red_dog007

1 hour ago, Tengen31 said:

Most of those likely don't have B25/26 and the one plus 7 could work on Sprint as it has 25,26,41 and VOLTE

And this is why others like other side.  Sprint is strict.  The best example is the One Plus.  Even though it DOES have a CDMA radio and supports VoLTE, because it doesn't support like 1x800 they won't take it.

ATT/TMobile don't care.  If its unlocked, it'll take a sim and you get whatever that phone supports.  Only supports B2 LTE, PCS HPSA and GSM, well that is all you get. 

Even phone like say the P30 or Phone 2, they support B26.  Lot of PCS Sprint has is within B2.  Sprint could enable MFBI for B2 to support more devices. If they allowed non-CDMA phones on their network phone makers might go through the touch extra effort to certify B25. 

7 minutes ago, bigsnake49 said:

Well, how is T-Mobile's coverage/data?

Maybe not even better, at least right there.  Does Sprint allow in-market T-Mobile roaming?  You'd think you'd get a T-Mobile signal if available over VZW.  If user can barely get a Verizon 1X signal, the building must be blocking signals pretty well in general.

16 minutes ago, Tengen31 said:

I'm tired of people who keep bringing up CDMA it GSM. I have no clue what they mean by a unlocked GSM phone. There are tons of devices that work on all carriers.

Sent from my SM-G965U1 using Tapatalk
 

It is what is being implied. It's the fact that you need a compatible phone that supports CDMA to run on Sprint.  This rules out loads of phones. 

Just a few that come to mind instantly: OnePlus, Huawei, Razor, Hydrogen, Sonim, LTE flip phones.

19 minutes ago, dnwk said:

Samsung could follow Apple's lead and ditch Qualcomm

And what will they buy? It won't be an Apple modem.

On 7/25/2019 at 11:00 PM, dnwk said:

I'd love to see Apple creates a competitive alternative to Qualcomm.

It won't be too competitive because Apple is only going to make modems for them and them only.  You'll only see an Apple radio in a Apple product.  Qualcomm will just lose Apple sales.  They won't have anything to worry about outside Apple devices.

18 minutes ago, bigsnake49 said:

Sprint was part of SpectrumCo that bought a 10x10Mhz chunk in the AWS-1 auction for $2B. That was for Sprint to deploy paying rent to SpectrumCo. But Sprint had financial problems and could not afford to deploy it so they withdrew from SpectrumCo. The spectrum was then sold to Verizon for $4B for a handsome little profit.

They also didn't even have a say.  They had just a non-voting 5% stake.  This was also pre-LTE and was expected to possibly be used for CDMA. 

They problably felt like they weren't or couldn't get a fair deal.  A touch more than a year after dropping out of the SpectrumCo JV they got a majority stake in Clearwire and started selling WiMax service.

Im not sure the major ISPs are really 100% interested in building cellular networks.  I feel like they are more content as MVNOs, it suits their business model and bundling power.  They also won't want to build a network where they don't have landline service. They also have extensive coverage via their customer routers.

They have owned AWS, 700 and sold those off.  They now have some 600 and I feel they will just sell it off.  You aren't going to solve anything with just 5x5. Have we actually seen Comcast, Charter or the like deploy anything beyond test equipment? I think they might be more interested in unlicensed stuff and deploy those in areas with high data usage across cellular.  But I'd expect these to be more like hotspots and not real city coverage network buildouts.  More a long the lines of the millions of WiFi hotspots they already have.  Shoot, that's an idea, every modem they give a customer has an LAA LTE radio in it for 5GHz.

I think Comcast and the like who have 600MHz are just speculators like they have been before. 

On 7/20/2019 at 1:49 PM, dkyeager said:

what you really want to know is how it will perform after about a year with real customer usage.

This is going to be hard to answer as capacity is continually going to be added.  It doesn't say how many sats they have up, but Phase 1 will have 650.  Services will start being sold in 2020.  Total planned is 1980 sats.  Capacity will be added for several years. 

Same with Space X.  They can launch 60 sats at a time atm.  Their first batch of 60 has 1Tbps throughput. They plan to launch a total of 12,000 of these, launching between 1,000 to 2,000 per year.  So basically for a decade capacity is just going to always be increasing.  Over this time, the sats will get better and throughput will increase. They will also come out with new techniques to increase bandwidth on older sats.   

This is just the beginning. 

1 hour ago, bigsnake49 said:

I agree with that. Now if T-Mobile can make some deals to acquire more 700Mhz (AT&T?) to where it's almost national that will be great. Or if they can trade 700Mhz for 600Mhz with let's say Comcast or other 600Mhz holders that will be great also.

There really isn't any 700 (ABC) left.  700MHz is about as nationwide as TMobile can ever get it unless regional carriers sell out or need cash so are willing to sell some assets.

600 is where all the speculators are. This is where all the large spectrum transactions are going to be taking place in the future.

You won't be charged roaming while in the USA. Period. End of story.  

Turn on data and enjoy.  Talk and enjoy.  Text and enjoy. 

VZW/ATT data will be slow/unusabled and you only have a 100MB bucket.  After this bucket is used you are cut off.  Everyone else data experience should be usable and treated as if native.

But what happens to Shentel.  

On 7/12/2019 at 7:09 PM, Tengen31 said:

If the merger fails SoftBank needs to buy the rest of Sprint then purchase that spectrum.

They need to buy out 600MHz licenses. 

On 7/17/2019 at 3:35 PM, tyroned3222 said:

This imo is more of a sign that the merger announcement is imminent than anything else

How big is the marketing department? It is less than 5% of that number.  Say it's 200 people, less than 10 people got laid off/fired.  Yeah...

On 6/18/2019 at 12:36 PM, Ascertion said:

Those speeds are pretty bad, considering Verison's UWB is getting 1.2Gbps.  Is Sprint just aggregating multiple 20Mhz blocks on LTE and calling it a day?

For LTE yeah.  Sprint has real 5G NR, just like everyone else.  The difference is VZW/ATT/TMobile are aggregating multiple (4 and 5) 50/100MHz channels.  Sprint is deploying 60? MHz for 5G. Nothing wrong with the 60Mhz since we are talking UHF vs K/Ka bands. Pros and cons to both deployments.

2 hours ago, bigsnake49 said:

So now you are basically forcing Boost to fail. It takes a lot of money to run a network. If you are going to spin off Boost then you also have to assign it part of the debt for buying all those network elements minus depreciation. 

Dish needs to shyte or get off the pot. It is nearing the deadline where it loses its AWS-4 spectrum and its 700Mhz spectrum. Cable cos are going to be deploying CBRS with or without government intervention. I just want the government to speed up the NPRN process. None of this goes over and beyond regular government oversight.

I am against any concessions by T-Mobile/Sprint. The new company will have to make major investments to integrate the two networks and deploy 5G. The last thing it needs is to have the government weaken it so they can declare a victory. All the while the Big 2 have garnered 75% of the wireless revenue and EBITDA.

 

The idea is someone wants a 4th carrier to be happy. Selling Boost as an MVNO doesn't make a 4th carrier. You need a network. Boost might fail, might get bought out. Wouldn't matter too much because a huge network is about to be decommissioned anyways.

2 hours ago, bigsnake49 said:

It is if you want to create a 4th player. The two merging companies should not be forced to create one for you. If you give Boost 10x10 slice how the hell are they going to deploy it? They will have to pay a competitor to deploy it for them. So what do you have? An MVNO that has a high overhead that will not be able to compete. You will have the illusion of a 4th player. You can declare victory and go home but it will be a hollow victory. What you will also have is massive government interference in how companies do business. There are absolutely no antitrust concerns in this merger. If I am Sprint/T-mobile I would welcome my day in court. I would tell the DOJ to get the attys general in line or they can forget about spinning off Boost or any other concessions. 

You don't want to force TMobile/Sprint to spin off assets to create a new company but you want to force Dish or Comcast/Charter to enter the markets as a 4th player (their own network) as part of the merger?  Right.

Boost, PCS and a network.  As you read in my post ( I hope ), that any would be decommissioned site goes to Boost ownership.  As we know, there is plans to decommission tens of thousands of cell sites and rack spaces.  These leases and equipment ownerships would be transferred to Boost. 

Just now, bigsnake49 said:

No spectrum divestments. Force Dish to create a network. Speed up CBRS NPRM. The cable cos would love to get their hands on CBRS and deploy CBRS based networks while roaming on let's say Verizon for coverage outside their service area.

This is well outside the scope of the merger though.  Because Sprint/TMobile want to merge, you can't force Dish or the cable companies to become part of the deal or force some action as a result of the merger.  

So Im on Freedom unlimited.  It is $65/line1 and $45/line2 = $110.  $10 off for autopay.  $10off for corporate discount.  I pay $90+tax. I get 50GB Hotspot, and 8Mbps video steaming speeds.  

So I'd get Magenta Plus which would put me at $140/mo for two lines (includes autopay).  The maximum discount I'd get is $30.  Puts me at $110/mo flat.  So I'd save $7/mo due to the $17/mo I pay Sprint in taxes.  My line is paid off and then the S10 on lease still has $787.49 on it.  Will I get to do a clean trade to a TMobile S10?  Don't want to owe anything to Sprint on the phone. 

How would any anti-trust case be successful?  Going from 4 to 3 is still no monopoly. It is still far away from being one.  And the chances of any of the 3 carriers merging is nill.  Is there a point in anti-trust lawsuits that says you can only have no less than 4 direct competitors?  I don't think the grounds of a monopoly would be very sound when each carrier will essentially have 33% of all subscrubers. 

In light of competition, there isn't any really even now.  I don't call the carriers being the same price to $20 difference depending on your plan (non-promo) competition.  The only way I'd see competition increasing is if the merger happens, New-TMobile gets to a 1:1 parity in coverage, has way more 5G coverage and speeds 2x or 3x faster than VZW/ATT.  Then on top of this, they seriously drop prices.  This is the only way that TMobile will be able to hugely and negatively impact VZW/ATT subscription levels. No one cares to switch if they are only going to save 20 bucks. 

Is the big and serious concern really on the MVNO front?  Wont the combined company have like >80% of all MVNO subscribers? This is why there are talks to spin off Boost? Instead of just spinning off Boost, that should be an independent subsidiary (where they own at least a majority) that gets all would be decommissioned sites.  Boost gets say at least 10x10 of PCS, maybe some SMR and BRS/EBS.  Once New-TMobile is done integrating the two networks they sell it. If no one buys it, they spin off Boost debt free with $5billion in cash.  Whether it is sold or just spunoff they have a 7yr dirt cheap roaming agreement. 

Loads of different ways to handle concessions.  If it happens, it'll be very interesting to read the bullet points of all the concessions. 

Seems like a slap in the face really.  Doesn't Ligado own 34x34 (entire LTE B24) but GPS sits right in the middle.  How much more do they own? B24 goes up to 1660.5MHz. This win is 1675-1680MHz.  Not even close to B24. 

12 hours ago, dkyeager said:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-05-13/t-mobile-sprint-are-said-to-consider-concessions-to-save-merger?srnd=premium

Separate out some of the prepaid.

How much would they really lose?  Say you sell Boost Mobile and MetroPCS, they are still going to use your network.  They are still going to be paying New-TMobile. :/

48 minutes ago, ase500 said:

What a load. You're not understanding the convergence happening in several markets. The merger is about 5g or more generally about data. Cable companies are moving toward being data companies not video content companies. This means that wireless companies will not only be competing for mobile users but also for fixed data connections. For many rural communities fiber optic connections are just to costly and companies simply will not invest in bringing broadband to these communities. 5g is about connecting these communities not about faster data to your phone. Without a merger Tmobile will not have the spectrum and Sprint will not have the cash. Those rural communities will be split up by At&t and Verizon giving people very little choice and we will see prices rise. The reality is without a proper third player prices will rise. If the merger fails, Tmobile will never be able to compete in fixed wireless effectively. Sprint is in a better position if investment is made but that would require either Softbank buying up the remaining stock and spending heavily or a different merger. Charter is the best match but, would be unlikely to invest heavily in the network. They would be more likely to use Sprint for Sprint link and to complement existing services, not expansion.

This is a load.  5G is not about servicing rural communities.  LTE has been able to do this forever.  TMobile does not need Sprint and their spectrum to do this.  TMobile is as spectrum constrained as VZW.  They can compete better because VZW fixed-wireless plans suck. 

TMobile could start doing full rural buildouts. They could use 5GHz like WISPs use all the time.  There is loads of 2.5GHz left in rural markets that TMobile could have and still can be buying/leasing up. 

Here is some 900MHz for mobile broadband, maybe just for CI.  Would be a 3x3 block at 897.5-900.5 / 936.5-939.6 initially between reallocation of 896-901 / 935-940.  If future need warranted, they have the option to add a second 1.4x1.4 channel.

This possible 10MHz for LTE would put this in LTE Band 8. 

https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-356298A1.pdf

IIRC Sprint owned 3x3MHz in 900MHz range.  What frequencies was that at?

21 hours ago, bigsnake49 said:

Well that why us merger proponents are supporting the merger, scale! Capex is split among twice the number of customers and becomes a smaller percentage of your expenses. Plus operationally the T-Mobile team is light years ahead of Sprint's, although the new CEO seems to know what he's doing. Short of a merger, I'd want them to merge network operations and have T-Mobile and Sprint being marketing operations.You get the network scale without a full merger.

The problem here is New-TMobile will get to charge whatever they want.  TMobile and Sprint have been able to do what they have on limited capex. There will be less need to be resourceful, innovative, offer more for less. 

Sure there is a verbal "promise".  Even if the Feds make this verbal promise a binding physical contract, that will expire. Look at the Charter/TWC/BH merger.  Feds limited Charter from doing data caps for 8yrs.  Guess the first thing they will do once those 8yrs are up.  Add data caps and data overages. After the merger, the first thing New-TMobile will do as soon as soon as any contract is up (even if they bother to honor a verbal contract) is raise prices.  It always happens and this will be no different.  A New-TMobile could easily charge more than VZW/ATT and still be fine even if they stop attracting customers the shareholders will love the increased rates and the stock will still go up.

I'd rather have two companies that have some constraints vs three that can get away with whatever they want.

So they could still do three blocks off that, beings that it would be 5MHz blocks instead of 6.  It would be just like Lower 700MHz except with 1MHz guards on both sides maybe. Or even like 600MHz, 10/11MHz in the middle of guard band.

Looking at it, why does 700L allow for 12x12 as usable DL spectrum between the links, but the 600MHz guard band is just that, guard band.