell (eNB 117207-49) for the the LTE side of things with a -70dBm signal, so pretty strong on the LTE side.
3. AT&T's ping is great so I'm assuming capacity isn't an issue thanks to all of those small cells but they still struggle on the throughput side in comparison to VZW and TMUS who both have greater macro density.

39 minutes ago, dkyeager said:

Just noticed that SCP is displaying my provider as Boost Mobile instead of AT&T yet the PLMN is 310410.  Cellmapper is doing the same.  310240 is assigned to Boost Mobile (of course  T-Mobile could own it).   313340 is used by Dish Genesis iirc.

Nevermind, switched back to AT&T for both

My phone occasionally does the same but it still get's mapped as AT&T on Cellmapper so I never thought much of it.

Drove out to the Hamptons today and mapped at least 3 new T-Mobile sites that haven't been seen before. I don't know exactly where the sites are but it doesn't look like any of them are Sprint conversions which means T-Mobile is doing new builds in Suffolk County to densify their network.

eNB ID 331116
eNB ID 343773
eNB ID 331114

Also at least 1 new AT&T site, eNB ID 116457 

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Also in the latest iOS 16.4 beta it seems like my phone more reliably sticks to standalone 5G. For most of the drive from Brooklyn to Sag Harbor I stayed on n41 with a handful of drops to n71 and I only dropped to LTE twice, both times due to being at cell edge and only having 1 bar. T-Mobile is getting insane range out of n41 too, likely due to aggregating n71 with n41 more reliably in the latest update. Not only was SA range great but so were speeds. Even on 1 bar of n41 I was seeing upwards of 100Mbps. I'm really enjoying all of the improvements standalone 5G is bringing.

10 hours ago, wispiANt said:

Permit filed to decomm the Sprint site at 304 Boerum St. So I guess we can take that off the "keep" list.

Given the location I'm betting whoever the owner of the building is is planning to sell/redevelop the site so no lease renewal.

I feel like it's the same deal with 1063 Pacific St.

Edit: 304 Boerum was sold for $14 million just over a year ago so the new owner must've said no.

Also 1063 Pacific changed hands in 2021 as part of a group sale. New owners likely said no to that one too.

Same deal in North Carolina. AT&T roaming is gone too in NY as far as I can tell. Now it’s only showing Sprint keep sites that haven’t been converted. Luckily GCI and Viaero are still there. 

Went back out to Roosevelt Field Mall and the experience was spectacular as usual. I'm running iOS 16.4 with the Standalone 5G toggle on. I wasn't able to connect to SA n41 but I did connect to SA n71. Now that we're at 3 fully upgraded macros covering the mall, performance on SA n71 is pretty good. Long gone are the early days of standalone 5G where if you got stuck on it you could barely get over 10Mbps. With only 10MHz I was seeing ~45Mbps. NSA n41 was also great at ~350Mbps inside and out.

One thing I noticed is that my T-Mobile iPhone absolutely refused to connect to the carrier neutral DAS inside the mall unless I switched to LTE-only mode. In past years my phone would connect to the DAS and drop 5G completely but it seems like my phone preferred 5G this time around. On the other hand, the Verizon iPhone 14 that I had on me stayed on the LTE DAS the entire time.  What this meant was that on T-Mobile I'd experience "inconsistencies" in performance as my phone switched between super fast n41 and the slower but still usable n71 while the Verizon phone stayed at a consistent ~200Mbps via the DAS. The second I switched my T-Mobile iPhone to LTE, I saw those same ~200Mbps LTE speeds. 

25 minutes ago, clbowens said:

Any idea of how long it will take.  I know it's been like this for about a week now.

No clue honestly. In NYC the PCS carrier was shifted weeks before we started seeing n25 but in some markets it happened almost immediately.

On 2/23/2023 at 2:51 PM, clbowens said:

Does anyone know if T-Mobile is working on the network in the Cleveland area?  It seems like the PCS LTE band that I usually use change from EARFCN 1123 to 804.  Also, my servicing PLMN is 311490 right now.

The EARFCN change is likely due to the launch of n25. They shifted your PCS LTE carrier from the 15MHz C-block to the 10MHz D+B block, likely so they could launch n25 at 15MHz in your market.

Good news for T-Mobile and AT&T. This is pretty much what T-Mobile has been waiting for to start deploying C-band.

On 2/20/2023 at 10:05 PM, T-MoblieUser207 said:

Added them all! The tower at (40.86216124309271, -73.86241946635127) was already marked on the map as converted, so I would guess the recent permit would be for a modification. C-band/CBRS perhaps?
Also, I think the Sprint tower at 40.72582,-73.859004 has been converted to T-Mobile eNB 326104.

I think I figured out what's up with this site. It's a really weird one where Sprint had antennas on two separate buildings but operated it as a single site. At 2432 Matthews Ave they had a west facing sector on the roof while on 2428 Matthews Ave they have an east and north facing sector.

Back in August 2022 they got a permit to only decom the west facing sector on 2432 Matthews Ave and install new cabinets but it seems like they did all the work to convert the site back then. The permit states:

Quote

T-MOBILE/SPRINT SITE MODIFICATIONS TO INCLUDE THE REMOVAL OF (4) EXISTING ANTENNAS AND (4) EXISTING RRH UNITS ON ROOF IN ADDITION TO THE REMOVAL OF (1) EXISTING CABINET AND INSTALLATION OF (3) NEW CABINETS WITHIN AN EXISTING EQUIPMENT SHELTER.

This new permit that was approved January 2023 seems to be a conversion permit for the antennas on 2428 Matthews Ave and moving the third sector so that all three are on one building.

This one says:

Quote

T-MOBILE/SPRINT SITE MODIFICATIONS. INSTALL NEW ANTENNA SECTOR (3 ANTENNAS AND 2 RRH UNITS TOTAL). INSTALL (6) ADDITIONAL ANTENNAS AND (4) RRH UNITS. REMOVE (8) EXISTING ANTENNAS, (1) EXISTING MICROWAVE DISH, AND (8) EXISTING RRH UNITS.

I think they retroactively submitted the permit since they added the new sector to 2428 Matthews Ave and didn't want to get in trouble with DoB/FDNY/etc.

Updated my iPhone to iOS 16.4 to try out that standalone toggle and it does as it says. It attempts to force your phone to stay on standalone 5G. In Field Test Mode you can see the network and phone fight over it though. It'll swap back and forth between NSA and SA pretty frequently, sometimes several times in a minute. I'm seeing 3CA in standalone mode with 100MHz of n41 being the primary carrier. I can't tell what the second or third carriers are though. If Milan's twitter is anything to go by then it's likely n41+n41+n25.

Standalone 5G has come a long way from the early days when phones would camp on n71 and only get 5Mbps. Download and upload speeds so far have been virtually the same as in NSA mode. 

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On 2/18/2023 at 11:08 PM, T-MoblieUser207 said:

Updated! I don't see the eNB on Cellmapper yet, so that part is still unknown.

Drove by that site on Friday and it still wasn't live. I don't know if we're just catching a lot of these sites right after equipment is installed or if T-Mobile is just taking their time actually turning on the sites but the signal improvements couldn't arrive sooner.

— — — — —

New keep site permits:

• Sprint eNB Unknown - Location: 40.730479698778204, -73.85212567750087
• Sprint eNB 77225 - Location: 40.73991815246438, -74.00570197349204
• Sprint eNB Unknown - Location: 40.86216124309271, -73.86241946635127
• Sprint eNB Unknown - Location: 40.756878623013066, -73.97798877658907

— — — — —

The following sites are already on our keep site map put permits finally came in for them so they’ll probably be converted before the end of the month if they aren’t already done.

• Sprint eNB 5790/8999 - Location: 40.66453113614418, -73.9396368372533
• Sprint eNB 5753 - Location: 40.63805529085911, -74.1618735142865
• Sprint eNB 6786 - Location: 40.64709506733036, -73.9798779633957

— — — — —

Sites that have been converted: 

• Sprint eNB Unknown/T-Mobile eNB 310770 - Location: 40.77991842764334, -73.96003838917711
• Sprint eNB Unknown/T-Mobile eNB 880579 - Location: 40.80661707008426, -73.96413081265686

5 hours ago, kckid said:

3Gbps iPhone speeds could be coming soon as iOS 16.4 brings 5G Standalone support - 9to5Mac

I wonder if the toggle will allow you to permanently be in standalone mode or if it's just a switch that lets the network put you in standalone when necessary but still prefers NSA.

@T-MoblieUser207 The Sprint billboard site in Red Hook right next to the BQE got converted.

Sprint eNB 6290 finally got converted. Now it's T-Mobile eNB 307360.

Located at 40.7484048854246, -73.89480242142524

On 2/7/2023 at 10:30 PM, cooltech6597 said:

This is kind of an old thread but I thought it would be good to post this here… I just realized US carriers have somewhat detailed intl roaming maps, and its surprising to see the amount of coverage that relies on 2G in China, at least according to these US carrier maps. Anyone know if these are accurate at all? Also, it seems like Cellmapper isn’t very popular in China… 

 

https://imgur.com/a/JBMlK6W 

Take a look at Ookla's coverage maps in their Speedtest app. It's crowdsourced and a lot more accurate since it's based on where people run speed tests. There's a lot more LTE than is portrayed on those maps.  Just looking at China Mobile, it seems like there's barely any 2G or 3G for that matter in China. Most of their network is LTE or 5G.

Most of those international coverage maps are made by third parties who rely on self-reported data from carriers. They're only as accurate as the last time a carrier responded to their request for info. In the case of China, it seems like carriers out there simply don't have any desire to provide the most recent/accurate info about their coverage. 

Sprint eNB 79916 got converted to T-Mobile eNB 880567.

Located at: 40.85838038534014, -73.93138868044717

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Sprint eNB 9987/9988 is converted but not live. Should provide a massive boost in coverage and capacity to Whitestone which is predominantly covered by small cells.

Located at: 40.79462251716679, -73.79655542051364

So far we've documented close to 100 Sprint conversions in NYC with permits still rolling in and that's only what we've identified manually. Tons of sites get converted/updated without permits so there's potentially a lot more that we haven't spotted yet. There are also dozens of sites that are still broadcasting the keep PLMN, some have been decommissioned but historically the vast majority have been converted.